Hong Kong day trip suggestions and must do's

[frangipanisam]

Just looking for some advice on things to do and see in Hong Kong. My girlfriend and I have just booked a Sydney-Hong Kong-Tokyo-Sydney trip ($807 for flights!) and are just starting to research beyond Disneyland.

As we changed our dates slightly to get the low airfares we now only have one day to see Hong Kong. We'll be doing two days in the park and on our connecting day we will be shopping near the airport as we've booked the Novotel Citygate.

The only suggestion I've been told is to go to markets somewhere (possibly the ladies markets?). To make the most of our one day we will probably aim to be in the city by around 9 am and go right through until dinner (which will probably somewhere western: Hard Rock or Bubba Gumps).

Suggest away!

 

[atbda]

We just returned to the US on Thursday from a trip to Asia that included three days in Hong Kong. Of course we spent one day at Disney and had a wonderful time (considerably less crowded that Disneyland or Disney World). We spent our first day doing the hop on hop off bus tour throughout Hong Kong and Kowloon and felt it was a great way to see the entire city since we did not have much time either. We did the green, red and blue lines and did the night tour which took us to Kowloon to see the markets (we drove by but you were welcome to get off to explore and shop), took us to the harbor to see the night light/laser show and then we returned to Hong Kong via the ferry. We purchased the tickets ahead of time at home and joined the tour easily at the Central Pier 7 station in Hong Kong. During the bus tour we stopped to take a tram ride up to Victoria Peak and to take a Sampan ride (both included with the bus fare). At the Victoria Peak stop, there was a Bubba Gump's so if you guys are there around dinner time that would be very convenient. We felt this was a good way to see a lot of the city in a little bit of time and the tour is fully narrated as well. If you have any questions, let me know and have a great trip!

 

[Agent 86]

What do you like to do? Victoria Peak is interesting, a great tram ride and a pleasant walk around the top of the peak.

Lantau Island was awesome. The Dragon's Back Hiking Trail was a nice way to get out of the city. There is also the Ocean Park theme park. Or you could do a day trip to Macau, although that would be a long day, especially if you see a show in one of the casinos (which is the best reason to go to Macau). The Hong Kong Museum of History was informative and interesting.

 

[xlxo]

I think you are going to have difficulties trying to cram everything in 24hours. Highlights for my visit...

• Victoria Peak
• Ocean Park
• Ngong Ping/Lantau

Use MTR subway and taxi's to get around quickly to save time. With regards to markets... there's is more than one... http://gohongkong.about.com/od/shoppinginhk/tp/Hong-Kong-s-Best-Markets.htm

 

[frangipanisam]

Thanks for the responses so far

For our first day we'll be doing the full day in Hong Kong. So far are looking at a hop on, hop off tour (not sure which one), Victoria's Peak, the Ladies Markets and maybe the Star Ferry. Hoping that this sounds possible in one day as it will be the day after we arrive but considering we're flying in from Australia it shouldn't be a huge body clock adjustment. Fingers crossed for a good sleep the first night!

Day's 2 and 3 will be Hong Kong Disneyland. I will be buying an annual pass as it will only cost me an extra $50 Aus and is show 10% of food and merchandise. Plus it might get me back over to Hong Kong in the months after for a quick Disney hit with the right airfare

Day 4 will be going on the cable cars, seeing the giant Budda and shopping in Tung Chung as we're staying Lantau and this makes for an easy day before a 5pm flight to Tokyo.

Now mainly looking for any cool, off the beaten track, places that people might not know to visit.

 

[xlxo]

it's been several years since my last visit... My advice...

• if the time zone change is hard when you get up the first day... do your Lantau activities first (Disneyland, Budda). With the time change, doing activities near your Lantau hotel may be easier.
• if the time zone is a non-issue, stick to your plan for Hong Kong first.... take advantage of the Airport Express tourist pass for unlimited transit rides. Because your hotel is not in Kowloon, nor Hong Kong... I'll let others chime in whether it's good value. For the unlimited subway and bus use, I think it's a great value.
• the Hong Kong Disneyland is much smaller than the one in the USA
  http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/tickets/travel_pass_ael.html
• use google maps to plan your itinery..... zig zagging between Lantau, Hong Kong and Kowloon attractions waste time.
• use this site to get ideas...
  http://www.discoverhongkong.com/ca/index.jsp
• Top 10 attractions...
  http://www.discoverhongkong.com/ca/see-do/highlight-attractions/top-10/index.jsp
• I'm not a fan of the tropical heat, so plan a lot of activities first thing in the morning or sunset when it cools off.
• which month are you going? Summers are hot, but weather is kinda unpredictable in the winter months. I avoid travelling during the Chinese new year when many services are shut down. ie... the week of February 8 in 2016.
• pay attention to typhoon warnings.

Off beaten activities?

