Guangzhou is a city in the People's Republic of China, the capital of Guangdong Province. And Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the PRC. Not so long ago, the island nation was under the protectorate of Great Britain.
But even now, when Hong Kong de jure became part of the PRC, a visa is required to enter it, it has its own currency and, in general, it gives the impression of a completely different country. You can fall in love with this city-state only by looking at its photographs.
Futuristic architecture, entertainment and shopping malls in Hong Kong attract tourists from all over the world. Between Guangzhou and the island nation - only 180 kilometers. It would be an unforgivable omission to be in South China and not see Hong Kong. But the tourist may have some difficulties with crossing the border.
How to get around them, and how to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong - our article will tell. We will describe all the ways to travel to the island mini-state from the capital of Guangdong.
Visa difficulties
Citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are free to enter Hong Kong and stay there for two weeks. When crossing the border you will be given a migration card with the date of arrival. She must be shown to a passport officer when leaving Hong Kong.
Another thing is China. To get to China, a visa is required. It is disposable and multi. Before you get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, make sure you have a second type visa in your passport. After all, when entering an island state, you are leaving the PRC. And they will not let you into China anymore.
If the flight to your homeland is from Guangzhou, then big problems can arise. In principle, they are solvable. A visa to China can be opened in Hong Kong. But why do you need these difficulties? With a single-entry Chinese visa, you can come to Hong Kong on the way to Guangzhou or on the way back, flying home from his airport.
The distance between the capital of Guangdong and the "Pearl of the British Empire": ways to overcome
So, we have already resolved all possible bureaucratic issues. Having settled the visa issue, let's figure out how to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. Here you can use all types of transport, including even an airplane.
The latter option is convenient when you are not going to be in China at all, and Hong Kong is the goal of your trip. Then you are directly from the transit zone of the Guangzhou airport transfer to the liner to the island state.
But Russians have more chances to get to Hong Kong. After all, direct flights there are established not only from Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also from Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, and other cities of the Russian Federation.
The flight between two points lasts less than an hour. In addition to the plane, from Guangzhou to Hong Kong you can come by train, train, bus or sail by water on a ferry. Now consider all the options for the path in more detail.
How to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong by train
The easiest way to get to the island state is to take the direct express train. These trains depart from Guangzhou East Railway Station, that is, from Guangzhou East Station.
The first flight leaves at 8:19, and the last at 21:32. If you plan to return to Guangzhou on the same day, please note that at the latest when it can be done by express, at 20:01.
High-speed trains leave from Vostochny station every hour (depending on the time of day, more often or less). They reach speeds of up to 150 km / h. Thus, they cover the distance between Guangzhou and Hong Kong in less than two hours.
Arrives express train to Hung Hom Station. It is almost the center of Hong Kong. There is also the metro station of the same name. Traveling in a standard-class carriage costs 188 yuan (1,785 rubles).
If you didnβt buy a round-trip ticket, you will need to spend 210 Hong Kong dollars or 1,689 rubles to return to Guangzhou.
By train
Now we will consider how to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong by rail more budgetally. From the same East Station, electric trains go to the city of Shenzhen.
When you get there, you need to follow the signs showing the road to the Luo Hu Port checkpoint. Just two hundred meters on foot - and you are already at the passport and customs control.
After going through all the procedures (this usually does not take much time), you find yourself in Hong Kong. Remember that the island state has its own currency. There are exchange offices and ATMs right at the arrival station that will give you translucent colored pieces of paper - Hong Kong dollars.
To get anywhere on the territory of the island state will help the subway. From the Sheung Shui station, the A-43 bus leaves for the center. The advantages of electric trains are not only in the low price (79.5 yuan or 756 rubles). They ply much more often - several times per hour.
The first train leaves the Central Station at 4:39, and the last from Shenzhen - 22:40. In addition, there are several checkpoints in the border town where you can go to different areas of Hong Kong.
How to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong by bus
Why do so many travelers choose not trains or trains? Buses from several companies are convenient in that you do not need to get to the train stations. They pick up passengers from all the important hotels in Guangzhou.
There are direct buses from the airport and Disneyland. Buses run very often, especially in the interval between two and eight hours. The fare in comfortable double-decker buses is also lower than in trains.
But you need to inquire about travel time every time. It happens that some routes make a hook or often stop for disembarking passengers. Then the travel time is delayed up to four hours.
When thinking about how to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong by bus, you need to consider the possible queues at the border. Depending on which flight you board, the destination in the island nation will be Mongkok, Jordan (next to MacPherson Square), Tsim Sha Tsui, Disneyland or the Oceanarium.
The ticket price depends on where exactly you are going to go. To the city center - one hundred yuan (950 rubles).
On a ferryboat
There is another option, how to get from Hong Kong airport to Guangzhou, - by water. TurboJet high-speed ferries depart from Nansha Ferry Terminal.
It is very far from the center of the southern suburb of Guangzhou. Getting there is best by metro. You need the 4th line and the station on it Jinzhou. Please note that there are several ferries from Nansha Port.
If you want to get to the center of Hong Kong, you need the one that follows to the China Hong Kong Harbor Ferry Terminal. This pier is located near Tsim Sha Tsui Metro Station. If you suddenly have the thought of visiting Asian Las Vegas, ferries to Macau run from Nansha Marina.
Getting to Hong Kong Airport
The registration procedure for the flight, as well as passport and customs control are so tedious! Queues of passengers are especially depressing. But there is a tricky way how to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong to get a mark in the passport on leaving China in the capital of Guangdong.
On Tuesdays, Saturdays and Thursdays, once a day, namely at 9:30 a ferry from the Nansha port to the airportβs neutral zone. The ticket costs 265 yuan (2,516 rubles). Hong Kong Airport is a 50-minute ferry ride away.