I was in Macau recently and took the ferry to Hong Kong. My hotel (The Kimberley hotel) was in TST, however. I took a taxi from the ferry terminal to my hotel, and the driver charged me $170 HKG. The meter showed around $70 HKG but he said I had to pay for the toll. I am curious to know if this was reasonable or was I ripped off?

Also, for future reference, could I have walked from the ferry terminal to MTR central, and just taken the metro? I only had a single light carry on. Thanks.

That depends entirely on which route he took.  

And although you probably did pay more than the cheapest route, it's probably correct.  
Here's why:-

Yes you have to pay the tunnel fee, and you have to pay the return tunnel fee.  But the question is which tunnel did he take?  

If he took the Central Harbour Tunnel (which has 2 lanes and is always very congested) the fee is $20.  Total surcharge $40 for the return trip.  
If he took the West Harbour Tunnel (which has 3 lanes, and is understandably empty for the reason you're about to discover) the toll fee each way is $50.  Total $100 for the return trip.  

Can't tell from the $70 meter: that's probably about right for the distance, regardless of the route.  However, if you were travelling via Central Harbour Tunnel at peak time you would have got stuck in heavy traffic for at least 15 minutes, and would have had to pay his idle time.  

Most likely he made the call to go the faster route ... which he should have asked you ... but taxi drivers can be a bit shy of their level of English.  

Did you keep the receipt?  Is it for the full amount you paid?  If so, and you went by the smaller and cheaper Central Harbour Tunnel, you can still complain to the authorities.  I wouldn't expect a refund necessarily (and how much hassle do you want to go through for $100?) but at least it would give him a slapped wrist and keep Hong Kong honest.  

For future reference:
Yes, there is a tunnel that connects directly between the Macau Ferry Terminal and Sheung Wan MTR.

And if you want to walk to Central MTR, there is an elevated walkway past IFC and Exchange Square, which would take you about 10 minutes at a gentle pace.  

Or if your destination is the West side of TST, you can walk to Star Ferry in about the same time as to Central MTR.

[ Last edited by  DArtagnan at 7-2-2013 13:28 ]

Next time if you go to any hotel just ask the doorman or other hotel staff time help you sort things out with the taxi driver

actually the return toll charge for Central tunnel is only HK$10.
Eastern = HK$15
Western = HK$15

did you take the taxi from the taxi-stand outside 7-11?
if yes, then definitely a rip off.
the most he can charge you extra is HK$50.
that's for the one-way Western tunnel charge.
because at the ferry terminal there is "Cross-harbour" taxi queue.
if you take taxi from this correct queue, there will be no return-tunnel charge.
if you went to the wrong queue, the taxi-driver will direct you to the right queue.

i often take taxi from the Sheung Wan ferry terminal to TST.
including one-way Western tunnel charge, mostly no more than HK$100.

but i can tell you this, most taxi drivers will be pissed off.
they queue so bloody long at the ferry terminal, then get a customer to go to TST, which is less than 3km away.
most of the taxi fare goes to the tunnel, so they earn peanuts.

As many bros said, the western is very expensive. you might reach 170 hkd in that case but it can be also much faster.
specify the central cross harbour tunnel if you dont want too expensive but in some cases, it could be very long... you wouldnt want to be late for a punt... would you?

Other options are, ferry, bus and MTR. combining is possible too... if you walk a bit to IFC and take the MTR to kowloon station and take the taxi, its much cheaper