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.