Hong Kong - Info on Airport

General Information

As soon as  you land at Chek Lap Kok airport, you’ll know you’re in Hong Kong.  People will be standing up and getting their bags out of the overhead compartment before the plane has  fully stopped.  Mobile phones will be turned on and calls will immediately be made.  And once the doors to the plane are opened, people will race off and try to get to immigration before you do.  Don’t be panicked by all of this!  There is no need to rush to immigration.  Usually the queue there doesn’t take longer than 10 minutes—just enough time for your luggage to start arriving in the arrivals hall. 

Before you get off the plane, make sure you have filled in a Hong Kong arrivals card.  Once off the plane, follow the signs to Immigration, but before you go through Immigration there is a Hong Kong Tourist Association stand.  Stop there and pick up a map of Hong Kong and other information for free.  The map will be very useful as you start to find your way around.  It will list places in both Chinese and English, so you can show destinations to taxi drivers.   If you miss this stand, there will also be some information when you leave the customs.  At Immigration, there are some counters reserved for Hong Kong residents and some that are for visitors.  If you get in the wrong line, the immigration officials will make you queue up again in the correct line, so be sure to read the signs before you get in line.  Once you have your Hong Kong ID card, you will be able to queue up in the residents line (but not the permanent residents line) and you won’t have to fill in a landing or departure card.

Once in customs, you can snag a free trolley to help you with your luggage.  There are courtesy phones in the arrivals hall that are free for local calls if you need to let someone know you have landed.  Customs is usually very simple.  I have never been stopped upon arrival.  If you’re nervous and want to visualize the airport, you can find more information at http://www.hkairport.com/eng/index.jsp

Arriving

Hotels in and around the airport

Departing Hong Kong is a relatively easy process.  There may be a departure tax when flying out of HK, but normally it is included in the cost of your air ticket.  Find out from your travel agent if you must pay the tax at the airport ticket counters or if it's already included in your ticket. If you are a temporary resident with a Hong Kong ID card:  Take your passport and ID card to leave the country.  You will not need to fill out a departure card.  Be sure to exit via the "temporary residents" line and NOT as a tourist. If you do not have a Hong Kong ID card then you leave as a normal tourist and are required to fill in a departure card before you leave.  Departure cards can be found before the immigration counters or at the airlines check-in.  If you are leaving Hong Kong via road or ferry, there will be a departure card available at the immigration counters.

Going on a trip

You can check in at the Airport Express in Central at any time on the day of your flight.  This is wonderful because you can drop your bags off,  get your seat early in the morning, and then spend the rest of the day free until it’s time to get on the Airport Express and go to the airport.  (This service is only available to people using the Airport Express.)

Departing

The airport is not located near the center of town, so most people choose one of the hotels that have easy transportation from the airport (combination of airport express train and a shuttle bus) but are not actually at the airport.
 
Should you wish to actually be at the airport, the Regal Airport Hotel is what you are looking for.
 
Other hotels can easily be reached by taking the airport express train into either Kowloon station or Hong Kong station and picking up a free shuttle to the hotel.  
 
Kowloon station shuttles will take you to the following hotels:
Grand Stanford Harbour View
Great Eagle Hotel
The Hongkong Hotel
Hyatt Regency Hong Kong 
The Imperial Hotel
The Kowloon Hotel
Kowloon Shangri-La
The Marco Polo Hong Kong
New World Renaissance Hotel
The Prince Hong Kong
The Penninsula Hotel
Regal Kowloon Hotel
Royal Pacific Hotel
The Salisbury YMCA
Sheraton Hong Kong 
 
Hong Kong Island station shuttles will take you to the following hotels
Century Hong Kong Hotel
Conrad International Hong Kong
Furama Hotel Hong Kong
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
Island Shangri-La
J W Marriott Hotel Hong Kong
Renaissance Harbour View Hotel
Ritz Carlton
The Wharney Hotel

Other hotels within a 50km radius of the airport include:
Hotel Inter-Continental Hong Kong (Kowloon)
The Park Lane (HK island)
Holiday Inn Golden Mile (Kowloon, on Nathan Road)
The Kimberly Hotel (Kowloon) 

Getting to town
A taxi to Central on HK island will cost about HK$350 and take about an hour.  It will cost around HK$285 to get to the tip of the Kowloon peninsula and take about 45 minutes.  A taxi may charge HK$5 for each piece of luggage you have. 
A quicker (and often cheaper) way to get to the city is by using the AIRPORT EXPRESS.  It’s a train that runs every 10 minutes  from the airport to Central Hong Kong and takes 23 minutes for the full journey.  You can get off at Tsing Yi, Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, or Central.  Buy your ticket before you get on the train at either a machine (which takes credit card) or a service counter.  Children under 3 are free.  If you know you are going to be returning to the airport in less than a month, you can buy a round trip ticket which will save you about HK$20. 
Once you get to the airport express station at Kowloon or Hong Kong, there are taxis that will take you where you need to go.  There is also a free shuttle bus that goes to select hotels.  Pick up a pamphlet at the Customer Service Counter to see if your hotel is listed.  You will have to show that you have used the Airport Express by showing either a valid air ticket, a boarding pass, or an Airport Express ticket. 

Left Luggage
There is a left luggage counter at the Hong Kong Central station.