• love Central's mid-level escalators to explore the mountain side... Always facinated by transportation, someone built an escalator up the side of the mountain to help commuters get around. It's free and closed a few times a year for maintenance.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central–Mid-Levels_escalator_and_walkway_system
• Gotta try Dim Sum for brunch. It's an Asian form of high tea as your belly explores a variety of food.
• do you like Fondue? Check out "hot pots". There is no cannibus. Best if you know how to use chopsticks to avoid all the chilli's. Don't go with your best clothes... it can get messy.
• catch a ferry to nearby Macau to explore "Las Vegas East"

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Frankly we were underwhelmed with the Ladies Market. We just found that it had mostly all the import tackiness you also find throughout Aus eg at stalls in Queen Vic markets in Melbourne, Paddy's markets in Sydney and markets everywhere - mobile phone and iPad covers, phone swing tags, cheap jewellery bits, cheap leather purses, various market type wind up toys or mini block toys, 3D cards, anime print diaries and notebooks, I heart HK and other T shirts etc. Found nothing I haven't seen already here in Aus. The parallel street Fa Yuen also has market stalls. Guess it depends on what you are looking to buy?

 

[frangipanisam]

Thank Aussie Wendy. One of my coworkers is due back from her Europe trip this week and they had a stopover in Hong Kong so I'll see what she thought of the markets. Not looking for anything specific but if they turn out to be like Paddy's I guess we'll be out pretty quickly.

After reading PrincessinOz's TR I do want to check out the Jade Market though!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Yes I was super disappointed (at us) at the Jade Market but we went when we were tired and I was still recovering from a gastro attack in Singapore so not the best. We went later in the day (it shuts early - we were there around 3pm) and it was very quiet which meant at every stall we lingered by we got mobbed by crazy women thrusting stuff in our faces, tying bracelets on our arms saying you buy you buy, only $x. We wanted to wander and look at things and then choose but it made it so hard we weren't up to it and just left - our bad. There are a LOT of stalls many selling the same stuff but inbetween some with different items. I went looking for the stall number PIOs friend took her to but couldn't find it - some stalls were already shut up though. I had meant just my DD and I to go back another day but ran out of time. I am sure a different day and just me and her (DH is a hindrance in a situation like this) we would have persevered and come home with stuff as we did see some nice things including jade earings she liked and a delicate bracelet I liked. One stall holder was intent on showing me how to tell the diff between coloured glass and Jade - sound it makes when tapped against another piece, proving her bracelets were jade - the cheaper type of Jade I presume. This particular time we were just overwhelmed with our busy day and too tired and there were a huge number of stalls in rows up and down aisles. Do bargain - the price of one item being thrust upon me reduced to a 5th of its initial asking price while I was shaking my head and walking away (I really didn't want whatever it was and the starting price was ridiculously high). On many market stalls here and elsewhere nothing has a marked price so you have to ask the stall holder how much something is-they tell you and then you start bargaining. I know this is how it is done but none of the 3 of us are very good tbh at this and it made it hard to compare prices at different stalls especially as they chase after you dragging you back to theirs. If you are a seasoned market stall bargainer you would find it much easier. Maybe we also hit it at a quiet time - there were very few tourists in there so that actually made it harder on us - the complete opposite of the mobs at the other markets!

We actually found a few unique stalls in the Temple St markets we liked that we didn't see elsewhere like embroidered pictures from mainland China - most seemed to be at each end of the markets rather than the middle. Overall we thought Temple St no worse and probably better than the Ladies Market. I wish we'd had time to check out Cat St over in Sheung Wan for reproduction antiques odds and ends, posters, Chinese coins etc. We did see a few stalls selling Chinese coins - I forget if at Temple St or Ladies Markets - DD was wearing earings made from some she bought in Vietnam and they tried to sell her almost the same pair - she kept shaking her head no, I am wearing them already! Lots of stalls had bags of different types if you were interested - we weren't looking for ladies handbags. Thinking back there were stalls here and there in the Ladies Market selling clothes - if you are a seasoned market hunter you might find stuff you liked. Nothing obviously jumped out to grab my or DD attention overly. I seem to remember stopping once or twice to look a bit closer at items. A lot of stuff was winter-type clothes as it was coming into their winter and not what we were interested in. I still didn't see anything all that different to what you can buy at the Queen Vic though.

Enjoy your trip. I have to qualify my comments with the fact we are not big shoppers so avid bargain hunter shoppers would have done much better than us at sifting through and finding gems I expect. I would recommend visiting the Jade markets and one of the others (Temple St is closer to Jade but starts much later) - and make me jealous buying items I wish we'd found and bought!

 

[frangipanisam]

I'm undecided about buying a Silver Magic Access pass for Hong Kong Disneyland. I had scrapped the idea until I read about the 'bring a friend' promotion that is running. Below are the cost comparison with the current exchange rate (give or take a dollar).

