5D trip to Hong Kong, itinerary and budget suggestions
 

Hi guys,
Am going on a 5day trip to Hong Kong in 2 week of March. Was wondering if you could help me with the itinerary and budget requirements. I will be traveling solo. Flight and hotel bookings are all done. I would like to cover all possible places from the below list, please help me planning it, so that I dont get confused and waste time in Hong Kong by trying to figure out which places to visit each day:)

I will land in HK at ~ 12 PM on 6th of March. And will be staying in Yau Ma Tei. Thinking of taking an octopus card at the airport.

1. Victoria peak - one way by tram and other by walk?
2. Nong ping Buddha - one way by cable car and the other by bus?
3. Tai O fishing village
4. 1000 Buddha Monestry
5. Avenue of Stars
6. Star Ferry
7. Symphony of Lights
8. Nan Lian Garden
9. Chi Lin Nunnery
10. Museums?
11. Horse Racing
12. Stanley Market
13. parks?
14. Aberdeen
15. jumbo floating restaurant
16. Soho
17. beaches?
18. Madame Tussaud's wax museum
19. Temples?

I don't wanna go to Disney land and ocean park.

Please also let me know of the markets nearby the above places.

I want to do Macau in a day :| and would like to cover the below -
1. St.Paul's ruins
2. Macau tower
3. Casinos
4. A ma temple
5. Senado Square
6. The Venetian
7. Kun Iam Statue
8. Museum?

My return flight is on 11th March at ~18.30 PM.

Please feel free to add any places that i have missed. Please let me know how much budget is required for visiting all the above places including entry fees if any, food and shopping for myself and souvenirs for friends and family. Can this be done within 10k HKD? Your suggestions would be a really great help to me.

By all means buy the Octopus card at the first opportunity. If you are old, or even look elderly, ask for the Elder Card. You will save incredible amounts of money. You're alone? A female?

Some of the tourist items listed will take 5 minutes to see and once seen will be forgotten in 5 seconds. Bring some good walking shoes, a hat with a brim and sun lotion. If coming from the north world you will find the tropics very sunny and sometimes hot and frequently humid in HK, but early March usually excellent.

Suggest more relaxation and intensive but slower looking around. HK is a very safe place so feel free to get adventuresome beyond your common bounds.

In fact, most tourists come to HK for the SHOPPING, and that 'most' is mainland chinese. My personal favorite seacoast fishing village is Sai Kung. Take the ferry on a stormy day to the golf island and have lunch. Best to hang out aft, out of the ferry cabin to get the salt spray in the eye. Star Ferry sure is nice and free with Elder card and runs every 15 mins across the harbor.

Spend one day in Mong Kok for sure, esp Reclamation and Shanghai streets where you can find many cheap-o gifts which resonate "HK'. Lots of hiking trails in HK, all over the territory. Check the internet and find some groups, meet some folks and see the countryside. You will be surprised.

10K HK$? Housing best if under 1k per night. That's the biggest money bite in HK: housing cost for everyone. Food/drink as tourist you gotta figure $500 per day, but could be less. Alcohol relatively cheap, bottle of OK wine $100. Transport could go 100/day. Ticket prices unknown to me, i like the free spots. Shopping = your call. And slow down or burn out.

Thank you Jobin :) yes, am a female and will be going alone. Am 24 years old so I don't think its possible to get an elder card ;) I will make sure to visit Sai Kung fishing village and mong kok.

There are many threads about HK in this forum and I have responded to many before. Hope you have read some or most of those. But to answer a few of your more specific questions:

1. With the time you have, which is quite adequate, the best way to visit Tai O and Big Buddha is to take ferry Central to Mui Wo, then bus to Tai O. After Tai O, bus or taxi to Big Buddha. Then take NP360 cable car down to Tung Chung. From then visit the outlet stores at the mall if you want, or just take MTR back to city. Go there on a weekday - which is fine since you are here during the week.

2. The line for the Peak Tram can be very long, especially going up. IF and ONLY IF you really want to visit Madame Tussauds, then you can buy their combo tickets and skip the line: https://www.madametussauds.com/HongK...s/Default.aspx
Otherwise, better to find a different way to get to the Peak (Bus #15, Minibus #1, hike) and then take the Peak Tram down.

3. Sounds like you're young and budget-minded. I don't see much appeal to eat at the Jumbo. Only take a small boat to get there, but once on it, it's just a somewhat pricey restaurant.

