Hong Kong 6hourtransit - Could I visit Ngong Ping & Buddha in time?

[Dsty17]

Hello all.
I am arriving at Hong Kong T1 on Saturday at 1510 (3:10PM), departing later that day at 2110 (9:10pm).

Both flights are with Cathay (HCMC-HKG CX766 and HKG-CNS cx103) so I am assuming my bags will be checked straight through.

With 6 hours to wait, would I have time to go up Ngong Ping cable car and at least see the Giant Buddha?

It looks like everything shuts up there at 5pm, but at least we could do the cable car and enjoy the view!
It will be our first time to Hong Kong so I am completely unfamiliar with the airport, transport times or time to check back in and pass security etc.

Even if I had to take a taxi?

Does anyone know what gates these flights usually arrive/depart at?

Thanks

 

[wazza888]

You can try the Hong Kong forum @ tripadvisor. I can recall seeing a few post regarding that sort of question. Good luck.

 

[elbarto]

The big Buddha is near the airport. I think it's accessible by train, there's a outlet mall, a hotel and a lot of apartments from where you need to get the cable car so I would assume you can get off there. I think I did it in less that 6 hours coming from Kowloon. So in theory I think it's possible. Just be sure to get the right train. But I think the biggest issue you face is the amount of time.

 

[Simo]

Trip from City to Kowloon is app 30 mins depending on traffic.

Just do the cab when only there for a short time.

 

[amaroo]

I would think so. When we did it (not transit) the queue was massive however, it was Golden Week and mainland Chinese invaded the joint. After 45mins a lady approached the crowd flogging VIP private cabin - we jumped at it & were sitting in the car within 5mins. It's a fantastic cable ride & well worth doing.

Great view of the airport.....if you're a clock watcher - pay for the private cabin. The Buddha is impressive & worth the trip.

On the other hand you could catch the train into town, enjoy a star ferry ride, eat some great dumplings, have a foot massage & head back to the airport happy & relaxed.

 

[Mal]

I say easily doable. Cable car one way, bus back down makes an interesting journey.

 

[SeatBackForward]

You don't need to go into the City, the Airport is on Lantau island as is the buddha. If you catch the Airport Express Train, you want to get off at Tsing Yi, then double back to Tung Chung from where the cable car operates. More than likely there are local buses that service direct from Airport to Tung Chung too.

I would double check that it still operates as it has had a history of being shut down over the past few years. When I last went on it (several yers ago) there was another option to the VIP car, you could join the "Standing up" only queue which means just hat, you stand up in the cbale car, but its only a 15min ride anyhow..


Interesting factoid: This buddha does not face east like most buddha statues do, he faces towards Beijing.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

definitely doable.

I've been on it a couple of times most recently in JAnuary. It's virtually adjacent to the airport

 

[markis10]

The cable car shuts at 6.30 apparently:

Hong Kong airport to Big Buddha - Hong Kong Message Board - TripAdvisor

 

[serfty]

I've done it, it's a PoP!

It does close at 6pm weeks days and 6:30pm on weekends.

Also, be aware that it was closed for maintenance earlier this month (reopened 20th).

Take the S1 bus from the Airport to Tung Chung and catch the cable car to the Nong Ping 'village', then either the 23 bus back to Tung Chung if after 18:30 (or do the cable if early enough) and S1 bus in reverse.


Hong Kong Ngong Ping 360 Official Website | Attraction of Lantau Tourism

 

[mitwg]

I've been on the cable car very recently (this easter sunday actually) so I can confirm that it still operates. I did go in during the morning so had a relatively short queue (waited around 10m for the crystal cabin with the glass floors) and I bought the return ticket for $213 HKD so I jumped back on the cable car after an hour or two at Ngong ping and was literrally travelling solo on the return journey.

However by the time I got back to the main station, the queue was easily 10x what it was at 10am so the people lining up them would have had to wait a while I assume.

Btw, I also did try to initially go on easter saturday but when I got to the station, the cable car was shut off due to the rain so if it rains on the day, there's a high chance the cable cars won't operate while it is raining.

 

[Kangarucci]

Just this Monday we arrived at 2pm and waited 55mins to just to buy tickets! Fortunately, we bought the Crystal Cabin tickets, HKD $213, as the queue waiting around the corner for the standard cabins, HKD $135, were still quite long. We were worried about the queue coming back down as we were becoming short of time but as we had Crystal Cabins tickets we walked straight on. On returning to base, the queue was practically non existent. :/

Happily, credit cards are accepted. For the MTR Octopus card and the cable ride up to the Peak credit cards are not accepted.

 

[wazza888]

A warning to all, avoid whenever a long weekend in China. Was in a queue for over 2.5 hours for the cable car. Finally got to the cable car and what do you know .... all cable car rides cancelled due to incoming storm. Found out it was Golden Week on the mainland. Everyone then converged onto CityGate centre where shopping was just impossible. Total waste of a day.