Magic Access $1078 HKD -> $183 AUS
-Bring a friend discount
-10% off in park dining
-10% off park merchandise
-Applies to Disney Store merchandise in HK Airport

Bring a Friend $328 HKD -> $56 AUS (per day)
2 Day $739 HKD -> $126 AUS
1 Day $539 HKD -> $92 AUS

1) $126 x 2 = $252 AUS
2) $183 x 1 + $126 x 1 = $309 AUS
3) $183 x 1 + $56 x 2 = $295 AUS

To make option 3 worthwhile, we’d need to spend about $450 between us in food and merchandise using the 10% discount, compared to option 1. It is unlikely that I'll be back within the year otherwise I'd get the pass no problem.

The merchandise discount exclude photo purchase, limited/special edition merchandise, electronic products (e.g. digital cameras, CD players, radios), non-Disney/convenience items (e.g. drugs, films, batteries), SD cards, one-time use-cameras and media products (VCDs, DVDs). The dining discount exclude Main Street Corner Cafe hosted by Coca-Cola®, and F&B souvenir items, bottled drinks, and all F&B products sold at Outdoor Vending Carts.

My main question is in two days will two people spend $450 AUS/$2700 HKD in Hong Kong Disney considering the exclusions? And does anyone know if Pandora charms are included or excluded from the merchandise discount?

 

[zanzibar138]

Personally there is no way that we would spend that amount of money on food and merch in 2 days, but it really depends what your shopping habits are, how many sit down meals you are planning to have etc. I know people who would have no trouble spending that in one day lol! I'm not sure what they mean by limited/special edition merch either. Most of what I bought was 10th anniversary stuff, but isn't limited edition. Not sure about Pandora charms - you might have to ask. I sent an email question to them in the lead up to my trip and they responded nice and quickly.

 

[RandomlyrachelG]

You've got a bit of a tricky question there with what to do with one day in Hong Kong. Even for myself I would have a hard time choosing! My husband and I lived in ShenZhen for a year (right across the border) and loved going into Hong Kong for day and weekend trips! Cool, off the beaten track kinda places I do know of--but ones that are also convenient and quick to get to when you aren't familiar with the city and don't have a lot of time are harder.

My absolutely favorite unusual places to visit in Hong Kong are Tung Ping Chau or the other remote islands (and those are not super easy to access), and Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Gardens--which was really interesting to learn a little bit about the farming history in Hong Kong and you can take a shuttle bus to the top of a mountain for a good look at the surroundings). Ocean Park, while not off-beat, is a really impressive theme park, I absolutely loved it, especially the cable car ride where you get the most gorgeous view of the ocean....but you probably don't want to spend your entire trip in theme parks.

I'm with those who don't think the markets are anything special and actually avoid them...but I've lived in SE Asia since I was a kid and after a while all of those sorts of markets look the same. But the Kowloon Tong Area really has a lot to see and experience for the classic Hong Kong Experience. I loved riding the Star Ferry, you should definitely do that, and there's an Art Museum, Space Museum, the "Walk of Fame" with all the movie stars' names and handprints...all within easy walking distance. That's where you can view the evening light show as well. Right in that area there's plenty of small alleys, interesting buildings, and local eating shops to explore, mixed in with bigger, more regular malls. ChungKing Mansions is the name of an infamous building in that area, where you can find some of the cheapest (and scariest) hostels in Hong Kong. We took my parents to that building just to walk through it so that they could get a feel for how shady that place is, haha!

Have a blast! I loved Hong Kong Disneyland--we're budget travelers, and did not spend much at all during our day there, except my husband bought me a tiara because it was our anniversary. I'm sure it's possible to spend a lot if you love the souvenirs and want the most expensive food $2700 HKD goes a long way on merchandise and food.

 

[netimka]

I was told you will get 10% off for Pandora... I will be getting some next month xxx

 

[SSOASS]

You've got a bit of a tricky question there with what to do with one day in Hong Kong. Even for myself I would have a hard time choosing! My husband and I lived in ShenZhen for a year (right across the border) and loved going into Hong Kong for day and weekend trips! Cool, off the beaten track kinda places I do know of--but ones that are also convenient and quick to get to when you aren't familiar with the city and don't have a lot of time are harder.

My absolutely favorite unusual places to visit in Hong Kong are Tung Ping Chau or the other remote islands (and those are not super easy to access), and Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Gardens--which was really interesting to learn a little bit about the farming history in Hong Kong and you can take a shuttle bus to the top of a mountain for a good look at the surroundings). Ocean Park, while not off-beat, is a really impressive theme park, I absolutely loved it, especially the cable car ride where you get the most gorgeous view of the ocean....but you probably don't want to spend your entire trip in theme parks.

