Getting There · Hong Kong

Nearest Airport to the Hong Kong Cruise Terminals

You land on Lantau and sail from Kowloon. Chek Lap Kok is about 23.0 road miles (37.0 km) from Kai Tak by our routing, roughly 36 minutes with no traffic, and about 19.9 miles from Ocean Terminal.

~23.0 miHKG to Kai Tak, our routing
HK$310taxi to Kai Tak, per the terminal
HK$105Airport Express to Kowloon Station
~45 minby taxi, per Holland America

See the airport guide for every cruise port →

Landing on sail day?

Put in your landing and the ship’s departure. We’ll hold them against two margins of our own, since we found no line’s cut-off for Hong Kong.

Airport
Scheduled landing
Ship departs
The short answer

Fly into Hong Kong International Airport. Our routing puts it about 23.0 miles (37.0 km) and 36 minutes from Kai Tak with no traffic, and about 19.9 miles (32.1 km) from Ocean Terminal.

Kai Tak prints about HK$310 (about US$40) plus baggage fees for the taxi — Holland America about HK$350 (about US$45) and 45 minutes.

The Airport Express reaches Kowloon Station for HK$105 (about US$13) with Octopus, per the MTR. A taxi covers the rest: about 1.5 road miles to Ocean Terminal, about 5.5 to Kai Tak.

Kai Tak has no MTR station — its page lists seven bus and minibus routes from HK$6.4 (about US$0.82). Your cruise documents name the terminal.

The taxi wins when

  • You land the morning you sail
  • Three or four of you can split the HK$310
  • You carry more than a case each — HK$6 (about US$0.76) a bag is cheaper than a change of train

The train earns its place when

  • Your ship is at Ocean Terminal, 1.5 road miles from Kowloon Station
  • You’re spending a night in Tsim Sha Tsui first
  • There are only one or two of you, with light bags
Two Distances

The airport, and the two distances that matter

The one to use
HKG
Hong Kong International Airport
To Kai Tak
About 23.0 miles
Our routing, 37.0 km and 36 minutes with no traffic. The terminal says about 42 km; Holland America says about 22 miles.
By taxi
HK$310–350
Kai Tak prints about HK$310 plus bags; Holland America about HK$350. Taxis wait at the Taxi Station by the left-hand ramp outside the Arrivals Hall.
By Airport Express
HK$105
To Kowloon Station with Octopus, per the MTR; about every 15 minutes from 05:54 to 00:48, per the airport. Then a taxi.
The other terminal
OCT
Ocean Terminal, Harbour City
From the airport
About 19.9 miles
Our routing, 32.1 km and 31 minutes with no traffic; our meter arithmetic comes to about HK$264 (about US$35), and a secondary guide says around HK$270 (about US$35).
From Kowloon Station
About 1.5 miles
Our routing, 2.3 km and 6 minutes. Harbour City lists Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Exit A1 as a 5-minute walk to the complex.
By bus
A21, about HK$35 (about US$4)
The Langham’s page prices Citybus A21 at HK$35; the Marco Polo hotels’ FAQs name the route. We couldn’t read the airport’s or Citybus’s own fare table, so confirm the fare and times.
Flights
Still need flights?

Fares and dates are on Booking.com. Land the day before, not the morning you sail.

Booking.com links are affiliate links: Seabound Journeys may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what we recommend. Affiliate disclosure.

Runway to Runway

From one runway to another

You land on Chek Lap Kok, off the north coast of Lantau. Most ships leave from the old Kai Tak runway at the south-eastern end of Kowloon, not from Tsim Sha Tsui.

Ocean Terminal is the other option. It’s on the tip of Tsim Sha Tsui, across the harbour from Central.

Victoria Harbour Kai Tak Cruise Terminal33 Shing Fung Road, Kowloon Bay Ocean TerminalHarbour City, Canton Road HKGHong Kong International Airport 5 km · 3.1 mi N
Cruise terminalAirportStraight line to each terminal, not the driving routeReal geography: NOAA’s GSHHG shoreline, generalised; the Kai Tak runway reclamation is a rough outline sketched around our pin for the terminal, not surveyed, and piers aren’t drawn. Map pins from the Esri World Geocoder. The two terminal pins are Esri’s points for the terminal names, not berths; the hotel pins are Esri matches for each hotel’s name and address.
The Last Leg

What the last leg costs

The taxi rows are per car. The terminal and Holland America print them that way, and the Ocean Terminal row is our own arithmetic. The Airport Express row is per adult with Octopus, not per car.

