One of the easiest ways to get to Southern mainland China if you’re traveling internationally is to land in Hong Kong International Airport and take a ferry from the SkyPier. What I didn’t realize when I tried to do this (and it’s not obvious from the many maps and websites I read about the SkyPier) is that you do *not* go through immigration to get to the SkyPier. Before you reach immigration, you go directly to the transit area and tram to the E2 ferry terminal.
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I missed this altogether, went through immigration and tried in vain for almost an hour to find the SkyPier, having received misleading info from staff, and then finally was told by a young woman at the airport info desk that I cannot go to the SkyPier once I have passed through immigration. Argh! So I had to take A11 bus to the Macau-HK ferry port (HKD 40, q20 minutes, takes about 40 minutes), wait in line to buy the ferry ticket, wait at the (rather nice mall-like air-conditioned) ferry station for 3 hours, then fight the chaotic masses of Chinese tourist groups pushing their way through escalators and lines to get into the ferry. The Macau-HK ferry port was a swarm of annoying tourists.
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The saving grace of this 4-hour detour was that I caught this lovely sunset and twilight over HK harbor:
SkyPier, which I managed to arrive at on the way back, was much smaller and calmer and well-organized.
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Ferry tickets from CKS can be purchased online: http://www.cksp.com.hk/en/ticket
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I did not find this website till I was in Zhuhai, and on the online receipt it says to not go through immigration. Tickets from Zhuhai to HK airport was 350 HKD or 290 RMB (about US$46) each way. It was too late for me, but if you go this route, hopefully not for you!
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So happy to make it to Zhuhai, along the lovely Qinglv South Road coastal walkway in the Gongbei district:
