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Kai Tak to MTR - Walkable?


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I read a post on another forum where someone said they had been to Kai Tak Terminal and 'walked through the mall' to get to the MTR...about 10 minutes.

 

This seems to fly in the face of other things I've read about this terminal. Can anyone confirm this? I would much rather rely on my own two feet as opposed to waiting in line for a shuttle.

 

Does anyone know what station this might be?

 

Thanks.

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No, not really. Google Map it & you will see - you would be walking the equivalent of about 3/4 length (or more) of the once international airport's runway, a series of turns to head toward Kwun Tong, to the Ngau Tau Kwok MTR Station, which is a little easier to walk to than the Kowloon Bay MTR Station.

 

A distance of 3.8 km or 2.4 miles - about 50 minutes, depending on your pace ... not a good idea with HKG's typical high humidity and most definitely, not in the warmer months (that's 3 seasons out of 4) At least, I would not - just take a free shopping mall shuttle, PMB (public mini-bus) or inexpensive metered taxi run to the MTR - sounded like you are on a port stop & not disembarking.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hong+Kong,+Kowloon+City,+%E5%95%9F%E5%BE%B7%E9%83%B5%E8%BC%AA%E7%A2%BC%E9%A0%AD/Ngau+Tau+Kok+Station,+Hong+Kong/@22.3103604,114.2037808,15z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x340401393471c50d:0xaf93263e70836e38!2m2!1d114.2139238!2d22.3053587!1m5!1m1!1s0x3404014904bcb80f:0xc1ad3aa24d84c483!2m2!1d114.2191418!2d22.3154622!3e2

 

Here's a taxi rider's view of the roadways from KTCT toward the satellite city of Kowloon Bay -

- both MTR stations mentioned here are the closest and they are behind the high-rise jungle you see in the distance at the beginning of the video.

 

Most definitely, not 10 or 15 or even 20 minutes - you will need jogging and/or walking shoes & water bottles for hydration, as you will be passing thru most industrial area & commercial warehouses along the way, not even a 7-11 as they are otherwise everywhere in town.

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I read a post on another forum where someone said they had been to Kai Tak Terminal and 'walked through the mall' to get to the MTR...about 10 minutes.

 

This seems to fly in the face of other things I've read about this terminal. Can anyone confirm this? I would much rather rely on my own two feet as opposed to waiting in line for a shuttle.

 

Does anyone know what station this might be?

 

Thanks.

 

There are two cruise terminals in Hong Kong. The one where you walk through the mall is NOT Kai Tak, it is the Ocean Terminal.

 

I would not recommend trying to walk from Kai Tak. Although the queue for taxis looks long, we found it moved very quickly. It's undercover so you're not standing outside in the heat.

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There are two cruise terminals in Hong Kong. The one where you walk through the mall is NOT Kai Tak, it is the Ocean Terminal.

 

I would not recommend trying to walk from Kai Tak. Although the queue for taxis looks long, we found it moved very quickly. It's undercover so you're not standing outside in the heat.

 

Agree, I would not walk from Kai Tak. Even if you had a google map, you might get lost. Also, it would be a bit of a walk.

 

Our ship had an overnight in HK and we took the ship's shuttle to a Mall to the north of the port, where there was a subway stop. Also, the Nunnery and a wonderful park were there as well.

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Kai Tak A/P legacy goes way back, pre-WW2 and even when it was modernized in the early 1970's with 747 jumbos landing almost over tree tops as it bank, turn & descent over the city ... urban planners did NOT take into consideration having a subway station nearby ... Wong Tai Sin and/or Diamond Hill was close enough from the Main AP terminal.

 

KTCT for cruise ships is basically at the middle/end of the extended/long runways, sticking out into the deep water channel ... that would require APM or shuttle connections, too expensive especially in the old days. Ocean Terminal has been around for 50+ years and served smaller ships well for decades.

 

Good news is that a new East West Corridor Link had been planned & scheduled for completion in about 2 years or 2018, not too far in the near future with a Kai Tak MTR Station. Bad news is that it's still well over a mile+ from the ship's terminal ... some sort of shuttle services, complimentary or for a nominal fee, would be mandatory - with provisions for pax with luggage, like HKG's Airport Express, on a smaller scale & much shorter loop - that's environmentally sound & green/eco-friendly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_West_Corridor

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On the drawing board is a light rail overhead system, in a circular loop, joining KTCT with two MTR stations and running the entire length of the old runway. The main purpose is to serve the developments on the other end of the old runway where a world class (so they say) sports complex will be built. The whole idea is that the old runway will be a car free area. The timetable is sometime 4 to 5 years later, depending on the progress of the construction of the sports centre.

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To appreciate the old Kai Tak Airport runway, here's a video from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIRSghAKpes
Thanks! I'd not seen most of those before. What a collection of botched approaches which ought to have been thrown away! As an industry commentator once said of one of these (which attracted some international notoriety, but is not in that clip), they provide "another significant endorsement of Boeing engineering".
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  • 3 months later...
To appreciate the old Kai Tak Airport runway, here's a video from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIRSghAKpes

 

Enjoyed watching the video about airplanes landing and taking off on the old Kai Tak airport n Hong Kong where the cruise port is now located at the end of the runway ( in the water of course. ) Thanks for sharing.

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The old Kai Tak Airport brought back a lot of memories. We used to live in Kowloon Tong, under the flight path, and saw that checker board on a daily basis. Never knew the importance of that checker board as a child though. This video has a detail explanation of the checker board. Enjoy!

 

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I read a post on another forum where someone said they had been to Kai Tak Terminal and 'walked through the mall' to get to the MTR...about 10 minutes.

