Hong Kong and where else?
 

I am taking my children and grandchildren (4 adults and 2 young children) on a holiday in April next year. So far we have booked flights to and from Hong Kong but nothing else. Does anyone have any suggestions. We will have about 17 days. There were suggestions of a few days on a beach somewhere as well as some time in shopping district. Guilin by bullet train is also probably on the agenda, but at this stage nothing definite. i would love some suggestions please. Prefer not overly expensive but at least 3 star and probably 4.

Are you wanting to stay in China, or would you like to visit elsewhere in Asia?

While there are beaches in Hong Kong, none are swimming beaches.

Hong Kong is a great location for shopping, though merchandise there is no longer the bargain it once was. What do you want to shop for?

Hi Thanks for replying. Yes we want to stay in China, but I checked flights to Chengdu as well and more flights are going to really push up the cost.
Shopping - not too sure, it is the younger ones that mentioned that. Hong Kong shops will be fine or even a day trip to Shenzhen.
Would you recommend staying 2 or 3 days in Macau? Or is there somewhere else not too hard to get to worth staying at?

China is huge and 17 days in not much for a country of such a size. So you need to prioritize based on your interests. Without knowing you it is hard to be definitive but you definitely need to go to Beijing, it is the number one destination in China for a good reason. Plenty to see for a solid 5 days. Weather in April is pretty good too.
The Guilin area is a pretty classic choice and easy to reach from HK by train. April might be quite wet though.
3 days in Macau is too much in my opinion. I find that even two days is stretching it.
Assuming 4 days in HK, 2 in Macau, 3 in Guilin and 5 in Beijing that's 15 days out of 17 but you also need to account for transportation time. You can also cut a day in Beijing and one in HK and add another place in China such as Xi'An or another place not too far from Beijing but depends on your interests.
Once you cross the border from HK to Shenzhen or Guangzhou, you'll find that flights to Chinese cities are cheaper as they are domestic destinations.

Thank you. I did check flights from Guilin to Chengdu and back to Hong Kong and was quite horrified by the cost. Are you saying I can get them cheaper when. I get to Hong Kong?

Also we have been to Beijing and shanghai

Cross the border by land and fly from Shenzhen Airport, which is considerably cheaper. There are frequent direct bus services.

Don't look for Chinese domestic air tickets by any conventional on-line means. You won't get anywhere near the price you actually need to pay if you buy at the point of origin. Buying as you go will be dramatically cheaper.

There are various points in China reachable by train or direct bus (from Hong Kong or Shenzhen), and well worth seeing, such as Xiamen. There's no need to fly if you don't want to.

Guilin is a tourism maelstrom. Avoid.

Macau's main interest (unless you're into gambling and glitz, which with the children present is doubtful) is in what remains of its old centre. This can easily be done as a pleasant day trip by high-speed ferry, and then mostly on foot.

As you have young children it is impossible to recommend Beijing, as obvious a destination as that would be, unless you really want to subject your young children's lungs to the soup that's loosely labelled 'atmosphere' there (and you most certainly don't, if you care for their well-being). That's also true of other large swathes of the mainland, so you should be looking carefully at AQ averages before selecting a destination. Typically you need to head for rural areas, such as possibly Yunnan, or coastal areas where the wind blows the muck away for much of the time (again, Xiamen and neighbouring cities).

Thank you so much. Exactly the sort of reply I was looking for. I hadn't heard of Xiamen. Will look it up.

Hi Thanks for replying. Yes we want to stay in China, but I checked flights to Chengdu as well and more flights are going to really push up the cost.
Shopping - not too sure, it is the younger ones that mentioned that. Hong Kong shops will be fine or even a day trip to Shenzhen.
Would you recommend staying 2 or 3 days in Macau? Or is there somewhere else not too hard to get to worth staying at?

It would seem that you already got answers to those questions -- but perhaps I don't understand?

Not so Kathie. Good swimming on the islands near Sai Kung. Easily gotten to by numerous FUN ferry rides. With life guards, toilets, snacks etc. But in fact April waters might be chilly but good thing as sharks don't like cold water.
And speaking of Sai Kung, take the bus through the country park to Wong Shek Pier, hop the long ferry back to the Hyatt Hotel near Sha Tin, or stop on Grass Island for a short hike and plate of crispy squid tentacles (aka calamari). Lots of things in Sai Kung town for the traveller including many seafood restaurants on the harbor's edge, western meals, english pubs, playgrounds for kids. And if really energized, zip up to the MacLehose Trail for a bracing hike. Sai Kung is quite unlike most of HK. But, sorry. Do not go on the weekend or public holiday...too crowded with fun loving, money spending, doggy loving tourists.

Sorry that last reply from me was a repeat from earlier. Not sure how I did that!

Jobin thanks for your reply. I will certainly lookup Sai Kung. Unfortunately we are going over Easter but will try to go on days that aren’t holidays. I remember going to the chairlift at Lantau island on a Sunday a few years ago and as my husband and I don’t particularly like queuing we didn’t join the enormous queue there so will have to plan our days better this time.
From what everyone here says we should be able to fill in lots of time around or 6 days for Guilin or Yangshuo and spend the rest around Hong Kong, after all this was supposed to be a relaxing holiday to spend time with family, not an exploring adventure ( my husband and I have been to china a number of times and will go again, as we enjoy it) now we just have to find somewhere to stay that isn’t already booked. Thanks again.