Hi
What is the best way to travel from Hong Kong to Beijing and is it difficult to arrange. Thanks
Travel from Hong Kong to Beijing
Direct flight is much more expensive. There are constantly cheap flight from Shenzhen to Beijing. By train from KH to SZ is about half an hour. But you should count the time to the airport.
hi rick2u,
it really depends on what you want out of the "best way" .. it is pretty simple to book a flight either direct to beijing from hk airport (most convenient and fastest way there), but it will cost you quite a bit more than flying from shenzhen. best way to shenzhen airport is the ferry and then take the free shuttle bus to the airport. will add at least a couple of hours on to the travel time to beijing though. on the other hand if you want the experience of travelling by train this is also possible. haven't done it myself but my in-laws did when they visited us in hk. they really enjoyed the trip but they like that kind of stuff 
hard to give you the "best" way without criteria to base this on, but hope that helps a little.
ps - for cheap flights shenzhen - beijing try a local travel agent in HK, its easier than trying to book online.
can someone elaborate on the Ferry from HK to Shenzhen. Is that cheaper than the train option? I know shenzhen does not require a tourist visa???
I travelled from Beijing to Hong Kong by train, which, though opposite of what you are doing, should still somehow allow me to provide some insight...
The views are interesting. From Beijing towards Hong Kong, lots of agriculture is seen. Approaching Hong Kong, it is very mountainous, and so you get lots of tunnels and mountain views.
The train you would want is the T98 from Hong Kong to Beijing (T97 runs the return trip). Information can be obtained from the KCRC website on the train. The train runs every other day, which day, though, depends on the month of travel. In July, the train is running on even days, in August on odd days (future months are not yet listed on the website).
The train departs Hong Kong (Hung Hom station) at 15:16, arrives in Beijing at Beijing West station at 15:41 the next day (just over 24 hours travel). Obviously, it includes time to cross the border.
According to The Man in Seat 61, "be warned, the Beijing-Hong Kong through train is very popular, and gets booked up well in advance..!"
The cost, in November 2005, was Beijing - Hong Kong = 646 RMB ($US 79.87 at 2005 exchange rates) for open dorm style sleeper (middle bunk), though of course I originated in Beijing, so the price was in RMB. The website lists prices for the classes of service.
- Deluxe Soft Sleeper - $1191
- Soft Sleeper - $934
- Hard Sleeper - $601 Lower, $587 Middle, $574 Upper
There are potential discounts, but I don't know what for. You'll have to follow up with the train company. I assume the above are in Hong Kong Dollars, which converts (currently) at 1.00 USD = 7.81670 HKD.
Cheers,
Greg
[ Edit: Edited on Jul 12, 2007, at 1:32 PM by GregW ]
Just that? from HUNG HOM station and you pay less than a 100 US dollars for small bed and you are off to Beijing??? No need to stop and ride buses and stuff. No need to take a bus to Guandong or Shenzhen?
can people get off in Shanghai?
Quoting Swept Away
Just that? from HUNG HOM station and you pay less than a 100 US dollars for small bed and you are off to Beijing??? No need to stop and ride buses and stuff. No need to take a bus to Guandong or Shenzhen?
can people get off in Shanghai?
There are 3 lines, Beijing Line,Guangdong Line and Shanghai Line.
If you want to go to Shanghai, it takes you 20 hours (leave at 1516 in hunghom and arrive shanghai the next day 11:10), the train no. is T100.
You just need to arrive at Hunghom Station 50 minutes before the departure time for immigration formalities, better buy the tickets before the day of departure.
For the ticket far, there are also several types:
deluxe soft sleeper: $1039
soft sleeper: $825
hard sleeper: Lower/Middle/Upper: $530/519/508
What about HK to Guangzhou?
Is it cheaper to travel by land from Macau???
I assume you don't need a tourist Visa to enter Macau, like HK.
Lastly, are there hostels in Guangzhou? and how much is the most affordable?