I'm with those who don't think the markets are anything special and actually avoid them...but I've lived in SE Asia since I was a kid and after a while all of those sorts of markets look the same. But the Kowloon Tong Area really has a lot to see and experience for the classic Hong Kong Experience. I loved riding the Star Ferry, you should definitely do that, and there's an Art Museum, Space Museum, the "Walk of Fame" with all the movie stars' names and handprints...all within easy walking distance. That's where you can view the evening light show as well. Right in that area there's plenty of small alleys, interesting buildings, and local eating shops to explore, mixed in with bigger, more regular malls. ChungKing Mansions is the name of an infamous building in that area, where you can find some of the cheapest (and scariest) hostels in Hong Kong. We took my parents to that building just to walk through it so that they could get a feel for how shady that place is, haha!

Have a blast! I loved Hong Kong Disneyland--we're budget travelers, and did not spend much at all during our day there, except my husband bought me a tiara because it was our anniversary. I'm sure it's possible to spend a lot if you love the souvenirs and want the most expensive food $2700 HKD goes a long way on merchandise and food.

I am in a similar boat, only I will really have 2 evenings out of Disney to see anything. At least one night, I wanted to go into "the city" .. area with some nightlife (non-dance clubs), safe to walk around .. take some pictures of the harbor, etc. Touristy stuff and have a few drinks/have dinner basically. Any suggestions on an area to go to?

 

[frangipanisam]

Looking for some feedback on our single day and transfer day in Hong Kong. If you think there is a must see/do that we haven't included let me know! I also tried to plan out the public transport we'll be using, to try to make our days seamless to get to everything.

13th April- Explore Hong Kong
-MTR: Tung Chung -> Lai King -> Prince Edward -> Wong Tai Sin
-Wong Tai Sin temple
-MRT: Wong Tai Sin -> Mong Kok
-Ladies markets, Tung Choi Street
-MRT: Mong Kok -> Yau Tai Mei, walk
-Jade markets, Battery Street
-Walk
-Fortunes in Temple street
-MRT: Jordan -> Tsim Sha Tsui, walk
-Museums near Star Avenue
-Avenue of Stars
-Star Ferry to Central
-Mid level escalators
-Tram ? -> Garden Road Peak tram Terminus
-Tram to The Peak, shopping, late lunch/early dinner at Bubba Gumps
-Hong Kong observation wheel
-Star Ferry to Kowloon
-Symphony of the Stars 8pm
-MTR: Kowloon -> Tung Chung

16th April-
-Ngong Ping cable cars
-Tian Tin Buddha
-Citygate outlets
-4:55 pm flight to Tokyo

 

[AngelDisney]

I'm undecided about buying a Silver Magic Access pass for Hong Kong Disneyland. I had scrapped the idea until I read about the 'bring a friend' promotion that is running. Below are the cost comparison with the current exchange rate (give or take a dollar).

Magic Access $1078 HKD -> $183 AUS
-Bring a friend discount
-10% off in park dining
-10% off park merchandise
-Applies to Disney Store merchandise in HK Airport

Bring a Friend $328 HKD -> $56 AUS (per day)
2 Day $739 HKD -> $126 AUS
1 Day $539 HKD -> $92 AUS

1) $126 x 2 = $252 AUS
2) $183 x 1 + $126 x 1 = $309 AUS
3) $183 x 1 + $56 x 2 = $295 AUS

To make option 3 worthwhile, we’d need to spend about $450 between us in food and merchandise using the 10% discount, compared to option 1. It is unlikely that I'll be back within the year otherwise I'd get the pass no problem.

The merchandise discount exclude photo purchase, limited/special edition merchandise, electronic products (e.g. digital cameras, CD players, radios), non-Disney/convenience items (e.g. drugs, films, batteries), SD cards, one-time use-cameras and media products (VCDs, DVDs). The dining discount exclude Main Street Corner Cafe hosted by Coca-Cola®, and F&B souvenir items, bottled drinks, and all F&B products sold at Outdoor Vending Carts.

My main question is in two days will two people spend $450 AUS/$2700 HKD in Hong Kong Disney considering the exclusions? And does anyone know if Pandora charms are included or excluded from the merchandise discount?

Klook.com is selling 2-day tickets at HKD680. You can also check out China Travel Service who also sells HKDL tickets at a discount. CTS has offices in Hong Kong and at the airport, but you have to pay in cash for the tickets.

Spending $450 in two days is a challenge unless you dine at the hotels (20% discount) and buy lots of souvenirs.

DD is still a student and she is getting the student Silver Magic Access card for the discounts. We will be dining at Crystal Lotus (we can't resist the Disney dim sum!), Enchanted Garden and Chef Mickey. So it is worthwhile to get the card for DD. The difference in price is insignificant for us.

Have fun planning!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Frangipanisam, missed wishing you a great trip so hope it is/was and looking forward to hearing all about it.