Travel tales and tips for getting around in Hong Kong by asiahotels.com

Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Hong Kong

Know the most popular landmarks in Hong Kong. You may read about best transportation, recommended travel itinerary, suggested routes and directions. Also, you might want to read our Hong Kong city guide.

R Sollazzo	17 December 2003
Stayed at Wesley, The - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Get an Octopus card and collect all the tourist pamphlets/maps you can at the airport and you'll be set. For the most part, Hong Kong is a very tourist friendly city. Just remember to bring along those comfortable walking shoes. Unless you're their for business, Kowloon is probably better as a central hotel location than Hong Kong itself as we spent 80% of our stay touring off the island.
K Tong	13 December 2003
Stayed at Concourse, Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Half of the fun of HKG is trying the many forms of transport, you can also see many of the island attractions on foot, also good to take the overland train out of the busy hub to see some of the quieter places, temples and gardens. Much to see and do, highlight would be the star ferry and view from the peak. Excellent destination and also recommended for short break.
T Feldhaus	10 December 2003
Stayed at YMCA - The Salisbury - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
We visited in three days the Lady's night market, temple market, Jingle bell street, the nunnery, the peak tram, a temple, jade market and made a round trip with the normal bus. Don't be afraid to visit Hongkong you will find english signages everywhere and so are english speaking people. I'm a german and it was not a problem to travel around there. Take information before from the internet and plan your days for a short trip before and enjoy Hongkong.
J Beane	02 December 2003
Stayed at Eaton Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
We visited the Big Buddha at the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. Despite a long lineup for the bus on Sunday, we were impressed by the efficiency of the service. We really enjoyed this trip into the countryside. A good respite from shopping. We also highly recommend the Hong Kong Art Museum. At the airport, we bought a 3-day transport pass which included return fare to the airport & MTR subway pass -excellent value if you are planning to travel around the city. Using the city check-in at the Kowloon Station relieved us of all the usual hassles at the airport. A great idea.
R Der	16 November 2003
Stayed at Royal Windsor Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
The transit system(MTR) in Hong Kong is second to none. You can get to any major destination in less than 30 mins. Pick up an Octopus card before leaving the Airport, as this card can be used for the MTR, buses, and even 7-11. Bring a good pair of running shoes as you will be doing A LOT of walking. For those of you heading to Hong Kong to shop, the prime shopping areas are Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, and HK Island. I personally found the best deals in Mong Kok. Head to Mong Kok if you are looking for designer fake hand bags, watches, runners, and electronic goods. This is where most of the locals shop. Out of all the street/night markets, I found the Ladies Market in Mong Kok to have the best selection of goods. Be ready to bargain, and don't pay more than half their asking price!! Most of the times if you walk away, they will agree to your price. Other must-visit shopping areas are Sogo department store and Time Square in Causeway Bay, Jusco in Quarry Bay, and Lane Crawford and Pacific Place in Admiralty. For a day trip, you may want to jump on the #6 bus from Central and head to Stanley to check out the seaside market. You may also want to stop at Repulse Bay to catch some rays. For those of you looking for western food or a good ole Irish Pub for a drink, head up the escalators in Central to the SOHO district. Other must-do things are to visit The Peak, and take a ride across Victoria Harbour on The Star Ferry. Lastly, you may want to wait until you reach HK to exchange your money as most of the big banks offer very attractive exchange rates.
D Gemal	15 November 2003
Stayed at Shamrock Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
After I got off from Fenwick Pier, a walk to Star Ferry to get to Kowloon was only minutes away, offering a great ride for the price, and offering a sight tour of the bay. Getting around Hongkong is easy, cabs are cheap and buses are everywhere, but the best one to take advantage of is their Railway(MTR). MTR gives you access to virtually anywhere in Hongkong, from Kowloon (for shopping) to Lantau (for sighseeing) and New Territories and Hongkong of course, from $2.00(HK w/c is about $.25) to about $12.00(HK) you can ride anywhere around the island. For great food after all the sighseeing, CintaJ offers great food and options for different taste and for that hungry palate of ours. For great view of HK make sure you don't miss The Peak, w/c offers a great view as well as experience for any individual. An 8 minute ride with the Peak Tram offers a breathtaking view of the city, and once on top, it's a picture taker's haven. Also, if you're looking for Japanese food, the Matsuda Japanese Restaurant at the Peak offers great food for sushi lover and japanese food lovers alike. But most of all enjoy your stay and don't be afraid to get lost and try out new things, that's how you will enjoy any trip that you take.
