So we've jumped off the deep end and bought the business class round the world tickets with Virgin. I'm going to have 4 days in Hong Kong - do people have recommendations on must sees, hotels or great restaurants? Never been to Hong Kong before so thought I would keep it relatively short and see what it is like with the view to a longer trip if I like it. We are spending 3.5 weeks in Europe with another 4 days in LA at the end. (Been to LA before, will probably hire and car and tootle round the countryside for a few days. See if the theme parks are open, I'm feeling lucky.)
4 Days in Hong Kong - Do People Have Recommendations?
try2bhelpful on 21/05/2017 - 18:05
Last edited 21/05/2017 - 18:06
Last edited 21/05/2017 - 18:06
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Best time to go is during their winter (our summer). Otherwise it's just going to be really humid and uncomfortable.
do an afternoon of the jump on/jump off buses.
HK disneyland.
catch a random bus some where and see where it takes you.
visit some of the many night markets.HK Disneyland is crap…unless you're a 5 y.o. and like Toy Story/Disney princesses… That place is full of queue-cutting Chinese tourists. Ocean Park on HK Island is a much better option. Better rides for little and big kids. There is an aquarium, penguins, pandas…and great views from the cable car. Also, only takes 20 mins to get there from Central.
We are going in September. I expect it to be pretty humid - we went to Singapore and I got a lesson in chaffing. Thanks for the replies
Won't be humid in September. It's Autumn by then and the weather will be cool and dry.
Thanks for the info.
We went to Hong Kong in Feb for 5 days. Weather was perfect. We went to Victoria harbour, spent 1 day at Disney Land (recommended if you have kids). Wanted to go to PEAK but cable car was closed for upgrades.
Tsim Tsha Tsui was a good place to shop bit expensive but all big labels.
We also went to night markets they were good, remember to bargain easy 70% off on the value sales person initially said.You need to go to Temple and the Ladies Night markets. They are where you get all the cool stuff (and the traditional HK fake Rolex etc). If you are after some electronics, go to one of the numerous computer centres, The Golden Centre is the most famous, but I found that Wan Chai to be much better. Hong Kong is cheap for pretty much anything, so go with an empty case and spend up. I'm planning on getting some of those painted Tin Tin replica covers to use as cool art on my walls.
Those electronic centres are not for the claustrophobic and the prices not any better than the Internet.
You can get some pretty amazing things that you wouldn't look for on the internet if you didn't know it existed, like the UnlockBox for example. No idea what it was until I went there. It was everywhere and worth every cent.
ocean park is so much better than disneyland.
How much was the business class RTW tickets?
They cost us $3400 roughly each. We got on the 3 stop deal with Virgin.
Lantau is amazing, some very beautiful walks there too.
Get a day viisa and cross the border and go to Shenzhen for one of those days.
go to the tallest skybar in the world. Enjoy the view while enjoying yor mojito ;)
Thanks for the replies some of them are really good ideas. We don't have kiddies, but that doesn't stop us going on rides. We will probably stop when we start breaking things. :) Does anyone have any restaurants they particularly liked?
HK is a bit of a foodie capital! My regular haunts:
Mak's Noodles - best Wonton noodles I've had, serves are on the small side but it's cheap so just double down. I went to the one in Jordan
Tim Ho Wan - the original shop is in Sham Shui Po. We had a group of 4 adults, 2 kids - ate til we couldn't move HK$300 (~AU$60) total.
Daikiya Japanese - All you can eat a la carte Japanese, relatively exxy for HK at AU$60 a head, but the quality of the food is really good (eg: sashimi, scallops on the shell, crab). Includes drinks, but only alcoholic one is beer. Funnily enough, the only thing that is limited to 1 per person is the Haagen Daaz ice cream
A new place I tried on my last trip is Social Place (they have a couple of shops, but I went to the TST one in Silvercord). They've got some pretty creative dishes, bit on the expensive side but probably due to location.
