Getting Around Hong Kong with Kids: MTR, Ferries, Trams, Taxis & Grab

Getting Around Hong Kong with Kids: MTR, Ferries, Trams, Taxis & GRAB

Before we landed in Hong Kong, I was quietly dreading the logistics.

It wasn’t that I doubted the transit system. Everyone talks about how hyper-efficient the city is. But staring at the transit map at home, trying to figure out how we’d navigate it all with two young kids in tow felt overwhelming. You have MTR tracks crisscrossing everywhere, harbor ferries, double-decker trams, fleets of buses, red taxis, scattered islands, tunnels, and massive bridges. On paper, Hong Kong just felt overwhelmingly huge.

As it turned out? Moving around was easily one of the simplest parts of the entire week.

We stayed for seven days and never touched a rental car. Instead, we walked until our shoes wore thin, zipped through underground stations on the MTR, felt the salty breeze from the ferry decks, hopped on the rumbling Ding Ding trams, and flagged down the odd taxi whenever little legs or our own tired knees gave out.

Against all my pre-trip stress, the whole thing just clicked.

The MTR Quickly Became Our Go-To

If you’re heading to Hong Kong, chances are the MTR will become your second home.

It’s quick, spotlessly clean, blessedly air-conditioned, and remarkably simple to figure out after a ride or two. Every station has clear signage in both English and Chinese, and trains roll in so often that you never even think about checking a schedule.

Those first couple of days, I stood on the platforms glued to the wall map, constantly second-guessing if we were hopping on the right line. But by the end of the week? We barely broke stride, just glancing up at the overhead signs as we walked. Even the girls had the whole routine down in no time.

Still, there’s one small detail you really don’t want to overlook:

Hong Kong’s MTR stations can involve a lot of walking.

You step off the train, hear the doors chime shut, and think you’re there except you’re still marching down endless tiled tunnels five minutes later. By the time you finally spot your exit, you realise there’s still a ten-minute trek on the street to reach the actual door.

If you’ve got little legs in tow, that extra underground marathon adds up fast.

We quickly learned to group our plans by neighbourhood instead of pinballing across town. Hong Kong throws so many brilliant family sights at you that you’ll feel pulled to cram it all in. Our 10 Things to Do in Hong Kong with Kids shows just how huge that list can get, but trust me, you don’t have to tackle the whole lot. Choose two or three spots. Take your time with them. Call it a day before everyone melts down your kids will definitely thank you.

The Octopus Card Makes Everything Easier

You’ll bump into the Octopus Card almost the minute you arrive, and with kids in tow, it’s a lifesaver. Instead of digging for coins or figuring out single-trip tickets, you use this one card for public transit and all kinds of small purchases across Hong Kong. No squinting at fare charts, and no waiting by ticket machines while impatient children tug your sleeve. You just tap the reader and keep moving. It made hopping around the city feel refreshingly simple.

And Then There Is the Star Ferry

The MTR gets you where you need to go fast, sure, but the Star Ferry is the ride you actually remember. We crossed Victoria Harbour this way several times during our trip. Even though it’s technically just public transit, it never felt like a chore. You step onto the wooden deck, grab a bench seat, and suddenly you’re right in the thick of it: towering glass skyscrapers, choppy green water, green hills rising behind the city, and tugboats chugging past. Best of all? It’s one of the few times the kids completely forgot to ask, “Are we there yet?” They were glued to the open windows.

We also booked an evening boat ride for the Symphony of Lights, which felt totally different. After pounding the pavement all day, just kicking back with drinks and snacks while the light show played across the skyline was pure bliss zero walking required. If that sounds up your alley, check out the Hong Kong harbour cruises on GetYourGuide. It was a good reminder that traveling with family doesn’t mean rushing around every single second.

Sometimes You Just Want to Slow Down

Then there are the Ding Ding trams. There was no way we were leaving Hong Kong without hopping on one. These narrow, double-decker relics rattle right through the gut of Hong Kong Island, and honestly, they couldn’t feel further from the slick efficiency of the MTR. The subway is built to get you from A to B as fast as humanly possible, but the Ding Ding? It just wants you to sit back and watch the city drift past.

We climbed the tiny spiral stairs to the top deck, squeezed into our seats, and peered down at the madness below. Neon shop signs brushed close to the glass, fruit sellers barked prices, and the crush of pedestrians and traffic seemed to fold right into the shadows of towering high-rises. It wasn’t about getting anywhere in particular; the ride was the whole point. If you’re traveling with kids, take it from me: you don’t need to pack every single hour with a ticketed sight. Grab an upper-deck window seat, let the breeze hit your face, and just see what unfolds outside.

Walking Is Part of the Experience Too

My feet definitely logged more miles in Hong Kong than I’d planned. Half the time, we weren’t even trying to hike between sights we just kept getting pulled along by the simple urge to see what was around the next bend. Hong Kong rewards that kind of wandering like few places on earth. You step out of a cavernous MTR station, blink in the daylight, and you’re in a whole new world: a steamy noodle counter wedged between glass towers, an open market thick with the scent of dried fish and fresh ginger, or a tiny corner shop selling things you can’t even name. Some alleys get so choked with foot traffic you genuinely wonder how anyone squeezes through. You miss every bit of that texture from the backseat of a cab. Still, exploring on foot with kids has a hard expiration point. Between the steep hills, the endless flights of stairs, and the dizzying outdoor escalators, you inevitably hit that wall where a small voice declares they are done taking steps forever. Whenever that happened, we took the hint and found ourselves a seat on the nearest tram or ferry instead.

