Hello,

Anyone who has flown to Shenzhen instead of Hong Kong to save money know if the Shenzhen metro system connects to the Shenzhen airport and, if so, how tricky is it to negotiate the trip from the airport to Kowloon? Thanks.

Metro doesn't connect yet. Closest Metro station is Windows of the World. Buses run from the airport to Lo Wu all the time. A Taxi from the airport to Lo Wu KCR station is about 150 RMB. There is up to date information about the Shenzhen airport in English at eng.szairport.com/ and in Chinese at www.szairport.com/. Traveling to Hong Kong using the KCR/ MTR link is awesome. The Hong Kong subway is clean, fast and efficient. Be sure to get your Octopus card at Lo Wu and then you won't have to worry about change or fares for any kind of transportation in Hong Kong. The card even works at most convenience stores!

From Shenzhen airport you can take buses to different areas in HK, plus there is a shuttle bus that takes you to the ferry (15mins away) which can take you to HK Airport or Kowloon and some other places in HK.

Its very easy once you arrive in the Shenzhen airport to get to many places in HK and many many many! people do this each day.

in my experience, you're better off with the bus than the ferry, as there are 'gaps' in the ferry timetable that are rather tiresome.

once you get to the Luohu (罗湖 Lowu) border crossing you can do border formalities on foot, and then hop on the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) train to take you into HK proper.

i second Ahmet's comments about the Octopus card - get the regular one not the tourist one - 150 HKD (50 deposit, 100 credit)

another option worth considering is Guangzhou - there's a very shufu direct train from Guangzhou East Rail station to Kowloon's Hung Hom station for 167 RMB, with border formalities being done at each end. i'm not sure of the options for getting from Guangzhou's Baiyun airport to the East rail station.

if you're into trains as well as into saving money, there's a twice daily train from Kunming to Guangzhou. takes 24 hours. 330 for cheapest (top bunk) hard sleeper.

Actually, it is very easy to go from Shenzhen airport to Hong Kong or to Kowloon. You can go with buses, KCR(train), or the ferry (ferry is the most expensive and fastest to Kowloon but the ferry is limited services to 2 times a day. Personally, I prefer taking the Airport bus (white mini-bus for 20 rmb, the bus is waiting right outside the arrival building and leave the airport every 20 min) to Shenzhen main train (Lo Wu station). From the Lo Wu station, you can walk across the border (they are all in one area, train station, bus station and the border to HK, you just need to look at the signs to HK). It is very straightforward. But you do need to be very careful for pickpockets (usually, they work in team), since there are many people there. It is best traveling across the border during the weekday and after the morning rush hour and evening rush hour. Once you arrive in the immigration area, you are pretty safe and you can just walk across to HK. And take the KCR to Kowloon for 35 HK dollars (there is only one train line, it will take you into Kowloon). You do need to buy a metro card at the KCR station from the clerk, not machine. There is a 50 HK dollars charge for deposit on the card, you will get it back when you return the card to any stations in HK when you are done with HK. The metro card is very useful in HK; you can ride any buses or trains (MTR, KCR). And you can shop with it, like all the 7 eleven stores all over the city. So it is a good idea for you put 100-200 HK dollars on your card. You will be surprise how fast the money goes on the card, since HK charge by distance and not per ride.
You can take buses from Shenzhen airport to Kowloon or to Hong Kong Island. But I have to tell you it is little crazy at border crossing. First, you have to switch from one bus to another at the Chinese border to HK border and than once you pass to HK border, you have to switch to another bus to Kowloon. You are never with the same bus and the seat is first come, first service. And in the HK border, there are many buses going to different area of HK, so you will end up looking for your bus while people are rushing for the buses.

Well, good luck!

Great information, thanks so much!

i do this all the time. they have buses from shenzhen airport that take you directly to multiple places in hong kong. if you are going to kowloon, you will probably want to take the bus either to mong kok or tsim sha tsui. it will cost approximately 100 rmb. this is just slightly more than the 85 hk that you would pay for the airport express from hk airport.

when you exit the baggage return area, walk straight. near the terminal exit, you will find several booths for buses and vehicles into hk or macau. tell them that you want the bus to hk, the specific destination, and they will handle the rest.

the bus will stop half way for the border crossing. you'll go through customs, and then on the other side, jump on another bus, this one to your specific destination. they will have given you a sticker in shenzhen airport, so the bus company will know that you are with them, and what your destination is. even if you cannot speak chinese at all, it should not be a problem.

once you get into hk, the bus will make several stops. if you are not familiar with hk, make sure to ask the driver to let you know when you get to the right stop, because i have never been able to understand one of his announcements over the loud speaker.

this method is the simplest/cheapest way of getting into hk. you only need to buy one ticket. as for the return trip, you should take one of the company's brochures which has the bus stations in hk marked on it. i always pick up the return bus from mong kok, but it's not so easy to find if you don't know where it is.

I am landing in Hong Kong this month. I want to get off the plane, go to the nearest train station (wherever that may be), ship baggage via the train to Kunming. I will fly to Kunming. Any ideas from those in the know?

Thanks
Tommy Nitro

@T Nitro
read this post: www.gokunming.com/[...]

domestic rail freight is handled by a company called China Rail Express (CRE) - info is in that post. Hong Kong is a part of China in name only (oversimplifying slightly, but whatever), so i'd say you're going to need to take your baggage to Shenzhen. i'm pretty sure there's a direct ferry from Hong Kong airport to Shenzhen airport, but that's a ways west of the Shenzhen train station. bus or taxi (taxi is prolly somewhere between 100-200 but maybe worth it if you've got a lot of baggage) to connect from there. CRE are highly likely to have a branch near to Shenzhen train station, though (again, mentioned in said post) you can probably make life easier by working with someone who knows the ropes. then, bus/cab it back to Shenzhen airport and get your flight to Kunming. if you already have a connecting flight booked out of Hong Kong, bear in mind the visa implications of this plan.

oh, and just in case it's not obvious: you're gonna need to be able to speak Chinese.

I have made the trip 3 times and found the cheapest and least stressful way is to take a 40rmb bus ride to Lo Wu station, get out and walk to the border crossing point (about a 3-5 minute walk, across the bridge), go through customs and then buy a metro ticket immediately on the otherside. You can take the metro all the way to Kowloon and Hong Kong's metro is very easy to navigate. Best of luck!