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Hong Kong hotels

Overview                    Prepare                    Get Around                    Highlights

Hotels in Hong Kong range from budget backpacker accommodation right through to the world's best luxury hotels.  Hong Kong's unique history makes it an inimitable destination.  Choose a hotel on the Outlying Islands if its beaches you are after, or for a luxury hotel, try the Kowloon peninsula, where waterfront hotels often have stunning views, and Nathan Road offers endless shopping opportunities.  Causeway Bay, with its many department stores, is another popular location.

 Choose a hotel on the Outlying Islands if its beaches you are after...

Hong Kong hotels provide a base from which you can enjoy all that this remarkable locale has to offer.  Hong Kong is renowned as a shopoholics dream, but there are plenty of other attractions, including temples and museums and even a Hong Kong Disneyland!  You can also visit monuments such as the Clock Tower and Big Buddha, or investigate the mysticism of the Bride's Pool, as well as taking in the spectacular views from the peak atop Hong Kong Island.

Use our price comparison tool to find cheap hotels in Hong Kong and advance booking is always recommended as this is a busy and popular destination.

 

Overview

Overview

Think neon-lit skyscrapers, Chinese temples and abundant shopping. Asia’s busiest city has a frenetic pace that invigorates the most hardened globetrotter. Its glamour, heritage and unforgettable skyline make Hong Kong a powerful magnet.

See

A Star Ferry ride shows off stunning harbour views, while for a view of Hong Kong’s love of shopping, take in Temple Street Night Market and its designer boutiques. A rural escape to the Po Lin Monastery and immense Big Buddha reveals Chinese religious culture, and the lively night races of Happy Valley Racecourse the local love of gambling.

Spend

Find designer gear in the malls of Central and Admiralty, and cheap copies in Causeway Bay. Art shops lie along Hollywood Road, photographic gear on Stanley Street and herbal medicine on Ko Shing Street. Find electronics in Kowloon’s Sham Shui Po. Source local handicrafts at Stanley Market, DVDs and bags at Temple Street Night Market or curios on Cat Street.
Get Out

Escape the city, with beaches of Shek O and Repulse Bay, the islands of Lamma and Cheung Chau and exhilarating walks in Lantau’s Country Parks. The New Territories' old Chinese villages reveal local clan history. Serene city parks include Central’s Zoological and Botanical Gardens with its pink flamingos and the huge Kowloon Park in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Culture

Sample colourful Cantonese opera in Temple Street, and visiting performers during the Hong Kong Arts Festival (Feb-Mar). Tsim Sha Tsui’s Cultural Centre hosts the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, as well as theatre and dance groups. The Fringe Club in Central is a haven for contemporary arts.
Eat & Drink

Get to know real Chinese food with Causeway Bay’s Cantonese classics, or join office workers at their local, lunchtime dai pai dong (food stall). In Sai Kung and Lamma islands, pick out your prawns from the tanks and dine on the waterfront. Try everything from Lebanese to Russian food in Central, and tasty Indian in Tsim Sha Tsui.

New Perspective

Take in the city views in style, with a hair-raising helicopter trip above Hong Kong’s busy harbour and glistening skyscrapers of Central.

Prepare

Prepare

As well as shades and sun block, bring at least two empty suitcases, your friends’ wish-lists of knock-off designer gear, light comfortable walking shoes and good deodorant for those sticky days.

Hong Kong Year

Follow dragon dances and parades with Chinese New Year in January/February, and cheer for a try at the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens in March. Watch the thrilling racing in the Dragon Boat Festival in May/June and join the harvest moon celebrations with lanterns and mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival in September/October.

Public Holidays

New Year's Day (1 Jan), Lunar New Year (several days, Jan/Feb), Ching Ming Festival (usually around 5 Apr), Good Friday (Mar/Apr), Easter Monday (Mar/Apr), Labour Day (1 May), Buddha’s Birthday (May), Tuen Ng Festival (May/Jun), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (1 Jul), Mid-Autumn Festival (Sep/Oct), National Day (1 Oct), Chung Yeung Festival (Sep/Oct), Christmas Day (25 Dec), Boxing Day (26 Dec or first weekday after Christmas Day).
Weather

The warm dry days of November and December (18-23°C) make it the best time to visit. January and February get much cooler (13-18°C) with refreshing winds, especially in the rural areas. Humidity and temperature are highest between May and August (31°C), relieved by heavy rains, so pack your umbrella and make the most of indoor attractions. Typhoons often strike around September, when urban areas close down and – if they’re severe – transport is suspended.
Electricity

