Help me decide... Taiwan or Hong Kong?

John on 23/07/2013 - 02:20

Hi,

I would like to get some opinions. I can't decide whether i should spend my Christmas in Taiwan or a Hong Kong. I've only been to Hong Kong, but never been to Taiwan. And i dont have any friend who have been to both.

I'm going with my wife, my mom, and my 10 months old baby by December. My mom is one of the main reason we're going because she always wanted to visit China. But we're not sure which one she would enjoy more.

She’s into the cultural stuff. So I was thinking maybe Taiwan will be suitable. But not sure how baby friendly is it there, and if we will survive with no mandarin skill?

But maybe she would enjoy Hong Kong more because a lot of tourist flock there as their number one holiday destination in China. And having been there before i feel more comfortable with it.

So I'm split…

Can anyone ppease convince me… Preferably sometime who had been to both to make good recommendation based on experience

Thanks!

Travel

Comments

  • neosin on 23/07/2013 - 02:40

    last i heard Taiwan had crazy virus H something something lol!

    hk had it too but not as bad

  • BzL on 23/07/2013 - 04:37

    Definitely Taiwan. Went to hong kong and the locals say that Taiwan is the place they would go to for a holiday! It's what the old Hong Kong used to be before all the mainland Chinese invaded to buy toiletries, luxury goods, milk powder!

    • lplau on 25/07/2013 - 08:50

      Lol, Milk Powder. They have put in laws to curb that now. For people going in from HK to China.
      Each Person can only carry 2 cans of Milk Powder per day. So you don't get to see the amusing grannie who is pulling her trolly with like 50 cans of milk powder. LOL

  • sraymond on 23/07/2013 - 07:42

    I have been to both and if I could only go back to one I would choose Hong Kong.

  • zelda707 on 23/07/2013 - 08:07

    i would choose hong kong. You should have put a poll up

  • peter000 on 23/07/2013 - 08:58

    Have been to both places many times. Hong Kong easily wins by a mile.

  • ibelynn on 23/07/2013 - 09:00

    If your family is into cultural go to Taiwan.
    I have not been but there is a massive musuem there.
    It takes days to go thru it.
    When China fell to the communists, I can't remember his name, but the then leader managed to get something like 7 train loads full of china's heritage to Taiwan where it is now in the musuem.
    Just as well, as the communists destroyed so much, in the so called "cultural revolution".
    As for the baby. I imagine Taiwan is very modern.
    Just google taiwan and see.
    have a good trip

  • joni on 23/07/2013 - 09:28

    Hong Kong

  • scotty on 23/07/2013 - 09:29

    Taiwan for the the cultural stuff, for example all the national treasures they brought when the government fled there in 1949, museums & galleries & performance from indigenous people, etc.

    Hong Kong for shopping & Disneyland.

    how baby friendly is it there, and if we will survive with no mandarin skill

    Big cities (Taipei / Kaohsiung) would be alright I think. Lots of expats in those cities as well.

    It's actually hard to compare them though. Hong Kong is tiny & not much to see in my experience. However the city is very modernised and very convenient so would be a lot easier with a 10 month old. Shopping there was great, although less and less so these days.

    Taiwan on the other hand — half the size of Tasmania but about the same population as Australia, with a 4,000m mountain in the middle of the island — has a lot more to offer if you are willing to travel.

  • kirasuran on 23/07/2013 - 09:29

    Taiwan wins in every aspect! Extremely easy to navigate by their metro train system. Great food, great helpful people, great atmosphere very safe even at night in quiet streets (of course, never the best idea to wander quiet streets). Only thing is, less people there speak English than in HK - as HK is very westernised - but honestly Taiwan > HK (and my parents are from HK).

  • Johnjuan89 on 23/07/2013 - 09:40

    Hello
    I've being to both Taiwan and Hong Kong
    Both are quite nice although I'm not crazy about Hong Kong.
    I would definitely say Taiwan , it's half the price and If you leave Taipei city it has beautiful countryside and many tourist friendly areas and amazing sights.
    In Taipei , you can go to the zoo and catch this sky rail that takes you into this amazing mountain village which I forget the name and there's markets and quality local food up there , but I still recommend not staying in Taipei for more than a few days , there's only a limit of things to see in the city.
    Hong kong's nice and quite clean but I find it quite expensive for accommodation for what is it , it has shopping which is comparable with Taiwan and also Disneyland as someone else mentioned but I feel Hong Kong is just a city.
    You can also budget flight to Taiwan very cheap from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur

    Good luck and safe travels

  • geek001 on 23/07/2013 - 10:17

    I have been to Hong Kong, cross the border into China, then crossed the border into Macau and back to Hong Kong via ferry. Like a lot of people have said, HK feels like just another city. The thing that got me was all these "cities" in China easily with population in the millions, but no one has heard of these "cities". It made me realise just how "small" Australia is. That was a real eye opener. If you do choose to do what I did, the thing you will notice is that people smoke in just about every building in China. The only places where I could really breathe were HK and Macau. They seem to have anti-smoking laws in only those two places. But dining out in China was really cheap compared to HK and Macau. We had mostly meals from BBQ takeaway places in HK, but in China we ate like royalty for the same amount of money.

