Hong Kong International Airport to Tung Chung
Only about 4 km from HKG on the same island; the S1 shuttle bus reaches Tung Chung MTR station in minutes, and a blue Lantau taxi is barely dearer.
Tung Chung, Hong KongHk1992 / Wikimedia, CC BY 3.0Tung Chung is the new town on Lantau closest to the airport — home to Citygate Outlets, the Ngong Ping 360 cable car base and the Tung Chung MTR terminus.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Tung Chung, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €45). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €0.5) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €1 | €45 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €1 | €45 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €2 | €45 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €0.5, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Bus / shuttle
HK$3.7 (~€0.50) — the cheapest ride at HKG. Drops you outside Tung Chung MTR station and the Citygate mall; S64 and the night N64 cover the same run.
Where to catch it: S1 shuttle bay at the Ground Transportation Centre; it loops between the airport and Tung Chung Station all day.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Around HK$35-70 (~€4-8) for the short hop, so a small group can beat the bus on convenience. Blue cabs thin out on weekends, so allow a wait.
Where to catch it: Blue-taxi queue at the airport rank — only the blue Lantau fleet may carry you within the island.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
Overkill for such a short trip unless you value a fixed, waiting car (~HK$400-520); most travellers just take the S1 or a blue taxi.
Where to catch it: An English-speaking driver meets you at Arrivals — helpful if you are connecting straight to a Tung Chung hotel or an early cable-car slot.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsTung Chung & Hong Kong in photos
Buying tickets in Hong Kong
The simplest option is an Octopus card, a tap-to-pay card for the Airport Express, MTR, buses and shops; buy one at the airport (standard or a Tourist Octopus), or use Octopus on your phone. For the Airport Express itself you can also buy a Single or Smart ticket, or just tap a contactless Visa/Mastercard at the gate ("Ride First, Pay Later" charges the fare afterwards). If you plan several MTR days, the Airport Express Travel Pass bundles one or two Airport Express trips with three days of unlimited MTR.
Taxi scams & safety in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is low-scam for transport. The Airport Express and buses are fixed-fare, and red/green taxis at the official rank run on meter with a posted toll and luggage surcharge, so insist on the meter. Uber operates here for upfront pricing. Decline anyone inside the terminal offering a private car or a "cheaper" ride; use the marked taxi queue or Airport Express only, and confirm your red (urban) versus green (New Territories) taxi matches your destination.
Getting from HKG to Tung Chung
Tung Chung is the one destination from Hong Kong airport where the map does you a favour: it sits about 4 km up the same island, roughly a quarter of an hour door to door. If your plan is the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, the Big Buddha, an outlet-mall afternoon at Citygate, or simply a bed near the runway before an early flight, this is the closest place you can go. That short distance changes the whole calculation. On the long hauls into Kowloon or across to the island, paying for speed or comfort makes sense. Here the drive is five minutes, so the real trick is not overpaying for those five minutes. The cheapest ride at the entire airport happens to be the one you want.
The S1 bus: HK$3.7 to the Tung Chung terminus
The S1 shuttle is the answer for almost everyone. It costs HK$3.7, around €0.50, and it loops between the airport and Tung Chung MTR station near enough around the clock, with a bus every ten to twelve minutes. Pay with Octopus or exact coins at the S1 bay in the Ground Transportation Centre, one level below Arrivals. In twelve minutes or so it drops you right outside Tung Chung station and the Citygate Outlets, which is where most travellers are heading anyway. If the S1 has just pulled away, the S64 runs the same route, and after the last S1 the night bus N64 keeps the link alive. There is no scenario where fifty euro-cents is the wrong call for a trip this short, unless you are wrestling several large suitcases and would rather not stand.
Where the S1 leaves you: the MTR, Citygate, the cable car
It helps to picture the drop-off, because Tung Chung station is the hinge for everything else on Lantau. Step off the S1 and the MTR Tung Chung line terminus is right there, so anywhere on that line into Kowloon is one tap away. The Ngong Ping 360 cable car base is a two-minute walk, which is what makes an early cable-car slot easy to reach without a car of your own. Citygate Outlets is the building the bus parks beside. So the single HK$3.7 fare doesn't just get you to a town, it deposits you at the exact junction of the three things people come to Tung Chung for. That is why the bus, not the taxi, is the default here even for visitors who would normally splash out.
A blue taxi when the bags are heavy
The taxi worth knowing about is the blue one. Lantau destinations are served only by the blue fleet, which queues in its own line at the airport rank; red urban cabs and green New Territories cabs are not allowed to carry you within the island, so ignore them and find the blue queue. The fare to Tung Chung runs somewhere around HK$35 to HK$70, roughly €4 to €8, for a ten-minute door-to-door hop. Split between three or four people that is small money, and it lands you at a specific hotel entrance rather than the station forecourt. The one snag: blue taxis are a small fleet and thin out at weekends, so if the rank is empty you may wait longer than the whole ride takes. When the queue is short and your luggage is heavy, it is the easy upgrade over the bus.
The pre-booked car, and when it is genuinely overkill
You can pre-book a private transfer through Welcome Pickups or a local Lantau firm, with an English-speaking driver who meets you at Arrivals and takes you straight to the hotel or a cable-car appointment. The honest use case is narrow: it earns its keep only if you want a named car waiting no matter when you land, or you are connecting immediately to a fixed booking and cannot afford a taxi queue that might be empty. The fare, somewhere near HK$400 to HK$520, is roughly €45 to €60 — that is fifty times the bus for the same twelve minutes of road, which is a hard sum to justify for such a short trip. For most people it is more car than the distance deserves.
So the ranking almost inverts the usual advice. Take the S1 and keep the change; grab a blue taxi if the bags are winning or a group is splitting the cost; book the car only for a guaranteed early-morning meet. Tap on with Octopus at the S1 bay and you will be standing under the cable car before a Kowloon-bound traveller has even reached their platform.
