Victoria Peak, commonly known as The Peak, is a top tourist attraction in Hong Kong, drawing over 7 million visitors annually. It’s the highest peak on Hong Kong Island, and on clear days, it offers breathtaking panoramic views of Victoria Harbour, the city, and the New Territories. At night, Victoria Peak becomes even more remarkable as the city lights sparkle. The Symphony of Lights, a nightly spectacle that starts at 8 pm, adds to the beauty.

During our most recent trip to Hong Kong, we revisited Victoria Peak, and it felt like a redemption journey. Our first visit, 20 years previously, was marred by heavy fog that obscured the view. This time, luck was on our side, and we were treated to the awe-inspiring vistas that make The Peak famous.

This article will help you purchase your Victoria Peak Tram tickets. The rest of this article explains what to do at Victoria Peak and includes detailed information on the Victoria Peak tram service. The article also explains other ways to get to Victoria Peak, including bus, taxi and hiking trails.

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Victoria Peak Tram Tickets

Here is a quick summary of how to book Victoria Peak tram tickets online through Klook, KKDay, Get Your Guide and Viator. The key advantage of booking skip the queue tickets through online providers is that you save time by avoiding lengthy queues. The various ticket types below can also help save you money compared to booking directly.

The two Victoria Peak Tram Terminuses have ticket offices to purchase tickets directly. There are various ticket options available, including Peak Tram tickets only, Sky Terrace 428 tickets only and a Peak Tram Sky pass which is a combo ticket for both the Peak Tram and Sky Terrace 428.

Klook’s main ticket option is the Peak Tram Sky Pass which includes tram tickets and you can choose to include Sky Terrace entry. If you have made a short notice decision to visit the Peak and the queues are quite short this is a good option for you as it will save you a bit of money. If you have the Klook on your phone, you can book immediately and get instant confirmation. Then it’s as simple as showing the Peak Tram ticket office the QR code on your phone and you will be given your tickets. Click here to book your Peak Tram Sky Pass through Klook.

Another great option to check out is the Klook Pass Hong Kong, which includes tickets for up to 13 popular Hong Kong activities. You can choose to include between 2-5 activities and also add on premium attractions such as Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park tickets.

What to do at Victoria Peak

The main attraction at the Peak is the incredible view over Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour. However, many other experiences which can be enjoyed at Victoria Peak, including:

• The Peak Tower which is a 7-floor shopping complex containing the upper Peak Tram terminus as well as Sky Terrace 428.
• The Peak Tower also contains a range of cafes and restaurants as well as Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.
• The Peak Galleria which houses the public bus terminus as well as various eateries, fashion and handicrafts shops. There is also a free entry observatory deck.
• Hong Kong Island Visitor Information Centre located between The Peak Tower and The Peak Galleria.
• Mount Austin Playground is a 300 metre (0.2 miles) 6-minute walk from The Peak Tower. It has some well-kept gardens and a relaxing atmosphere with benches, pagodas, play equipment and plenty of space to run and play. Here’s a video of the playground.
• Victoria Peak Garden is a 1.1 km (0.7 mile) 20-minute walk away from The Peak Tower via Mount Austin Road. The garden offers a sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the Tower and Galleria areas and has stunning views over Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour. The former Mountain Lodge, the alternate residence for the Governor of Hong, used to be located on the site of the garden.
• Victoria Peak is also a great accessible attraction in Hong Kong, with the tram enabling people with folding wheelchairs to enjoy the ride. There is also an accessible hiking trail at the peak to see amazing views over Hong Kong.

Victoria Peak Opening Hours

The Peak as a whole is considered to be the area around Victoria Peak and is arguably Hong Kong’s most exclusive neighbourhood. It is a public space and does not have any opening or closing times. Therefore, there are no general Victoria Peak hours that apply consistently to all experiences and attractions. Public spaces such as Victoria Peak Garden are open 24 hours a day. However, many of the most popular attractions on the peak do have set hours which we’ll go into more detail about later in this article.