The Transport Department’s tariff is HK$29 (about US$4) for the first 2 km. After that it’s HK$2.10 (about US$0.27) per 200 m until HK$102.50 (about US$13), then HK$1.40 (about US$0.18), plus HK$6 a bag.

Travelers
Taxi to or from Kai Tak, per the terminal—
Taxi to or from Kai Tak, Holland America's estimate—
Taxi to Ocean Terminal, our meter arithmetic—
Airport Express to Kowloon Station, per adult—

One way, in Hong Kong dollars, as printed on October 5, 2026 — except the Ocean Terminal row, our own arithmetic before tolls and bags.

Viator, a reseller, lists a private transfer from Kai Tak to the airport from US$44 a person, about 45 minutes, and from Kai Tak to hotels from US$61; confirm with the operator it books. Royal Caribbean says transfers are offered at all its ports for an extra fee and prints no Hong Kong price.

Hong Kong isn’t a hire-car port, and we found no rental pricing for the airport. If you do want a car, our Hong Kong rental page has the options.

Weighing a car from the airport? We set the drive against the taxi and the train. Airport to Kai Tak, by car or not · Hong Kong rental cars
Airport taxis
Need a ride from the airport?

Metered taxis queue outside Arrivals. If you’d rather have a driver waiting, Booking.com lists pre-booked airport transfers; check the price and pick-up point first. We get a commission if you book.

Booking.com links are affiliate links: Seabound Journeys may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what we recommend. Affiliate disclosure.

Trains and Buses

Trains, buses and what to do with the bags

The Airport Express takes 24 minutes to Central, per the airport. The MTR’s fare table lists HK$105 with Octopus or contactless to Kowloon Station, and HK$115 (about US$15) for a Smart Ticket.

A return is HK$195 (about US$25), and Hong Kong Station is HK$120 (about US$15) with Octopus. The airport’s own page shows a slightly different figure, so we print the MTR’s.

From Kowloon Station, Ocean Terminal is about 1.5 road miles by our routing — Kai Tak about 5.5. From Hung Hom Station, Kai Tak is about 3.3.

Between the two terminals the road is about 6.2 miles — 14 minutes by our routing.

Kai Tak’s own page lists KMB bus 5R to Ngau Tau Kok and Kwun Tong MTR at HK$8.1 (about US$1). Bus 5R runs 07:00 to 22:00 daily.

Minibus 86 goes to Kowloon Bay MTR at HK$7.1 (about US$0.90) (06:40 to 23:00 daily, every 8 to 25 minutes).

Bus 22S goes to Kai Tak MTR at HK$7.30 (about US$0.93), and bus 22 goes to Kowloon Tong at HK$6.4. Bus 22M runs to Kowloon City, To Kwa Wan and Ma Tau Wai at HK$6.4.

Bus 20X is a new circular route from Tsim Sha Tsui, running since 28 September 2026 (06:00 to 23:00, every 20 to 30 minutes), at HK$10.30 (about US$1). Bus 20A goes to West Kowloon at HK$7.5 (about US$0.96).

The page also notes a Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday Fortune Ferry service.

The MTR lists hotel shuttles from Kowloon Station — none of the four it names goes to a cruise terminal. Our Hong Kong cruise guide covers the lines and the terminals; the hotels page covers the night before.

Bags: Kai Tak lists lockers at HK$12 (about US$2), HK$18 (about US$2) and HK$24 (about US$3) for four hours or part. It also lists an SF Express luggage counter on selected debarkations, and says it takes Octopus, WeChat Pay and Alipay.

Holland America says the terminal has no storage — we couldn’t reconcile the two. Bounce lists luggage storage near Tsim Sha Tsui from HK$19 (about US$2) a day, at 59 locations.

Cutting It Fine

Cutting it fine on sail day

No cruise line we read prints an arrive-by time for Hong Kong, so both rows below are our own margins, not rules. Royal Caribbean warns of possible delays at the pier from security and immigration.

  • Our tight marginOur rule of thumb, not a line's: 3 hours before the ship leaves, with Kai Tak a taxi of about 36 minutes with no traffic and immigration to clear.—
  • Our comfortable marginOur rule of thumb, not a line's: 4 hours 30 minutes before the ship leaves, which leaves room for a late bag and a slow tunnel.—

Your boarding pass and cruise documents set your check-in time — be at the terminal for it, not before.

We’d land the day before. A morning landing leaves nothing for a delayed bag.

A night in Hong Kong first

Land the day before and sleep near the harbour.

We ranked twenty hotels for a Hong Kong cruise, eighteen of them in Kwun Tong, Kowloon and on the Island. Tell us the flight and the ship, and we’ll pick the night that fits your landing.

