Hong Kong 1 night-hotel and air transfer
Nov 24th, 2005, 07:01 PM
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Hong Kong 1 night-hotel and air transfer
I am looking at a China trip that will end in Hong Kong for a night before we leave the next day. They propose a YMCA in Hong Kong. We've never stayed in a YMCA before, but it actually got pretty decent reviews on trip advisor so would be OK I think. However, they said the transfer will be 128 US$ each way. Is there a more reasonable way to get to airport? More convenient place to stay? We'd have a half day to see Hong Kong-any ideas to maximize that brief time?
Nov 24th, 2005, 08:15 PM
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A commercial hotel shuttle costs ~HK$120 from airport to hotel in Tsimshatsui, per person. Hotel to airport is usually a little cheaper.
Taxi directly is about HK$300. Airport Express train is HK$90 per person, and there's a free shuttle to get you to The Peninsula/Kowloon, which are next door to the YMCA. Or take a taxi from the Airport Express Kowloon station.
A21 Cityflyer bus is HK$33.
For US$128, you can probably hire a Rolls Royce from the Peninsula next door.
And to answer the other questions - No, there's no more convenient place to stay. With a night, take the Star Ferry across the Victoria Harbour, and then take the Peak Tram to go up to the Peak for a nice view. Then if you're not too tired, take the MTR to Mongkok and walk around the Ladies' Market or nearby streets. Take the MTR or a bus (#2 or #6) from Mongkok back to your hotel.
Taxi directly is about HK$300. Airport Express train is HK$90 per person, and there's a free shuttle to get you to The Peninsula/Kowloon, which are next door to the YMCA. Or take a taxi from the Airport Express Kowloon station.
A21 Cityflyer bus is HK$33.
For US$128, you can probably hire a Rolls Royce from the Peninsula next door.
And to answer the other questions - No, there's no more convenient place to stay. With a night, take the Star Ferry across the Victoria Harbour, and then take the Peak Tram to go up to the Peak for a nice view. Then if you're not too tired, take the MTR to Mongkok and walk around the Ladies' Market or nearby streets. Take the MTR or a bus (#2 or #6) from Mongkok back to your hotel.
Nov 24th, 2005, 09:25 PM
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There are 3 YMCA hotels in Hong Kong (as well as 4 YWCA's), make sure they are proposing the Salisbury Road Y, which IMO is the preferred one. If they are recommending others, let us know which one. Take a look at www.ymca-hotels.com for info on all the YMCA's in Hong Kong.
I also am confused by the $128 transfer charge, and whether that is US Dollars or Hong Kong Dollars. If that is US Dollars and is a private car transfer, as noted above, you can certainly do it cheaper yourself either by taking the Airport Express train, a bus or even a taxi. For info on transport options from the airport, go to the website for the airport at hongkongairport.com. If that is Hong Kong Dollars (about US$17) then it may just be a bus transfer).
I know from your other posts that you will be in Hong Kong in February, which is generally a nice time of year, with cool weather but little or no rain. Take a look at weatherbase.com for historical temps and rainfall info.
For activities, after taking in the view from your room and perhaps the esplanade in front of your hotel, I would take the Star Ferry across the harbor and spend some time walking around the Central areas (definitely stop by Shanghai Tang in the Pedder Building and maybe poke around some of the designer discount shops in this building if that is your thing), walk up to Hollywood Road and stop in an antique shop or two, down to the temple and then cross the street and take a quick look at Cat Street and Ladder Street for more affordable antique junk, then work your way back over to the escalator and maybe explore Peel Street or other parts of SoHo which have some interesting boutiques, some of the still-surviving local markets and produce stands, and little restaurants for lunch or tea. Toward late afternoon, I would head over to the Peak Tram and take the tram up to the Peak. The aim would be to get to the Peak in full daylight and stay through dusk and see the lights come up over the city. In February dusk will start at about 6:30 pm, so you would want to be up top by about 5:30 pm. First take the great Lugard Road walk around the Peak, a flat walk with excellent views. This takes about an hour. If you feel really energetic, you could instead take a more strenuous walk up to the actual Peak (the Peak Tram only takes you to Victoria Gap) by following signs for Mount Austin Road and Victory Peak Garden. You will have great views from here as well. After that, you can position yourself to watch the dusk fall either around the Peak tram, somewhere on Lugard Road or windowside with a drink or coffee at Cafe Deco. You could stay for dinner either at Cafe Deco (great views, pretty good food) or the Peak Lookout (good food, limited views of the south side but a very lovely garden). After drinks or dinner, you can take the Peak Tram back down, or the #15 bus. If you don't have dinner up top, there are any number of restaurants on the Hong Kong side or back on Kowloon that would be good for dinner.
