Flights in and out of Hong Kong
 

Hi all - back with another question!
I have done loads of reading on this site re flights and I think it was James who suggested that the best deal from Bangkok to Hong Kong is to actually go to Macau with Asia Air. What an amazing deal - less that half the price of BKK to HK - and there are 5 of us. This part of our trip will be the last 2 nights before returning to South Africa so I think maybe we whould arrive Macau in the afternoon, spend that night, the next day and night there and head to HK airport in the evening for our midnight flight to SA. How does this sound?

Next question - On 14 dec we need to fly from HK to hanoi. The flights booked from here are really expensive and when I tried a HK based travel agent mentioned on Fodors Forum their prices were just as bad. I need to book flights and be organised because travelling with a grandmother and 2 children is not a very flexible deal.

Has anyone got any suggestions?
thanks in advance

I think that sounds like a good idea, I think you will enjoy Macau. Do you have a budget for hotels? Be sure to get down to Colane and Taipa and particularly to Colonae village which is just a sleepy little village on the water’s edge. (Unfortunately, to get there these days you have to drive through the “Cotai strip” which is just a huge construction site which will eventually be chock-a-block with casinos but now has a few hulking towers and lots of cranes.) However, once you get down past this and to the other end of the island, a lot of the old feeling of Macau remains. There are almost no tourists here, even on weekends. There are beaches all along the southern coast, from Hac Sa to the village of Coloane. There is a Westin hotel which is quite nice for a stop for lunch or tea (or you might consider staying there), the little town near Hac Sa is cute and has some shopping. The village of Coloane itself has a Tin Hau temple and the famous and fantastic egg tarts at the Lord Stow Bakery.

With regard to the transfer to Hong Kong airport, my strong suggestion would be that you reserve the ferry seats as soon as you arrive into Macau. You want the ferry direct to the Hong Kong airport, not the regular ferry service between Macau and Hong Kong itself, but the airport ferry can get booked up too, so it is best to have a reservation. You may be able to make one on-line, take a look at look at http://www.macau-airport.gov.mo/tran...on_ferry.phtml.

I don’t have any suggestions for airfare to Vietnam. You might try travel agents once you get to Macau, but that would eat into precious sight-seeing time. You could try looking at The South China Morning Post, which is the main English-language newspaper in Hong Kong. If you live in a major city, you should be able to buy a copy, or your library may have it. There are usually ads there by travel agents for flights and packages. Saturday and Sunday editions are particularly full of ads.

Cicerone that is fantastic advice - I did not know that there is a ferry from Macua to the airport - I thought I would have to schlep the 5 of us plus bags up through HK to get to the airport - thank you so much.

Hotels - we like the idea of being close to the old town so we can walk around. We are not gamblers (and have 2 chidren with us anyway), We are staying in 4 and 5 stars for most of the trip - Langham Place whilst in HK. I think grounds and swimming areas for the boy to have a run around thought not sure if January will be swimming weather. I see Trip Advisor have not ranked their Macau hotels so this is making things a little difficult - any suggestions will be helpful

I shall also look at the South China Post but i think the main problem as others have said is that there are not too many airlines flying from HK to hanoi

Hi we are also flying Hong Kong to Hanoi, and have done heaps of research. We were not able to get a reasonably piced fare either, but have not checked the South China Post so that might be a good idea for you to check that out.

Ferry information at www.turbojetseaexpress.com

6 Macau-HKG sailings on weekdays, 5 on weekends. You can order tickets online now.

The best hotels in Macau include the Westin (next to beach, with golf course, but a bit far from city), Mandarin Oriental, Landmark, Wynn and the tiny Pousada de Sao Tiago that's built on a fort.

There's also the Crown on Taipa that just opened this week, which calls itself a 6-star all-suite hotel. Might be expensive. The also relatively new Galaxy Starworld may be okay, but it's more a gambler's hotel.

BTW, those are the best hotels <b>as of this second</b>. Opening this year include the huge Venetian on the CoTai strip, the Grand Lisboa, the MGM, and I think the Sands' extension.

More hotels coming in the next few years, with properties from every major hotel chain in the world.

Oh, one other kid-friendly hotel is the Pousada de Coloane. An older and small 30-room hotel on the Cheoc Van beach not far from Hac Sa and the Westin.

www.hotelpcoloane.com.mo

All rooms have private balconies, and rates seem reasonable. Standard rate is 750MOP, but I think they may be able to do better.

January is “winter” here, I don't think it is unlike SA winters, temps are generally between about 16-20 C during the day, so while the locals think it is cool to cold, the tourists are often out in shorts; we generally have lots of sun and no rain, so your boy may have no issue with swimming in those temps, although IMO it is a bit cool for that. You may not be able to find an outdoor pool and any appreciable size grounds in the old town area of Macau, other than perhaps the new Steve Wynn casino hotel or the Mandarin, neither of which are in the old town area, go to http://www.wynnmacau.com and http://www.mandarinoriental.com. (There is not much in terms of hotels in the historic area, it’s quite small and tightly packed). Either of those hotels would be a short bus or taxi ride to the historic core (not really walk able, IMO, roads are very confusing and there is a ton of construction going on in the area, including re-routing of roads.)

I know that the Posada de Sao Tiago just reopened, I have not seen it, but it has a very nice outdoor pool area (and a great restaurant) and is quite atmospheric being built into the fortress, so if the redo is finished and was done well, I think it would be a good choice, take a look at http://www.saotiago.com.mo/. While not in the historic core proper, it is in an interesting area and has some nice sea views. Short taxi or bus ride to the core, not really walkable IMO.

The Westin down on Coloane may be a good choice, it is right on the beach and has a nice outdoor pool too. You can take a bus or taxi up to the old town in Macau in about 20 minutes. You would also be away from the noise and craziness of Macau which with all the construction going on is a big plus, IMO. Take a look at http://www.westin-macau.com/

The Wynn is somewhat walkable to the historic center. I saw an underground walkway back to the plaza in front of Hotel Lisboa. From there, just keep walking up Avenida do Infante D. Henrinque past the Grand Lisboa to Avenida Almeida Ribeiro.

The hotels closest to the historic center are Sintra and the Royal. Sintra has no pool, and the Royal has an indoor one. Both are decent properties without large casinos (the Royal has slot machines) or the so-called saunas (legalized brothels).