On my trip home back from Sri Lanka, I had the opportunity for a stopover in this incredible city. I wanted to write a long layover guide to Hong Kong, as it seems a very popular place to stop on flights back to the US.
It’s truly the most ideal city I’ve been to on a layover when it comes to ease of getting in and out of the city — the transportation is fast, convenient, and set up in a way that is easy to understand. 
At first, when I landed from a red-eye flight, I thought I would skip heading into Hong Kong. But after thinking it through, I realized there was no way I was going to spend the entire day in the airport.
So instead of turning right to connecting flights, I made my way to immigration. 
A quick ten minutes of passing through, I was out in Hong Kong.
What was a caffeine-fueled adventure, turned into one of the best days I’ve spent exploring by myself in a city.
Whether it was the delirious state of mind or lack of sleep, Hong Kong woke up a new side of curiosity for me.
I realized something when I was there — traveling alone requires a lot of self-motivation. It would have been so much easier to sit at the lounge in the airport, read my book, take a nap and hang out. It took a lot of mental energy to push through to go explore.
Self-motivation is something I am always wanting to get better at, whether it’s small things like going to the gym, taking the 5 minutes to make the bed, or in this case, heading out to explore Hong Kong.
This is what I love about travel — the opportunity to sharpen skills and refine ourselves.
Anyways, back to Hong Kong.
The Long Layover Guide to Hong Kong
Whether you’re stopping for 5 hours or in my case 12, you can easily access the airport.
It is vital you calculate how much time it will take to get back, plus the time to get through security and passport control before your flight.
I breezed through on the way in but that may not always be the case.
Time
I would suggest that you need at least 5 hours to get in and out of the city and to get back in time for your flight.
First, calculate how much time you will have.
Visas
Travelers from the US do not need visas to enter, so it makes passport control uber easy.
For other passengers, be sure to check out the Visit Visa Website as per Hong Kong guidelines.
Storing luggage
I had a small backpack and a carry-on with me when I got off the plane in HK and I surely wasn’t going to drag it around while visiting.
Hong Kong Airport has a great service in Terminal 2 on level 3, where they will store your bags securely for around $2 an hour. You simply go to the counter and they weigh it in and in return give you a slip of paper.
Here’s more information on their site.
Getting to and from the airport
This was the easiest part. The fastest way in is with the Airport Express which is right in the middle of Terminal 2. It departs about every 10 minutes, and gets you right into the heart of the city in around 24 minutes for $14.
I’d recommend going all the way to Hong Kong Station to see more of the city. There are other stops that are closer like Kowloon Station.
Simply purchase a roundtrip ticket at the counter and keep it with you to enter/exit at each station.
More information on the Airport Express.
Things to do on your layover
Explore a local market (5+ hour layover)
There is Cat Street where they are selling art, Chun Yeung Market where local produce, Flower Market, and Goldfish Market is popular.
The Tram to Victoria Peak (8+ hour layover)
This is one of the most popular things to do in Hong Kong, as it provides an unparalleled view of the city. However, you will need a bit of time as often there is a wait to go up.
Take Bus 15 from Exchange Square bus terminus near MTR Hong Kong Station, Exit D.
Walk the neighborhood (as much time as needed)
This is what I did while I was in Hong Kong.
I got off at Hong Kong Station, and started walking.
I knew I wanted to see Man Mo Temple and grab coffee, with a lunch eventually at Kaum at Potato Head.
So I headed out on foot and got to see much of the neighborhood this way.
Take the Star Ferry (5+ hours)
Get off at Kowloon Station and grab the ferry over to Hong Kong island for under a dollar. It’s scenic and gives you a great view of the area.
Coffee shops to check out near Hong Kong Station
Restaurants within a taxi ride/long walk of Hong Kong Station
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1. Book Your Accommodations
I use Booking.com for hotels and Airbnb for vacation rentals. They have the biggest inventory and consistently offer the best rates.
2. Book Your Rental Car
Self-driving is the best way to explore most destinations. I use Discover Cars for our rental cars, select full coverage insurance, and opt for a reputable company like Alamo, Hertz, or Sixt.
3. Book Your Tours & Experiences
I use Viator, Airbnb, and Get Your Guide to find the best tours and experiences. They are my favorite tour search engines. I always check all three as their inventory varies depending on the destination.
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For easy, reliable private transfers, I use Welcome Pickups. It’s my go-to for arranging a driver in advance — whether it’s an airport pickup, a hotel-to-hotel transfer, or a day trip. The experience is seamless, with English-speaking drivers and upfront pricing, so you can travel stress-free at every stage of your trip.
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I use Holafly for international cell data. Their unlimited data eSIMs are easy to install, activate instantly on arrival, and let you skip local SIM cards and expensive roaming fees.
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I never leave the country without travel insurance. It provides comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong (ie. illness, injury, theft, or cancellations).
My favorite companies that offer the best coverage and rates are:
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Xx,
Jessica
8 Comments
Brilliant write up. You say to allow five hours out and back into the airport. So if I have an 11.5 hour layover then I probably won’t have time to do the tram to victoria peak?
It would be pretty tight on time. The lines at the tram are often rather long as well…
I will have a 17-hour layover in March. IS that enough time to visit Disney for 4 or 5 hours?
I think it should be enough depending on how quickly you can get out of the airport..
If I have a 7 hour layover, it would be quite tight to go out and back in?
You said the airport express takes 24 mins, and 10mins to get the the train from terminal 2. How did it become 5 hours – is that including security?
I am suggesting 5 hours minimum to make it worth it to go into the city, inclusive of the train times/customs/reentry. I think anything less than that of a layover is not worth it since you need to calculate time before your next flight.
This week we had a 3.5 hour layover in Hong Kong and decided to make a run for world class dim sum.
This quick trip worked fabulously:
– Express Train in/out of Central central (last stop on the Express (green) line. 24 mins each way accurate, and the entrance is super close to Terminal 2. We were coming from Terminal 1 which has a quick train to Terminal 2.
– Ate an extraordinary dim sum meal at Tim Ho Wan (first Michelin rated dim sum in the world) which is right in the Central train station. Fast sit down, fast service, best dum sim we’ve had and five of us *gorged* for less than $100 USD. So good! There’s also one in the West Kowloon Station one stop earlier if you want to save time.
– We left the station and walked around the downtown area for about 15 mins.
– Security and immigration are world class, extremely efficient, short lines for us both ways.
– Arrived at our gate in Terminal 3 (quick walk from Terminal 2) with 15 mins before the start of the Boarding process before our long flight to LAX.
All five of us would do this again in a heartbeat. A quick taste/view of Hong Kong and best+affordable dim sum. We didn’t need to run at all, just kept a quick pace. Absolutely doable with 3.5 hour layover.
Such a simple, clear, and effective read 🙂 Exactly what I was looking for a 12 hr layover. Thanks!