Here are some tips for a holiday to Hong Kong that you need to know!
As one of the East Asian countries that is easiest for Indonesian tourists to visit because they don’t need a visa to visit, Hong Kong is one of the holiday destinations that many people dream of. You might be one of them!Â
But before leaving for Hong Kong, it might be a good idea for you to read some of the following tips for a holiday to Hong Kong, which were obtained based on my own experience after a holiday to Hong Kong some time ago with my family.
What tips for a holiday to Hong Kong do you need to know? Check the list below!
1. Fill in the Arrival Card while on the plane
Hong Kong requires incoming tourists to fill out a physical Arrival Card in paper form. These paper Arrival Cards are usually distributed by the aircraft cabin crew after all passengers have boarded, and you can ask for them so you can fill them out while in the air. Don’t forget to bring a pen, because you might not be able to borrow one from the flight crew!
Filling in your Arrival Card while on the plane will allow you to walk straight to the immigration queue and no longer need to spend time filling out your Arrival Card at Hong Kong Airport.
What you also need to prepare before leaving for Hong Kong
SIM Card & Mobile WiFi for Hong Kong – Make sure you are always connected to the internet in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Airport Transportation
Hong Kong Airport Express Ticket
Airport Private Transfers
Transportation in Hong Kong
Octopus Card – To be used to ride the MTR, buses, ferries, coaches and trams
Car rental with driver in Hong Kong – Traveling in Hong Kong will be more comfortable with a private driver
Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Ticket – While you’re in Hong Kong, visit Macau too!
Hong Kong Tourist Pass
Klook Pass Hong Kong
Klook Playground Pass Hong Kong
Klook Pass – The Peak Hong Kong
2. Don’t forget to order your Octopus Card before leaving, then pick it up at Hong Kong Airport
The second tip for a holiday to Hong Kong is don’t forget to order your Octopus Card before leaving and then pick up the card at one of the counters at Hong Kong Airport !
Octopus Card is a payment card valid in Hong Kong, such as E-Money, Flass, Brizzi, or Tap Cash cards in Indonesia, which can be used to take public transportation such as trains, buses and trams, to make payments at convenience stores such as 7 -Eleven.
You can order an Octopus Card on Klook to get a special Octopus Card for tourists, and pick it up at counter A13 in front of Arrival Hall A at Hong Kong Airport. Interestingly, before returning to Indonesia, you can return the card to the same counter and the remaining balance will be returned. Or you can also take it home to Indonesia as a souvenir!
3. Airport Express vs Private Airport Transfer: Which to choose?
Hong Kong Airport Express
To go to Hong Kong city center, you are faced with two choices: take the Airport Express or order a Private Airport Transfer . The question is: which one is better to choose, huh?
Based on my own experience, Private Airport Transfer will be much more profitable if you go with a large group (more than 3 people) and bring a lot of luggage. The reason is, the Airport Express Train ticket itself is around IDR 200 thousand for one adult, one way. As a comparison, you can order an Airport Transfer from Hong Kong International Airport with an Economy 7 Seater car (sufficient for up to 6 adults and 4 large suitcases) from just IDR 1.1 million.
Private Airport Transfer is also much more convenient because you will be taken directly to the hotel, so you don’t have to drag your suitcase from Tsing Yi/Kowloon/Hong Kong Station to the hotel!
However, if you are just going alone or as a couple, and don’t mind having to transit at one of the stations before continuing your journey by MTR or bus to the hotel, you can choose the Airport Express Train. This train is also very comfortable and fast, you know – you can go from the airport to Hong Kong Station in just half an hour!
4. Will you take a taxi in Hong Kong? Make sure you have a small amount of cash
I took the next tip for a holiday to Hong Kong from my personal experience with my family when taking a taxi from the airport to Hong Kong Disneyland some time ago: you should make sure you have Hong Kong Dollars in small denominations.
The problem is this: most taxis in Hong Kong only accept cash (not even Octopus Cards can be used), and there are rules that state that taxi drivers have the right to refuse if passengers pay with cash in HKD 500 or HKD 1,000 bills!
So if you only have Hong Kong Dollars in large denominations (usually money exchangers in Indonesia refuse to give dollars in small denominations), just spend them first at the airport, either at a convenience store or restaurant.
Or if you have already gone to the taxi stand at the airport, ask before boarding whether the driver is willing to accept payment in HKD 500 denominations. In my experience, if the driver has said yes before we board, we can still pay the taxi fare in large HKD denominations.
Phew!
5. If Disneyland is your main reason for going to Hong Kong, stay at one of the hotels at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
When my family and I went on holiday to Hong Kong some time ago, we decided to stay at one of the hotels at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort . The reason is, Hong Kong Disneyland is our main goal on holiday to Hong Kong (this is a birthday trip for our child, so Disneyland is the main agenda!), so to maximize our time and experience at Disneyland, we decided to stay two nights there, starting from one the night before our visit to Disneyland Park.
It must be admitted, the price of the hotel room was quite expensive, but it could be said that it was comparable to the comfort we got! We were able to get to Disneyland Park comfortably using the shuttle bus straight from the hotel to the park, then come home for a bit during the day so our kids could nap at the hotel before returning to the park to watch the amazing Momentous show.