Find my three picks
Flying Home

Flying home from the ship

No line we read publishes a disembarkation time for Hong Kong — and we found no cruise line's earliest-flight guidance.

Kai Tak prints about HK$310 for the taxi to the airport and Holland America about HK$350, about 45 minutes. Our routing makes it 23.0 miles and 36 minutes with no traffic.

The MTR lists in-town check-in at Hong Kong and Kowloon stations for six airlines, and Kai Tak lists an SF Express luggage counter on selected debarkations. Enter your flight time and when you expect to be ashore, and the planner sets out the ride to the airport and the wait at the gate.

Partner links (transfers, luggage storage) may earn Seabound Journeys a commission at no extra cost to you. They don't change the plan, which is built only from what each company publishes.

A Night First

A night in town first

One night in town takes the clock off sail morning. After a long flight, you’ll want the ship a short taxi away and breakfast first.

None of our twenty runs a shuttle to a terminal. Three sit inside Harbour City with Ocean Terminal — two of them, Marco Polo Hongkong and Prince, are close enough to walk.

For Kai Tak, the closest we measured is Holiday Inn Express Kowloon CBD2, about 2.3 road miles from it by our routing.

Eight list an airport ride. Regal Kowloon, Sheraton Tung Chung (hourly) and SkyCity Marriott run free shuttles; Marco Polo Hongkong, Prince, Gateway, Sheraton Tsim Sha Tsui and Renaissance list hotel cars at HK$930 to HK$1,300 (about US$120–165).

The hub’s airport table has all twenty.

Pre-cruise hotels

Six hotels, measured from the runway

Our top six, each with its road miles from Hong Kong Airport by our routing. The hotels page has all twenty.

See all twenty →
155/94
Prince Hotel
Harbour City, Canton Road · about 19.5 road miles from the airport
Ask about this hotel →
252/94
Holiday Inn Express CBD2
How Ming Street, Kwun Tong · about 23.2 road miles from the airport
Ask about this hotel →
343/94
Marco Polo Hongkong
Harbour City, Canton Road · about 19.9 road miles from the airport
Ask about this hotel →
443/94
Hyatt Regency TST
Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui · about 20.4 road miles from the airport
Ask about this hotel →
543/94
Holiday Inn Golden Mile
Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui · about 20.4 road miles from the airport
Ask about this hotel →
640/94
Gateway Hotel
Harbour City, Canton Road · about 19.8 road miles from the airport
Ask about this hotel →

What each hotel says about the airport

Here is what each of our twenty says about getting from Hong Kong Airport to its door. For a grander night, the ten splurge picks run from Salisbury Road to Pacific Place.

HKGHong Kong International Airport
Hotels with a ride from here
Airport ride and a ride to the ship

What each of the twenty says about the airport sits in the ride table on the hotels page.

Who Sails

Eleven lines, and the dates we found

Kai Tak’s own cruise-lines page lists eleven lines: Astro Ocean Cruise, Celebrity, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Silversea and TUI Cruises.

Its 2026-27 schedules show turnarounds for eleven too, but not the same eleven. They’re in the table below, read October 5, 2026.

Princess and Silversea only call in transit on Kai Tak’s schedule (Royal Princess on October 11, 2026, Silver Moon on November 9, 2026, Diamond Princess on December 3, 2026). We found no ship dates for Astro Ocean.

LineShips and dates we foundWhere we read it
Royal CaribbeanSpectrum of the Seas, many turnarounds from November 2026, Berth BKai Tak 2026-27 schedule
CelebrityMillennium on November 11–12, 2026; Solstice from December 31, 2026, with calls in January, February and March 2027Kai Tak 2026-27 schedule
Holland AmericaWesterdam on November 22–23 and December 20, 2026, and February 14, 2027Kai Tak 2026-27 schedule
NorwegianNorwegian Jade on December 9, 2026, and in January and February 2027Kai Tak 2026-27 schedule
CostaDeliziosa on February 23, 2027Kai Tak 2027 schedule
CunardQueen Victoria on March 14–15, 2027Kai Tak 2027 schedule
TUI CruisesMein Schiff 6 on March 29–31, 2027Kai Tak 2027 schedule
OceaniaOceania Vista on March 29, 2027Kai Tak 2027 schedule
Adora CruisesAdora Flora City, a turnaround on March 31, 2027Kai Tak 2027 schedule
CarnivalCarnival Splendor on August 29, 2027 and Carnival Luminosa on October 28, 2027Kai Tak 2027 schedule
Explora JourneysExplora III, November 15–16, 2027Kai Tak 2027 schedule

Every one of those turnarounds is at Kai Tak, on the old runway at 33 Shing Fung Road in Kowloon Bay, not at Ocean Terminal.

