Is the Hong Kong Pass 2020 worth it? We review value and prices here
Easily one of the most fascinating cities on Earth, Hong Kong is a place that everyone should visit at least once. It’s large, beautiful, and quite confusing the first time you visit. A Hong Kong Pass can be a great way to save time and money on your first trip to this city, but it’s not for everybody.
In the review below we will go over the prices of the top attractions and recommend the best ones that you should consider whether you buy the Hong Kong Pass or not. You can actually have a lovely time visiting Hong Kong without spending much money, but you can have a better time if you are well organized and choose to experience the top attractions and probably also a day trip to nearby Macau.
Special Note: Currently, the Hong Kong Pass is closed. We’ll update this page with new and updated information once the Hong Kong Pass is available again.
Short version of our Hong Kong Pass review
Hong Kong is an amazing city and a few of the top attractions are quite expensive including the popular Ocean Park amusement park or a day trip to nearby Macau. If you are going to do either of those things then getting value out of the Hong Kong Pass is quite easy and it will also save you time standing in ticket queues.
On the other hand, if you just want to go up the Peak Tram and walk around the city then the Hong Kong Pass will be poor value for you. This is a great buy for visitors who want to see the top attractions on a 2 to 4-day visit, but if you aren’t planning on doing those more expensive attractions it’s better to pay as you go.
Prices of popular attractions covered by the Hong Kong Pass
(Hong Kong has a fixed exchange rate of HK$7.75 to US$1)
- Peak Tram Sky Pass: HK$99
- Hop-on, hop-off bus (24 hours): HK$430
- Airport Express Return Ticket: HK$205
- sky100 HK Observation Deck: HK$188
- Ocean Park: HK$480
- Aqua Luna Stanley Cruise: HK$400
- Hong Kong Walking Tour: HK$300
- Star Ferry Harbour Tour: HK$105
- Ngong Ping Cable Car and guided tour: HK$430
- Cotai Jet Hong Kong to Macau Ferry (round trip): HK$411
- Macau hop-on, hop-off bus tour: HK$150
- Macau Tower observation deck: HK$145
Prices of popular attractions that AREN'T covered by the Hong Kong Pass
- Hong Kong Disneyland Resort: HK$619
- Hong Kong Museum of History: HK$10
- Hong Kong Museum of Art: HK$10
2020 prices of the Hong Kong Pass
- 2-Day Adult (ages 12 and up) Hong Kong Pass: HK$1,099
- 2-Day Child (ages 3 to 11) Hong Kong Pass: HK$899
- 3-Day Adult Hong Kong Pass: HK$1,699
- 3-Day Child Hong Kong Pass: HK$1,399
- 4-Day Adult Hong Kong Pass: HK$1,999
- 4-Day Child Hong Kong Pass: HK$1,699
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT for Price of Travel readers
If you decide to buy you can use promo code POT10 for a 10% discount on all Hong Kong Passes using this link. Expires December 31, 2020.
Highly recommended attractions (with or without the Hong Kong Pass)
Airport Express Return Ticket: HK$205
If you are flying in and out of Hong Kong International then this is the fastest and most comfortable into the city and back. If you are flying in early and flying out late, having this included ticket with the Hong Kong Pass is a huge help.
Peak Tram Sky Pass: HK$99
The Peak Tram takes you from Garden Road in Central up to the observation deck and entertainment complex on top of Victoria Peak with amazing views over Hong Kong Harbour and Kowloon. This is probably Hong Kong’s number one attraction and you don’t want to miss it.
Hop-on, hop-off bus (24 hours): HK$430
Hong Kong is large and fairly spread out, so this 24-hour pass for the bus’s 3 routes is a great way to see a lot in one day.
sky100 HK Observation Deck: HK$188
This observation deck is in Kowloon with amazing views of Hong Kong Island and it’s located 393 metres above ground on the 100th floor of Hong Kong’s tallest building.
Ocean Park: HK$480
This is an amusement park with many thrill rides that also has many animal displays and attractions. Needless to say, this is a must if you have young people in your group, and it’s less generic than Disney.
Highly recommended if you are also visiting Macau
If your Hong Kong stay is 3 or 4 days then spending one of those days going to Macau is a great idea. You can, and should, do all three of the included things mentioned below.
Cotai Jet Hong Kong to Macau Ferry (round trip): HK$411
The fastest way from Hong Kong to Macau is this fast ferry that takes about an hour and departs several times per hour until midnight.
Macau hop-on, hop-off bus tour: HK$150
This bus tour takes you past all the huge and new casinos and also through the historic part of the city. You can reach the starting point on a free hotel shuttle from where the Cotai Jet ferry comes in.
Macau Tower observation deck: HK$145
The hop-on, hop-off bus stops at this tower where you can go up 233 meters for the best views of Macau and the nearby area.
Is the Hong Kong Pass a good deal? Let's run the numbers
If you are like almost all other first-time Hong Kong visitors you are going to want to do the Peak Tram and the hop-on, hop-off bus plus the sky100 HK Observation Deck. If you are flying in in the morning then having a prepaid fast train from the airport into the city is also fantastic.
The above can all be done in less than a day, so if you buy a 2-Day Hong Kong Pass you’d still have one more day left to do Ocean Park (with thrill rides) and/or the Ngong Ping Cable Car and guided tour and/or the Aqua Luna Stanley Cruise. If you do 2 or all 3 of those (in 3 or 4 days) it’s easy to get great value out of the Hong Kong Pass.