T Onodera	14 November 2003
Stayed at Pruton Prudential Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Very good location with many shops and restaurants. Although Jordan subway station is just below the hotel, it was nice to walk down the nathan road towards the star ferry terminal. Good to see seven eleven next door and yamazaki bread shop to buy few drinks and snacks.
B Gonzales	30 October 2003
Stayed at Newton Inn North Point - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is a great city with excellent food. Victoria Peak is nice for breathtaking vistas of the mystical Hong Kong skyline, full of skyscrapers reaching forever into the sky! Yes, as everybody would say, their MTR is extremely efficient. During rush hour trains are something like a minute apart. When I missed a train I said, "Darn!" After checking the time and a few words with my colleagues, a new train comes in! For those staying 3 days, get the MTR Octopus Card Tourist Pass. Comes with round trip tickets on the airport express, 20HKD usable value, and 3 day unlimited rides on the MTR. Airport Express does an awesome job in making the airport accessible to the city in 20 minutes, unlike some other cities. I used the tourist pass to the max though my feet were complaining! Buses are also quite convenient, with help desks in terminals, and route info on the buses that indicate the stops along the way. I walked around so much at the convention but pushed myself to go see other places like Temple St. Night Market, which is ok. Also saw the Museum of History, which tells the Hong Kong story. It is intriguing how Hong Kong is only mountains but it is Asia's financial center with a world class port. I went to Sai Kung for seafood, which is good but very expensive by Philippine standards. The thing I hate is when they charge you HKD10 for a pot of tea, a handful of peanuts and a little bit of hot sauce! The worst part is, I didn't even order it! The restaurant name is Hung Kee by the way. These are the things the tourism board should change. Needless to say, I was happy that a lot of their delicacies swimming in the aquariums are available in Manila's seafood markets for only about 20-30% of the price they pay! The bus ride to Sai Kung was spectacular though and the environment nice. No skyscrapers here. Also went to Sham Tseng for crispy skin roast goose, which was excellent. We went for wonton noodle soup in "wu lung" or "mmm lung" in cantonese on Lee Tung St. in Wanchai. Excellent! No wonder it won a culinary award from the tourism board. Roast duck in Hong Kong is also tasty! Stanley market has nice export overruns, (brand name clothes with minor defects). Cheung Sha Wan Road in Sham Shui Po has some cheap clothes for wholesale, while Apliu street has brand new and used electronics. Hong Kong is very expensive though compared to most Asian cities. Overall, Hong Kong has done a remarkable job in establishing "tourism infrastructure" with detailed maps, food guides, shopping guides which even tell you exactly how to get there. Hong Kong has changed in the past few years. Before the pace of life seems faster, with people walking a lot faster than me. Now few people walk faster than me. I'm not sure if it's the slower pace of life or if my legs grew. Hong Kong is so easy to get around unlike in Guangzhou where communication is a major problem. We spent most of the time rattling through our maps and pointing to the Chinese characters to the taxi drivers. Be forwarned, when staying at a hotel, bring a jpeg image of the chinese characters to show taxi drivers. They will nod if they know it. If they look puzzled, DON'T get in! Also, it is wise to invest in a speaking Chinese-English dictionary, which will help you communicate and get around Guangzhou. Glad to be back in Manila though and looking forward to our trip to Boracay in December. Do read up on the articles of asia-hotels on Boracay. It isn't Asia's best beach for nothing. Keep in mind that Boracay is not as internationally known as Bali, Phuket, Koh Samui, Langkawi and the like. Yet it won hands down in a survey by asia-hotels. It has sand as fine as flour that stays relatively cool in the heat of day, a gentle slope (walk 30-40 yards out you can still touch the sand) and the crystal clear water. Some areas of the beach are crowded and there is algae season. Also, there are excellent restaurants. One awesome thing is having a fruit shake on the beach while watching the sunset. If I were to choose a trip to Hong Kong or Boracay, I wouldn't even have to think twice in going to Boracay.
R Wilms	21 October 2003
Stayed at Empire Hotel Kowloon - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Subway system is unbelievable. Trains run every couple of minutes. Buy the 3 day pass at the airport. It includes round trip express train to Kowloon and free shuttle to all hotels as well as all the subways and buses you can ride for three days - all for $300hk or about $35 US.
T Elder	04 October 2003
Stayed at Rosedale on the Park Hotel Hong Kong - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Definite recommendation, get an octopus card. At practically any public transportation the card can be used to pay for your fare. It works like a debit card. It can be "recharged" at subway stations or train stations and probably other places. It seemed like it could be used anywhere for anything but I'm sure that's an exaggeration.

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