How to stop a kid stewing in Hong Kong
 

I has to plan (from the UK) for my kid to fly from Tel Aviv to Melbourne abd back. The very helpful travel agent I have uncovered in Israel reckons it's EL Al and Cathay, wiht a stop in HKG. But the stops are there 7 hours in each direction, which I don't want to subject her to on such a long trip. Is there another route anyone knows of? (*A via Frankfurt doesn't help.)

I always try to avoid kid stew whenever possible. It just seems so mean to the kid, unless we're talking about goats. ;)

I haven't looked, but it sounds to me like an obscure-enough routing that great connections might not be available. Does Emirates fly to TLV? If so, perhaps a connection through Dubai could work. Emirates flies either nonstop or direct to MEL from DXB.

Doubt it since, IIRC, Israeli passport bearers are barred from flying EK let alone fly through DXB. Maybe MS (EygptAir) via CAI is possible though that may add a connection in SYD.

You should be able to book a fare connecting through Bangkok and Sydney. Would be some stewing involved, but probably not as long as seven straight hours. Try kayak.com and look through the various itineraries.

How old is your kid? It would help us to know this in order to be able to comment on the airport and how well she could pass the time.

Thanks for the advice. Kayak came up wiith nothing better. She's sixteen, and as long as there are PCs at HKG that'll keep her busy for a chunk of the time. My hunch is that one change of plans on a routing like this isn't bad when all is said and done.

Exactly, my first thought on seeing the thread title was, "turn off the burner."

EXPENSE WARNING.

Unless your child is in Business/First she will not be able to visit any lounge where computer access is available.

You may be forced to provide her with a credit card and pay $$$$$$ for access in the general lounge area. There are probably several places to gain internet access (not sure on HKG but some airports have internet cafe-like places, others have terminals and chairs) but all will cost money to access .. and it is typically by the minute (or 15 minute interval).

At 16 years I am not certain if she would qualify as an 'unaccompanied minor'. At least thats what it is called in the US. She would board the plane .. be met at the connection and be supervised on the layover .. put on the connecting flight .. met at the final location .. and presented to you for signature (with your proper ID). If the airlines involved have this 'service' she will not be free to roam (and stew or shop) in the airport unaccompanied.

That might be your better option.

Here's another option. Is she an experienced world traveller? Are you comfortable with her on her own in London or New York? If so, she could take the Airport Express into Central. The very modern, very trendy IFC mall right over the train station will keep her occupied with shops, restaurants, movies, and a great view over the harbor. It's a long trip; if she is mature enough to get back to the airport in time for her flight this would be a fun way to stretch her legs and kill some time.

After about 14 hours of stewing on this trip, I think the child will be pretty tender. ;)

Free Internet at Chek Lap Kok :)
 

Hong Kong International Airport has free internet access at its "Cyber Break Café":

A part of the new Cyber Mall, the Cyber Break is located in the Level 6 Departures Northwest Concourse. Here one enjoys unlimited free Internet access on 15 iMac terminals.

Not true. There are stand-up PCs at HKG that do offer internet connection and can be used for free. They're sponsored by Samsung.

There should be a whole range of options flying via Europe.
Play around with zuji.com.au to get some ideas. For example you could fly on Austrian to Vienna (slight stop-over in SIN) then get a connection to TLV - looks like about a four hour wait. Or fly to LHR on Qantas - one of the flights gets in at about 6.30 with a 8.30 onward connection to TLV.

Going via Europe will give you two stops - but both of these combined will be less than 7 hours.

Definitely send her on the train into Central or Kowloon. I would go to Kowloon, then take the Star Ferry to Central, then go up to the Peak. That would be a great adventure for a kid. I know when I was 16 I already had made several trips on the train by myself to downtown Chicago. Hong Kong is a lot nicer and friendlier than Chicago.

Definitely two groups of answers here. I’m surprised no one from Group 1 has suggested stuffing her pockets with some tomatoes and a few sprigs of rosemary.

Moving on to the kind folk of Group 2. I think a wander into Central is a great idea. I was there 20 years ago and was amazed by the architecture.

Re alternate routing, I followed the suggested links and TLV-HKG-MEL still seems best – just one stop isn’t too bad on a non-standard routing, I guess.

For FF miles, as our main flying is between UK and Australia we are only linked to Kris Flyer, and I cannot see an easy way to use *A without backtracking to FRA, which add time and about $300. (El Al to BKK then Thai Air direct to MEL looked good for a moment, but has a 10 hour wait in BKK!). So do we just open a new FF account on Cathay or one of their partners (Qantas may be best) and hope they come in useful one day?