Just been to HK. Tips and questions answered

[Guest]

Just had an amazing time in HK a fabulous city and would recommend to anyone.

For anyone who is going or planning on going and have questions/price guide or tips we learnt while out there, feel free to post and I'll try my best to help

[Ourdaybydesign]

We go next week!

We've got 2 day park tickets already and have a night booked at the explorers lodge.

We are staying 6 nights in the city first so intend to use one day of the park tickets then, then use the second day after we stay there which means we will also get a chance to use the hotel facilities the day we check in which I think my kids will love.

[Guest]

Sounds great, Hong Kong is just a crazy but enjoyable place and 6 days is plenty of time to enjoy the city. Are you staying on HK island or the mainland? Disney was very enjoyable and by MTR is only 20/30 mins travel. An Octopus card is a must to get when you there it will make travelling so easy.

[Ourdaybydesign]

Originally Posted by erniebert1

Sounds great, Hong Kong is just a crazy but enjoyable place and 6 days is plenty of time to enjoy the city. Are you staying on HK island or the mainland? Disney was very enjoyable and by MTR is only 20/30 mins travel. An Octopus card is a must to get when you there it will make travelling so easy.

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Thanks yeah we will definitely get octopus cards. We are staying at the Eaton Hotel in Kowloon.

We've got friends who live there which is why we are there for a whole week.

We are currently in Dubai then go to HK on Wednesday.

[SuzyM]

Originally Posted by erniebert1

Just had an amazing time in HK a fabulous city and would recommend to anyone.

For anyone who is going or planning on going and have questions/price guide or tips we learnt while out there, feel free to post and I'll try my best to help

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I'm glad you had a good time in HK! We are off there in August for a few days after visiting Japan. I am just in the process of planning my days. We are going for 4 nights which gives us 3 full days - we are going to do Disney on our last full day and perhaps return on our travel day, so that leaves us 2 full days plus arrival evening to explore the city a bit. This is what my rough plan looks like:

Arrival day - we get to our hotel in Kowloon about 3pm-4pm so just plan on looking round the local area and walking down to the Waterfront in the evening and watching the Symphony of lights

Day 1 - Buddha Statue and Ngong Ping in the morning until mid afternoon; break late afternoon back at the hotel; then ladies market and dinner in the evening.

Day 2 - Victoria Peak in the morning. Not sure what else yet.

Day 3 - Disney

Day 4 - Disney again possibly and depart for home.


Does that sound ok in theory and have you any suggestions for the rest of Day 2 after we have done the Peak - I am not sure how long that will take, so any suggestions welcome. It is just me, my husband and our daughter who is 15.

Thanks

Suzy

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Ourdaybydesign

Thanks yeah we will definitely get octopus cards. We are staying at the Eaton Hotel in Kowloon.

We've got friends who live there which is why we are there for a whole week.

We are currently in Dubai then go to HK on Wednesday.

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The hotels in a great location. Your closest mtr station is on the main red line which is the best line to get about hong kong quickly and efficiently. Hope you have a great time

[Guest]

Originally Posted by SuzyM

I'm glad you had a good time in HK! We are off there in August for a few days after visiting Japan. I am just in the process of planning my days. We are going for 4 nights which gives us 3 full days - we are going to do Disney on our last full day and perhaps return on our travel day, so that leaves us 2 full days plus arrival evening to explore the city a bit. This is what my rough plan looks like:

Arrival day - we get to our hotel in Kowloon about 3pm-4pm so just plan on looking round the local area and walking down to the Waterfront in the evening and watching the Symphony of lights

Day 1 - Buddha Statue and Ngong Ping in the morning until mid afternoon; break late afternoon back at the hotel; then ladies market and dinner in the evening.

Day 2 - Victoria Peak in the morning. Not sure what else yet.

Day 3 - Disney

Day 4 - Disney again possibly and depart for home.


Does that sound ok in theory and have you any suggestions for the rest of Day 2 after we have done the Peak - I am not sure how long that will take, so any suggestions welcome. It is just me, my husband and our daughter who is 15.

Thanks

Suzy

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Sounds like a great plan to me

Victoria peak can be as long as you like really. There's shopping centres, restaurants and bars all up there while you enjoy the amazing view. Personally the view is so much better at night and would recommend you doing it late afternoon/ early evening to get the best out of it. I would also recommend buying the peak tram fast pass ticket. It won't cost you much more than a standard ticket but will save you hours in queuing. When we got there the queue was 2 hours wait to get the tram, it only took us 20 mins with the fast pass and that includes the 8 mins it takes to get up to the top. Expect to pay roughly £9 each for your tickets.

The Nan Lian gardens was a great place to visit. It's a nice little haven in a mad city to spend a relaxing hour and it's completely free.

Won't take you long but the star ferry crossing from the mainland to the island is a must. Boats are very frequent with great views of the city and with the octopus card, will only cost you 25p each. Just a short walk from the ferry port is the best place to see the Symphony of lights show also. Pretty sure it starts about 7.45/8pm.

My biggest suggestion has to be eating at Tim Ho wan restaurant. There are 2 in the Kowloon area and it is one of the cheapest Michelin star restaurants in the world specialising in dim sum food. The foods just amazing, bbq pork buns were my favourite. A meal for 2 with drinks cost us £12.50.

