Hong Kong and Macau - Upcoming trip to HK, Critique my Itinerary

Wife and I will be in HK for the first time this August. Staying at the Hyatt Regency TST for 4 nights.

Get there on a Friday afternoon, plan to check into our hotel and spend most of Friday night somewhere along TST Harbor.

Saturday, planing on taking the tram up to the Peak, then visiting the Stanley area (going the market & Murray House). Probably go back to the hotel to relax and then go to Temple Street Market @ night for dinner.

Sunday we want to visit the Chi Lin Nunnery, Nan Lin Garden & Wong Tai Sin Temple.

Monday plan to take the ferry to Macau and see what all the fuss about Super Vegas is about.

Sunday the wife is insisting on going to the Mong Kok area, and "ladies street" where I'm sure she will damage my wallet one last time before we depart around midnight back to LAX.

We dont mind doing some of the "touristy" things... and do enjoy sightseeing, particularly historical sites. I did think about the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery, but seems quite far and would require a half day?

Any suggestions? Any things we might NOT want to do that I have listed above? Or things I'm missing that are "must-sees"?

Get an Octopus Card each so you can use all the buses, trains, trams and ferries. Taxis are relatively cheap, but public transport can be quicker and a better experience.
The Peak will be a little busier on Saturday, as it is the weekend, but since you are only going for 4 days you don't have the luxury of time. Catch the bus one way (the No. 15) which leaves/returns from/to the Star Ferry area infront of IFC.
The bus to Stanley leaves from under the IFC building - there are several buses - some express and some take different routes.
Be sure to get on the DingDing tram from Central and go to Causeway Bay for a look.

On Sunday you will see all the domestic helpers sitting out in the parks and around other public areas, both in TST and on the Island, as it is their day off. An interesting sight for those who have not seen it before.
Depending on your appetite for local things, catch a ferry (from infront of IFC) to one of the islands for dinner. I recommend Cheung Chau - a small fishing village about 30-45mins by ferry. Plenty of fresh seafood there. Do a bit of searching to see if that is what you might like. You get get the slow ferry (45mins) and can sit outside on the top deck.

Not sure what you are expecting to see in Macau, but it is not really like Vegas - not nearly as much fun as Vegas. Great food and the historical side of Macau is great to see. The Venetian and City of Dreams are good for a look, but nothing really special about them. It can feel very hot walking around Macau during a summers day.

Don't worry about your wallet at the Ladies' Market. While sort of interesting to look at, there's nothing worth buying. 10,000 Buddha Temple only takes a few hours to visit, but really NOT that special.

Also, you have plenty of time left on Sunday, as the Chi Lin, Nan Lian and Wong Tai Sin can be thoroughly done in about 3 hours.

You basically have three full days, Sat, Sun and Mon, with one day allocated for Macau. I suggest hitting Lantau on either Sat or Mon. Visit the fishing village of Tai O, then Ngong Ping with the Big Buddha, then ride the cable car down. Would take about 2/3 of a day. Don't do it on Sunday.

As for your itinerary for Stanley and The Peak, you don't have to backtrack to Central, as the #6 bus to/from Stanley and #15 bus to/from The Peak both take Stubbs Road. You can switch to the other bus across the Road at several of the stops along Stubbs Road.

Since the Peak Tram lines can be long, especially going up, especially on weekends, you can try something like going to Stanley first. Then ride #6 bus back to Stubbs Road, switch to #15 up to The Peak last afternoon/early evening for the nightime view. Then take the Peak Tram down.

For Macau, if you haven't been, really just skip the casinos and concentrate on the historical sites, which ARE actually interesting. Unless you're really into looking at big buildings AND/OR looking at mainland Chinese laundering their money.

Try to accomodate the laser show on your first day.

I wouldn't bother with the casinos in Macau, sights in HK will keep you busy on your four day visit. If you MUST visit Macau, I'd check out the colonial architecture and historic sights.

The stalls at Ladies Market sell nothing but junk, you'll probably see the same items, or should I say junk, being sold at Temple St Night Market.

You should visit the Buddha in Lantau. If you are going to take the Ngong Ping cable car, check that it is running before you leave TST to visit the Buddha.

The 10,000 Buddhas Monastery requires a lot of uphill walking to visit, this can be taxing in HK's heat and humidity.

Thanks for the tip regarding the Octopus card, had not seen it anywhere before.

We might drop Macau... I still kinda want to see it cause who knows when I'll be nearby again in the future, but still not 100 sold on it, and dont plan on playing Poker in a foreign country.

Will definitely look into Lantau island further. Seems like our type of place. And can do it on Monday instead of Macau.

