Is Hong Kong good for a city break?

[rollingdiscs]

DP and I are going to New York at Easter, but I have a real itch to get a big new city explored before we head there. I don't know why! I saw some pretty cheap flights to HK with BA. Is it worth a punt for a week of sight seeing?

I've only been for work and I did like it but I'd say a week is possibly longer than you'd want and the time difference was really tough so not sure I'd voluntarily endure it for such a short break.

We went on a stopover on the way to Australia, so one night, two days there. It was interesting, but not sure I would want to spend a week there. It was also incredibly hot and humid (July).

Great city, have been for work several times and once tacked on a few days' holiday.

Not sure you need a full week as pp's have said - but it's easily combinable with elsewhere, eg Ho Chi Minh City or Bangkok are a 2-3h flight away.

Or, stay in HK and plan to explore the islands (Lamma, Lantau etc) and Macau.

We went in January this year for a two week holiday, with toddler DS. We had a great time and there is lots to see and do - we could have stayed longer

We did day trips over to Lamma, Lantau and Cheng Chau islands which were full days out each including a walk and some time on the beach. You can visit the south of Hong Kong Island - we spent a day in Stanley or there's Shek O beach which is meant to be lovely. We visited temples, markets, parks, spent time wandering around the different areas. The food is amazing and you can eat well on any budget.

Public transport is cheap and efficient, it's really easy to explore. We got Octopus cards which were very useful.

We also went to Ocean Park and Disneyland. If we didn't have DS with us, we would have gone walking. There's lots of good trails and it's a really beautiful place once you're away from the buildings.

Take a look at things to do on tripadvisor or the lonely planet guide book.

Only downside is the time difference. We flew direct overnight and it took us a good 3 or. 4 days to adjust, but I imagine it would be easier without a toddler in tow!

Definitely worth a week of sightseeing and I would combine with Macau.
Easy to get around on public transport. Some of my favourites:
HK history museum
star ferry
cable car to Lantau island
10 000 buddhas monastery
chi lin nunnery
hong kong park
Disney or ocean park if you have kids with you
you can easily travel to Macau for the day (or longer) and away from the strip there are some lovely backstreets to explore with great restaurants selling Portuguese food. Ruins of st Pauls and area around the ruins is also interesting.

We went for 10 nights and are desperate to go back. So much to see and do, we did a combination of shopping, exploring the hiking trails, beaches, pool afternoon and sightseeing. Restaurants and street food were all fantastic.

It’s not a huge city but Cape Town has virtually no time difference. That’s a very good destination for a week. I think a week in HK would be fun but you could combine with Shanghai if you wanted two centres.

I would not combine HK with anywhere in mainland china as the visa for china is quite expensive (GBP 170 per person) and you will need to be fingerprinted at one of the visa processing centres as part of the application - also an expensive day out. The visa is valid for 2 years, so unless you are planning a longer visit to china within that time period I think it's an expensive option.
combining HK with Macau is really easy, but there are also loads of great places to visit within a short flight from HK. However, imo there is plenty in HK to keep you entertained for 7 to 10 days

Yes, that’s true about visas. Many trips to China do include HK and to me it makes more sense to include it in a China trip rather than s short stay. I think Cape Town, because of overnight flights and little time difference, is a better bet.

No. HK by itself is nothing really - can see it in most of a day. What makes it special is using it as a base to explore mainland china, and if you can’t do that there’s no point.

If you want an East Asian city break then Tokyo is the best option.

Honkers for a long weekend, is simply divine. Go for it. Minimum of 4 nights though, I’d say.

Have just got back from Vietnam with a two night stop over in HK. It was hot and humid and we were extremely tired after the 12 hours flight but managed to pack a lot in to the few hours we were actually awake enough to enjoy it! Am glad I’ve been but would not hurry to go back.

You can do limited visa free trips to some cities in mainland China - up to 144 hours iirc.

Visa free info

I've lived in HK for over a decade and there's SO much to do here with a family!

Always makes me laugh when people think it's just skyscrapers and shopping: 40% of HK is country park and we have some incredible nature, beaches, waterfalls and hikes to explore as well as all the markets, temples and shops! It's a small city with amazing public transport, so incredibly easy to get around. I'd steer clear of summer (June - Aug) as it's hot and wet. Oct and April are perfect weather here.

I'm happy to email you some itinerary ideas if you're interested - feel free to drop me a PM.

Sorry - misread and thought you were travelling with kids. Even more options if just you and DP!

Yes, we loved it! Our main holiday was travelling around mainland China; we just visited Hong Kong for a few days. We thought it was amazing and would definitely go back. There was so much to see there and we were in a hotel with rooftop pool and jacuzzi which gave an added wow factor to our stay - the views! This was a few years ago though, pre children and I don’t remember having to give fingerprints for anything!