Hong Kong travel tips

Book holiday airfares to Hong Kong and you'll be headed toward an Oriental travel adventure in a trade, finance, communication and tourism hub built around one of Asia's major ports.

Hong Kong, which sits at the mouth of the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River), was a colony and then a dependency of Great Britain from 1841 until 1997, when it was reunited with China and Beijing as a Special Administrative Region.

Under the governing Basic Law, Beijing allows a high degree of economic and democratic autonomy in Hong Kong with free market commerce and a free media, although there are various issues that cause friction between the two social systems and uncertainty among investors.

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Hong Kong travel tips

Note: Hong Kong became a mostly smoke-free city from January 1 2007 when a ban came into force on cigarettes in restaurants, workplaces, schools, karaoke lounges and public areas. Smoking at outdoor places such as beaches, swimming pools, sports grounds and most areas of public parks is also forbidden and offenders face a maximum penalty of $HK5000.

About 7.5 million people live in Hong Kong and they remain more sophisticated and cosmopolitan than their mainland Chinese counterparts.

The island of Hong Kong covers about 75 square kilometres. The city itself is mostly clean, organised and safe. The island is more upmarket and expensive than Kowloon but its streets are relatively free of touts.

The skyscraper profile of Hong Kong across the harbour from Kowloon is one of the most impressive city panoramas on earth. In 2010, Hong Kong had 36 of the world's 100 tallest residential buildings.

Overlooking the opulent hotels, international banks, towering skyscrapers and futuristic buildings of Hong Kong is the jade green pinnacle of Victoria Peak.

The streets of Hong Kong are usually crowded and it seems the city never sleeps. If you want privacy, the only hideaway is often your hotel room.

However, about 70% of Hong Kong is classed rural with about 40% reserved as country parks, so it's fairly easy to slip out of the city and clear your lungs with a day trekking through the countryside.

The easiest escape might be to catch a tram to The Peak, Hong Kong's lookout with 360 degree views, and spend a few hours exploring the surrounding bushland. Hong Kong's rickety trams have no air-conditioning but provide a very cheap way to enjoy a unique perspective of the city. A tram ticket from Garden Road to the top level, The Peak Tower Sky Terrace, cost HK$22 one way or HK$33 return in 2009, and takes just eight minutes. The tram departs every 15 minutes from 7am to midnight.

A trip to the top of Victoria Peak is a must during your holiday travel in Hong Kong, during both the day and at night. The 552m elevation provides stunning city and harbour views - although the scenery can at times be lost in fog.

The region has a strong population of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and boasts the world's greatest concentration of goods per square kilometre - all aimed at you, the tourist.

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Hong Kong has 234 surrounding islands you can explore during your holiday, although many are just uninhabited, craggy rocks.

The islands cover a total of more than a thousand square kilometres and are home to more than 7 million people.

The biggest island of Lantau covers 142 square kilometres, boasts a 934m mountain peak and has a population around 30,000.

The Lantau walking trail is a world renowned travel experience offering spectacular ocean views and forest trails in a rugged landscape. About 70% of Lantau's landscape is best described as country park.

Lantau has several important monasteries and is now connected to the mainland by bridge. A ferry ride from Central Station takes about an hour to get to Silvermine Bay (Mui Wo) on Lantau.

The peaceful aura of Lantau is symbolised by its famous Tian Tan Buddha, a 26 metre bronze statue at Ngong Ping village overlooking much of the island landscape. The Tian Tan Buddha at Po Lin Monastery weighs about 250 tonnes and took more than ten years to complete. More than a million visitors a year visit the Tian Tan Buddha and Ngong Pin village is an entertainment complex on a 1.5ha site. Highly recommended is the new Wisdom Path from the base of the Tian Tan Buddha. The path is a 20 minute walk boasting dramatic scenery centred on 38 columns positioned with the topography to symbolise infinity. The Giant Buddha is a 50 minute bus ride from the ferry terminal at Mui Wo.

Another reason to buy an airline ticket to Hong Kong is Hong Kong Disneyland on the edge of Lantau Island. The 126 hectare Disney park has four themed lands - Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Adventureland - and is expected to attract almost 6 million tourists in its first year. Adult entry per day in 2008 is about HK$295 and HK$210 for children aged 3 to 11. Weekend entry is more expensive but all entry fees cover all rides and shows in the park. Early criticism of the park is that there are insufficient roller-coaster rides, no shaded areas and lengthy queues, particularly on weekends.

About 20,000 people live on Cheung Chau (island of 2.5 square kilometres), which has become a tourist holiday magnet. Cheung Chau is mostly populated by fishermen and their families, many living on junks in the harbour.

Catch a 45 minute ferry ride to Cheung Chau from the Outlying Islands Ferry Pier 5 at Central on Hong Kong Island.

Other Hong Kong islands worth visiting during your holiday include Lamma, Peng Chau and Poi Toi.

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Macau is a former Portuguese colony about 65 kilometres from Hong Kong on the other side of the Pearl River.

Macau covers about 23.6 square kilometres of land on two islands and a peninsula. Before its return to Chinese rule in 1999 as a semi-autonomous region, this territory was run by Portugal for four centuries as a freewheeling imperial outpost trading silk, sandalwood, porcelain, opium, arms and other goods.