Café Deco
Peak Galleria
118 Peak Road
The Peak Hong Kong
Tel: 852.2849 5111
http://www.cafedecogroup.com/cafed/v_deco.asp
Peak Lookout
121 Peak Rd
Tel: 852/2849 1000
Alternatively, you could take a ferry tour of the harbor, the Star Ferry runs several, take a look at http://www.starferry.com.hk/new/en/index.asp. The Hong Kong Tourist Association used to have a tour by junk every Thursday, you might find info on their website, take a look at http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp. February is a good month for seeing the pink dolphins which are native to the waters of Hong Kong, take a look at http://www.hkdolphinwatch.com.
February is a great month for walking and there are many good walks on Hong Kong Island and other parts, I am not sure if you want to do this with your limited time, but some places to look for ideas would be http://www.hkcrystal.com/hiking/index.asp and http://parks.afcd.gov.hk/newparks/eng/hiking/index.htm. You can also take guided walks, take a look at http://www.walkhongkong.com/pages/940968/index.htm
I would also recommend going to the village of Stanley on Hong Kong Island for lunch and maybe shopping. This trip is worth it for the bus ride alone, as you go up and over the mountains and down over to the lovely seaside areas of the "backside" of Hong Kong island, but again, I am not sure if you want to do this with only half a day, as this would take up a good chunk of it. If you are interested, you might run a search for Stanley here, as myself and others have posted on this trip. On the way back, it would be easy to switch buses at Stubbs Road and continue by bus to the Peak, saving you quite a bit of time and letting you include dusk at the Peak.
If you are in town on a Wednesday or over a weekend, you could do the quintessential Hong Kong thing and go to the horse races at Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island. You will see Hong Kongers undertaking their native activity: betting. Races are held on Wednesday evenings and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The basic admission price is HK$10, which is for standing-room only. However, you can watch from the more exclusive Hong Kong Jockey Club members' enclosure by purchasing a temporary "member's badge" for HK$50 (about US$6.50). It's available upon showing your passport at either the Badge Enquiry Office at the main entrance to the Members' Private Enclosure at Happy Valley, or an easier way is to go to one of the off-track betting centers like the one near the Star Ferry concourse in Central or on Nathan Road in Kowloon where you can buy the badges in advance. Take a look at the website for the Hong Kong Jockey Club at http://www.hkjc.com/english/index.asp. Click on "Come Racing" and then "Overseas Visitors" in the text. The easiest way to the Happy Valley racecourse is to take a taxi from the Star Ferry and have him drop you at the Members Enclosure Entrance.
I also am confused by the $128 transfer charge, and whether that is US Dollars or Hong Kong Dollars. If that is US Dollars and is a private car transfer, as noted above, you can certainly do it cheaper yourself either by taking the Airport Express train, a bus or even a taxi. For info on transport options from the airport, go to the website for the airport at hongkongairport.com. If that is Hong Kong Dollars (about US$17) then it may just be a bus transfer).
I know from your other posts that you will be in Hong Kong in February, which is generally a nice time of year, with cool weather but little or no rain. Take a look at weatherbase.com for historical temps and rainfall info.
For activities, after taking in the view from your room and perhaps the esplanade in front of your hotel, I would take the Star Ferry across the harbor and spend some time walking around the Central areas (definitely stop by Shanghai Tang in the Pedder Building and maybe poke around some of the designer discount shops in this building if that is your thing), walk up to Hollywood Road and stop in an antique shop or two, down to the temple and then cross the street and take a quick look at Cat Street and Ladder Street for more affordable antique junk, then work your way back over to the escalator and maybe explore Peel Street or other parts of SoHo which have some interesting boutiques, some of the still-surviving local markets and produce stands, and little restaurants for lunch or tea. Toward late afternoon, I would head over to the Peak Tram and take the tram up to the Peak. The aim would be to get to the Peak in full daylight and stay through dusk and see the lights come up over the city. In February dusk will start at about 6:30 pm, so you would want to be up top by about 5:30 pm. First take the great Lugard Road walk around the Peak, a flat walk with excellent views. This takes about an hour. If you feel really energetic, you could instead take a more strenuous walk up to the actual Peak (the Peak Tram only takes you to Victoria Gap) by following signs for Mount Austin Road and Victory Peak Garden. You will have great views from here as well. After that, you can position yourself to watch the dusk fall either around the Peak tram, somewhere on Lugard Road or windowside with a drink or coffee at Cafe Deco. You could stay for dinner either at Cafe Deco (great views, pretty good food) or the Peak Lookout (good food, limited views of the south side but a very lovely garden). After drinks or dinner, you can take the Peak Tram back down, or the #15 bus. If you don't have dinner up top, there are any number of restaurants on the Hong Kong side or back on Kowloon that would be good for dinner.