  • John on 23/07/2013 - 11:03

    Thanks guys! It seems like I'm leaning towards Taiwan based on what I read here..

    Where would be the best area to stay in Taiwan? If possible, we want places where we can just walk down the hotel to get some food without travelling all the time.. I'm guessing we will have to go back once or twice to our room during our stay.. just because we have a 10 month with us.. it would be too tiring for him to walk around all day long..

    I've read about so many districts.. like Xinyi etc.. but not sure.. when we were in Hong Kong we stayed in Tsim Sha Tsui.. which was perfect because everything is at walking distance

  • emiko on 23/07/2013 - 11:35

    Taiwan is good. The streets are not as narrow, and people are friendly.
    I am sure you can find help without mandarin skills.
    people there are all willing to help.
    I stayed in a nice business hotel called tango nanshi in Taipei.
    The are next to the metro stop and department stores around it.
    modern design hotel with nice breakfast included.

  • evol on 23/07/2013 - 13:32

    Go to both! :)

  • Archi on 23/07/2013 - 16:21

    Go to Taiwan from hongkong…

    It's cheaper… I joined a 5 day luxury tour with my wife which included flight accommodation breakfast and dinner and from what I remember it was no more than AUD$600 for the both of us. The tour was a Cantonese speaking tour that was good my mandarin skills are next to nothing..

    Very good but child friendly is not on the priority list with most Asian countries…

    Just gotta do what locals do even…

  • Jtin on 24/07/2013 - 23:39

    I just went to both recently during the last Summer holidays. I would personally say both are good for touristy things to do but most definitely Taiwan for the cultural heritage. Otherwise I would suggest Hong Kong for every other aspect, especially SHOPPING.
    I have very minimal Mandarin skills and I found it difficult to communicate with people in Taiwan, pratically no one (that I found) spoke English except at my hotel. I very much enjoyed Hong Kong because most people spoke English, otherwise most people at least understood English.

    In the end, I would suggest Hong Kong especially because of the language barrier (based on personal experience).

  • unloaded on 25/07/2013 - 00:34

    I love both places, watch this clip for taiwan, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpXyOY46Sc8
    but hong kong people speaks way better english…
    Shanghai is better than Beijing for shopping~

    Why not consider Japan for culture btw?

  • geforce2003 on 25/07/2013 - 02:33

    I am Taiwanese, let's say, if you want to celebrate Xmas, go to HK or "Taipei", only theose two places you can experience Xmas, but if you want to experience tasty foods or scenic spot, I would suggest you go to Tainan where is locate south of TW, you can have a lot of amazing food there and historical monument. Also, you can't miss the No.1 night market in Tainan.

    Here's some info abt Tainan for you reference

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tainan
    http://wikitravel.org/en/Tainan
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYZBEJj5kj8

  • lplau on 25/07/2013 - 08:46

    For me I'd go to Hong Kong. I've been over 10 times and i still love visiting there, especially for the food, there is so much variety.

    Maybe it was just how I pictured Taiwan which really let me down. Also this was on a trip which I planned to go to Japan first, which then Taiwan seemed so disappointing afterwards.

    You watch the Taiwaneese Dramas, and you think Taiwan is a glamorous place.
    However when I was landing in Taipei and went to the City Center, it is far from glamorous, feels more like going to any Chinese City. First thing I told my wife when we were landing into Taipei, "OMG This feels like landing into Canberra Airport".

    Hong Kong has more of a variety of foods e.g. from Hong Kong and from China, where as Taiwan usually only have Taiwan food.

    Don't get me wrong though, it is a place you'd want to visit at least once. But for me, I wouldn't be rushing to be back any time soon.

    If your mom likes Cultural things, take her for a 2 Week Japan Trip, I can guarantee you that it is ALOT better than going to HK or Taiwan.

    • scotty on 25/07/2013 - 09:05

      I'll say the food in Taiwan actually has a lot more variety consider Chinese from different provinces, different culture & different food all flooded into Taiwan after 1949 + the street food is pretty much everywhere.

      First thing I told my wife when we were landing into Taipei, "OMG This feels like landing into Canberra Airport"

      The "Taipei Airport" is actually in Taoyuan which is an hour drive away from Taipei CBD. It certainly feels very different to landing in Hong Kong, especially the old Kai Tak airport.

      But yeah in my experience HK feels more modernised & more visitor friendly.

      • retiredfeline on 28/07/2013 - 18:32

        You have to explain what Kai Tak is for the young 'uns, Scotty. :) It's been Chek Lap Kok since 1998.

