Thinking of a trip to Hong Kong? Read this guest post from a seasoned traveller and plan the perfect trip with your children this holiday season.
Why Hong Kong ?
The place has it all — be it pizzazz, theme parks or shopping.
The place is very safe, but still it’s a good idea to be vigilant towards your child.
Make sure to keep the address and pohine number of the hotel / personal number in the child’s pocket at all times.
Also, give some money to the child, in case he is lost he can try to call you.
So let’s plan your trip.
Visa
The visa system initially was very easy, and you could get it on arrival.
However now, additionally you have to register yourself( and all those going) on a website.( please talk to your travel agent)
Print a hard copy as it would be required at the time of check in.
And, when you land in Hong Kong, this paper will be checked again.
You will still be getting visa on arrival but only if you possess that paper.
Transportation in HongKong
Hong Kong has a lot of road traffic so be prepared to spend time on road!
Taxi
Hong Kong is infamous for having the rudest taxi drivers. It’s very hard to get a taxi, you will have to wait a bit. Also most taxi drivers do not know English, get the destination address written in Chinese by your hotel and show to the cabbie
Subway
They also have an incredible metro or subway system. It’s called MTR there. It takes minutes to reach places by MTR, when it could take looong by taxi
Ferry
This is another very efficient and very cost effective means of transportation specially if you need to go from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. The routes are limited but it’s fun to ride on this heritage of past and Star Ferry is a justified must do if only to see the fabulous views of the harbour and skyline
About Hong Kong
Hong Kong is an island surrounded by more islands.
The main ones are:
Hong Kong
Kowloon
Lantau Island.
During the British rule, the rich would stay in Hong Kong and all the workers, Chinese people would stay in Kowloon. Tsim Sha Tsui is teh name of the district.
Currency is HK$ and that equals 8.17 INR
Things To Do with Children
As it’s a trip with kids, we will focus on what the kids may enjoy more 🙂
Disney Land – well this is the first thing that you would have in mind when hosting H.K with kids.
This Disney is perhaps the smallest one, and you can complete the whole thing in a day.
It’s a little far from the city, but the metro ride doesn’t make it seem very long.
The rides are good and you should definitely try these rides:
( height and age restrictions are there)
It’s A Small World
Space Mountain
Big Grizzly Mountain
Iron Man Experience
Dumbo Riide ( for small kids)
The food is however horrible – both in terms of taste and money( too expensive!!!). You are not allowed to carry any food, so be well fed and just buy chocolates from inside if hungry.
The Peak – it’s the top most point of Hong Kong & not to be missed at all. You will have to take a cab / train to the peak area. From there here, you will be buying the tram tickets to The Peak!
The Peak is also called as The Victoria Peak.
Once you are up there, enjoy the breathtaking views of the city.
We went at night, but I think day time would be better.
Enjoy Madame Tussaud’s and then have a good meal right up on the peak.
There is a huge queue for going down, but it’s fun too. You can take a cab but that would cost a lot of money and you would miss the tram fun!
Ocean Park – is another theme park in H.K. Once again you can either take a cab or go via MTR.
I haven’t visited this one but it has a zoo, aquarium and lot of rides. Rides are water based and non water based.
Nathan Road – this place is the shopping street of Hong Kong. It’s very busy and touristy. Lost of malls and shopping complexes. This is in the Tsim Tsa Shui area.
Lost of food outlets and you can find Indian restaurants as well.
Taxi way back to your hotel, would be a long wait though 😉
Times Square Mall – This is one of the biggest malls in Hong Kong. It’s in the Causeway Bay area. It has all the good brands.
Sogo is a huge is a Japanese department store which has it all. And , it’s very pricey too.
Besides, you can find a lot of stores on the road.
You can also spot many street side vendors, selling shakes, Stole’s, etc. ( Do negotiate)
Lantau Island – Although I have not been here yet, it a beautiful place and. The Big Buddha Statue and Ngong Ping cable car are one its main attractions. You can take a cab /bus or MTR.
Pro Tip
Carry at least 3 to 4 passports size photos of all those traveling.
Always have a pen in your travel bag.
Hong Kong in general is very expensive. So it would be a good idea to take some dry food items from home itself. I took some chips, biscuits & chocolates, tea bags etc.
Carry a shawl/ shrug with you it tends to get a little chilly in the evenings.
The taxi driver from airport is very expensive about 300 HK$
There are seven elevens everywhere and you can buy all the soft drinks, milk etc from there.
If you are looking for some beauty products, or medicines Watson’s is your place.