Thanks for the tips!

If the weather isn't obliging, I'd recommend the HK museum which I presume isn't that far from the hotel.
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/History/en/location.php

If the visibility is poor, I'd caution against rushing up to the peak and as noted, weekends will be busy for the tram.

The Peak and Stanley is however a good combo - just get a cab between the two locations rather than bothering with public transport.

Are you a fan of Cantonese food?

I'd definitely pay a visit to Din Tai Fung in Causeway Bay on the Island. There are also some great places to eat in Harbour City on the Kowloon side near the Star Ferry Terminal.

Definitely take a ride on the Star Ferry - at 8 every night they have a light show, well worth seeing.

Are you a fan of Cantonese food?

I'd definitely pay a visit to Din Tai Fung in Causeway Bay on the Island. There are also some great places to eat in Harbour City on the Kowloon side near the Star Ferry Terminal.

Definitely take a ride on the Star Ferry - at 8 every night they have a light show, well worth seeing.

Except Ding Tai Fung is not Cantonese.

And personally, 8pm light show is a big yawn for me. Won't do it deliberately.

It looks that OP is keen on cultural attractions like temples. If this is the case, Big Buddha on Lantau Island (a large outlying island next to HKG airport) is a good choice. You can get there by cable cars and the view is fantastic (if weather is fine).

http://www.np360.com.hk/en/

It may look far away from TST but given the city's frequent and efficient rail system it doesn't take long for you to get there. Half a day is more than sufficient to visit the place.

Except Ding Tai Fung is not Cantonese.


^

If OP wants something in a decent quality and is reasonably-priced, may try one of the cantonese restaurants from this local restaurant chain. They serve other chinese regional cuisines apart from cantonese.

http://www.maxims.com.hk/en/main.asp

It may look far away from TST but given the city's frequent and efficient rail system it doesn't take long for you to get there. Half a day is more than sufficient to visit the place.

This is probably worth stressing - the transport system is suitably joined up that you can frequently do big loops, rather than a straight out-and-back.*

So if you go up on the cable car, you can then get a bus down to Silvermine Bay and a ferry back to Central from there.

*notwithstanding my earlier suggestion about a taxi from the peak to Stanley...

After looking into it, will get the Octopus card for sure. For the amount of travel within the city that I plan to do, how much should I load on there initially?

For Monday, dropping Macau, adding Lantau Island.. thanks for this tip! (I love FT).

I'll check out some of the restaurants mentioned below... and I always like trying random places we come across. That's something that always excites me when going to new places.

After looking into it, will get the Octopus card for sure. For the amount of travel within the city that I plan to do, how much should I load on there initially?

For Monday, dropping Macau, adding Lantau Island.. thanks for this tip! (I love FT).

I'll check out some of the restaurants mentioned below... and I always like trying random places we come across. That's something that always excites me when going to new places.

There is very decent shopping to be done at Citygate Mall near the MTR where you have to head over to Lantau. Beware the wife-wallet-damage here.

Also check out the vegetarian meal + entrance into Big Buddha combination ticket. The meal was nothing special (you have to share dishes with others so that's an experience) and it was just stuff in Big Buddha, but not an experience you'd like to miss.

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I had VERY good dim-sum for breakfast daily at a restaurant on the upper floors of the shopping mall attached to Royal Plaza Hotel. A surprising large number of locals, mainly the 50% when I was there was too tempting, but the XO Carrot Cake was just too awesome.

And if you've been to Harajuku in Tokyo, you would know Marion Crepes. There is a branch on level one of the same shopping mall, near entrance to cinema. No queue, but pretty damn good.

http://www.hongkongextras.com/octopuscard.html

This suggests that the card comes with $100 loaded on it (plus $50 refundable deposit).

There's a $9 admin fee for the refund, but I'd just start with the $100 and see how you go. You can also spend on the card in places like 7-11 so you shouldn't struggle to get through it!

Definitely put more than $100 on your Octopus card (that is, if you're talking HK dollars). An Octopus card is great to have - you can use it on all the buses, subways, trams as well as the Airport Express to/from the Airport. Also, you can use it in supermarkets, 7-11's and many other places. It's a great convenience and if you plan to return to HK you can hold onto it and use it again. I have a card I've been using for several years (think you have to use it every 3 years to keep it active). Also, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Tai O (the fishing village with houses on stilts). It's changed a little in the last few years (fewer houses on stilts possibly the result of a storm) but it's fun to walk around and watch the locals doing their thing and great for pictures. It's a great place to get a fresh fish cooked to order for lunch. You can take the metro to Tung Chung (same place the cable cars goes) and change to a bus just outside the station to visit Tai O. It's a ride with beautiful scenery. On the return you can take the bus from Tai O to the Po Lin monastery (big buddha) and leaving there return to Tung Chung for some serious brand name outlet shopping at the Citigate Mall (it's part of Tung Chung station). There's a good food court in the mall - every asian cuisine is represented. If it gets too hot during the day duck into a theatre for a movie. You might see something that hasn't come to the states yet or a local movie that might never come here. The theaters are nice and the movies have subtitles if they are not in english. I go to the movies every time I'm there. Have a good trip.