        • scotty on 28/07/2013 - 18:36

          Oh the thrill of flying through the jungle of high rise buildings…

        • retiredfeline on 28/07/2013 - 18:37

          And reading the underwear labels…

      • Pumpkin_rrr on 28/07/2013 - 18:36

        Yes that reminds me of the food in Taiwan.
        Scotty you've got the keyword: it's "Street food" in Taiwan. Probably ok if you have an Asian appetite. A bit hard for Caucasian as they are mainly snack type. My husband and I are main-dish type, not dessert or snacks, so we much prefer the food in HK.

  • onlyletters on 25/07/2013 - 09:04

    lol u said MOM

  • ubor on 26/07/2013 - 21:20

    If it is around Christmas time, then I would say Hong Kong. The atmosphere during Christmas time is fantastic. You can see all the Christmas Lightings around CBD.
    https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sour…

  • gm3stevens on 28/07/2013 - 15:41

    If you have 10 days for the holiday then I would suggest you to go to both places.

    You don't need to spend more than a week in Hong Kong unless you are a shopaholic. Visiting the Peak, Repulse Bay, Stanley Market, Ngong Ping 360, Giant Buddha, Ocean Park, Disneyland, Lan Kwai Fong and the Temple Street Night Market shouldn't take more than 5 days, leaving you with 2 days for shopping.

    Taiwan is much larger than Hong Kong and that means you have to spend more time to explore it. However, if you only stay in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, 2 to 3 days is good enough for you to visit the National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall and Taipei 101 Shopping District. There are so many temples that after a while you will lost track of how many of them you have seen. Make sure you try the Shilin Night Market in Taipei where you can taste all the different snacks.

  • Pumpkin_rrr on 28/07/2013 - 18:25

    Given the following reasons, I would suggest HongKong:
    -you four dont speak Mandarin. HK has many English speaking population and English signs are everywhere.
    -its Christmas time- again, HK is more Westernised/ colonial
    -December is Typhoon season for Taiwan
    -your mom wants to visit China- by this I would imagine more of the Mainland China. You can cross over to Shenzhen or Canton quite easily.
    -cultural stuff. The "museum" they have in Taiwan is a joke. It is a mosquito compared to Beijing.
    -baby friendly
    -you have to HK so you can guide better!

    Sorry to other posters, we went to Taiwan but just wasnt too impressed. It's very industrial, not really cultural, quite a bore really. You go to 101 which they brag about and it is all Western brands. HK has much more Character in our humble opinion.

  • emiko on 28/07/2013 - 22:08

    Pumpkin you must joined the wrong tour.. I am wondering where you been?? There are not many industrial area in Taiwan.
    There are so many tourists from HKin Taiwan. There must be a reason for it.
    hk can be nice for the shopping and disneyland. Other than shopping n Disneyland, I don't think you can spend 10 days there!

    • Pumpkin_rrr on 28/07/2013 - 22:28

      Hi Emiko, sorry if I have offended anyone… Given the OP's circumstance, and the need to choose between the two, I picked HK.
      Our Taiwan tour was round-the-island this year, so I would like to believe we have seen most if not everything. The moment we touched Taipei, and then driving between cities and towns, they are all monotonous towns and cities. This is inevitable given that Taiwan is a small island and it has to depend on some technology. No doubt there are some pretty sights here and there, and we dont mind the hotspring, but it just became a bore after a while… Our coach took us all the way to the south-most tip, and it was just not worth it. Good experience, but will not go back in a hurry. And if the OP has other choices, hence the recommendation.

      There are many things to do in HK other than shopping and Disney. The temples, markets, islands, restaurants, shows, Star Ferry … The food is more main-stream rather than stree-food or snacks.

  • lindalin on 11/08/2013 - 12:21

    I think that depends on how long your holiday is. If it's over a week, I think you can go to both places. I can give you some opinions about Taiwan because I've lived in Taipei most of my life and traveled to other places in Taiwan as well.I'll go back to Taipei in August so I can show you around Taipei if you want.

    Like the comments mentioned above, there's not much christmassy mood in Taiwan or even in capital city Taipei. Because we're not so westernized so Christmas is not considered our holiday in our tradition. If you want to experience more christmassy,I'll recommend you to go to Hong Kong.

    If your mom is interested in cultural stuff, I think Taiwan is a better choice. we have some museums and historical spots. Besides China history, also some indigenous culture on the east side.

    About the language problem, if you stay in Taipei that will be fine. but other part of Taiwan you'd better have someone who understand Chinese with you.

    If you stay in Taipei, then you don't have worry about getting the food or anything you need. Everything you need all in walking distance. And the public transportation in Taipei is also very fast and convenient. It's comfortable for travelling with elderly or with baby.

    Have a nice holiday!

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