My friend has (today) moved from the UK to Hong Kong and i plan on going out to see her early next year. She suggested i come out for Chinese new year. I thought this sounds great, however i have a couple of concerns
Is the weather pretty dismal mid February?
Will everywhere be closed for a few days?
( i kind of figured i will have to suck up the premium flight costs)
BUT will the marvel of CNY be worth it??
Also as i plan to stay with her for about 10 days, we may go else where for 3nights/4 days, my concerns are the "peak travel period around CNY (we will go after that of course) and am considering Luang Prabang but i cannot find a direct flight from HK, does anyone know of one.
I will have just visited Vietnam and have been to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. I am considering Cambodia (although she has been there before when she lived in Singapore) but am worried this may also be too busy at this time!!
Sorry for rambling on, thanks in advance for any advice.

CNY is a quiet time in Hong Kong. There are some festivities like the parade and fireworks, but in general the city is quiet. It'll be expensive and hard to get flights to other locales as it's a time for locals to travel, especially to China. Border crossings to Macau and China in particular will be very crowded.

To add to rkkwan's reply. There will be a lot of closures of the family run restaurants and shops in Hong Kong but most things in the malls will be open. I was there once, in Hong Kong, during CNY and I found that there were fewer taxis on the road and most businesses will be closed for several days. IMO for a visitor I don't think it will be a good time to visit, it's sort of like visiting London during the Christmas to New Year period.

There are always pros & cons, yins & yangs in life.

The Chinese New Year Parade & the spectacular fireworks above the Victoria Harbor on the second nite of the CNY would make the trip well worth.

I usually reserve a harborview room in TST Inter Continental Hotel to see all the Hongkong fireworks, it's best to watch them there if you want to avoid the crowd.

mmmm this is food for thought. I kind of knew that some of the places would be closed but don't want it to be too quiet.
I like your analogy Hanuman, it puts a clear picture in my mind, although that said i love London at that time of year, so maybe it won't be too bad.
I'll see if Ciccerone wades in too to get her take on it and then maybe i will speak with my friend (although it means we may struggle to meet up then till late April as she has guests in March for the 7s)
Thanks to everyone for your responses

CNY in Hong Kong and China is a special time for residents and their families. London at Christmas is a good comparison or maybe three Thanksgiving Days in a row in New York. It's a deeply felt holiday and although it's true that it's not situation normal it's lots of fun -- the fireworks, the lighted up buildings, the flower markets and festive dinners. Everyone is happy and hopeful.

All of Chinese Asia is on the move at that time so it's hard to travel. I believe the Southeast Asia Buddhist countries -- like Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia -- would be equally affected. You might consider Java and Bali instead, but do make reservations in advance as many overseas Chinese will also be visiting.

Hong Kong can be rainy and chilly in February, but when it's dry it's good walking weather.

Thanks Marmot, i am thinking it would be great to be in a "Chinese" place during CNY as i have previously only experienced it in London and Bham England and as my friend is living there at least it makes the expensive Int flights bearable as i will have no accommodation costs
I also thought Kyoto may be a place i could put on the list but Bali is a great idea (my friend and i have been there before but Lombok could be a great alternative!)

I am one for planning in advance, so will make sure wherever we decide we have it pre-booked.

We're Americans living in Taiwan and often travel at CNY just because it is an 'extra' holiday for my husband - a generous chunk of time that does not come out of his vacation allotment. Yes, prices are highter and space is tighter, but that needn't stop you if it is a good time for you to travel. All that being said, Tokyo and/or Kyoto is a great idea -- we did that one CNY. It was chilly but so much fun that we never noticed.

HK will be quieter than usual, but at least in Taipei, most places only close for a few days at most and the big stores and malls are all open.

I agree that Hong Kong or any Chinese city can be a very interesting place to be during Lunar New Year celebrations. As you have a friend living in Hong Kong I would say you don’t have to worry about things like smaller family restaurants being closed. You can always cook at home, and your friend will also know of plenty of places which are open outside of the main tourist areas (and which tourists generally don’t know about). I am sure you will be invited to dinner parties as well over the holidays (it’s a very social place). And you won’t have any issues with not finding enough shopping open, believe me. You will even find shops in malls that are open on the first -- most sacred -- day of the new year.