Ocean Terminal, in Harbour City on Canton Road, is the other terminal. StarCruises’ Star Voyager sails from it between September 30 and November 13, 2026, per Cruise Industry News.

We found no other published 2026-27 line-up for it. Ritz-Carlton’s Luminara, with 452 guests, called there on 13 January 2026, per The Standard.

Your documents say which terminal your ship uses. The China Ferry Terminal, which three of our hotels mention, is a ferry port, not a cruise terminal.

Kai Tak says it has Berth A and Berth B. Royal Caribbean warns of possible delays at the pier from security and immigration procedures, and Kai Tak says taxi supply is limited during debarkation.

Questions

Questions to settle before you land

Which airport do I fly into?

Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), on Chek Lap Kok.

Our routing puts it about 23.0 miles (37.0 km) and 36 minutes from Kai Tak with no traffic. From Ocean Terminal it's about 19.9 miles (32.1 km) and 31 minutes.

Kai Tak's own page says about 42 km (25 miles) by road and Holland America says about 22 miles — the printed figures differ with the route.

What does a taxi to the ship cost?

Kai Tak's own page prints about HK$310 plus baggage fees between the airport and the terminal — Holland America prints about HK$350 and about 45 minutes.

No page we read prints a fare to Ocean Terminal. Our arithmetic on the Transport Department's tariff, using our routed 32.1 km, comes to about HK$264 — a secondary guide says around HK$270.

How does the meter work?

Urban taxis charge HK$29 for the first 2 km, then HK$2.10 per 200 m until the fare reaches HK$102.50. After that it's HK$1.40 per 200 m, with HK$6 for each bag, per the Transport Department's tariff effective 14 July 2024.

Tolls and a HK$5 (about US$0.64) phone-booking fee are extra, and Lantau and New Territories taxis run their own tariffs.

Can the Airport Express take me to the ship?

It takes you to Kowloon or Hong Kong Station, not to the ship.

The MTR's fare table lists HK$105 with Octopus to Kowloon Station and HK$120 to Hong Kong Station. Trains run about every 15 minutes from 05:54 to 00:48, per the airport.

From Kowloon Station, Ocean Terminal is about 1.5 road miles by our routing and Kai Tak about 5.5, so you still need a taxi.

Does a cruise shuttle run from the airport?

Not one we found — Royal Caribbean says transfers are offered at all its ports for an extra fee. It prints no Hong Kong price on the page we read, and Holland America prints a taxi estimate instead.

Viator lists a private transfer from Kai Tak to the airport from US$44 a person, as a reseller.

Is there an MTR station at Kai Tak?

No — its own page says there's no MTR station at the terminal. It lists KMB bus 5R, minibus 86, bus 22S, bus 22, bus 22M, bus 20X and bus 20A, with fares from HK$6.4 to HK$10.30.

It also lists a free shuttle for debarking passengers to nearby MTR stations and malls on call days, and a paid one on turn calls.

Kai Tak or Ocean Terminal: which one is my ship at?

Probably Kai Tak. Every mainstream turnaround on its own 2026-27 schedule starts and ends there.

Ocean Terminal, in Harbour City on Canton Road, is where StarCruises' Star Voyager sails from between September 30 and November 13, 2026. We found no other published 2026-27 line-up for it, and The Standard reports Ritz-Carlton's Luminara calling there on 13 January 2026.

Your documents name the terminal. The China Ferry Terminal is neither.

Where can I leave bags near the terminal?

Kai Tak lists lockers at HK$12, HK$18 and HK$24 for four hours or part, per size. It also lists an SF Express luggage counter during selected debarkations, with no price printed.

Holland America says the terminal has no luggage storage — we couldn't reconcile the two. Harbour City lists lockers at Ocean Terminal from HK$20 (about US$3) for two hours.

Can I check in for my flight home before I leave town?

For some airlines. The MTR lists in-town check-in at Hong Kong Station from 06:00 to 23:00 and Kowloon Station from 06:00 to 15:00.

The airlines are Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Mandarin, Qantas and Singapore Airlines. The MTR doesn't mention cruise passengers, so check with your airline, not the station.

Do I need a car?

Not for the ship. Kai Tak lists 112 hourly spaces at HK$20 an hour on weekdays and HK$24 at weekends and public holidays from 15 August 2026, and calls parking limited — Royal Caribbean says long-term parking isn't available.

Our Hong Kong cruise parking page has the rest.

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