14 Hour Layover in Hong Kong

You are here because you either are planning to do a layover in Hong Kong or already have a layover in Hong Kong. We recently flew from India to USA via Cathy Pacific Airlines and had a 14 hour layover in Hong Kong and in this blog I will share all the important details you will be needing and things to do in these 14 hour layover in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Visa :

You don’t need a visa to travel to Hong Kong if you are from one these 170 countries ,If you hold a Indian Passport you need to do a PAR (Pre-Arrival Registration) before traveling to Hong Kong. U.S. citizen holding a U.S. passport don’t need a Visa or PAR to travel to Hong Kong.

PAR :

PAR is a Pre-Arrival Registration form which you need to fill and submit before traveling to Hong Kong. It takes less than 10 minutes to fill up the form and when done, you need to take a print out of it and carry it with you to Hong Kong. You can find PAR form here.

Immigration :

Once you land, head straight to the immigration. The whole immigration process takes less than 5 minutes and all you need to show is the printed document PAR & your passport.

Even the process of getting back to our flight after we roamed around the country the whole day was smooth and it took less than 5 minutes at the immigration.

Baggage :

If you have a connecting flight, You don’t need to pick up your luggage from the baggage area. Because we were going out, we din’t want to carry our Carry-ons with us in the city and hence dropped them at the Luggage Storage area located in the arrival hall after Immigration. Fees to store your luggage is HK$ 14 per piece per hour , which is (1.80 USD).

Currency Exchange :

You can exchange your currency at the airport, there are so many booths before & after immigration. We Cashed out USD 500 which was good enough to spend the next 14 hours in HK.

Internet & SIM card :

You can rent pocket wifi rental for a day or get a SIM card with 1GB to 5GB internet for a day for just HK$38 (USD $5). I would recommend getting a SIM card as you will be needing a phone number to download the HK Taxi app (if you decide to take Taxis in HK).

Transportation & Taxis : 

We took AirPort Express (Train) from the airport to go to the City. It has three stops : Tsing Yi station , Kowloon station & Hong Kong station . We already had a plan where to go first which is the last station – Hong Kong station . I would highly recommend taking the AirPort Express as it saves a lot of time and cuts the traffic. Hong Kong’s traffic is as bad as LA & NYC so would recommend using public transport.

Taxis :

Uber works great in Hong Kong but most of the times it takes forever for the Uber to arrive (due to traffic). In Taxis, the quick and easiest one to get are Hong Kong Taxis which you can book via HK Taxi app. We were traveling with two little kids and choose Taxis to go around the city and that wasted so much of our time (Thanks to traffic again). If you can figure out public transport then congrats, you can actually explore most of the Hong Kong just in these 14 hours.

Exploring Hong Kong :

After we got down from our AirPort Express at Hong Kong Station , we booked a Uber straight to The Peak Tram which basically is a Tram station which takes you to Victoria Peak.

The Peak Tram, Victoria Peak & Sky Terrace 428 : 

One of the must and most visited places in Hong Kong is Victoria Peak where you can take the scenic Tram to go to the peak and enjoy the views of Hong Kong Skyline.

This place is huge up there with a shopping mall, restaurants and a lot of activities to do. You can easily spend a whole day here but we were there for just couple of hours. Had Brunch, did some shopping, bought souvenirs and enjoyed the views of Hong Kong City.  The views from the mall itself are amazing but if you want un interrupted views then you need to check out Sky Terrace 428 which is the top most areas of the mall.

Monster Building :

Next stop was a Instagrammable spot in Hong Kong which is Yick Fat Monster Building . I found this when I was looking for photo spots in Hong Kong. This was last on my list as I thought its just a building and there’s nothing great about it. But glad I went here, as we learnt more about the lifestyle of locals there , we walked around the streets, its markets , people and of course got some really good pictures which scream “Hong Kong”

Victoria Harbor :

We were stuck in traffic for hours and finally reached Victoria Harbor. It’s another beautiful spot where you can spend a whole day. It has ocean front Cafes and restaurants, Shopping mall for designer and luxury goods, you can hop on a ferry to go around harbor or simply sit down and enjoy the views of Hong Kong Skyline.

Avenue of the Stars :

Avenue of the stars is also located on Victoria Harbor.It pays tribute to the city’s film industry and features handprints of famous actors, as well as stunning views of Victoria Harbor and the iconic skyline making it a popular attraction for both locals and tourists.

Luxury Shopping : 

Did you know Hong Kong is the one of the best & cheapest place to buy luxury and designer brands ? Yes, you heard it right. Because Hong Kong has no Tax on Designer goods and Electronics which makes it cheaper to buy luxury brands. And one of the best places to shop these brands in Hong Kong is K11 Art Mall located on the Victoria Harbor. If you are into luxury and designer goods, then this is your place.

Lantau Island , Big Buddha & Cable Car :

Another place which we wanted to visit at the ned of the day but couldn’t as we got stuck in traffic for hours due to moon festival. Lantau Island is closer to the airport, so you can either include this to the rest of the activities or just do this and stay close to the airport.

Lantau Island is the largest island in Hong Kong, known for its stunning natural landscapes, quieter places  and cultural landmarks. One of its most famous attractions is the Tian Tan Buddha, commonly known as the Big Buddha. To access the Big Buddha, many visitors take the Ngong Ping 360 cable car ride. This scenic cable car journey offers breathtaking views of Lantau Island, the South China Sea, and the surrounding mountains. The ride lasts about 25 minutes, with options for standard or glass-bottom cabins for an added thrill.

Indian & Halal Food : 

Did you know Hong Kong has a huge population of Indians and Muslims which means there’s so many Food options wherever you go. Some of the Halal restaurants we tried were :Islamic Centre Canteen (Chinese Dishes) , Nakhon Thai (Thai food) & Kim Chi Korean Fusion. Loved everything we ate and their spice level was just as how we Indians like. There were also Halal Indian Restaurants like Sangeetha Vegetarian Restaurant & Moksha. We had these two restaurants on our list just in case if we or kids crave for some Indian Food but din’t get to try them.

Some things to remember : 

• Hong Kong gave us a feel of Manhattan in New York City where everyone is in a rush.
• We were lost at one point and wanted to ask someone for directions but had a hard luck, we felt most of them were in rush, busy or shy to talk to strangers. But there were also few (1 in 5) who were willing to help.
• Our flight in Hong Kong landed at 9 am in the morning and the connecting flight was at 12 am in the night so we made sure we were in the airport by 10pm.

P.S : If you ask someone directions and they say, “it’s just close by , you don’t need a taxi, you can just walk”. Please don’t listen, as their version of close by will be different to yours. Hongkongers walk a lot & we Angelenos are not a huge fan of walking.

Summary :

Hong Kong is a vibrant city with plenty to explore, even on a short stopover. You can cover majority of tourists spots in 14 hours if planned correctly. With its blend of modernity and tradition, Hong Kong offers a captivating experience for every traveler.