Yes, typically the weather is not great. It tends to be cool, damp and a bit foggy. But on the plus side it is not hot and humid (like it is now with 92 F and about equal humidity) and you can still do lots of things, just not with the sun. It’s still good for walks and hikes, and buses and ferries are running on holiday schedule which means more often than usual, which makes it easy to get to even remote places. And February is better than March, let me just say that right away. April can be really hot and humid, and you may run into Easter which is a long weekend here and also a big travel time. (Public holidays are Friday through Tuesday next year because Ching Ming festival has been added in.) If I had to choose between April and Chinese New Year, I would certainly choose to travel over Chinese New Year when more interesting things are going on, the weather is not so oppressive, and you can actually avoid crowds if you plan it correctly (e.g. go to the Peak on Saturday Feb 13 and you should find it less crowded than usual as Hong Kongers are home having their reunion dinner and PRC tourists have stayed home in the PRC.)

If your plan is to stay in Hong Kong for 10 days, you should not have any issue with going elsewhere <i>after</i> the holidays. The public holiday in 2010 is from Saturday Feb 13 through Tuesday February 16. Banks and offices are closed for these days. Most schools will have the whole week of February 15 off. So if you plan to stay for 10 days, if you arrive into Hong Kong on like the 11th, and stay until the 21st, and you should miss most of the heavy travel time for people going <i>out</i> of Hong Kong, which will occur on the 12th and the 13th, and then also returning Hong Kongers on the 16th and in spurts over 19th, 20 and 21st (but returning Hong Kong traffic won’t affect you as an outgoing passenger really anyway). And as you will be going to places that people have just left in droves, you should find some good prices at hotels and hopefully on airfare. (This is like going on holiday on January 10, after the Christmas holidays are over.)

In Hong Kong, shops will be open on Saturday (may close early afternoon though) and will be closed on Sunday. (Although maybe 20% of mall shops will actually be open Sunday.) Virtually all larger and chain shops, restaurants, grocery stores, etc will be open on Monday. By Tuesday most everything but banks and offices will be open. However, some smaller mom and pop places close for longer, but really it does not affect the tourist. (It’s my hairdresser and nail place, etc, not places you would normally go.) I have also lived in Europe, and I would disagree that Hong Kong at CNY is like Christmas week in Europe. Many restaurants and smaller shops in Europe do tend to close for the whole week, but I would say that is the exception here and not the rule, especially for shops which are frequented by tourists.

If you don’t want to spend as long as 10 days in Hong Kong, then, if you time it right, you should also be OK. I would agree that you probably want to avoid going into the PRC on the days leading up to and just after the official public holidays, but I have a feeling you aren’t interested in going to freezing Beijing in any event. I think you are talking about warmer climates like Thailand or Bali. However, if you travel out of Hong Kong on the 3rd day of the New Year (February 16) you should find airports pretty quiet as far as <i>departing</i> passengers. (Some people may be coming back to Hong Kong then, but fewer will be leaving.) You may find hotel prices at resorts to still be in the higher ranges that week, however, as you are competing with vacationers esp people with kids.

I agree that Bali or Thailand would be very interesting places to go at any time. If you really intend to travel after Feb 21, you might look at the beach resorts like Phuket as well as they may be offering deals for the post-NY week. You might also consider places like Luang Prabang or Ankor Wat which are a good 4 day trip. Or take some time out of your 10 days in Hong Kong and do a longer trip to Thailand, or perhaps Vietnam. There are tons of options, it’s really a matter of time and money. (I personally can go back to Bali time and again, so would not rule that out either.)

Or consider less popular places like Java which may offer cheaper fares but have a lot to see and do. I would avoid the east coast beaches of Malaysia as they are rainy, but west coast areas are possible (although not as nice IMO). I like Japan, but remember that it will be February and could be quite cold in Japan.

My advice would be to be in Hong Kong a day or so before the New Year (i.e. Friday the 11th) so you can see things like the street markets and the flower market in Victoria Park, stay through at least the 2nd night (Monday February 15th) so you can see the fireworks, and then either stay on through the 21st or go elsewhere.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I think i am going to stick with going to HK during CNY. My plan is to arrive from the UK on Friday 12th and leave late eve Sunday 21st. Think i will discuss with my friend going some where maybe 16th or 17th for a few days. I have been to HK before but there are still many many thing i could do there so even if I spend the whole time in HK, that i'm sure, would be cool (apart from the weather i guess) Saying that the 2 times i have been before have been in very early January and Mid March!!

Thanks again