If you are staying 3 or 4 days and want to visit Macau for a day (highly recommended) the Pass will save you more than HK$500, so it more than pays for itself. However, if you DON’T plan on visiting Ocean Park or the Ngong Ping Cable Car or doing the cruise to nearby Stanley or visiting Macau then the Hong Kong Pass is hard to get good value out of and is better skipped.
So it’s really a matter of whether you are interested in Ocean Park or Macau or the other expensive attractions. If you are then the Hong Kong Pass should be good value, but if not you should skip it.
Who the Hong Kong Pass is ideal for
- First-time Hong Kong visitors who want to see most of the top attractions
- Anyone ALSO visiting Macau and/or Ocean Park on a 2 to 4-day visit
- Visitors in Hong Kong who also want to take the cable car or cruise to Stanley
Who the Hong Kong Pass is NOT ideal for
- Very low budget backpackers
- Visitors who WON’T go to Ocean Park or Macau
- Visitors who are not well organized and don’t plan ahead
The Bottom Line
The Hong Kong Pass is great value for any visitor who is interested in at least ONE of the more expensive attractions including Ocean Park or a day trip to Macau. And if you are also interest in the cable car and the cruise to Stanley (you’d need 3 or 4 days for all of these things) the Hong Kong Pass is a VERY good deal.
But if you don’t plan on going to Macau or the Ocean Park amusement park or doing the cable car you are better off skipping the Hong Kong Pass and paying as you go for the things you do.
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT for Price of Travel readers
If you decide to buy you can use promo code POT10 for a 10% discount on all Hong Kong Passes using this link. Expires December 31, 2020.
If I arrive at 1:30pm on a Friday and am departing at 2:30 on a Monday and get a 2 day pass will the return airport Express still be valid on the Monday? Thanks
Paul,
The good news is that (unlike almost all other city passes) the Hong Kong Pass is good for periods of 24 consecutive hours rather than just calendar days. But it doesn’t appear that they add a grace period so you’d have to at least start your Airport Express journey within the 48 hours. By the time you get your bags and are ready to board the Airport Express it might be 14:30 and you’ll probably want to be on the return trip a couple hours before your flight, so hopefully it works out for you. -Roger
If i get m’y Hong Kong pass all thé attractions are availble or i can fond or thé reservation can ne full on my période so i cant use m’y pass?
Samir,
I don’t quite understand the question. Can you try asking again in a different way? -Roger
Hi Roger,
Thanks so much for your reply.It really helps. I just thought you could give me an idea of which ones to do on one day maybe that is close to each other so that we don’t waste time to go from one end to the furtherst end .
Thanks, much appreciated.
Hi,
We are visiting HK from 30th Dec to 4th Jan 2020. We bought HK passes for 2 adults. Could you please help us in planning on how to do which excursion when, so that we can get to all of them in 3 days. Our passes are 3 day passes. This will be our 1st visit to HK and we are so excited to see what HK can offer.
We are from South Africa and we want to make the most out of every single minute in HK.
Awaiting your reply.
Regards
JO-ANNE SMITH
Jo Anne,
Unfortunately it’s difficult for me to create city itineraries for other people. Everyone has different tastes and budgets, and some people are good at starting early while others are not.
Generally speaking though, I recommend doing the hop-on, hop-off bus on your first full morning because it’s a great way to get oriented so you know where most of the top sights are for possible later visits. And I’d definitely make sure you do the Victoria Peak Tram. It’s fun, and centrally located, and the views from the top are stunning. You should probably do the sky100 HK Observation Deck as well.
Since this is your first visit I’m not sure I’d recommend going to Macau. Hong Kong is huge and filled with great sights, and getting to and from Macau would take half a day. Macau is fascinating in some ways, but it’s mostly known for casinos these days and the rest of the sights are a step below the sights in Hong Kong itself.
I’m happy to try to answer specific questions if you have them. I hope this helps. -Roger
If I purchase a 3 day pass and do the first scan at 1300 hrs on say 1st Oct’19, will the pass be active till 1300 Hrs on 4th Oct’19? I plan to cover local attractions on 1st and 2nd, do a Macau day-trip on 3rd and enter Ocean Park before 1300 hrs on 4th. Will this be possible?
Nishant,
Interestingly enough, most of these city passes all around the world operate on a calendar-day basis, but the Hong Kong Pass is one of the few that operates on a 24-hour basis, so you could indeed do exactly what you have in mind. This is from their FAQ “Your Hong Kong Pass will operate on 24-hour periods so if you activate a 2 day pass at 11pm on a Monday, it will remain valid until 11pm on Wednesday.” Have a great trip. -Roger
Great article Does the airport express also cover the shuttle bus to hotels
Keith,
Yes, it does. Here’s what it says:
“Upon arriving at Kowloon or Hong Kong stations, Airport Express travellers can also take the Aiport Express Shuttle Bus for free, which connects them with major hotels on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. When returning to the airport, visitors can also enjoy in-town check-in at Hong Kong and Kowloon stations – passengers on flights with selected airlines can receive boarding passes, check their luggage in, and travel to the airport bags-free.”
Have a great trip. -Roger
I plan to attend APLIC at Asia World Expo during 30May-1jun 2562 . So what kind of card that i should buy for just meeting if I plan to stay Jordan road?
Zhou,
The Hong Kong Pass is for sightseeing and if you are only there for a conference it’s probably better to just get a local transit pass. -Roger
i am a resident of dubai of indian orgin. I am planning to visit with my family during the month of august.
My question is taht how can i buy HONGKONG PASS from hongkong or should i buy online.
Bibuthomas,
Generally these city cards are only available online. The local museums and attractions don’t want competition once visitors are in town, so that is usually a restriction. You can buy online and validate it once you get there. -Roger