Definitely put more than $100 on your Octopus card (that is, if you're talking HK dollars). An Octopus card is great to have - you can use it on all the buses, subways, trams as well as the Airport Express to/from the Airport.
I wouldn't suggest using Octopus (at least, not tapping in/out of the station with it) on Airport Express unless you're in a big rush or you're going to AsiaWorld-Expo. Save yourself the HK$20 or so and buy a regular roundtrip ticket if you're not in town for long. I still sometimes use Octopus out of pure laziness but it's a waste of money.

Also, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Tai O (the fishing village with houses on stilts).

I mentioned it in Post #3 above.

I recommend having $500 on your Octopus so you can travel freely without worrying. This will cover ALL your travel - Peak tram, cross harbour ferry, MTR, bus, minibus, etc (except taxi's).

Last thing you want is to be waiting for your bus in the middle of nowhere and then realizing you don't have enough credit.

Sorry rkkwan - I was busy reading your tips on the Stubbs Road bus and missed your mention of Tai O. I do love those bus rides to Stanley and the Peak - the sense of going higher and higher, the air getting cooler and the hair pin turns make for a fun trip.

I've noticed that a lot of people mention the Star Ferry.

Is there a particular destination, or is this just riding it for fun...like going to NY and riding the boat to the Statue of Liberty?

I've noticed that a lot of people mention the Star Ferry.

Is there a particular destination, or is this just riding it for fun...like going to NY and riding the boat to the Statue of Liberty?

It's fun and it gives you a great view of both sides of the Victoria Harbour.

It also links up Central (HK Island) to Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon) and is the cheapest way to cross the Harbour - even cheaper than the MTR itself. I think the fare is $2 to $2.50 HKD.

OK, got it. It's funny b/c I purposely planned my trip so that I have 2 nts in Central, and 4 nts on the Kowloon side...and now don't have a practical need for the Star Ferry. I will have to try it anyhow...

I read that it would be interesting to take the cable car one-way to the Buddha statue, and then taxi to the Mui Wo Ferry Pier, where you can hop on a fast ferry to Central Pier #6. But I'm not sure how easy it would be to get a taxi from the Po Lin area...

Also, does anyone have experience getting a taxi in the Po Lin/Tian Tan Buddha area?

I read that it would be interesting to take the cable car one-way to the Buddha statue, and then taxi to the Mui Wo Ferry Pier, where you can hop on a fast ferry to Central Pier #6. But I'm not sure how easy it would be to get a taxi from the Po Lin area...

Also, does anyone have experience getting a taxi in the Po Lin/Tian Tan Buddha area?

You can take Bus #2 from Po Lin Monastery to Mui Wo. On Mon-Sat, it runs from 12:10p to 6:20p, once every about 40 minutes. On Sundays and Public Holidays, all day and about once every 30 minutes.

http://www.newlantaobus.com/road_2.htm

But out of those times, you can also just take the more frequent Bus #23 down from Po Lin, and then transfer to Bus #1 Mui Wo.

Taxis may be available, if there's someone riding it up to Po Lin Monastery. The problem is that there is a grand total of 50 blue Lantau taxis that are allowed on southern Lantau roads. So, it can depend on your luck.

Better way is to do the trip in reverse. Bus schedule matches the ferry into Mui Wo, and the cable car down from Ngong Ping to Tung Chung may have shorter lines.

Better way is to do the trip in reverse. Bus schedule matches the ferry into Mui Wo, and the cable car down from Ngong Ping to Tung Chung may have shorter lines.

I agree the trip in reverse is better. Big Budda will not take all day. What I suggest is to take the ferry to Mui Wo, catch Bus 1 to Tai O fishing village. It is a Chinese stilt village and there are some tours you can take. Has a small market and it quite nice to walk around for a while.

Take bus 21 from Tai O to Ngong Ping for the Big Budda experience and of course the tourist stuff there.

When you are done, take the cable car back to Tung Chung and get on the MTR back to Hong Kong or Kowloon. There are some shows and markets in Ngong Ping also to enjoy. Tung Chung has outlet stores if you are into that.