220 volts, 50 Hz, three-pin plugs are standard.
Dialling Code

+852 (throughout Hong Kong), plus eight-digit number.
Money

Hong Kong Dollar (HK$) is the currency, and US Dollars are often accepted.
GMT

GMT +8
Hong Kong Tourist Info

Hong Kong Tourism Board website

Fit In

Anything goes in Hong Kong, but comfortable clothes are priority for the day. Dress up for smart restaurants and sassy clubs. Climate is a major factor, with high humidity most of the year, but bear in mind that air conditioning is usually ferociously high in most indoor venues including shopping malls. If you’re going for an indoor show or dinner, bring an extra layer. Business travellers should wear a light jacket, even in the summer.

Get Around

Get Around

Go behind the glittering skyline to discover the real Hong Kong, then sail the short journey across the South China Sea to explore Kowloon and the outlying islands.

Most of the action is on Hong Kong Island to the south, which contains the nucleus of shops, nightlife and finance in swanky Central. North of there, consumer-mad Kowloon has lively markets in Mong Kok, with museums and a harbour view to die for in Tsim Sha Tsui on its southernmost tip, facing Central. Sail to the outlying islands of Lantau and Cheung Chau, both to the west, and get a taste of rural China in the New Territories, to the far north of the centre.
Metro

The high-speed Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is efficient, cheap, safe and the easiest way of getting around. The extensive network stretches as far as Kowloon, the New Territories and Lantau Island. There's even an Airport Express Link service. Avoid rush hours.
Tram

The cheapest, slowest and most pleasant way of getting around, trams rumble along the north of Hong Kong Island. A top-deck seat gives you a superb view from the dockside Kennedy Town, through Central and Causeway Bay. Deposit the fixed fare on entry, depart from the back of the tram. The world-famous Peak Tram funicular railway connects Central to the top of Victoria Peak.
Taxi

Hail one of the many taxis on the street with the sign illuminated. Fares are pretty cheap, and the meter is always switched on. Few drivers speak English so it’s advisable to get your address written in Cantonese and take your hotel card with you. Drivers may take a longer route to avoid rush-hour traffic.
Bus

All buses are fast, cheap and air-conditioned. Pay the fare using correct change when you board. The 16-seat minibuses come in two varieties: those with a green stripe work like regular buses; the red-striped ones are like large taxis with no fixed route. Wave your arm to flag them down.
Foot

Hong Kong's best sights are the streets themselves, even though progress may be slow as most streets are busy. Walking in the hot summer is more comfortable in the evenings, perfect for market trawling and street life. Save yourself a steep climb by using the Mid-Levels Escalator – the world’s longest outdoor escalator – from Central to Hollywood Road (running down in the morning, uphill the rest of the day).
Transport Tips

The easiest way to pay for journeys is with an Octopus Card, the electronic ticketing system. Top it up then swipe it on entry to MTR, buses and ferries. If not, bring plenty of small change as most transport takes exact fares only. Avoid rush hour when getting a seat on any type of transport is tough.
Time Travel

Travel to the Han Dynasty and see Sham Shui Po’s ancient tomb. Wander the gardens of colonial Hong Kong with graceful Flagstaff House in Central, and celebrate the 1997 handover of power back to China at the waterfront Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai.
Hong Kong Transport Links

Hong Kong Government Transport Department website

Highlights

Highlights

See the harbour, city lights and skyscrapers from Victoria Peak, then explore the densely packed Hong Kong Island, with Kowloon stretching to mainland China.

Take the tram through Hong Kong Island with futuristic skyscrapers, colonial architecture and the huge zig-zagging Mid-Levels Escalator. From Victoria Peak there are astounding views of Victoria Harbour, best sampled at sunset. For lively nights, join the punters at Happy Valley Racecourse.

Sail on the Star Ferry to Kowloon, and see amateur Chinese Opera and fortune telling at Temple Street Night Market. Lantau Island’s cable car takes you up to Po Lin Monastery & Big Buddha.

Sightseeing Tips

Hong Kong Tourism Board has launched a range of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) downloads, detailing thousands of shops, restaurants and forthcoming events – download them for free on to your PDA system if you have one. Major attractions such as the Big Buddha and outlying islands are packed at weekends with long queues for transport and entry.

Content provided by Frommer's Unlimited © 2009, Whatsonwhen Limited.



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