Insider tip - Skip the Peak Tram Line in Hong Kong
Purchase the special Peak Tram Hong Kong Ruby Pass
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 53 years - I know the place.
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Insider tip - Skip the Peak Tram Line in Hong Kong
Purchase the special Peak Tram Hong Kong Ruby Pass
click on the image to enlarge
The Iconic Peak Tram to Victoria Peak in Hong Kong
The Peak Tram
“As one of the city’s most iconic experiences with the best views over the skyscrapers and across Victoria Harbour, it’s no wonder the Peak Tram is a popular tourist attraction in Hong Kong and one that you should definitely not miss. Unfortunately this comes with consequences: it’s common to see long lines to get onto the Peak Tram and up to Peak which snake out of the building, up and around the corner and even across to the other side of the street. But fear not courageous travellers, there are ways to avoid the Peak Tram queue by shortening your waiting time or even skipping the line altogether.”
The blurb above is what is on the Klook (an online travel agent) website in Hong Kong and they have nailed the problem.
The Peak Tram Company has quietly introduced the Ruby Special Priority Lane Pass as at totally outrageous price (see below) but at least you will really skip the line going up and down and I guess that is the point!
The thing that I have noticed about the Peak Tram Hong Kong website which I have studied at length is it is very hard to figure out what tickets to purchase (they have a lot of combo’s) and they do not really address the problem of the massive lines they have going up and down on the tram 7 days a week anytime after 12pm to 10pm.
Crowd control is a major issue for them, I was on the tram yesterday March 9th 2025, going down from Victoria Peak around 1pm and the line going down was not too bad, the tram was packed but we got on, when we arrived at the Garden Road Terminus, honestly it was madness and mayhem, I estimated that based on the fact that they had a queue outside the terminus the queueing time was going to be awful. The terminus building holds 1,300 people and the queue was outside the building!
210 people on the tram with a frequency of the tram being every 15 - 20 minutes at best, do the math, you are looking at waiting for 60 - 90 minutes to get on the tram.
There is also considerable confusion about buying tickets as you can buy directly at the Terminus or buy online from seemingly hundreds of vendors and of course you can use the Octopus Card (Hong Kong Travel Card) and naturally Travel Agents who offer tours drop off 50 people + with prepaid tickets and they can get priority access, so you have a situation where the skip the line, line is longer than the normal line.
Which brings me onto the :
Ruby Pass for Priority Access to the Tram
I saw this in action yesterday but it was not quite what it seems, the Peak Tram Upgrade Project that was completed in 2022 fixed the issues at the Garden Road Terminus down town but NOT at the Peak Terminus in the Peak Tower building - the queueing area has at best room for 100 people all squashed together, there is a lot of pushing, shoving and shouting, I saw a couple use the Ruby Pass Access Line, they skipped the line outside but inside they still had to wait in the crush with no way to be first on the tram.
click on the image to enlarge
You can see on the image above taken outside the terminus at the Peak Tower at Victoria Peak, the Ruby Pass Access Point which comes in very handy if there are 500 people in a line (very common after 2pm every day)
So some improvement but NOT perfect, in the later afternoon and evening it is not uncommon to wait 60 - 90 minutes at the Peak Tower to come down so that is when the Ruby pass shines and is worth the extra payment
I have got no problem with the Peak Tram Company offering this Ruby Pass even though the price is extortionate, it is no different to Disneyland in Hong Kong and their “Get ahead of the queues with the Disney Premier Access Pass” There are plenty of people who value their time will pay the extra cost.
So there you go!
The image below is a very common sight at Victoria Peak in the afternoon 7 days a week, with many people waiting in the line for the Peak Tram which leaves from inside the Peak Tower on the left.
Timing is everything to avoid the crowds
go up on the Tram before 10am
go down on the Tram before 2pm
… and here is another of my Insider tips, please check the 2 links below for the weather cams that will allow you to assess whether the iconic views are visible or not and if you go this sites menu link “Victoria Peak HK” so will see all the articles I have written about Victoria Peak.
The amazing panoramic city view from the Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak
click on the image to enlarge
© Jamie Lloyd | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong |
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