How to Get to Victoria Peak Hong Kong

There are four main ways to get to Victoria Peak: by tram, bus, taxi or hiking. The most popular way to get to The Peak Hong Kong is by tram. In this article, we will provide you with lots of information and tips on the Victoria Peak Tram. Further down in the article, we will also provide you with information about how to go to the Peak by bus, taxi, private transfer and hiking.

Victoria Peak Tickets

Victoria Peak itself is free. There are both free and paid experiences, activities and attractions on the Peak. You can pay separately for many popular attractions, including the Victoria Peak tram, Sky Terrace 428 and Madame Tussauds or buy them in various combo ticket packages. There is not one The Peak Hong Kong ticket that combines everything into one ticket. More details on the cost of these attractions are further on in this article.

About the Victoria Peak Tram

The Victoria Peak tram began operating 130 years ago in 1888. It is one of the steepest funicular railways in the world. The first generation of trams had 30 seats and no doors. The tram was used by both affluent and working class people, with first, second and third-class seats available. Peak tram tickets ranged from 10 cents for a one-way third-class ticket to 30 cents for a first-class ticket. The first two seats of the tram were set aside specifically for the British Governor.

In its initial year of service, the Peak Tram carried 150,000 passengers. Nowadays, the tram carries over 6 million passengers per year. Here’s a great article if you are interested in the history of the Victoria Peak tram. When you catch the Peak Tram you are experiencing a piece of Hong Kong’s history particularly if you take the time to see the Peak Tram Historical Gallery.

The Peak Tram is the most entertaining and interesting way to reach the Peak. On our journey to the top of Victoria Peak, the steepness of the journey really pushed us into the backs of our seats. The panoramic views over Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour were truly stunning.

Based on our experience, the best viewing points are on the right-hand side when travelling up to the Peak and on the left-hand side on the return journey. If you can manage to be near the front, you will also be able to clearly see where you are going. Being right at the back can almost be more fun if you don’t suffer from vertigo, as you will have a great view of the funicular rail line back down the mountain. This could be quite disconcerting though, as on the steepest parts of the track, it will look like a very long drop. The total journey time takes less than 10 minutes. Here’s a video showing what the tram journey is like.

Victoria Peak Tram Hours

The Peak Tram opening hours are from 7 am to midnight from Monday to Sunday, including public holidays. The Peak Tram Historical Gallery has the same operating hours.

However, you need to be aware that the opening times for some of the other major attractions on The Peak are different so take these into account when planning your trip up the peak. Opening times for other attractions are as follows:

• The Peak Tower – 10 am to 11 pm Monday to Friday, 8 am to 11 pm Saturday to Sunday and Public Holidays
• Sky Terrace 428 – 10 am to 11 pm Monday to Friday, 8 am to 11 pm Saturday to Sunday and Public Holidays
• Madame Tussauds Hong Kong – 10am to 10pm Monday to Sunday including Public Holidays
• Madness 3D Adventure – 10 am to 11 pm Monday to Sunday including Public Holidays

How to Get to the Peak Tram Station

The starting point to travel up to Victoria Peak is the Garden Road Peak Tram Lower Terminus. The Lower Terminus is an 800 metre (0.5 miles) walk from MTR Central Station.

Another option for how to get to the peak tram lower terminus is to catch Bus 15C from the Star Ferry Terminal or outside City Hall to the Lower Terminus. The journey time from Star Ferry Terminal to the Terminus is about 15 minutes.  If you have the time and are looking for a change of pace, the Lower Terminus is right beside Hong Kong Park and a short walk to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

The second terminus is located at the Peak Tower. A lesser-known fact about the Peak Tram is that there are four different request stops along the way located at Kennedy Road, MacDonnell Road, May Road, Marker Road. Most tourists won’t experience these stops as residents mainly use them and can only be used at non-peak times when the tram is not full.

Peak Tram Waiting Time

While the Peak Tram is the most entertaining and interesting way to get to Victoria Peak, the big downside is the wait time to get onto the tram. One tip to avoid long wait times on the Victoria Peak Tram is to get there quite early (before 9 am) on a weekday. The downside with this approach is that while the tram itself opens at 7 am, many of the attractions including the Sky Terrace 428 viewing platform, don’t open till 10 am on a weekday.

The queuing time for the Peak Tram can be brutal on the weekends and also gets worse as the day progresses on weekdays. Wait time normally peaks from about 5 pm onwards as the city lights start to come on. The return journey can also be lengthy later in the day, particularly after the Symphony of Light show ends at about 8:10 pm, with wait times of an hour or more not uncommon.

In our case, we hit the wait time double whammy as we went up Victoria Peak on a Sunday in the late afternoon. As we had not pre-purchased tickets, we had a wait time of just over an hour (but which felt more like two hours) from the point we joined the queue to the point we actually got on the tram. The wait time to get on the tram on our return journey was about 40 minutes.

We learnt a painful but valuable lesson from our time spent in a queue to go on the Victoria Peak Tram. Where possible, always pre-purchase tickets if they allow you to skip the queue!

Earlier in the day, we had caught the Ngong Ping 360 to visit the Lantau Island Buddha with pre-purchased tickets booked through Klook. This reduced our queuing time to almost nothing. Check out our Ngong Ping 360 article for more information on pre-booking skip the queue tickets.

We then spent a full day exploring Hong Kong, and by the time we reached Garden Road Peak Tram Lower Terminus, it was 4 pm, and we had already walked almost 20,000 steps (according to my trusty Garmin watch).

At this point, we all had sore feet, and we also had three irritable children. As a result, my wife and I were experiencing a major sense of humour failure, only to then be confronted with a large queue. It was made worse by seeing people who had pre-booked tickets through Klook skip the queue and pretty much go straight to the front of the line.

We went very close to abandoning our plans to visit Victoria Peak, and probably the only thing that kept us waiting was the fact that 20 years earlier, we had gone up Victoria Peak and been confronted with a complete white-out, so we didn’t want to miss the famous views from Victoria Peak again when we were so close. In hindsight, we were so glad we caught the tram up Victoria Peak, but would strongly encourage everyone to pre-book their tram tickets.

Alternative transport options

Apart from the Peak Tram, one of the more popular options to get to Victoria Peak is to catch a bus, taxi or private transfer service. Many people purchase a one-way tram ticket and then combine it with a bus, taxi or private transfer journey.

Bus 15 Hong Kong

The two main options for a bus to Victoria Peak are either Bus 15 or Bus 15B. You can pay for the bus journey with cash (but no change will be given) or with an Octopus card.

Bus 15s first stop is at Ferry Pier 5. More convenient points to catch Bus 15 from the Star Ferry Terminal (to Tsim Sha Tsui) or from Exchange Square Bus Station. The service runs every 7 to 15 minutes. Total journey time from Ferry Pier 5 to Victoria Peak ranges from about 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on traffic. For more information about the Bus 15 route click on this link.

Another bus to the Peak is Bus 15B but it only operates on Sundays and public holidays from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The Bus 15B service starts at Tin Hau MTR station and runs every 20 minutes. For more information about the Bus 15B route click on this link.

Taxi or Private Transfer

Another transport option worth considering is to catch a taxi to Victoria Peak. A taxi will cost approximately $US5 to $US7 depending on where you start from on Hong Kong Island and how long the journey takes. A more expensive and luxurious possibility is a private transfer from your hotel to the Peak OR from the Peak back to your hotel. Click here to book the private transfer service through Klook.

Hong Kong Peak Hike Trails

When we are travelling, we like to strike a balance between urban and natural experiences. Therefore, another interesting option that we considered for our visit to Victoria Peak was to do a one-way hike. Unfortunately, in the end, we ran out of time and energy. Here are some resources to help you explore Victoria Peak hike options:

• Hong Kong Peak Walking Tour
• Victoria Peak Loop Hiking Trail
• Victoria Peak Loop Reversed Hiking Trail
• Peak Circle Walk
• The Peak to Lung Fu Shan Country Club

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Hong Kong and Macau Travel Planning Facebook Group

Check out our Hong Kong and Macau Travel Planning Facebook Group – you are welcome to join and it is a great resource to enable you to ask questions about your upcoming trip to Hong Kong and Macau!

Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links.  If you book after clicking on one of these links then we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.