Mong kok was great for shopping loads of choice with the markets and high end shops also not to mention the street food vendors, egg waffles were very nice.

As mentioned in previous post an octopus card is a must for you to get about easily and efficiently. From kowloon to Disney using the mtr will cost you about £1.40 each. It can also be used to buy food and drinks at many shops and get you from the airport to Kowloon using the mtr express train. Takes 24 mins and will cost you £9 each. A taxi will cost you between £35/40 and will take longer, traffic is busy on the roads.

Hope that helps and let me know if you need anymore info

[SuzyM]

Originally Posted by erniebert1

Sounds like a great plan to me

Victoria peak can be as long as you like really. There's shopping centres, restaurants and bars all up there while you enjoy the amazing view. Personally the view is so much better at night and would recommend you doing it late afternoon/ early evening to get the best out of it. I would also recommend buying the peak tram fast pass ticket. It won't cost you much more than a standard ticket but will save you hours in queuing. When we got there the queue was 2 hours wait to get the tram, it only took us 20 mins with the fast pass and that includes the 8 mins it takes to get up to the top. Expect to pay roughly £9 each for your tickets.

The Nan Lian gardens was a great place to visit. It's a nice little haven in a mad city to spend a relaxing hour and it's completely free.

Won't take you long but the star ferry crossing from the mainland to the island is a must. Boats are very frequent with great views of the city and with the octopus card, will only cost you 25p each. Just a short walk from the ferry port is the best place to see the Symphony of lights show also. Pretty sure it starts about 7.45/8pm.

My biggest suggestion has to be eating at Tim Ho wan restaurant. There are 2 in the Kowloon area and it is one of the cheapest Michelin star restaurants in the world specialising in dim sum food. The foods just amazing, bbq pork buns were my favourite. A meal for 2 with drinks cost us £12.50.

Mong kok was great for shopping loads of choice with the markets and high end shops also not to mention the street food vendors, egg waffles were very nice.

As mentioned in previous post an octopus card is a must for you to get about easily and efficiently. From kowloon to Disney using the mtr will cost you about £1.40 each. It can also be used to buy food and drinks at many shops and get you from the airport to Kowloon using the mtr express train. Takes 24 mins and will cost you £9 each. A taxi will cost you between £35/40 and will take longer, traffic is busy on the roads.

Hope that helps and let me know if you need anymore info

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Thanks so much for all this information - it is really useful. I will definitely take this on board. I thought that the Victoria Peak got very busy later in the day, so that is why we were going first thing in the morning, but I can change that to the afternoon if it is a better experience. Thanks for the fast pass suggestion. I will put the Star Ferry onto the list, maybe for the first night to watch the Symphony of the lights.

Thanks also for the suggestion of where to eat, that is really useful information as I would have probably avoided Michelin Star places assuming they would be too pricey. I think we are staying near to Mong Kok so it is useful knowing there is plenty of stuff locally too.

I will definitely be getting Oyster cards for us, how much would you suggest we load them with based on our number of days and plans?

Many thanks for all your help, it is incredibly useful, so I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Suzy

[Guest]

Originally Posted by SuzyM

Thanks so much for all this information - it is really useful. I will definitely take this on board. I thought that the Victoria Peak got very busy later in the day, so that is why we were going first thing in the morning, but I can change that to the afternoon if it is a better experience. Thanks for the fast pass suggestion. I will put the Star Ferry onto the list, maybe for the first night to watch the Symphony of the lights.

Thanks also for the suggestion of where to eat, that is really useful information as I would have probably avoided Michelin Star places assuming they would be too pricey. I think we are staying near to Mong Kok so it is useful knowing there is plenty of stuff locally too.

I will definitely be getting Oyster cards for us, how much would you suggest we load them with based on our number of days and plans?

Many thanks for all your help, it is incredibly useful, so I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Suzy

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Your welcome. I'll be honest you won't think it's a Michelin star restaurant when you walk in but the food is fantastic. They do pack people in so if your on a table of 4, if someone comes in to eat alone they will seat them on your table to use all the space possible.

Mong kok is where we stayed and we found it a great area for just about everything. It's also on the main red mtr line which can take you to the harbour ( 3 stops )and over to the island ( 5 stops )without needing to change lines.

Octopus cards will cost you 150 Hkd each (£15 ish ). £5 of that is used as a deposit so you start with £10 credit. An average 3 to 4 stop journey costs about 60p so you might not need to top it up too much. All mtr stations have customer service booths or "add value machines" where you add credit to your card very easily. Then once you have used it for the last time, take it to a customer service booth where they will give you back what credit you have left along with the £5 deposit.

Happy to help if you need any more info

[Ourdaybydesign]

Originally Posted by erniebert1

The hotels in a great location. Your closest mtr station is on the main red line which is the best line to get about hong kong quickly and efficiently. Hope you have a great time

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Thank you that's great to know. I've been reading your other tips too. We are planning 2 days at Disney, 1 at Ocean Park, 1 at the Buddha, 1 at the beach, 1 at the star ferry / wheel / peak then another day in the city too.