Doc Holiday: How to see Hong Kong in just a few hours

A stopover in Hong Kong can be a great experience, but how do you get the best out of it in just a couple of hours?

International travellers are no longer required to provide evidence of a negative Covid test before boarding their flight to Hong Kong.

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

I have a 15-hour stopover in Hong Kong. Is it possible to get out of the airport to visit the city (mainly the Po Lin Monastery) without a PCR test, visa or other requirements?

Excellent timing for your upcoming trip. Hong Kong has dropped all Covid-related restrictions, which means international travellers are no longer required to provide evidence of a negative Covid test before boarding their flight. Your temperature will still be checked on arrival at Hong Kong International Airport, however, and those who test positive to the virus will be referred to local health authorities. Don’t worry – this isn’t about forced quarantine; isolation orders are long gone so you’ll simply be advised to find a hotel room or space to rest and keep out of everyone’s way.

Australians travelling to Hong Kong won’t need a visa unless they’re staying more than 90 days, so there’s no need for you to do anything else but get on that plane and plan your city tour.

There are plenty of layover tours available in Hong Kong for those keen to make the most of their stopover.

One of the quickest ways to get from the airport to the city is through Airport Express, which will get you to Central in under 25 minutes with trains departing every 15 to 30 minutes. Once you’re in the city, you can either get the MTR to Tung Chung station where you can catch the number 23 bus from the town centre to Ngong Ping (a 50-minute journey) or you can go with the more scenic option of taking the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car (around 25 minutes).

Of course, if you’d rather just look for the most direct option, you could also jump in a cab at the airport. It will cost around $A45 each way, and take around 40 minutes to reach your destination (depending on the traffic).

There are plenty of layover tours available in Hong Kong for those keen to make the most of their stopover. These walking or private transport tours are generally between four and eight hours. Check out Hello! Hong Kong Tours, City Unscripted and Streets of Hong Kong Premium Tours. 

The Mobile Pass is periodically checked against their system to ensure its validity and prevent fraud.

You recommended the Eurail Global Pass, but it now seems to be a mobile app unless you pay extra for a paper one. How is the app used? Will we need to be on Wi-Fi or have roaming?

You are correct: if you opt for a paper Eurail Global Pass, you will have to pay a $US10 booking fee plus a $US25 shipping fee (a total of $A52) – a rate which Eurail says is to ensure secure delivery via PostNL’s registered delivery service. It is a high-value package after all.

Should you decide on the Mobile Pass, it is free of charge. After you buy the Pass, Eurail will email a code that you use to activate your pass on the Eurail Rail Planner app.

There are benefits to going with the Mobile Pass option. Obviously there’s the free and instant delivery, free replacement passes should you lose your phone, and the fact that you can plan your journey, keep track of your trips and show mobile tickets to inspectors straight from your device.

There is also an option to buy a Eurail paper Pass at any main train station in Europe.

On the flip side, internet – at least some of the time – will be required to use the Mobile Pass. As Eurail explains it, the Mobile Pass is periodically checked against their system to ensure its validity and prevent fraud. This essentially means you’ll need to be online at least once every three days to “show yourself”. Eurail will send travellers a notification 24 hours before the three-day period is up, giving you time to find an internet connection (if you’re relying on public Wi-Fi). The app will need to be opened whenever you’re within Wi-Fi to be updated by Eurail. The Rail Planner app is supported on Android 6.0 and later models, as well as iPhone iOS 13.0 and later models.

As the information will have already been updated when you had Wi-Fi, you will not need a connection to show the barcode (the ticket) to inspectors.

It’s worth noting that you’ll also be asked to set up authentication on your device for further protection, and this can be anything from a passcode to facial recognition.

There is also an option to buy a Eurail paper Pass at any main train station once in Europe, however this option won’t allow you to book seat reservations in advance.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: How to see Hong Kong in just a few hours