We have set our hearts on visiting Hong Kong for two weeks in early April 2004, but have heard that it can be extremely rainy at that time of year. October/November sounds like the best time to visit, but to be honest, we can?t bear to wait that long!!!
We could really use some advice from Hong Kong travellers. Do you think we?d be best to go for it, or to hold off those extra few months? Thanks for your help!

April is far from being Hong Kong's wettest or muggiest month. See:

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...p;units=metric

(you can click through to a Fahrenheit/inches version if that's what you need).

All interiors in Hong Kong, including those of most of the public transport, are thoroughly air-conditioned.

I wouldn't think twice about going in April, but if it was to be any later, I'd probably put it off until November, if I had the choice. Humidity and temperatures do start to climb steeply after April, although I've spend many a summer's day in Hong Kong and not found it hard to cope.

Peter N-H
http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

I've been 3 times before, always in September and October and have found the weather hot, but pleasant. Okay, sometimes the humidity was bad and it's also typhoon season.

One thing to keep in mind is that October is one of their most expensive months. We found that out the hard way. We were told that it's convention month so most rooms are gone and only the really expensive ones are left.

We are going in May (2004) this time and I'm curious too as to the different weather. I'll have to check out PeterN_H site.

Betty

We we there end March to early April this year-didn't catch the SARS virus-weather was cloudy and then fined up by mid morning most days. No heavy rain in 5 days. We hate travelling when the mob travel, always go off-season when we can. Good luck.

Just bring your trip forward so it include the last weekend of March and you can go to the Sevens as well. April weather is quite liveable, at least it was for the 20+ years I lived there.

Whilst I love Hong Kong, I would not spend two weeks there at one time. Have you a good idea what you want to do in that time? I combine HK with another destination. We also go "off season" and so I know that it is not really the type of weather where you can spend time relaxing round a pool( then I could probably see a reason for the two weeks- you could have taken things at a more leisurely pace)
Other people may of course have other views but my ideal time spent there would be 5-7 days.

Being a native of Hong Kong, I would say that April is a good time to visit Hong Kong. Weather is humid but it's bareable. It all boils down to how much outdoor activities do you plan to engage in. Some prefer to shop indoors all the time while others prefer to visit exotic marketplaces 24/7. Although April doesn't have the best weather, I agree with peterN_H in the sense that it's off-season so you may get better hotel rates and maybe spend that extra buck or two on taxis (all of which are air-conditioned)!

I have to disagree with Mary1 who said 5-7 days if enough time in Honk Kong. If you're just doing the touristy stuff, OK.

But if you want to see a different side of Hong Kong, then 2 weeks is a must. We love to get away from the city and head out into the country. Most do not realize that 3/4 of HK is parkland. There is a hike in Sai Kung Peninsula where you can hike for 7 hours and only see 2 other people ont he trail. It's amazing.

But if you're not into hiking, walking really as most of their trails are like concrete sidewalks, then a week is probably enough.

We always go for 3 weeks, but that is because my husband's family is there. This time, we are doing 2 weeks in Hawaii and only have 9 days for HK. We're trying to fit in everything we want to do and there just isn't enough time. We've had to pick our favourite 3 hikes adn then leave days for some shopping.

Betty

Thank you everyone for your replies. April it is!!

BettyInToronto you're right, we do want to see all sides of Hong Kong and take time to enjoy just being there without always dashing from one place to the next, so I'm sure two weeks won't be too long. (BTW - lucky you living in Toronto, we visited there a few years ago and loved it!!!)

Hel, if you want info on hiking in Hong Kong, just let me know. We have several favourites.

A long one on Sai Kung Peninsula (Section 2 of the MacLehose Trail) that is spectacular and starts/ends near the town of Sai Kung where you buy your seafood from tanks out front and then have them cook it up any way you want. Our favourite is the Austrialian lobster (HUGE) that is cut up and baked with cheese. (I know, I know, Chinese cooking with Cheese???) but it's become our facourite and we go there every time we visit HK.

Other shorter hikes are...the Jubilee (Shing Mun) Reservoir; the family walk from Yung Shue Wan to Sok Kwu Wan on Lamma Island; Cheung Chau Island that finishes with a fabulous seafood lunch in the village; and around Po Lin monastery on Lantau Island.

This time we are also going to try part of the Wilson Trail on HK Island that has spectacular views of Victoria Harbour and Kowloon from Jardine's Lookout. A web search for "Hong Kong hiking" brings up quite a bit of useful information.

Thanks Betty, I'd love some more details - think we're best starting with something not too strenuous though!

Okay Hel. A nice easy walk is the family walk from Yung Shue Wan to Sok Kwu Wan on Lamma Island. Take the ferry to Sok Kwu Wan as there is not as much there so it is a good starting point (versus ending point).

Head out of town and follow the trail, which is like a cement sidewalk. It goes up and over the centre of the island with a nice pagoda about halfway for a rest. Then it's downhill to Yung Shue Wan. Just before you reach town, there is a nice beach if you want to go for a swim.

Yung Shu Wan is a bigger village with lots of little stores and restaurants. Try and find one away from the ferry dock as I think these are more expensive because of their location.

We had a nice lunch of peeler shrimps; a good quality steamed fish, with veggies and 4 cokes for about $50 Cdn. More than we normally spend for lunch but it was really good and we treated it like an early supper.

The stores are cute and my husband bought a nice 2-pce soccer outfit really cheap. There are some surprises. Lots of Brits here since the 1997 handover. Check the ferry schedule for your return trip, but I believe they run more often out of Yung Shue Wan than Sok Kwu Wan. That's another reason we do it this way.

If you'd like more info, just ask.

Betty
Freezing in TO

Hel, I keep forgetting to ask. Where do you live?

Hi Betty, I live in a town called Middlesbrough in the good old North-east of England - best known for it's Transporter Bridge and (often hit-and-miss) football team! (More miss than hit my husband has just assured me!!)

Thanks for the hiking info - think we can handle a nice easy one like that. I have heard warnings about walkers being mugged in Hong Kong, but I guess you hear scare stories about every big city and if you believed them all, you'd never get to experience anything.

Just come off the phone to the travel agent - all booked and raring to go, woo-ho!!!

Wow, England. That's a long trip to Hong Kong.

Funny you mention about stories of hikers being mugged. I've never heard of that one. We hike/walk all over HK and have never once felt unsafe. Now, maybe it helps that my husband is Chinese so we don't look like tourists, but hey, I do! He also grew up in HK and knows the area and customs very well. We've even had some lucky breaks because he was considered a local, even though he moved to Canada 27 years ago.

What else do you have planned for your trip?