Guest Blog by Zainab Raazi from SlimExpectations.com
So disney land is in our list and the only country we think of is hong kong…would love one to visit it soon
Good that you found Zainab’s post helpful
Haven’t planned a trip yet but your post got me excited so so bad on planning a trip to hong kong for sure 😁
Wishing your dream is a reality soon
WOW..!! so much explanation..
it certainly tempted me to go
Glad you found Zainab’s post helpful
I have harbored the idea of visiting Hongkong with my kids ever since I gave birth to them. Maybe in a couple of years time when they are old enough would love to visit.
Hope you found some good pointers
Hongkong seems to be the place for family trip. I would love to visit this mesmerizing place once, thank you for sharing the itinerary details so vividly.
Good that you found Zainab’s post helpful
Hongkong is a beautiful destination for a family vacation. You have put up quite detailed information.
Good that you found Zainab’s post helpful
I love to try honk Kong for next trip thanks for this amazing blog
Very informative. I’ve bookmarked this link. Am a travel addict, so i want to be prepared if and whenopportunity strikes and i am off. 😉
Glad you found Zainab’s post helpful
These are very useful tips. I liked the taxi tip of getting the address written in Chinese. To me that’s a very important and helpful tip.
Absolutely! Such tiny things might not pop into a first time travelers mind
Visiting Hong Kong is in my wishlist from long. Will planning a trip Soon. I’m very much sure , your post will be helpful ❤❤
Welcome Monika
A very useful post for someone looking for the information on Hong Kong. This brings back some fond memories too.
Hong kong is on my wishlist.Loved the useful post which will help me plan this.
We are considering our first international vacation with our toddler…HK looks like a good option!
Good that you found Zainab’s post helpful
Now Hong Kong is definitely going on my soo-to-visit list :). WOnderfully written Z.
Am saving this post for my future reference when I intend to travel. It’s so comprehensive and useful
This is a very helpful post for anyone planning to travel to Hong Kong. We are still finalizing the place for summer break and this post can help me decide. Good one Zainab.
Thx 🙂 a lot to everyone who found this post useful
What a useful blog post. Shall refer this when I visit
Brings back lovely memories of Hongkong. Next time, when we take he kids, will definitely refer to this list.
Disneyland is on the top of my son’s travel list. Wish to visit some day.
I live in Singapore so HK is close by. This post is so helpful!
Ohh we are soon planning for a trip there…my SIL lives there… thanks for the handy tips you shared..
beautiful place Hong Kong is. you have rekindled the memories. I guess another trip to Hong Kong won’t harm 😛
HongKong is definitely on our wish list and we plan to go there once babyT is older and understands a little bit about the Disney characters etc.
Its been on our wishlist, as soon as the situation is better hopefully we can travel and your tips would be handy.
I was wondering how we could get to HK now. I read the blog and went back to the title and saw the date. I was thanking God it was an old post.
Hong Kong is definitely a great place to visit and I’m going there soon !!
such a well researched and detailed post about hongkong. Hope to visit it some day. The pro tips are awesome.
well wow this list of must do in HK is incredible. What a listing and even for the adults too. Great read
Im really wishful to travel to Hongkong next year & your blog post certainly come in handy. Thanks for such an insightful post
Disneyland HK is very enjoyable. Macao is a must-see. Thanks for bringing back fond memories.
Hongkong is an amazing place for a holiday. Been there and had the most amazing experience.
Your blog would be a recommendation portal for those visiting Hong Kong or planning to visit it in future.
I have been to Hong Kong only once and I loved that place. It has everything to offer, from harbour to mountains to the city views, absolutely stunning. I would definitely want to go back again and see the things that I missed out the first time.
Sometimes it is difficult to think about Hongkong beyond the concrete jungle this is a helpful article giving ideas for places to visit and things to do Disney Land is definitely on my wishlist
Been to Hongkong twice and loved it both the times. I’d love to visit the Hongkong Disneyland again.
Awesome tips for trip to Honk Kong..
Hong Kong has never attracted me as a tourist place and was never in my travel list before but after reading this blog I would love to go for a short family trip to Hong Kong
This is a very informative post on Hong Kong. I had heard about taxi drivers behaving real bad from friends staying there but was nit aware of the other sort of transportation in so much details.
I so wanna visit Hong Kong for Disney land.
Hope the pandemic ends soon & we get to travel again freely.
I loved the seafood near the bay area in Hong Kong. It was beautifully lit and had a party feel, was child friendly too.
Well I had an all girls trip planned for HK only for shopping n relaxing but the plan has been one postponed. We as a family also were planning to go soon speciallu for kids to enjoy at the Disney land ..
Disney land has been in my travel bucket since long ,your post is very helpful with all the details.
I’m bookmarking it for my future reference.
Hongkong Disney land is in my bucket list since long. Someday will visit for sure.
Hong Kong is one of my favorite destinations on earth. I love Cosmopolitan cities. Great family destination.