Hong Kong - how long to see highlights?
 

We're planning a trip from the UK to Australia/NZ in Nov/Dec '13 and looking for a stop-over en route, we thought about Hong Kong where we've never been. [well, we've never been to many places but we're working on it].

The idea i have in my head is that we stay 3-4 nights in Hong Kong in between London and Cairns.

is this long enough to see the highlights? too long? [I doubt that]. what should we aim to do in 3-4 days? what's the 'best" area to stay in?

I've read the destination guide above, but to be honest, I'm not a lot wiser!

thanks for any help you can offer!

Here's a link to my 2011 trip report, which included 3-1/2 days in Hong Kong. It was a good amount of time to get a taste of an inredible city.

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-hong-kong.cfm

If you don't spend too much time shopping, 3 full days is enough. More and you can consider going to Macau for a day.

i prefer to spend 5 nights on an initial visit there...

hotel prices in HK are outrageous, so where you stay may largely depend on what you are willing to pay.

i have usually stayed at kowloon in the past but last fall i stayed in central. transportation is very good in HK so virtually you can stay anyplace and still get around to things easily.

next trip i may return to kowloon however

sf7307 thanks for the link to your trip report. We are off to Hong Kong in May for four nights and it was good to read about your HK leg.

I will also be shopping for scarves and the $5 pashminas lol.

thank you all.

i don't think we'll be too interested in the shopping - if for no other reason than it'll be the first stop on our trip as the itinerary currently stands - so i'm thinking that depending on the time we arrive, 3-4 nights should be enough.

why kowloon over central, rkkmk?

and should we perhaps be thinking about making it our last stop, and buying our Christmas presents? in which case, where do we stop over on the way out? [in Nov, en route from LHR to Cairns]

sf7307 - I'm looking forward toreading your

oops - pressed the button too soon - i'm looking forward to reading your thread, sf7303.

I've said this over and over. Get the best hotel for your budget that is convenient. Doesn't matter Kowloon or Hong Kong. You'll be going all over anyways.

i agree... we just find kowloon more fun.

Hi ann - for my second visit to HK see:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...omment-6782537

or here with pix:
http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...-in-hong-kong/

For a first visit I would consider staying at Salisbury YMCA for the view. But you do run the risk of there being no view.

Do a search here for Cicerone's threads on HK - excellent advice and info on walks. E.g.:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...l-night-ma.cfm

Much as I like HK, I like Macau even more. A bit of old Europe with wonderful Portuguese food. Less frenetic than HK too. An easy boat trip. See if you can find time for a day or so there.

I prefered to stop on the way back to LHR to break up the journey, so that's what we did. I have stayed on both Central and Kowloon and agree get the hotel that best suits you. ( if you can sping for it the Peninsula IS fabulous!) 3 -4 nights is absolutely fine. ( especially if not a shopper)

In Kowloon the Salisbury Hotel has a great location-next door to the upscale, very pricey Peninsula. Pay extra for a room at the Salisbury for the view. Same view as the Peninsula. We stayed at the Salisbury in a room with the view but had high tea at the Peninsula! It's a short walk from the Salisbury to catch the Star Ferry. Easy to walk from there to great shopping areas, restaurants, etc. We had 3 nights in Hong Kong and would have liked to have more. 4 nights or 3 full days should give you plenty of time for the highlights.

Hong Kong is a shopper's paradise. Stroll down Nathan Rd. Take the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island where Central is located. Things to see/do there-take the tram to the top of Victoria Peak, Beach area of Repulse Bay, Aberdeen, Stanley.

Chris - thank you for the tip about the Salisbury. I'd looked at the Peninsular, but unless we win the lottery it'll just have to be high tea there, not a room.

gertie - thanks for the tip about Macau - it's on my list as of now.

smeagol - the itinerary is evolving daily - we're now thinking about Singapore on the way out, HK on the way back. 3-4 nights in each to give us a chance to look around properly, recover from that part of the journey, AND in the case of HK, to do some Christmas Shopping!

Chris - i just looked at the Salisbury, and it's showing it's completely unavailable from mid September onwards.

does this mean that they are renovating it or just that they don;t accept bookings that far in advance?

They don't accept bookings this far in advance, at least not on their website.

rkkwan - that's what it looked like to me. i may well book somewhere else on a "free cancellation " basis and then wait to see what transpires with the Salisbury later in the year.

do you know how far out they release their bookings? at the moment they stop in September. do they do it in blocks or daily/weekly/monthly?

Annhig, we stayed at the Salisbury too. While we weren't huge fans of the rooms, the location and harbour view can't be beat. When I was making my plans, they hadn't opened bookings yet - I didn't know that though so I wrote them, and a very nice person wrote me back and essentially "saved" my room, even though they hadn't priced them yet (I was willing to take that chance). She wrote me once the pricing was available and we "confirmed".

Rates are available till Sept 31 currently. If you're coming in Nov or Dec, expect rates to be published in about 2 months time. Check back from around June 1, if I were you.

Sounds like a great plan, I love Singapore, lots to see ( and eat) :)