That night after Momentous finished, we could take a shuttle bus directly to the hotel so we didn’t have to travel the long way from Disneyland to downtown Hong Kong using the MTR which was definitely packed with visitors.
We really need that kind of flexibility because our son is only 3 years old and I can’t imagine how tiring it would be for him if we didn’t stay at Disneyland and spend the whole day there – leaving in the morning, then going home after Momentous finished, which was after half past 10 at night. With a schedule like that, it looks like you will only be able to lie down at the hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui or Causeway Bay around 11 pm!
I really couldn’t imagine such a tiring trip, so I feel like our decision to stay two nights at Disneyland Resort was the right one!
Oh yes, we stayed at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel , which is arguably the cheapest hotel in the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Apart from that, there is also the Disney Explorers Lodge and Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel that you can choose to stay here!
6. Avoid visiting the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong on weekends
If you intend to visit tourist attractions in Hong Kong that are very popular, such as Ngong Ping 360 or Victoria Peak Tram , I suggest you should avoid weekends because these places can be very crowded. Even at Ngong Ping 360, even though we already had tickets from Klook which has an exclusive shorter queue line, we still had to queue for up to 1 hour!Â
Imagine what if you haven’t bought a ticket and have to go to the sales window. The queue can be more than an hour and a half.
But it must be admitted that our visit to Ngong Ping 360 was quite afternoon, after we checked out from Disney’s Hollywood Hotel . Therefore, the next tip for a holiday to Hong Kong is…
7. Visit popular tourist attractions such as Ngong Ping 360 or Victoria Peak Tram in the morning
Learning from my mistake on Ngong Ping 360 , I decided to take the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak early in the morning. I caught the first train from Peak Tram Lower Terminus, at 7.30am! There are no queues, and I am free to choose any seat I want.Â
The train was relatively empty, only a few early morning tourists like me and a few local visitors who seemed to want to exercise and enjoy the morning air at the top of The Peak.
The Peak Tram itself operates from 7.30 to 11 pm, so you are flexible enough to determine when to ride this legendary tram. Meanwhile Ngong Ping 360 is open from 10am to 6pm, and like the Peak Tram, I recommend arriving as early as possible to avoid queues during the day.
8. What you must know if you want to take a bus in Hong Kong
Taking a bus abroad may not be an option for many of us, because unlike trains which definitely stop at every station, buses abroad generally do not stop at every stop.
But for me, who experienced the excitement of riding a double decker bus in Hong Kong when traveling from the hotel to the Peak Tram and to the Arte M Museum , riding a unique double decker bus in Hong Kong is an experience that must be tried. And there’s no need to worry if you know how to take a bus in Hong Kong!
How to take a bus in Hong Kong
1. Confirm the bus route you will take. I personally prefer to use Google Maps to find the route I need to take, although many international tourists on traveler forums recommend the Citymapper application too.
Through applications such as Google Maps, we can also see how many stops we need to pass before our destination stop.
2. Stretch out your hand when the bus route you are going to take approaches your stop to stop the bus. Otherwise, the bus may not stop, unless there are passengers who will get off at the stop where you are waiting.
3. Use Octopus Card to pay bus fare. Don’t be surprised if the costs are quite high! The cost of taking the bus varies depending on the bus stop zone we are going to. The costs of course vary depending on the distance of the bus stop zone we are going to. Don’t be surprised if the cost can reach over HKD 10! So make sure you prepare sufficient balance on your Octopus Card.
4. Pay attention to automatic announcements on the bus and on the bus screen. Usually before the next stop, there will be an announcement from the loudspeaker on the bus stating the name of the stop. You can also pay attention to the name of the next stop on the screen on the bus.
5. If the next stop is the stop you are going to, press the stop button on the poles inside the bus, or on the bus window. This must be done so that the bus driver knows that there will be passengers getting off at the next stop!
6. If you are sitting on the top floor of the bus, go downstairs before the bus arrives at the stop because the bus driver won’t stop for too long at the stop! Please be careful when going up or down the stairs while the bus is moving – unfortunately, bus drivers will not wait for passengers to go up and down the stairs.
9. Plan where you will eat while in Hong Kong, especially if you have to be careful about certain foods
It’s no secret that Hong Kong is one of Asia’s culinary paradises. However, if you are not the type of person who can spontaneously eat whatever you can find, or if you need to find halal food while on holiday in Hong Kong, then I highly recommend you to plan the places to eat that you can visit during your holiday in Hong Kong.
10. Essential apps for holidays in Hong Kong
HKeMobilityÂ
HKeMobility is a travel application developed directly by the Hong Kong Department of Transport, and is an all-in-one app that will really help you plan your trip while in Hong Kong using various kinds of public transportation in Hong Kong, from MTR, bus, mini-bus, tram , and ferries.
Citymapper & Google Maps
Third party alternative to find the fastest route to reach your destination in Hong Kong. I myself only used Google Maps while in Hong Kong, and didn’t find any problems!
OpenRice
If you need recommendations for places to eat near your holiday location in Hong Kong, you can try using OpenRice, which is trusted by local residents and international tourists.
Wi-Fi.HK
This application is very useful for guiding you to find WiFi networks that can be accessed for free in Hong Kong.
