With the early morning arrival of my Cathay Pacific overnight flight from Singapore, I had an actual full first day in Hong Kong and there wasn’t much of a rush to the city to start my day. Well, even if I wanted too, the MTR Airport Express hadn’t even started yet.
We got out of the baggage claim area at around 5.20am, and were greeted by this sign. Guess it’s another 24 minutes of waiting for the counter to open to buy the Airport Express Travel Pass.
The purchase of the pass at the counter was hassle-free.
And here it is – the Airport Express Travel Pass! This costs HK$250 upfront and allows you any 3 consecutive days of unlimited travel on the MTR, Light Rail and MTR Bus (Northwest New Territories), except additional travel on the Airport Express, East Rail Line First Class, and travel to or from Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau stations which are the border stations to Shenzhen, China.
So how is this a 4 Day Pass as mentioned in my headline?
If you read the definition of “3 consecutive days” on MTR’s website, it mentions that “(t)he 3 days starts from the recorded entry time of the first MTR train journey and lasts for 72 hours plus any additional hours up to the end of train service on the last day“, which in pleb commuter language means it’s actually for 4 actual days of unlimited travel.
If you return the pass after utilizing its value, you will also get a refund of HK$50. Deducting it from the actual cost, you are only actually paying HK$200 for 4 days of MTR travel including an Airport Express journey. This certainly beats buying 3 separate MTR Tourist Day Passes which would cost you HK$65 x 3 = HK$195 and does not get you an Airport Express ride to or from the city.
Sure, you could use it for the Airport Express into the city right away, but in order to maximise the full purpose of the Airport Express, you should leave it for your trip back to the airport as you will be able to use the In-town Check-in service to drop your bags in the city for your return flight. Moreover in my case, with the first train departing at 5.54am, taking the Airport Express from the airport would get me into the city way too early for any activities anyway.
To fully maximise the value of the Airport Express Travel Pass (1 Ride), you need to start off your journey with the S1 bus to Tung Chung MTR Station. This can be paid for in cash, or you can top up the Airport Express Travel Pass with cash value (it also functions as an Octopus Card) and thereafter pay for your bus fare with it. Ask the staff at the MTR Customer Service Centre to add value to your Octopus card in multiples of HK$50 at the point of purchase.
The S1 bus costs HK$3.50 (~S$0.60) to get you from Hong Kong Airport to Tung Chung.
Head down the ramp towards the Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) Bus Terminus.
If in doubt, just follow the signs towards “Bus”.
You will see a cluster of bus bays with awaiting buses. This is NOT the boarding point for the S1 bus.
Instead, cross the zebra crossing just beside it. The S1 bus departs from a separate bus stop as it is only a passing-through service.
Queue up in front of the S1 bus stop pole.
The S1 bus is a frequent shuttle between Hong Kong Airport to Tung Chung MTR Station, departing every 5 to 10 minutes.
Upon boarding, pay for your fare (HK$3.50) with your Octopus card or with cash in the exact amount. Change is not given by the driver, so remember not to drop your HK$100 note into the coin box unless you’re feeling really rich.
Inside the S1 bus. Most buses serving the airport come with luggage racks. Announcements are played in the bus during boarding to remind you to leave them there.
Wave goodbye to those taking the Airport Express to the city and remember to feel happy about yourself as you have just saved up to HK$100!
Tung Chung MTR Station is the last stop of the S1 bus service. If in doubt, there are on-board announcements and visual displays to remind you of it. If really lost, just follow the entire crowd in the bus when they disembark in the terminus.
The bus terminates at Tung Chung Bus Terminus.
The Tung Chung Bus Terminus is located adjacent to the Tung Chung MTR Station.
Enter the fare gates with your Airport Express Travel Pass to commence your 4 days of unlimited travel on the MTR. There is a wide gate in the middle of the concourse for passengers-in-wheelchairs or bulky luggage.
Board the next Tung Chung Line train departing from either platform. Trains depart every 4 to 12 minutes.
The Tung Chung Line shares the track alignment with the Airport Express. If you are getting to Tsing Yi, Kowloon or Hong Kong, this line serves you well as a local service at a fraction of the Airport Express fare.
Inside the Adtranz-CAF EMU (A-Train).
While the seats are of the typical MTR standard instead of the big, plushy ones on board the Airport Express, the speed of the train is the same and you’ll probably just experience a minor slow down of a couple of minutes as the train makes additional stops at Sunny Bay, Lai King, Nam Cheong and Olympic.
If you are heading to the Tsim Sha Tsui area like me, you should get off at Nam Cheong and change to the West Rail Line to East Tsim Sha Tsui. This is a shorter and quicker route than to change at Lai King to the Tseun Wan Line to Tsim Sha Tsui station.
Once you have gotten off the train at Nam Cheong, find the signs pointing to the train bound for Hung Hom.
Head downstairs to the transfer concourse.
Head up again to the West Rail Line Hung Hom-bound platform.
Trains on the West Rail Line operate with 7- or 8-car formations, though the majority of trains running now are formed with 8 cars. All trains will run in 8-car formations by the end of 2018.
Inside the SP1900 EMU.
The lenghtened SP1900 8-car trains are also installed with new dynamic route map displays, which in my opinion, may be the most user-friendly dynamic route map in the world.
Get off the train at East Tsim Sha Tsui station if you are heading to the Tsim Sha Tsui area. The station is connected to the Tsim Sha Tsui station on the Tsuen Wan Line by a massive network of public underpasses.
Use the wide fare gates if you have bulky items.
The Tsim Sha Tsui – East Tsim Sha Tsui station is a massive sprawling network of underpasses, with travellators on some linkways to make the walk more comfortable and quicker. Remember to check which exit you should head too and try not to get lost inside.
Enjoy your 4 days of unlimited MTR rides!
As a recap…
The “3 consecutive days” of the Airport Express Travel Pass as defined on MTR’s website mentions that “(t)he 3 days starts from the recorded entry time of the first MTR train journey and lasts for 72 hours plus any additional hours up to the end of train service on the last day“, which means it’s for 4 actual days of unlimited travel. You benefit the most if you have a long first and/or last day to maximise the pass.
If you return the pass after utilizing its value, you will also get a refund of HK$50. Deducting it from the actual cost, you are only actually paying HK$200 for 4 days of MTR travel including an Airport Express journey. This certainly beats buying 3 separate MTR Tourist Day Passes which would cost you HK$65 x 3 = HK$195 and does not get you an Airport Express ride to or from the city.
To save even more, you can pre-purchase your Airport Express Travel Pass from Klook and pick it up at the designated airport counter!
If it’s your first booking through Klook, get a FREE $4.30*/RM12.90* voucher for your first purchase when you sign up here!
*subject to exchange rate
Purchase your discounted Airport Express Travel Pass here!
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