Hong Kong International Airport is located at Chek Lap Kok, 34km west of Hong Kong Island and just off the northern side of Lantau. The Airport Express train or AEL (around 6am-12.30am) runs every ten minutes from here via Tsing Yi (12min; HK$60) and Kowloon (20min; HK$90) to Central (23min, HK$100). Tickets are oneway only and can be bought with cash or credit cards from machines or customer service desks in the arrival halls.

Free shuttle buses (around 6am-11pm; 2-3 an hour) run from Kowloon and Hong Kong AEL stations to local hotels; you don’t have to be staying at a hotel to use the service. Airport buses (6am-midnight) can take over an hour to get to town; they include the #A11, via Central and Wan Chai (every 15-25min; HK$40); the #A21 to Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui (every 10min; HK$33); the #A31 to Tsuen Wan (every 15-20min; HK$17); and the #A41 to Sha Tin (every 15-20min; HK$20). There is also a skeleton service of night buses to all these destinations.

Taxis from the airport cost HK$300- 350 into town, so it’s cheaper than taking the AEL for a group of four, though there may be extra charges for luggage ($5 per piece) and for tunnel tolls to Hong Kong Island ($5-15 depending on the tunnel; drivers can legally request you pay the return toll too). Helicopters from Macau (East Asia Airlines) touch down at the Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island, where there’s a MTR station.

The Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in the Shun Tak Centre, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island, deals with arrivals from Macau. In the basement of the terminal is Sheung Wan MTR station, at the end of the blue Hong Kong Island line; change one stop along at Central for connections to Kowloon, Lantau and the airport.

Hong Kong’s China Ferry Terminal is on Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, and handles arrivals from various points along the nearby Chinese coastline, and from Macau. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station is a ten-to fifteen-minute walk away on Nathan Road; a taxi is less stressful if you have luggage.

Macau’s Jetfoil Terminal on Avenida da Amizade deals with all marine traffic from Hong Kong. From outside, buses #3, #3A, #10, #28A, #28B and #32 all go past the Lisboa (about a 5min ride); and the #10 or #10A run to Largo do Senado (about 10min). Buses run every few minutes, between approximately 6am and 11pm, and cost a flat MOP$2.50 for the city. A taxi into town costs around MOP$10.

Macau’s China Ferry Port is at the Porto Interior on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, where a handful of daily ferries from Shenzhen dock. Bus #3A from here stops near Largo do Senado, at the Lisboa, and at the Jetfoil Terminal (15min).