If you're looking to splash out, Bo Innovation has a lot of fun with molecular gastronomy
I'd recommend not staying at Disneyland hotels. While the room rates are around market price, you'll pay through the nose to eat and drink there. AU$12 for terrible coffee, $15 for bottled beer O_o
+1 the Tim Ho Wan in SSP. You might have a short wait but don't let it put you off. If it's a weekend then they might let you disappear and give you a call when your table is ready. Looking around the tech markets in SSP is also an experience!
Stick to Chinese food unless the chef is well known. I found Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Italian food in HK not a patch on the stuff we get here, let alone in the original countries.
I went to Tai O village by bus after the Big Buddha, following something I read on the internet
this is the first google result, not the one I followed but sounds similar
http://www.thewholeworldisaplayground.com/how-to-hong-kong-b…It was great, very different to the days I spent in the city
There are organised tours that do it as well if you are not on a budget
They put on a light show every evening which you can watch from Tsim Sha Tsui promenade:
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/au/see-do/highlight-attracti…
Don't know when in September you are there but they might have huge lanterns on the promenade for the Moon Festival in October and of course you can eat moon cakes.
A couple of shots I took back in 2010:
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_etdk-zxPWRY/TJ-KemVsPgI/AAAAAAAAC…
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_etdk-zxPWRY/TJ-LJqzmuDI/AAAAAAAAC…
As an Ozbargainer, you would be remiss to forget going to the street stalls at Mong Kok and haggling for some electronics/clothes/toys.
Go to Macau for a day. Only an hour's ferry ride and an amazing place to visit.
Sham Shui Po if you want tech stuff and have a feel for the grassrooty flavour of Hong Kong. Hop Yik Tai Cheung Fun sells perfect rice rolls. It about $2 for a big plate when I was there.
Another place called Australia Diary Company in Jordan is famous for its speediness and good food (and waiters) About $7 for a meal.
You will be in and out within 10minutes, if you eat quick.I went for my 50th and spent the day at Disneyland, loved it.
We went to the big Buddha.
We went to the peak and also to Madame Tussaud's.
We went to Macau for the day, to the Venetian and to the free Grand Prix museum and wandered around the town square.The ladies night markets are pretty good.
We went to Stanley for the day and saw Murray house and the markets.
We went across to Hong Kong island and back from Kowloon in the ferry. Walked the boardwalk of stars on the front.Had a fabulous week.
If you're a shoe fanatic, Mong Kok will be your dreamland. MOng Kok is also great to see the market stalls there (fun if you can bargain)
Lan Kwai Fong - busy area with alot of bars
Broadway - high end stores with a lovely view of the harbour. From memory there's fireworks everynight there as well.
Big Buddha - the super long cable car gives you an amazing view of ocean. Will be scary if you're afraid of heights
If you have time, visit Macau for a day and visit the casinos, try the amazing Portuguese egg tarts
HK Disneyland
Love Hong Kong !
For first timers I'd recommend:
Cable car up to the big Buddha
The Peak tram, day or night are both equally spectacular - but at night time you can see the amazing light show
High tea at the Peninsula
Night cruise on the Aqua Luna red junkUnder the bridge spicy crab in Wan chai is a great seafood restaurant food is amazing - they speak minimal english but its lots of fun and the food is great
Take an umbrella & warm jacket. Had a port day there recently on Ovation of the Seas. Thunderstorms all day. 200 passengers were held up trying to get back as the weather & traffic were so bad ( seperate- not just one tour ) so the ship made the decision to delay sailing time for almost 2 hours as 200 people is just too many to leave behind.
We didn't bother getting off - have been there quite a few times. Hope you enjoy it & remember that you can only walk along in tiny baby steps as EVERYWHERE is full of people. Also don't forget to use a face mask - pollution is bad.
Victoria harbour & peak nightview , both by cruise & cable car.