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Tsim Sha Tsui StayThe budget stay guide to Kowloon, Hong Kong

Ward 02 · From the Airport

Getting from the airport to Kowloon

Bus A21 to Nathan Road, the Airport Express to Kowloon Station, and what replaced the old K5 hotel shuttle. Fares, times and last buses.

Citybus double decker parked at Hong Kong airport terminal with passengers loading suitcases under the morning sky

Every traveller to Kowloon asks the same question within an hour of landing: bus or train? The answer depends on where your bed is, what time you land and how many people share the fare. This ward compares the real options: the A21 Cityflyer that deposits you on Nathan Road a short walk from most budget blocks, the Airport Express that reaches Kowloon Station in twenty-four minutes, and the hotel shuttle network that replaced the old free K routes in 2020.

The fares are published as they stand, in Hong Kong dollars, with the last bus of the night and the first bus of the morning. A transfer planned before landing saves both money and the particular tiredness of dragging a suitcase up Nathan Road at one in the morning.

In this ward

  1. Red Citybus double decker on the airport expressway at dusk with suitcases visible in the lower deck windows and the control tower behind

    Airport bus A21 to Kowloon

    The A21 is the budget traveller’s classic ride from Hong Kong airport: a double decker that rolls down Nathan Road and stops a short walk from most guesthouse lifts, for the price of two airport coffees.

  2. Empty hotel shuttle bay outside Kowloon Station with a bench, a route board and taxis waiting in the dedicated pickup lane beyond

    The K5 shuttle and its successors

    Old Hong Kong guides still mention the free K5 shuttle from Kowloon Station. It stopped running in June 2020, and this guide maps the services that really carry Airport Express passengers the last mile today.

  3. Split view of an Airport Express platform with a sleek train at the door and a red double decker bus pulling away from the airport stop outside

    Airport Express or bus A21 to Kowloon

    One choice decides most of an arrival in Kowloon: the fast train that costs HKD 105 with an Octopus card, or the double decker that costs HKD 34.60 and stops at your door.

The prices quoted across these guides add up in our daily budget in Hong Kong dollars, and two neighbouring wards extend this one: Where to Stay and Neighbourhoods.