Hong Kong

Hong Kong — the guide for Indian travellers

Country-wide essentials live on the Hong Kong guide — visa, money, customs and language.

Visa & entryHong Kong

Type
Pre-arrival Registration (PAR) — free, online
Fee
₹0
Validity days
14
Processing days
Instant (print the notification slip)
Documents
  • Indian passport valid 6+ months with 1 blank page
  • PAR notification slip — printed on A4, carried with the passport
  • Return/onward ticket and hotel booking (asked at immigration occasionally)
Steps
  • Register on immd.gov.hk → 'Pre-arrival Registration for Indian Nationals' — takes 10 minutes, no fee
  • Approval is immediate for most; print the slip. It is valid 6 months for multiple visits of up to 14 days each
  • A rejected PAR means you need a full visa (HKD 230, 4 weeks) — apply before booking non-refundable travel
  • Fill the Hong Kong arrival card on the plane or use the e-channel with the PAR slip
Alternatives
  • Entry visa (stays beyond 14 days / work / study) — ₹2,600 · HKD 230 via the Immigration Department; 4 weeks; needs a local sponsor or employer
  • Macau side trip — ₹0 · Indians get 30 days visa-free in Macau — no PAR needed there, but re-entering Hong Kong uses another PAR visit

MoneyHong Kong

Currency
HKD (Hong Kong Dollar) — roughly ₹11
Forex cards
  • Niyo Global — Zero markup; HKD ATMs at every MTR station (HSBC/Hang Seng)
  • Scapia — No markup; tap-to-pay works on MTR gates and Octopus top-ups
  • Visa/Mastercard credit — Accepted in malls, restaurants and taxis with a card sticker — not at wet markets or dai pai dongs
Upi supported
No
Upi note
UPI is not accepted. Locals pay with Octopus, AlipayHK and WeChat Pay HK — carry a card plus some cash.
Cash vs card
Card for hotels, malls and chains; cash (HKD 500–800) for street food, markets, minibuses and small taxis. Octopus covers transport and convenience stores.

CustomsHong Kong

Into india
  • Duty-free allowance ₹50,000 (returning resident)
  • 2L alcohol duty-free; gold above the free allowance must be declared
  • Electronics bought in Sham Shui Po count towards the allowance — keep receipts
Into destination
  • 19 cigarettes OR 1 cigar OR 25g tobacco duty-free — that is under one pack; declare the rest
  • 1 litre of spirits above 30% duty-free (wine and beer are duty-free without limit)
  • HKD 120,000+ cash (or equivalent) must be declared
  • No restrictions on medicines for personal use — carry prescriptions for anything strong

LanguageHong Kong

Official
  • Cantonese
  • English
English prevalence
Good in hotels, malls, MTR and anywhere touristy; patchy in wet markets, minibuses and older neighbourhoods. Signage is bilingual everywhere.
Key phrases
  • M̀h'gōi (唔該) — Thanks / excuse me — the all-purpose word
  • Dō jeh (多謝) — Thank you (for a gift or a favour)
  • Léih hóu (你好) — Hello
  • Gēi dō chín? (幾多錢) — How much?

Staying connected

Recommended
Type
eSIM
Partner
KKday
Plan
Hong Kong + Macau 1GB/day, 8 days
Price
₹550
Alternatives
  • Airalo Hong Kong 5GB / 30 days — eSIM · USD 12 · Install before you fly
  • csl Discover Hong Kong Tourist SIM — Local SIM · HKD 88–118 (8 days unlimited) · Airport arrivals, any 7-Eleven — no passport needed
Whatsapp text
Works normally
Whatsapp calls
Works normally
Free wifi
  • GovWiFi in parks, libraries and ferry piers
  • Every MTR station (15-min sessions)
  • Malls and most cafés

Airport to city

Options
  • Airport Express train — ₹1,300 · 24 · HKD 115 to Hong Kong station, HKD 105 to Kowloon; free in-town check-in the next morning. Buy 2-for-1 group tickets at the counter
  • Bus A21 / A11 — ₹380 · 60 · HKD 33–40 with Octopus or exact cash; A21 runs down Nathan Road past every Tsim Sha Tsui hotel — the value option
  • Red taxi — ₹3,400 · 40 · HKD 280–320 to Tsim Sha Tsui plus HKD 6 per bag; metered, cash preferred · Ignore anyone offering a 'private car' in arrivals — the taxi rank is outside Hall A
  • HZMB bus to Macau — ₹750 · 45 · HKD 65 direct from the airport over the bridge — no need to go into the city first

