With the words, "Hold on to your Octopus!" I was initiated into the world of Hong Kong ferries. The Octopus is an electronically stored-value fare card used to ride the ferries. It is also used for trains, subways, trams, buses, and even to purchase items at convenience stores. Soon, it will be used to pay for taxi cabs. Shanghai has implemented that option in to their system already.
Honk Kong ferries to metropolitan cities and remote islands
By Mark K. Street, Travel Correspondent
Published: August, 2005
With the words, "Hold on to your Octopus!" I was initiated into the world of Hong Kong ferries. The Octopus is an electronically stored-value fare card used to ride the ferries. It is also used for trains, subways, trams, buses, and even to purchase items at convenience stores. Soon, it will be used to pay for taxi cabs. Shanghai has implemented that option in to their system already.
Octopus cards can be re-loaded at stations and terminals and at the ever-present 7-Eleven and Circle-K stores. The card maintains a "hidden" safety balance, covered by a refundable deposit of $6.25 US ($50 HK*), so travelers are never stranded with an "insufficient fare" balance due.
Hong Kong, like the San Francisco Bay Area, is a large harbor metropolis on the Pacific. Hong Kong harbor has an extensive ferry system that covers a wide range of travel possibilities between islands. Here is a sampling of three tiers of service I discovered.
First, there are ferries that shuttle commuters back and forth across Victoria Harbor, from the Kowloon Peninsula to Hong Kong Island. These run about every 15 minutes. The trip itself is about the same distance from Yerba Buena Island to the San Francisco Ferry Building, and takes about 10 minutes. The ferries are spartan, have two decks, and accommodate several hundred passengers. The fare is roughly 25 cents US. There is discount of several pennies for electing to ride on the lower deck, because of the reduced view, and the increased exposure to the ferry’s diesel fumes. Hong Kong/Kowloon ferries have been operating since the late 19th century, and the well-maintained equipment may be original.
At either side of the hop, passengers find themselves at wonderful inter-modal terminals with buses and taxis waiting. A short walk of under a block takes you to tram and subway connections. At the Kowloon terminus, passengers find the Hong Kong Art Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum. The Science Museum, (comparable to the Exploratorium), and the excellent Hong Kong Museum of History are only a short 15 minute walk away.
Next, there are ferries of similar design and comfort that take passengers to remote islands in the harbor, for example, Lamma Island or Lantau Island. A one-way fare to Lamma is $2 US and takes roughly 20 minutes on the fast catamaran service, or 35 minutes on the "ordinary" service aboard a mono-hull, which costs $1.25 US. Lamma Island is quiet with a small village, beaches, nature trails, a youth hostel and a small deli called "The Deli Lamma." Sadly, I had already had lunch.
Lantau is known for hiking, and at its summit sits the Giant Buddha, the world’s tallest, bronze representation of Buddha seated on a lotus flower. A fast ferry to Lantau costs $2.50 US, $1.25 US for ordinary. Lantau is also the location of Hong Kong International Airport.
Hong Kong International is well-served by an express train to central Hong Kong; however, I am told it is possible to take a ferry from the Hong Kong airport to central Hong Kong. The international airport in Shenzhen, on the mainland, is reachable by ferry as well, but US passport holders should note that entrance requires a China Mainland Visa.
The third ferry service is to Macau, a former Portuguese colony, and Hong Kong, a former British Colony. Both are now part of China, but they operate as special administrative regions. Their special status makes traveling between the two ports easier — the ferry is less expensive than going overland through "China proper." Ferry service runs roughly every 30 minutes during the day, and tapers off to about once an hour, late at night. The ride itself takes an hour.
Hong Kong/Macau ferries are modern, fully-enclosed, high-speed, hydrofoil vessels. The journey resembles more the inside of a plane than a boat: upholstered seats with fold-down trays, and duty free purchase options. Unfortunately, Hong Kong/Macau ferries don’t accept the Octopus card because, technically, they cross international borders. Passports are required at both ends of the ride. Standard daytime fares cost about $14 US. Late night passengers incur a surcharge of around $20 US.
Macau is sleepier than Hong Kong, more leisurely, less commercial, and has a populace more in tune with European style and architecture. Today, many casinos are being constructed and Macau is soon to become the Las Vegas of this corner of the world. Hong Kong dollars are accepted here, but the converse is not true in Hong Kong.
For ferry fetishists, Hong Kong harbor offers a wide range of options for exploring the intra-metropolitan area, visiting remote islands or mainland China. Ferries are reasonably priced with departures around the clock, and connect well to local public transportation.
* Fare amounts quoted are provided as a rough guideline during the month of August 2005. Exchange rate during was approximately $7.77 HK per one US dollar. Dollar amounts were rounded to a scale of $8 HK for this story.