 

This seems to fly in the face of other things I've read about this terminal. Can anyone confirm this? I would much rather rely on my own two feet as opposed to waiting in line for a shuttle.

 

Does anyone know what station this might be?

 

Thanks.

 

We took a free shuttle from the cruise terminal to the Diamond Hill station next to a mall and a couple of great sites to visit. The Buddhist Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden were built according to the style of the Tang Dynasty and are tourist attractions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Hill

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  • 10 months later...
I read a post on another forum where someone said they had been to Kai Tak Terminal and 'walked through the mall' to get to the MTR...about 10 minutes.

 

This seems to fly in the face of other things I've read about this terminal. Can anyone confirm this? I would much rather rely on my own two feet as opposed to waiting in line for a shuttle.

 

Does anyone know what station this might be?

 

Thanks.

DW and I walk a lot while traveling, but don't try walking to the MTR. Our ship had a shuttle. Also, taxis are available.

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No, not really. Google Map it & you will see - you would be walking the equivalent of about 3/4 length (or more) of the once international airport's runway, a series of turns to head toward Kwun Tong, to the Ngau Tau Kwok MTR Station, which is a little easier to walk to than the Kowloon Bay MTR Station.

 

A distance of 3.8 km or 2.4 miles - about 50 minutes, depending on your pace ... not a good idea with HKG's typical high humidity and most definitely, not in the warmer months (that's 3 seasons out of 4) At least, I would not - just take a free shopping mall shuttle, PMB (public mini-bus) or inexpensive metered taxi run to the MTR - sounded like you are on a port stop & not disembarking.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hong+Kong,+Kowloon+City,+%E5%95%9F%E5%BE%B7%E9%83%B5%E8%BC%AA%E7%A2%BC%E9%A0%AD/Ngau+Tau+Kok+Station,+Hong+Kong/@22.3103604,114.2037808,15z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x340401393471c50d:0xaf93263e70836e38!2m2!1d114.2139238!2d22.3053587!1m5!1m1!1s0x3404014904bcb80f:0xc1ad3aa24d84c483!2m2!1d114.2191418!2d22.3154622!3e2

 

Here's a taxi rider's view of the roadways from KTCT toward the satellite city of Kowloon Bay -

- both MTR stations mentioned here are the closest and they are behind the high-rise jungle you see in the distance at the beginning of the video.

 

Most definitely, not 10 or 15 or even 20 minutes - you will need jogging and/or walking shoes & water bottles for hydration, as you will be passing thru most industrial area & commercial warehouses along the way, not even a 7-11 as they are otherwise everywhere in town.

The way the terminal is laid out, it takes about 10 minutes just to walk from the ship to the terminal exit doors!

 

Suggest you wait for a taxi rather than taking the shuttle bus to a mall. When we took the shuttle we waited on the bus for 15 minutes before it left the terminal.

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  • 1 month later...
Any idea how much a taxi would be to the Star ferry please?
Red taxi's metered fare should run about $13 to $15, except at rush hour & in heavy traffic to Kowloon side of Star Ferry in TST.

 

via Nexus 5X on Nougat 7.1.2 using Tapatalk, VPN secured.

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  • 5 weeks later...
Red taxi's metered fare should run about $13 to $15, except at rush hour & in heavy traffic to Kowloon side of Star Ferry in TST.

 

via Nexus 5X on Nougat 7.1.2 using Tapatalk, VPN secured.

 

 

 

From Kai Tak cruise terminal to Star Ferry Tsim Sha Tsui, two fare calculators tell me it would cost HKD 135 to 140. Flag fall alone is $24. No way for $15 but you might be talking USD - strongly recommend you use local currency.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited by Bentleg
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From Kai Tak cruise terminal to Star Ferry Tsim Sha Tsui, two fare calculators tell me it would cost HKD 135 to 140. Flag fall alone is $24. No way for $15 but you might be talking USD - strongly recommend you use local currency.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Confusion ... understood. I do appreciate pointing this out, weeks later & hopefully - still of use for the party in question. When I comment or answered questions, I do usually add USD or HKD when needed ... CC's site do not allow editing or changes after 30 minutes, sometimes - doing that on a smartphone or tablet on the go, can be challenging.

 

Mine was based on USD with a 1:7.75 conversion/exchange rate, including a 10% tip for the driver, that's above what locals generally leave as "loose or spare change" via the shortest route via the KT Tunnel in East Kowloon, thru To Kwa Wan for Hung Hom to TST.

 

There are 3 or more routes between these 2 points, the longer "scenic" highway route is easily 5 km further in distance, thus higher fares - regardless of the currency, time of day/day of the week and traffic congestion en route.

 

Cruise passenger's experience waiting in the queue, riding the taxis and fare costs seemed to vary a bit - and, in HK's overall urban congested roadways & limited-elevated highways, getting around in a metered fare taxi isn't a wise or smart choice ... the efficent MTR subway trains, suburban rail, light rails, buses, PMB and ferry systems are the mode of choice for transportation.

 

Frankly, I would advise not to take a 20 to 40 minutes taxi ride for $100 to $130 HKD, before any tipping (convert to your local or home currency, as desired) just to get to Star Ferry for that $3 HKD ferry ride, across the shrinking Victoria Harbo(u)r lasting all of 10 minutes ... as the nearest MTR stations on either side are quite a few blocks of walking to/from - in getting to other popular tourist "must do's" like the lower terminus for the Peak Tram. There are other & better ways to getting around - tips & guides well written in the HK Tourism Board's website.

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