Getting around

System
MTR — fast, cheap, bilingual; plus trams, ferries and minibuses
Card
Name
Octopus
Note
HKD 50 deposit at any MTR customer service; works on MTR, buses, trams, Star Ferry, 7-Eleven and vending machines. Tourists can also tap a Visa/Mastercard at MTR gates
Ride hailing
  • Uber (works, taxis-only fleet in practice)
  • HKTaxi app
  • Street taxis — red (urban), green (New Territories), blue (Lantau)
Daily budget
₹700

Weather & packing

Best months
  • October
  • November
  • December
  • March
Monthly
  • Oct–Dec — 20–27°C, dry, clear skies — the best months by a distance
  • Jan–Feb — 12–18°C, grey; Chinese New Year closes shops for 3 days
  • Mar–May — Humid and foggy — the Peak view is often a white wall
  • Jun–Sep — 32°C, sticky, typhoon season — a T8 signal shuts transport and attractions for a day
What to pack
  • Compact umbrella (rain and sun)
  • Light jacket — MTR, malls and cinemas are freezing
  • Broken-in walking shoes — steps and slopes everywhere
  • Sunscreen for Lantau and the outlying islands

Food

Veg friendly
  • Chungking Mansions' Indian eateries are the reliable veg/Jain option in Tsim Sha Tsui
  • Buddhist vegetarian: Po Lin Monastery on Lantau, Pure Veggie House in Admiralty
  • Veg dim sum exists but say 'sik jai' (素食) — pork sneaks into most standard dim sum
Indian restaurants
  • Woodlands — Tsim Sha Tsui · South Indian pure veg since 1981 — dosa, thali, filter coffee
  • Branto — Tsim Sha Tsui · Pure veg, Jain-friendly on request, Gujarati thali
  • Delhi Club / Khyber Pass — Chungking Mansions · Cheap, authentic North Indian; veg and non-veg; cash
  • Chutney — Central · Modern Indian for a nicer night out
Typical meal cost
₹900

Safety

Scams
  • 'Monks' in Tsim Sha Tsui pressing a bracelet on you then demanding a donation — decline and walk
  • Tailor and 'copy watch' touts on Nathan Road — ignore
  • Taxis refusing the meter late at night — ask for 'meter' or use HKTaxi/Uber
Areas to avoid
  • None for safety — Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in Asia at any hour
Emergency numbers
  • Police / Ambulance / Fire — 999
  • Consulate General of India — +852-3970-9900
  • Hong Kong Tourism Board hotline — +852-2508-1234

Culture & etiquette

Dress
Casual everywhere; smart-casual for rooftop bars and hotel restaurants. Nothing required at temples beyond respect.
Tipping
Not expected — a 10% service charge is on most restaurant bills. Round up taxis.
Dos
  • Stand right on escalators, walk left
  • Queue for minibuses and taxis
  • Tap in AND out with Octopus
  • Carry tissues — public toilets often have none
Donts
  • No eating or drinking on the MTR (HKD 2,000 fine)
  • Don't stick chopsticks upright in rice
  • Don't block the escalator's left side
  • Don't photograph inside temples during prayers

Top experiences

  • Ngong Ping 360 & the Big Buddha — ngong-ping.jpg · 25-minute cable car over Lantau to the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery · ₹2,300 · 5 · Klook · ngong-ping-360
  • Hong Kong Disneyland — hk-disneyland.jpg · The compact, queue-light Disney — Frozen land and Mystic Manor you won't find elsewhere · ₹7,500 · 9 · Klook · hong-kong-disneyland
  • Victoria Peak — victoria-peak.jpg · The Peak Tram and Sky Terrace 428 — the skyline at dusk · ₹1,700 · 3 · Klook · victoria-peak
  • Star Ferry & Symphony of Lights — star-ferry.jpg · HKD 5 harbour crossing timed for the 8pm light show · ₹60 · 1.5
  • Macau day trip — macau.jpg · 45 minutes by bridge bus or an hour by ferry — old town, egg tarts and the Cotai resorts · ₹1,500 · 10

All experiences in Hong Kong · 3

Hong Kong Disneyland

9h · From ₹7,500

The smallest Disney park — and the easiest: short queues, a 20-minute MTR ride from the city, and two lands th…

Ngong Ping 360 & the Big Buddha

5h · From ₹2,300

A 5.7 km cable car from Tung Chung over Lantau's peaks to the 34-metre Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. T…

Victoria Peak

3h · From ₹1,700

The classic Hong Kong view — the skyline, the harbour and Kowloon beyond — reached by the 1888 funicular. Time…