DC777Fan

Few questions, as a lot of the advice on this forum seems a bit dated (from the early 00's in some cases in some searches). Going with my girlfriend in November around Thanksgiving time. Arriving Saturday am and departing the following Sunday am (8 nights).

-What part(s) of town do young people (25 & 24) want to stay in? Any hotel recommendations around or under $175USD per night? We want to be in a fun part of town with good fashion shopping for her and just fun bars and a lot going on so we really get the feel for the city. Touristy is OK for a first trip.

-Are the 90's over WRT paying $500 for a truly bespoke (not MTM) suit made with top quality wool in HK?

-What is a cheap, efficient and safe way to get to Macau?

-Any other advice for a first time trip to HK for young people. In fact, although I've been almost everywhere in Europe and the Caribbean, I've never been anywhere in Asia (unless you consider Israel & Jordan Asia), so this is a first trip to Asia as well.

Thanks very much for all advice!

cyby

Staying in Hong Kong Island is probably going to be more expensive than staying in Kowloon. $175 a night? There are probably a decent number of hotels in Wan Chai you can probably deal with - expect no frills, and small rooms. If you don't mind being slightly out of the way, on the south side of HK Island there is L'hotel Island South. Not exactly in the middle of things, but it's a decently nice place, and you should be able to knock a $85/night rate.

Fortunately, Hong Kong is really easy to get around in, so as long as you don't stay in BFE, you'll be able to navigate between Wan Chai, and say, Central or Causeway Bay, in minutes.

Perhaps some others can contribute some knowledge about Kowloon....

Ferries run from the HK-Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan (Above the MTR Station) - they run around the clock, with daytime/evening service every 5-15 minutes and every 30 minutes overnight. Tickets are about $20 USD a person, one way. No roundtrip discounts. That's your cheapest (and really only) bet. These are high speed catamarans, and should take an hour.

samv

At $175 a night (HKD 1,500ish) you should be able to get a room at one of the "mainstream" hotels in Central (conrad / hyatt / excelsior or park lane in causeway bay) - they often have decent deals for a stay over a certain number of nights or if you (or anyone you know) works at a large bank/law firm/corporation you may ask them to make you reservation under corporate rate (although a lot of heated discussion on this forum has been about using corporate rates for personal travel). Coming as a couple you'd prob be spending a lot of time in Soho/LKF at nights and staying on the HK island side maybe a better option. Shopping is all over the place and other areas (causeway bay, TST, Stanley) are great to explore - get a good travel guide book!

cyby

Most corporate rates for these hotels will be over the budget, especially the ones in Central or Admiralty. That much said, Excelsior/Park Lane will be cheaper if you can knock a corporate rate. Otherwise they should run just a bit over your budget.

A good travel guide book is a must though, and I think by en large most of them are actually quite good...

ChrisLi

For 175 USD you are definitely out of luck with the major hotel samv . Last time I was quote for a stay at Conrad / JW Marriot the rate is like 2.8K HKD plus per night.

It really depends on the time the OP travel and if there's any major exhibition. A search on hotels.com will probably yield you a decent list which OP can further explore. For 25-ish I will suggest staying in Mong Kok / Tsim Sha Tsui / Causeway Bay / Wan Chai as these places are well connected to major tourist attractions, shopping malls and etc.

Myself being 28 I normally meet with friends (not into the bar / clubbing scene, more prefer a pub) at Causeway Bay around Times Square or SOHO area

The tubrojet is definitely the way to go. There're also other operator like CotaiJet which goes directly to the new development area of Macau (in terms of Hotels and Casinos), all are pretty safe and reasonable priced. There's also a much less frequent ferry service to Macau but never tried that. The ferry fee is from USD 25 to USD 40 depends on time and class of service.

Check the Sticky as a starter, go for http://www.discoverhongkong.com and read the following sites will be fun

http://hk.asia-city.com/
http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong
http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/none/...-arrest-820489
http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/play/...tseeing-371481

rkkwan

There are 5 different ferry companies that go to Macau. But you should only be considering the 3 main ones - Turbojet, Cotaijet and New World First Ferry. All comparable price and similar traveling time.

Main difference is the piers they use. Cotaijet goes to Cotai, not the main Macau Peninsula. New World First Ferry departs from Kowloon, not HK Island.

Turbojet is also more frequent. Every 15 minutes, vs 30 for the other two, for most of the day.

Wchchang

Go to LanKwai Fong. there are some new boutique hotels which might fit your budget, Soho - foods/wine+bar.
try hotel.hk for booking. Its a local agency