Hong Kong: What to Know Before You Go

Short answer: add an Octopus card to Apple Wallet or pick up a physical card at the airport, carry a few hundred Hong Kong dollars in cash for small noodle shops and markets, board Hong Kong Island's double-decker trams at the back door and pay when exiting at the front, and never eat or drink inside MTR stations.

Octopus card, contactless transit and Ding Ding tram rules

Hong Kong's public transport system is effortless once you hold an Octopus card (Baat Daat Tung). You can load the Octopus for Tourists app directly onto an iPhone or Apple Watch using a foreign bank card, or buy a physical card at the airport MTR counter. Octopus works everywhere: on all MTR metro lines, the Star Ferry, outlying island ferries, the Peak Tram, city buses, convenience stores, bakeries and fast-food counters. While MTR gates and most buses now also accept contactless Visa and Mastercard taps, Octopus remains faster and works in thousands of small retail shops. When riding the historic double-decker Ding Ding trams along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, always board through the rear turnstile, climb immediately to the upper deck for street views, and tap your Octopus card or drop exact coins at the driver's box as you exit through the front door.

Hong Kong dollars (HKD), cash-only stalls and table tea

Hotels, malls and restaurants in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui take credit cards, but classic wonton noodle shops, roast-meat counters, cha chaan teng diners and street markets often accept only Hong Kong dollar cash or local Octopus taps. Three separate commercial banks (HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China) issue Hong Kong banknotes, so notes of the same denomination can look completely different in design while sharing the same colour scheme.

MTR rules and Cantonese teahouse customs

Like Taipei and Singapore, Hong Kong strictly prohibits eating or drinking inside paid MTR station concourses and train carriages. At a traditional dim sum restaurant, tap two bent fingers lightly on the tablecloth when someone pours tea into your cup as a silent Cantonese gesture of thanks, and lift the teapot lid slightly when the pot needs refilling with hot water. Compare areas in where to stay in Hong Kong.