5 Days Itinerary For Hong Kong

5 Days Itinerary For Hong Kong

Is it worth the trip?

The short answer?

 Absolutely.

 For our Asia Trip, I spent the better part of three months traveling through Southeast Asia. In a good year, the city of Hong Kong receives fewer visitors than most of the countries we visited, making it a budget destination. It has an incredible urban setting, a deep cultural history, and can be reached by a short flight. The adventure was much cheaper than the Southeast Asia trip, and my family arrived back home in time for Christmas. Overall, we would happily recommend this itinerary for budget travelers — especially for young children who will be happy to be reunited with their mother and father after an eight-hour bus ride. And the mom-and-pop shopping can be irresistible, so I would not travel without a backpack.

And although it’s still one of the world’s most densely populated cities, you will be able to venture a bit more freely here. Do have a look around if you are curious about the city’s fascinating ethnic minorities, such as Cantonese- and Hakka-speaking people. The city is also a foodie paradise, with a world-class cuisine and abundant seafood options. The fantastic Hong Kong Tourist Office can help arrange things for you.

But my own top tips? Find a water taxi for the harbor, and walk along the boardwalk on Lantau Island. Make sure to visit the Cheung Chau Bird Sanctuary, where there are a half-dozen species of birds to see, including some rare bamboo-nesting species and mainland migratory birds like pheasants and curlews.

We ended our trip with two days at Disneyland, where I had to admit that my three young children had a great time. As well as a good selection of rides, the experience will set your mind at ease about traveling with kids: the rides are enclosed, so children can’t wander around; there are multiple divisions within the park so that they can have fun on just one ride (even my autistic son was able to enjoy the new Peppa Pig ride); and there’s an indoor Splash Mountain, where you can visit at least every day, rain or shine, even during winter. We stayed until the park closed at 11pm, when I was pretty exhausted, but my children still happily took me around to visit the new fantasy lands and the oldest castle.

Or, book with Your Move to fly to Hong Kong for a week and a half, which gives you a taste of Hong Kong without spending the whole holiday in the city.

Here’s my five-day Hong Kong itinerary for a family of four, spending $1,200 per person:

Day 1: Hong Kong via Bangkok, four nights in four-star hotels

Departing from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, your flight will be on Thai Air Asia, which runs direct flights to Hong Kong on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Once you have arrived in Hong Kong, take a taxi or the MTR (a rapid transit system) to Central. The reason I chose the MTR, which is not far from the airport, over Air Asia is that I wanted to see some of Hong Kong’s more high-end districts, where accommodation will cost more.

Budget-wise, you should book in advance, but this is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to get around Hong Kong. The average fare is $9.29 for a round-trip from your hotel to Central. The MTR is one of the fastest ways to get to the rest of Hong Kong, since it travels throughout the island, not just to the Central business district. Make sure to book in advance.

The first stop will be Mongkok, the downtown district where all the Western-style “marts” (supermarkets) are. Mongkok is full of rowdy street markets selling cheap clothes, toys, shoes, sunglasses, accessories, souvenirs, and a range of other items. Take a stroll through the area. Then walk on to Causeway Bay, where the uber-famous designer stores are located. I advise spending time in one of them to get the full Hong Kong shopping experience — a shirt from one of the designer brands here costs $500, and you can expect to pay between $200 and $300 for a T-shirt at home.

Next, you can do some shopping at the Mongkok night market, where some street food is even cheaper than that at the night markets on Lantau Island. Look out for the locals wearing the iconic neon jackets that are typical of the district — they’re everywhere.

A word of warning: The night markets here can get crowded quickly, so go armed with an umbrella if you’re feeling hot and bothered.

After you’ve had your fill of shopping, you can walk down Lai Chi Kok Road, where a huge Kowloon Walled City once stood (an almshouse for the poor), now a UNESCO World Heritage site. These days, its empty lots have been turned into dozens of restaurants and bars, with lots of foreigners living and working in the city.

Go to HKU (HKU Student Union) to see Hong Kong university students in action. My daughter worked as a part-time receptionist here during her studies. Then it’s back to Mongkok to see a performance at the famous Victoria Park.

Day 2: Mongkok-Central-Lansdowne-Highway-MTR

Walk out of the mall onto Nan Shan Road and follow the arrows to Lai Chi Kok Road.

At 7pm, get on the subway train for three stops, then walk a short distance to the plaza at Central.

