Hong Kong Itinerary
I put together this Hong Kong itinerary for the people who ask for more specific plans for enjoying Hong Kong. Like the rest of this Hong Kong travel guide, these are mere suggestions meant for inspiration.
Adjustments will have to be made to your individual travel plans and wishes. Here are just a couple of suggestions for what you could do on a day on vacation in Hong Kong:
Sunny Day
On a clear and sunny day, take the opportunity to go outside and to see the view from the Peak!
Take the bus to Stanley, walk around Stanley Market for a while and grab lunch by the beach. Go for a swim either here or in nearby Repulse Bay.
Go west to Aberdeen, site of the original “Hong Kong” harbour and village. Have a look at the Jumbo restaurant and the floating village of sampans.
Get back into Central and take the Peak Tram to the top before dusk, while there is still sunlight. See the view from the lookout and visit the Peak Mall if you have time to spare.
Go to one of the restaurants in the Peak Tower with a view over the city below (where you’ve booked a table beforehand). Have a lovely dinner looking out over Hong Kong as the sun goes down and the lights go on.
Island Shopping Day
Raid the shopping streak on the north side of Hong Kong island!
Start off from Causeway Bay MTR station, located right below the big Japanese mall SOGO. Freely browse whatever shops and malls in the area that grab your interest. Make your way southwest to the Times Square shopping mall. One possibility is to move down through Jardine’s Crescent and then go west through The Lee Gardens and Lee Theatre Plaza.
From Times Square, move south and west underneath the highway and walk through the street market on Bowrington Road. This is a true Chinese style market, and I’ll bet you won’t find two more different shopping experiences this close to each other anywhere in the world!
When you’re done looking at vendors selling “fresh” seafood (it’s still alive!) and all sort of other things, make your way north to the thoroughfare Hennessy Road, and get on a tram heading west.
The tram follows the large road with stops about 250 metres (830 ft) apart. Make sure to look out the windows as you now pass through the Wanchai district. Get off and walk around wherever you like, and then simply get back on the tram.
As you pass the Admiralty area and get into Central you’ll see some of the more distinctive skyscrapers up close. First the oddly shaped twin towers of Lippo Centre, and right afterwards the Bank of China Tower. If this seems like a good day to go to Victoria Peak, you might get off here and take Garden Road southwest to the Peak Tram.
Otherwise, take the tram or walk up Des Voeux Road or Queen’s Road until you reach Jubilee Street. Check out the giant star-shaped building called The Centre, the fifth tallest building in Hong Kong.
Enter the “Central Market” building or get up at the start of Cochrane Street. You are now at the bottom of the famous Mid-levels escalators. Follow the signs towards “Mid-levels” and they will help you get uphill.
Get off in Soho around Staunton Street and Elgin Street and have dinner at your choice of the many restaurants.
Walk down Hollywood Road to Lan Kwai Fong and party all night long!
Macau Day
Take a day trip to visit Macau, Hong Kong’s old Portuguese neighbour and the gambling capital of the world! Yes, Macau is so close by that it deserves inclusion in the Hong Kong itinerary. I would generally say that if you’re spending three full days or more in Hong Kong, you should probably take one day out to visit Macau, but staying overnight is usually unnecessary.
Just go to the Macau Ferry Terminal in the harbour below Sheung Wan and grab a morning ferry across the Pearl River Delta. After one hour you will be in Macau where you can see quaint colonial buildings competing with luxurious new casinos. Whenever you’ve had your fill you can simply take the ferry back home to Hong Kong again.
More Hong Kong itinerary to come
I will add more to the Hong Kong itinerary in the future. But really, you should not find any difficulty spending your time as Hong Kong travel has so much to offer – I haven’t even mentioned the Kowloon side yet, with areas like Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok!