Not the best how to get to directions ever published!

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Photo of the day No. 6 - Peak Tram Terminus Hong Kong

Not the best how to get to directions ever published!

The Iconic Peak Tram Hong Kong - Garden Road Terminus

click on the image to enlarge

Learn more | The Peak Tram Official Website

Learn more | please do read the Peak Tram Tripadvisor reviews

Taking the Peak Tram to or from Victoria Peak in Hong Kong is for many tourists a must do and whilst I agree with that assessment I would also say you only have to do it one way and for me going down is much more exciting than going up!.. and yes, I have been on the Peak Tram many thousands of times since January 2nd 1972.

I want to make it very clear at the outset that I am a huge fan of the Peak Tram, I always have been but in the past 15 years or so, what should be a memorable and iconic experience has degraded somewhat because of the quest for profits by the Peak Tram Company which is owned by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Group (ie the Peninsula Hotel Group).

I hate travel cliches and I hate to say this but the Peak Tram and Peak Tower have turned into the worst sort of Tourist Traps and in the quest to recoup the cost of the major overhaul to the Peak Tram which was completed in 2022, prices have soared, this has not stopped it from being one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong though.

Last October I wrote a very detailed blog post with images related to the subject matter (see link below) so you need to read this as I do not want to duplicate too much.

Learn more | Read my full blog post with images about the Peak Tram in Hong Kong “How to get to” the Central Terminus on Garden Road that I published in October 2024

The crux of the matter is very simple, the Peak Tram Company has been around since 1888 so they have a bit of history and I am not knocking their ability to operate this Hong Kong Icon, what I cannot understand is that they make mistakes and have lost sight of the iconic status of the Peak Tram, they seem intent on selling as many tickets as possible and packing the tram to capacity.

This is the same company that operates the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong (and around the )which is another Hong Kong Icon and where possible I make a point of stopping in the magnificent Hotel Lobby on my private tours, you simply cannot imagine the Hotel dropping standards (the Hotel has been around since 1928) and as an aside, the building on top of the Peak Tram Terminus on Garden Road, St. Johns Building is also owned by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Group.

The How to get to the Peak Tram Central Terminus in Hong Kong guide is exactly what they needed to do, it is in an awkward spot opposite the American Consulate on Garden Road in Central and trust me, many people get lost, so they have done the right thing.

I have no idea who they assigned to write the How to get to guide to the Peak Tram but whoever did it clearly did not do any research at all and has little understanding of human nature and worse, no idea of how to make a 15 minute walk interesting from a tourists point of view.

Again, please read my blog post. (click on the link above)

In a nutshell the glaring error is telling you to exit the Central Subway Station via an exit that has 50 steep steps when another exit which is closer to the platform where the train stops has escalators, this is not a small matter and the correct exit takes you into Statue Square which is the heart of the business district and colonial Hong Kong, so much history!

Learn more | My blog post - The modern history of Statue Square Hong kONG

Something I did not dwell on in my October 2024 blog post is the glaring omission from the How to get to the Peak Tram guide and that is the length of the queue which gets NO mention at all and frankly the queues are horrible.

If it was me running the company I would mention that queues are a real issue and give more practical advice on how to time their visit to lessen the time they spend waiting to get on the tram. …. however I do not operate the tram and I totally understand the corporate mentality in play which is simply to maximise profits, they want as many people as possible to use the Peak Tram., I should point out that I think most people would not mind waiting for a while in air conditioned comfort but imagine their shock when confronted to 500 - 1,000 people in the line, many of them having booked online which grants them priority lane access.

As is usual the corporate mentality is to hide important information in the small print, they offer up some advice which suggests that if you book online you get “priority lane access” which these days has no meaning at all unfortunately.

I do not know what percentage of tourists buy a Peak Tram Ticket online but I am guessing probably around 80% these days and you also have to factor in that many Tour Groups arrive by bus all day and all the passengers (20 - 60 per bus) have pre paid tickets also granting access to the priority lane access line.

The problem is simple, there are far too many people booking online in relation to the capacity of the tram and from where I am standing the upgrade project which was completed in 2022 which was supposed to have solved the problem of massive queues has NOT happened and dare I say it, it has gotten much worse.

What would be beneficial to tourists is having a crowd control cam at the Garden Road Terminus, one inside the terminus and one outside the terminus so people can check on how busy it is and then decide whether to ride the tram up. Again I doubt the Peak Tram Company will consider this essential customer service.

If you read the Tripadvisor reviews they are still having major problems with queues going up and down, increasing the capacity of the Peak Tram from 120 passengers to 210 passengers has not helped much at all, basic mathematics really,

The tram capacity is 210 people with 43 people standing (which is NOT a pleasant experience)

The frequency of the tram is on average 15 - 20 minutes as stated on their website

If there are just 500 people in the queue you are still looking at a waiting time of 30 - 45 minutes minimum

… and weekends and public holidays are just awful, with waiting times approaching 90 minutes or more.

Given that I imagine the overwhelming majority of people purchase tickets online or use the Octopus Card and not forgetting tour grroups which gives them priority lane access as well then how does this help? If you have 500 people in the priority access line you are still going to wait a long time! given the trams capacity and frequency and if you get your timing wrong going down is a nightmare, the queuing situation in the Peak Tower going down has not changed at all, it is still a nightmare. most people will still have to queue up outside

Personally I think it still best to go up in a taxi or the No. 15 bus and come down on the tram assuming that your timing is spot on.

It is funny that a recent decision on December 31st 2024 highlights their sell as many tickets as possible mentality, prior to this date they actually offered cheaper prices for the Peak Tram if you rode it during off peak hours and they charged much higher prices during peak hours and weekends and public holidays, this did have some effect on reducing queues but not surprisingly they have scrapped this in favour of the historic practice of one price and naturally you are paying the higher price and not the discounted price (since 1st January 2025)

Some of the corporate blurb I have seen mentions that the newly upgraded Peak Tram Terminus on Garden Road now can hold 1,300 people in air conditioned comfort, just this simple fact tells you the sort of lines you can expect, particularly when often you still see massive queues outside the terminus as well, it is very considerate of them to make the new terminus interesting and air conditioned but you are standing in a crush of people and when it is time to board the tram, well all bets are off and the pushing and shoving is a real nightmare as people vy for the best seats.

As they say, you have been warned.

A piece of practical advice, when you go down on the tram, the very best seats are right at the front of the tram and trust me, the experience going down is much more interesting and one part of the trip down is simply amazing, you will know what I am talking about when you see it. As a Private Tour Guide I know these things and quite often I will join the line waiting for the tram and let everyone get on and simply wait for the next tram which guarantees the front seats. You cannot experience the experience I am talking about on the journey going up, only when you go down, the moment is well worth the price of riding the tram!

Learn more | Please read my blog post on the 16 myths of Victoria Peak, essential reading!

Finally please note that when you go up on the Peak Tram you exit into the Peak Tower which is owned by the Peak Tram Company, this is a horrible, horrible experience and there is a much better place to see the views (see link above and the links below.) The price to see the view is very expensive when you can see a better view or even the same view for free in other locations at Victoria Peak.

I still believe the Peak Tram is iconic and a must do experience when in Hong Kong, I have been riding it since January 2nd 1972 but you must factor in the issues of queues and avoid the Peak Tower and get your timing right for the best experience.