Hong Kong in December
 

We're planning a trip to Hong Kong. Early/mid December looks like it would suit us best, as we don't like heat or humidity, and flights and accommodation seem cheaper. Is there a downside to visiting then that we may not have thought of?

Secondly, we're looking to stay at the Salisbury YMCA. Given that our flight home will leave late evening, does anyone know if they will store our luggage after check out until late afternoon? I've never stayed at a YMCA so don't know their policy. TIA.

The Salisbury is run just like a hotel. Any hotel will hold your luggage for you after check out.

December is a great time to visit Hong Kong. Weather's decent, and the Christmas lights are terrific.

The Salisbury IS a hotel. Just like most of the hotels in HK run by Salvation Army, Caritas, YWCA and other non-profits. They are hotels, to make money to fund their organisations.

Thanks, all. Flights and hotel are booked.

anicecupoftea, we actually stayed at the Salisbury in November 2 years ago, and had to ask them to keep our luggage on the last day - absolutely no problem. Have you booked a room with a view of the harbour ? ours was great and we had at least ½ a day to enjoy it before the cloud came in.

We were advised that the easiest way to get there was to get the train to Kowloon and then pick up the free hotel shuttle bus, getting off at the Peninsular, which is just next door to the Salisbury's back entrance; this worked really well and we did it on the way back too.

Breakfasts in the Salisbury are very good and reasonably priced - they give you a discount voucher when you arrive and for subsequent mornings, all you have to do is to ask at reception for some more coupons and give you room number. [we didn't realise that until one of the waiters in the breakfast cafe told us].

Finally, we wished that we'd bought a transport pass; even if you don't save money, it's a lot more convenient than trying to find change for tickets, especially on the Star ferry where you need very little to get one, but you do need it. The boat dock is just 5 mins walk from the hotel and we used it a lot.

hope you have a great time!

Annhig, yes, we've booked a full harbour view room and requested a high floor, so hoping for at least some clear days/nights. Thanks for the heads up about breakfast vouchers and travel from the airport. I've been reading about the Octopus card, and I'm all for convenience so was planning to pick those up when we arrive.

Now for the itinerary planning. I was born in Hong Kong but my parents came back to England when I was a toddler, and this is my first trip back.

re your itinerary, how long do you have?

possibly for what not to do and how not to do it, you could look at my trip report of our 3 nights there, and learn from our mistakes!

If 'transport pass' means Octopus, the local cash card, then absolutely yes. And if you can appear to be elderly, get the Elder card at any MTR station. A huge savings and can ride the Star Ferry for FREE: An incredible notion for HK.

jobin - it does mean an octopus card, sorry.

I see what you say about elders riding the Star free for free but it was so cheap anyway that it's hardly worth getting excited about. The octopus would make life easier however - on our last day we discovered the trams and finding the right money for them was a real pain.

Not quite in the "elders" category yet, although I'm more than ready to retire.

We have 4 full days - arrive mid afternoon on day 1, leave late night on day 5. The absolute must is going up to the Peak and having a wander round to see if I can find where I lived, although I'm sure the actual apartments are long gone. I'll be doing some research in guides and trip reports to pick up some ideas for the rest of our time (thanks for yours, annhig) and then plan an itinerary. We love scenery, architecture, history, food, drink, people watching, and what makes a place unique. Not interested in art or shopping, other than a poke round interesting markets. Open to any suggestions!

time lends perspective, and with that in mind, the things we liked best in HK, [apart from fossicking about the escalators] were the Dr Sun Yat Sen museum, exploring the eastern market and riding the trams, and the trip up to the Peak.

We found the last day quite difficult as when we have an afternoon or evening flight I always have an eye on the time, even when it's later in the day, as ours was and I wished that we'd been able to do the Peak on a different day, but the weather was against us. We'd have liked to have been able to walk down rather than get the funicular, but I was [stupidly I'm sure] worried about getting lost and missing the plane.

perhaps you will be able to plan your time rather better than we did!

also consider the cable car to the Big Buddha. Easy trip on the train and then hop on the cable car for lovely views on the ride.

We loved Hong Kong and 5 days only touched the surface.