4. Most of the places you want to visit are free or near free, other than Madame Tussauds. And there are hardly any pricey souvenir from HK worth getting. Food prices can range from cheap to ultra-expensive. Most of my own meals eating out cost under US$8; but I have also spent US$200+. So, totally depends on your budget how much to spend other than lodging.

5. The only horse racing scheduled during your stay is March 9, evening races at the Happy Valley Racecourse on HK Island. So plan accordingly.

6. Do you really need to see the Venetian in Macau? Have you been to Vegas or planning to visit Vegas? If so, skip the Venetian. To see what's a Macanese casino is like, there are others on the historic Macau Peninsula so don't waste time going over to the Cotai Strip.

Hi rkkwan,
Yes, I have read many threads about HK in this forum which are very informative.
Well I just wanted to check out Madame Tussauds, its not a must visit on the list or anything :) so may be I will hike my way up the peak and take a tram down.
And my budget is anything below 15k HKD. was just wondering if this would be sufficient. :)
I haven't been to Vegas :( if the venetian is very far and time consuming then I will just stick to the ones in Macau Peninsula. Can you please tell me which one is the best to visit? Thank you so much for the above information :)

I don't gamble and I find Macanese casinos boring. Few people play slots and 90% of tables are baccarats in most of the newer casinos. I suggest you visit the actually local one, either at the original Hotel Lisboa or the newer bigger version at the Grand Lisboa. Both on the main peninsula and near the historic sites. At least these have some local table games and not just baccarats.

To hike up The Peak, there are several routes. The shortest and most straight forward one is Old Peak Road. But also the steepest. Old Peak Road starts at the top of the Botanical and Zoological Gardens. Having said that, riding the #15 bus from Central/Admiralty/Wan Chai to the Peak is also fun.

Cool. Thank you so much :)

I happened to re-validate my itinerary(well, over and over in the past few days! tensions of solo travel!!! :|). coming to my question, regarding the horse racing, was wondering if i would be able to do it at Sha Tin on 6th of March which is a Sunday. I have come across few articles where it's mentioned that the first race begins at ~11:00 AM..however, sadly I will reach HK only by 12:30 PM. So, I wanted to know, do they allow us for any of the races or do we need to be there by the time when the first/second race begins and stay for all the races ? This information was mentioned no where :(. Hope someone could help me with this.

Gates open at 11:00s or 11:30a, depending on whether there are 10 or 9 races, but first race is at 1pm. You can enter and leave anytime you like.

That's a relief :) Also, do you think its possible to cover all the places on Honk Kong island alone in a single day? I know there are soo many places to see :|

Hong Kong isn't a big place. You CAN cover most of the places on HK Island in a single day, but whether you really want to is another question. For example, at The Peak - it's extremely nice to do some walking around, like the Lugard Rd/Harlech Rd loop, which will take perhaps 1.5 hours. Or you can do what the millions of mainland Chinese visitors do - snap a picture at the Peak Tower and leave.

I definitely want to take time and enjoy the surroundings :) Also, do you have any suggestions for places in new territories? I am planning on going to sai kung, is there anything else that I could see/do nearby? And I know I sound a little childish, but I really feel like going to ocean park to see pandas..you think its worth it? Coz if not then I don't really wanna waste that much time :|

Lots of hiking trails near Sai Kung. But most people go there for seafood and/or hire private boats for day cruises. Not sure if it's a must see place.

Ocean Park is not a bad park, especially if you've never seen a giant panda in person. But otherwise. you need to decide if you should spend the money and time on a place that's hardly unique to HK.

Do you think its OK to visit Tai O early in the morning? Like around 8 or 9? Or is it too early? I am planning to take a ferry from Central to Mui Wo, then bus to Tai O. After Tai O, bus to Big Buddha. Then take NP360 cable car down to Tung Chung, just as suggested by Ray :). And I may do Disneyland in the noon by reaching @ 2 PM. Does it seem so hectic? Or doable?

It'll be quiet in Tai O that early in the morning, especially on weekdays. Which is not necessary a problem, though some stores selling salted dried fish, etc may not be open yet.

And yes, I think it's hectic, but up to you whether to do it.

Oh OK :( which place do you suggest between Tai O and Sai Kung? Can I skip one of them?

Sai Kung for seafood, but Tai O is much more interesting to visit.

Interesting
We are going toHK in September after four weeks Japan
Hope we are still energised enough to see most of what you are choosing