When you enter the plaza, you will see a huge shopping center named IFC. It is a two-level shopping center, with several restaurants, all within a walkable radius (40 minutes by foot), so it’s great for families. Before going shopping, have lunch at the IFC food court, a food court in the basement of IFC, where you can choose from many different restaurants.

The mall is called Yuyuan Garden, and you can spend a leisurely morning browsing through all the different shops, picking up all the things you want to take back home with you, before making your way to your hotel.

The main aim of this visit is to shop in a purpose-built, 16,000-square-foot mall in the basement of IFC.

At 9pm, take the MTR to Wan Chai, where you will be spending the night at the 5-star Residence Hotel, by Bulgari.

Day 3: Wan Chai

Wan Chai is a huge, bustling shopping centre with a variety of shops from Western brands to local Chinese-made products. As a father of two young daughters, I think I might have to spend my day here just to ensure that they have something to wear home.

The trip to IFC may have exhausted you, so you can catch a taxi to the Seafront Mansion. This sprawling old-world estate was designed by Frederick William Stevens and opened in 1924. It has elegant grounds and a large swimming pool. Inside, you can explore the mansion and find a part-time secretary to schedule your flight home. After lunch (take the elevator to the hotel’s upper floors), spend some time in the hotel spa, and then head to Star Ferry Pier.

The area around the harbor is filled with bars, restaurants, and hotels. There are so many options that it’s hard to decide where to go. If it’s a Friday evening, head to one of the bars in the area — this is one of the first areas that the locals go on a Friday evening to hang out and meet people.

You can take the MTR to Central again, and then walk a few minutes to the Westgate shopping centre.

Westgate is one of the first shopping malls to open in Hong Kong — in 1970. Most of its stores sell a variety of foreign brands. The ground floor also contains a cinema, one of the largest in the city.

Afternoon

Walk up Prince’s Street to the bookstore at the corner, and browse the shelves of English and Chinese books. If you want to buy something for your children, check out Canton House Books.

There are two main languages of choice among foreign visitors to Hong Kong: Chinese and English. If you are learning Cantonese, then your choices are more limited — perhaps only three, out of the many hundred available in the region.

For a more diverse selection, look for bookstores that sell both English and Cantonese books. A good example is Fantasy River Books, a small, cosy bookstore that has the best of both languages.

At 6pm, walk down to the harbor area and cross Stanley Street to Wong Chuk Hang Road.

This is where Hong Kong’s most exciting nightlife begins. At Swensen’s Bar & Grill, you can enjoy either an Italian-influenced menu or a traditional Cantonese menu.

At 9pm, head to the end of Wong Chuk Hang Road and follow the signs to Main Street.

At 9pm, walk towards the West Kowloon Cultural District and at the end of the road you will come to Kowloon Cultural Centre (KCC) in the East. It’s the home of one of the world’s largest permanent art exhibitions, The Art of Remembrance.

At 10pm, go through the door marked “Wine Bar” at the top of the staircase and make your way down the corridor.

This is where the rich and famous go to enjoy the best of Hong Kong’s nightlife. This is not a quiet restaurant; the music and laughter is very loud. Get the meal for two menu: dessert for two and an ice cream for two.

Keep walking until you come to the main entrance of the KCC. Enter through the door marked “International Welcome Hall” and follow the signs to the exhibition.

For the record: You don’t have to be a child or a woman to enjoy the exhibition. It is a window into Chinese culture and it is not a fantasy. For more information about the exhibition, visit the KCC website.

After the exhibition, head to Central, and get the MTR to the terminus at the Star Ferry Pier.

Walk up the stairs, and you will reach the popular entertainment district, Wan Chai.

In the past, Wan Chai was a fish market. For most of the 20th century, the area was dominated by shopping centers. But as the population grew in the 1990s, the area began to attract many young entrepreneurs, and has since turned into an alternative for trendy Hong Kongers.

This is where you can find the city’s number-one nightclub, Charlie’s. It is a great choice if you want to see Hong Kong’s up-and-coming nightlife.

If the music is too loud, you can always walk along the harbor.

In the evening, the crowds are not very heavy here; it’s just enough to get a couple of good shots of the skyline.

Take the ferry to Lamma Island and take the white minibus to Tsim Sha Tsui. You can take the MTR to Central, and then take the white minibus back to the ferry terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The day after you return from Hong Kong, you can reach mainland China without having to get on a plane.