I have done this in a day at a leisurely pace and it will fill your day. You can use the Octupus card on the buses and the MTR.

i'm the super fan of suggesting against start early, except lantau.

putting stanley and peak tgt means, to see hk from the peak in the evening (day time is perfectly fine, but evening is just nicer so you wont have to go there again). Leaving stanley (bus #6) at 4.30-5 in the summer and you would arrive the peak in 1.5 hours (with the transfer at stubbs road, it's announced in the bus itself). Actually, if you use an octopus, the bus stop "Bowen Road , Stubbs Road" (https://maps.google.com.hk/maps?q=stubbs+road&hl=zh-TW&ie=UTF8&ll=22.263957,114.184657&spn=116.639681,270.527344&sll=22.38131,114.168639&sspn=0.716184,0.664673&t=v&brcurrent=3,0x3403e2eda332980f:0xf08ab3badbeac97c, 0&hnear=%E5%8F%B8%E5%BE%92%E6%8B%94%E9%81%93&z=3&layer=c&panoid=a4RGrcMme4Buy7mTFB2CYw&cbll=22.263957,114.184657&cbp=13,4.3544792429942785,,0,5.0420285971512016) (in the middle of the pic, slightly hidden but you can see the "bus stop" logo) is a interchange point with a fare discount. The busstop some 10 meters in front of the white minibus on the left is the stop (Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, Stubbs Road) to catch the bus #15 to get to the peak. Arriving before 6.30 you should be able to catch the sun setting on a good day in August.
How much time would ppl here suggest spending in Stanley? I'd say 2-3 hours tops if you dont plan on stopping at Repulse Bay (is there still anything worth seeing in RB?).

Please, do yourself a favor and take Bus #260 from central to Stanley (a bit more costlier (fare is 1.5USD) but less traffic, faster and easier against car sickness. It takes a different route, hence faster.

Repulse Bay to have afternoon tea at The Repulse Bay, run by the Peninsula. And look at the stylish apartment blocks, if one's into those things.

Repulse Bay to have afternoon tea at The Repulse Bay, run by the Peninsula. And look at the stylish apartment blocks, if one's into those things.

Stop by Repulse on your way to Stanley from Central... works perfectly.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the suggestions.

Hong Kong has been pretty amazing indeed. In the end we did not go see the Buddha, as we did enough sightseeing in Tokyo and Beijing that we were kind of over it.

View from the Peak was pretty amazing, although the mall complex is a major tourist trap. Still worth the visit for the views though.

Ladies market was, as most of you pointed out, junk. As such, we didnt bother going to the night market.

We did do some high end shopping at Harbour City and very much enjoyed strolling through the Landmark mall as well.

All in all, it was quite a great visit and glad I ended up staying in HK for a few nights instead of just transiting through back to the US as my original plans had been.

Now its time to head over to the airport and enjoy my flight in CX F back to LA... where apparently its just as hot, but at least not so humid!

:)

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the suggestions.

Hong Kong has been pretty amazing indeed. In the end we did not go see the Buddha, as we did enough sightseeing in Tokyo and Beijing that we were kind of over it.

View from the Peak was pretty amazing, although the mall complex is a major tourist trap. Still worth the visit for the views though.

Ladies market was, as most of you pointed out, junk. As such, we didnt bother going to the night market.

We did do some high end shopping at Harbour City and very much enjoyed strolling through the Landmark mall as well.

All in all, it was quite a great visit and glad I ended up staying in HK for a few nights instead of just transiting through back to the US as my original plans had been.

Now its time to head over to the airport and enjoy my flight in CX F back to LA... where apparently its just as hot, but at least not so humid!

:)

Glad that you enjoyed your trip, but if you didn't go sightseeing (other than the Peak), what did you do that was enjoyable (for the benefits of others, including myself)? Laze by the pool, walk in the park, eat amazing food....what made it 'hong kong' as opposed to anywhere else.

I agree, one can have an amazing time in a great city without being a tourist (london is that way for me), but I am intrigued as to what made hk special to a first time visitor who didn't do the usual tourist stuff...

tb

This is probably worth stressing - the transport system is suitably joined up that you can frequently do big loops, rather than a straight out-and-back.*

So if you go up on the cable car, you can then get a bus down to Silvermine Bay and a ferry back to Central from there.

*notwithstanding my earlier suggestion about a taxi from the peak to Stanley...

The #15 bus goes up to the peak. On the way up and down it goes along the crest of the ridge providing views that you cannot see from the peak. I recommend it for one of the directions because of the views, and the lack of a line.

When the #15 gets down into Central it runs along Queens Way.