The Taxi Rescue

Whenever we hit that wall, Hong Kong’s red taxis saved the day.

We hardly touched them at first, mostly because we didn’t need to. The MTR is brilliant, and nine times out of ten it got us where we wanted faster than sitting in traffic. But after seven hours on our feet? A taxi suddenly felt like pure luxury.

You know that feeling when everyone’s feet are aching, tempers are wearing thin, and the hotel feels like it’s on the other side of the planet? Sliding into that ice-cold backseat and sinking into the worn vinyl was heaven. No deciphering station maps. No crowded platform transfers. No endless flights of concrete stairs with exhausted kids in tow. Just straight back to our beds.

Getting around Hong Kong with children taught me pretty quickly that you don’t need one flawless transit strategy. You just have to know the exact moment to throw in the towel and hail a cab.

What About Grab?

If you’ve followed our trips before, you know we lean heavily on Grab. We’ve used it all across Asia, so landing in Hong Kong, my first instinct was to wonder if we’d be relying on it just as much.

Turns out, not really.

I wouldn’t plan your Hong Kong days around Grab at all. The city is packed with classic red taxis, and if you really want an app, Uber works just fine. Truth is, we barely felt the need to book a car anyway. The MTR subway was usually faster, the Star Ferry was far more fun, and rattling along on the upper deck of a ding-ding tram is an experience in itself. Whenever our feet gave out, flagging down a street cab sorted us right out.

If your muscle memory means tapping open Grab the second you step outside in Southeast Asia, adjust your expectations here. You just won’t need it.

Getting to and From the Airport

The airport run is a whole different beast, mostly because luggage changes the math entirely. Hopping on the MTR with just a daypack? Simple. Hauling two jet-lagged kids, multiple heavy suitcases, and an armful of carry-ons onto public transit? That’s an entirely different afternoon.

Hong Kong’s Airport Express train is remarkably fast, zipping straight from the terminal into Kowloon and Hong Kong Station. If your hotel sits right near one of those hubs, taking it is a no-brainer. But if your route involves switching lines, dragging bags through endless underground corridors, and navigating a massive station with cranky children, jumping in a red cab starts looking ten times better.

Honestly, this transit juggle is why picking the right home base matters so much here. The cheapest room in the city stops feeling like a bargain real fast if you’re stuck doing a twenty-minute uphill schlep at bedtime. Having an MTR entrance right outside your lobby saves your sanity. We break down which neighborhoods actually work best for families in our Where to Stay in Hong Kong with Kids: Best Areas for Families guide.

Ferries Can Take You Beyond the City

What really caught me off guard about Hong Kong was how easy it was to escape the glass and steel. Jump on one of the local ferries and within an hour you’re stepping off at Lamma Island, Cheung Chau, or tiny, quiet Peng Chau. Just like that, the whole trip shifts gears.

We loved being able to grab breakfast under towering high-rises, hop on a boat, spend the midday heat wandering along empty coastal paths with a cold drink, and still make it back downtown for dinner. That clash of dense city streets and salty island breezes completely reshaped how we saw the place. If you’re heading over with kids, do yourself a favor and resist the urge to map out every single hour. Give yourself the freedom to catch a boat on a whim and see where you end up.

And Yes, You Can Easily Get to Disneyland

If you’re bringing the kids to Hong Kong, Disneyland is probably penciled into your itinerary somewhere.

Skip the expensive taxi ride. The park has its own dedicated MTR line, so hopping over from pretty much anywhere in the city is dead simple. Half the fun starts on the platform anyway the second that Disney-themed train rolls up with its Mickey-shaped windows, the trip officially feels like an adventure.

Headed that way? Take a peek at our Hong Kong Disneyland guide, where I share how our own day played out and the little details you’ll want to keep in mind before you go.

So How Did We Actually Get Around?

The honest answer is:

We mixed everything.

On some days, getting around was completely forgettable. The MTR was just quick and easy, whisking us across town before the kids could even start complaining.

Other days, the ride itself was the whole point. Crossing the harbour on the Star Ferry ended up being a highlight, and hopping onto the top deck of a rattling Ding Ding tram was pure, cheap fun. We wandered on foot whenever we wanted to poke into alleyways, and whenever little legs gave out, we flagged down a red taxi without a second thought. Sometimes you just need the easy way out.

Honestly, that’s the trick to navigating Hong Kong as a family. You don’t have to stick to just one mode of transport. Take the underground trains when speed matters, but jump on the boat when you want the sea breeze in your hair. Ride the double-decker tram if you’ve got time to kill, and call a cab the second everyone hits a wall. Walk whenever the weather plays nice.

Looking back, our best memories weren’t the ticketed attractions. They were the in-between bits: resting chins on an open tram window sill, staring at the neon skyline from the water, stumbling across a tiny noodle joint down a quiet side street, or collapsing at a café table with cold drinks because we collectively threw in the towel for the afternoon. That’s why the week worked so well. We didn’t try to conquer the city; we just let it carry us along.

We just let the city take us along with it.

Honestly, the way Hong Kong moves makes it almost effortless to just drift.

Read our Hong Kong with Kids for more tips and inspiration.

Read our How Much Does Hong for more tips and inspiration.

Read our What to Eat in for more tips and inspiration.