Café Deco
Peak Galleria
118 Peak Road
The Peak Hong Kong
Tel: 852.2849 5111
http://www.cafedecogroup.com/cafed/v_deco.asp
Peak Lookout
121 Peak Rd
Tel: 852/2849 1000
Alternatively, you could take a ferry tour of the harbor, the Star Ferry runs several, take a look at http://www.starferry.com.hk/new/en/index.asp. The Hong Kong Tourist Association used to have a tour by junk every Thursday, you might find info on their website, take a look at http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp. February is a good month for seeing the pink dolphins which are native to the waters of Hong Kong, take a look at http://www.hkdolphinwatch.com.
February is a great month for walking and there are many good walks on Hong Kong Island and other parts, I am not sure if you want to do this with your limited time, but some places to look for ideas would be http://www.hkcrystal.com/hiking/index.asp and http://parks.afcd.gov.hk/newparks/eng/hiking/index.htm. You can also take guided walks, take a look at http://www.walkhongkong.com/pages/940968/index.htm
I would also recommend going to the village of Stanley on Hong Kong Island for lunch and maybe shopping. This trip is worth it for the bus ride alone, as you go up and over the mountains and down over to the lovely seaside areas of the "backside" of Hong Kong island, but again, I am not sure if you want to do this with only half a day, as this would take up a good chunk of it. If you are interested, you might run a search for Stanley here, as myself and others have posted on this trip. On the way back, it would be easy to switch buses at Stubbs Road and continue by bus to the Peak, saving you quite a bit of time and letting you include dusk at the Peak.
If you are in town on a Wednesday or over a weekend, you could do the quintessential Hong Kong thing and go to the horse races at Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island. You will see Hong Kongers undertaking their native activity: betting. Races are held on Wednesday evenings and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The basic admission price is HK$10, which is for standing-room only. However, you can watch from the more exclusive Hong Kong Jockey Club members' enclosure by purchasing a temporary "member's badge" for HK$50 (about US$6.50). It's available upon showing your passport at either the Badge Enquiry Office at the main entrance to the Members' Private Enclosure at Happy Valley, or an easier way is to go to one of the off-track betting centers like the one near the Star Ferry concourse in Central or on Nathan Road in Kowloon where you can buy the badges in advance. Take a look at the website for the Hong Kong Jockey Club at http://www.hkjc.com/english/index.asp. Click on "Come Racing" and then "Overseas Visitors" in the text. The easiest way to the Happy Valley racecourse is to take a taxi from the Star Ferry and have him drop you at the Members Enclosure Entrance.
Nov 26th, 2005, 03:29 PM
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Thanks everyone. Great information! It is the Salisbury Y so I think we'll do it. Hong Kong is an add on and all other prices are US, but perhaps they forgot to convert. I haven't paid yet, but we decided to go with China Highlights travel. I was a little worried/a chicken about their hotels, but they are SO much cheaper than the more deluxe US tours and go just where we want, so my travel agent encouraged me to try them. I'll let you know how it works out.
We'll be going to Beijing, Zi'an, Shanghai and Guillen.
We are going to Beijing from Bangkok- any great air fare deals people know about? Then Hong Kong to Sidney, but the latter is covered in our ATW fare.
What a great resource this has been for my planning. I promise to answer others questions after we get home.
We'll be going to Beijing, Zi'an, Shanghai and Guillen.
We are going to Beijing from Bangkok- any great air fare deals people know about? Then Hong Kong to Sidney, but the latter is covered in our ATW fare.
What a great resource this has been for my planning. I promise to answer others questions after we get home.
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