Easy Hong Kong Travel Guide

 

It’s that season again when Airlines are trying to fill up their seats with Seat Sales for the lean seasons or sometimes even better immediate travel. Here’s a Quick and Easy Hong Kong Travel Guide so you can do a quick escape to Asia’s World City!

Cheap Air Tickets

Airasia is running a promotion right now so we did a mock booking and here’s the cheapest that we could find.

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But there are more airlines out there, so download fare comparison apps on your phone like Skyscanner (my personal favorite) so you see who has the best prices for that dates that you are eyeing.

 

Where To Stay In Hong Kong

It actually depends in your budget, if you got some money to burn you can opt to stay in Central, the posh side of Hong Kong. But if you are all up for a Backpacking style adventure then stay at the Kowloon side of the city.

Best place that we recommend staying is at Dragon Hostel. We found them after searching every travel guide and reviews about accommodations in Hong Kong. Reviews are important part of searching since they are feedback coming from customers, people who are paying to stay there so it’s a good reference to gauge whether an accommodation is good or bad.

>>> Check our review of Dragon Hostel Here<<<

You can also find other great Hotels here!

Here’s a sample seach… you can click on the photo!

room

What to do in Hong Kong

Check with your hotel mostly likely than not, they can provide you with discounted tickets to amusement parks here’s what we got from ours at Dragon Hostel

hostel prices

 Where To Eat 

Din Tai Fung and Tim Ho Wan is out of the question, they are a must have. But one must roam around Hong Kong to actually see what there is to experience. We projected our budget for food at $100 per day (except for HK Disneyland where food was ridiculously expensive at $100 per meal) per head. Honestly we just ate at any restaurant we are near at when we were hungry.

 

 

Getting Around Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s MTR, their train system is actually one if not the best in the world that even Singapore envies its efficiency. The MTR will take you for the most part of Hong Kong where attractions are, then you’d have to walk. Taxis and private cars can be expensive and throw your backpacker’s budget off the gutter, so brace your selves for a whole lot of walking anyways this how locals roll in their city – they walk.

Remember to download the MTR app as well so you can plan ahead of time what routes you are taking and how much you’ll be paying and don’t forget to buy your Octopus Card in the airport for hassle free travel throughout the city.

 

>>>Don’t pay $100 HKD for the Airport Express, check this guide for the travel hack<<<

 

MTR App

Sample Expense Sheet

To give you an idea of how much you should be preparing here’s a rough estimate that we’ve made. The total cost may rise or go down depending on the attractions that you want to see, for example, you can just choose between The Peak or Madame Tussauds instead of seeing them both or go to Ocean Park instead of Disneyland which is way more expensive. So choose wisely of where you want to spend your day, remember there are a lot of attractions in Hong Kong that does not require you of paying!

sample expensesSo say that you don’t hell care about Dinseyland and/or Madame Tussauds, and you just want to experience the authentic Hong Kong life by going to their night Markets, parks and plazas. That could easily translate just a little over Php 11,000! Just know what you want to do and see efficiently.

Here’s our itinerary on our trip.

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Note: This post is based on the author’s trip last 2014 on a Php 21000 budget for two.

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Still got questions? Put them on the comment section and we’ll answer them the best that we can 😉

How to get to the city from the airport in Hong Kong

Every backpacker’s question upon arriving in an airport remains the same, “How the hell are we gonna get out of here”. Hong Kong actually offers an array of transportation option of getting to the city so it shouldn’t be a problem. But being the backpackers that we are, we always look for the fastest yet the cheapest option that there is and yes most of the time the answer is via the Train.

Luckily the Hong Kong airport has a train station WITHIN the airport, yep you read that right! So all you have to do is just buy your ticket/octopus card (we recommend buying the later) follow the signs then hop on the express train! That easy! BUT! It actually costs around $100 HKD.

how to get to the city from hong kong airport

But don’t despair, there is a way to massively cut down your transportation expense going to the city. Here’s how!

Go to the counter and buy an Octopus Card and load it with the estimated amount that you’d be using throughout your trip. Don’t worry about over loading your card since you can still refund the remaining amount and the cost of your Octopus Card in the airport as you leave.

Hop on the express train and get off at Tsing Yi station. Then from Tsing Yi station take the regular Commuter Train and get off at the station nearest to your destination or hotel.

how to get to the city from hong kong airport

Yep, that simple and you’ll be saving $40 HKD on your transportation cost! Taking the bus will give you some more savings ($40 HKD for A11 bsus service from HK Airport) but it will take you longer than the train of course. So weigh your options if you have enough time and not really in a rush or has a lot of luggage the bus maybe a good option, but if you are traveling backpacker style I say the train is the best way!

Do you have other suggestions on how to get out of the Hong Kong Airport going to the city? Let us know through the comments section.

Top Tips For Hong Kong

If you are planning for a trip to Hong Kong you might be in a situation that you don’t know how to decide on because you would only know the answer when you are already there. Well I’ve been in that situation, here are some useful travel tips that I learned on my recent trip to Hong Kong that I feel will be really helpful on making your decisions with your upcoming trip.

 

1. Buy An Octopus Card

The Octopus Card will not only let you travel conveniently but also saves you a lot as discounts specially for transfers are given when you switch lines. You don’t have to buy another single journey ticket at each station!

If you don’t have any $50 or $100 HKD bill go to the customer service counter and add value on your card there.

2. Airport To The City

If you want to save on money don’t buy an Express Train ticket, remember that you are there for vacation so no need to rush. An Airport Express ticket costs about $100 HKD from the airport to either Kowloon or Hong Kong stations. Using your Octopus card, hop on the express train and get off at the Tsing Yi station then transfer to the regular commuter train on to your destination. This will cost you $60 HKD from the airport to the Tsing Yi station but your travel from Tsing Yi to you final stop is going to be free! You just saved $40 HKD!!!

3. The Peak

According to my research and friend recommendations, it is best to go to The Peak between 4:00 PM – 6 PM. However, when I was there the line was really long that it crossed the street already. I think it was just a fluke and my luck just ran out that day. To avoid from suffering the same on your trip, buy a The Peak Tram-Madame Tussaud’s-Sky Terrace combo package ticket so you can skip the regular cue and go straight to the waiting area for the tram right away.

4. Buy Tickets At Your Hotel

Not necessarily your hotel, but buy your tickets in advance from a travel agency around Hong Kong or from another Hotel. I actually found that the rates of the tickets that my hotel was selling is cheaper than the travel agency’s price which are lower than buying from the attraction’s travel booth on location.

5. Wear Comfy Shoes

I say wear good rubber shoes! You will walk and walk and walk around Hong Kong, and I highly suggest that you do. Walking lets you experience the city more and feel the vibe than getting on a cab, I actually never rode a cab while I was there the MTR and buses were enough for me to get to my next location.

6. Bring Enough Money

And I mean enough, not too much or too little (of course). Bring enough money that you are willing to spend for your stay, sight seeing, food, attractions, other petty expenses and yes shopping. Make sure that you make a budget for your shopping, I am pretty sure that you’d want to buy cheap (I am referring to price not the quality) branded stuff while you go around the shops there. Create a separate budget for this because over spending is not easy to evade, it’s like being in a casino it would just tempt you over and over to spend more and more because of the great deals that you’d find.

7. The MTR App

If you have a smart phone download the app that will be your best friend while in Hong Kong, The MTR Mobile App. This app will help you navigate the MTR by telling you what station to get off to transfer lines (if needed), how much time travel you’ll spend and tell you how much you fare is!

Do you have a good tip for Travelers to Hong Kong or got a question that didn’t get answered? Share them on the comments section, we might just include it on our list!