The economy of Macau grew by about 30% in 2007 and about 27 million tourists visited the enclave.

The city of Macau provides a fascinating contrast of Spanish culture and architecture within an Oriental setting, and is worth the extra journey if you holiday in Hong Kong.

Caged balconies and windows are common in Macau. Cathedral ruins and an old fort in the middle of the peninsula provide great views.

In Macau, the best church is the 17th century St Dominic's, the best museum is within Mount Fortress, the best facade is St Paul's Cathedral built in 1602, the best market is the art deco Red Market built in 1936 at the corner of Avenida Almirante Lacerda and Avenida Horta e Costa, and the best temple is the A-Ma temple built in 1488.

A jetfoil trip from Hong Kong to Macau takes about an hour. In 2008, Macau is regarded as the busiest casino town in the world, with millions of mostly Chinese tourists visiting so they can gamble at one of the 29 casinos. Public gambling is illegal in the rest of China and the flood of gamblers is crowding Macau and changing its character.

An annual highlight is the Macau Grand Prix, one of the world's most exciting street circuits in motor sports, which is staged in 2010 from November 18-21.

There are only two major seasons in Hong Kong... the hot, rainy and humid Southwest Monsoon from May to September and the cool, dry Northern Monsoon the rest of the year.

If you don't enjoy tropical humidity, the best time to travel to Hong Kong is from late September till February when the days are warm, the humidity low and the nights cool.

The rains usually set in around March/April and Hong Kong bakes through an at-times unbearably sticky tropical summer from about May to September.

The weather can be spectacular during late summer, which is the typhoon season.

Travellers, particularly with respiratory ailments, should note that air pollution from thousands of factories along the Pearl River can be so intense that you cannot see across Hong Kong habour and the sun is a barely visible orange disc. Thick air pollution is regular during winter but in recent years has also become a frequent problem in summer. A smoggy day in Hong Kong is comparable to inhaling six cigarettes and the pollution problem is causing some people to leave the city.

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The Chinese New Year in January/February is particularly crowded (but the fireworks over Victoria Harbour are spectacular).

A majority of people in Hong Kong are Buddhists or Taoists and there are hundreds of temples dotted throughout the urban areas.

The most common religious deities are associated with the weather and the sea, and the moral codes of Confucius are a common bond among locals.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of Catholic and Protestant churches in Hong Kong, as well as mosques and temples for different religions.

There are also Chinese festivals throughout the year providing dramatic theatre that entices many tourists to book flights for holiday travel in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is an amalgam of its British colonial past, the Oriental culture of its citizens and the hectic pace of modern China.

English place names, occasional remnants of British architecture and old tramways mix with stunning modern edifices and towering buildings built into a violently hilly landscape.

Hong Kong is regarded as one of the world's most expensive cities and covers a total of 1,092 square kilometres of hilly to steeply mountainous terrain bordering China and the South China Sea.

The landscape is flatter to the north.

About 40% of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (so named since the 1997 handover to China) is protected parkland, including many of the 260 islands in the Pearl River Delta. The Hong Kong Wetland Park, which combines education with entertainment, opened in 2006. The protected parkland includes subtropical forests, marshlands, inlets, tidal flats, channels, mangroves and waterfalls.

Much of Hong Hong is undeveloped land within the Country Parks system, which has thousands of plant and animal species.

Country parks in Hong Kong include Aberdeen, Pok Fu Lam, Tai Tam, Kam Shan, Lantau and Sai Kung. Nature trails worth exploring include Bowen Road, Lantau Trail, Maclehose Trail, Pineapple Dam, Tai Po Kau, and Wilson Trail.

The most popular tourist attractions are Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Hong Kong Park, Aw Boon Haw Gardens, Kowloon Park, Victoria Park, Ocean Park, Hong Kong Space Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art Centre, Hong Kong Science Museum, the Museum of History, Old Wan Chai Post Office, the Central Markets, Man Mo Temple, Hung Shing Temple, Tin Hau Temple, Tsim Sha Tsui tourist slum in Kowloon, and the islands and beaches of Deep Water Bay and Repulse Bay.

It's worth noting a $1 billion, five year redevelopment of Ocean Park which will see the 44 hectare park almost completely rebuilt. The park has giant pandas and aquariums with performing seals and dolphins. Ocean Park offers endless family fun with 2005 admission at $HK185 for adults and $HK93 for children, which covers fares for all games and rides. The park is open from 10am to 6pm.

Other infrastructure changes of interest to tourists include a major spruce-up of the Victoria Harbour waterfront, a huge cultural and entertainment complex being built in West Kowloon, and a $100 million renovation at Hong Kong's iconic Peak Tower.

There are no onshore casinos in Hong Kong but you can join one of the many overnight cruise boats that take passengers to international waters for a meal, drinks and a night of gambling.

According to Census figures released in 2005, there are about 10% more women living in Hong Kong than men. A 2007 survey found the residents of Hong Kong can expect to live longer than anyone else on the planet - women 85.6 years and men 79.5 years.

About 95% of the population is ethnic Chinese and, because of the city's rich trading history, the remainder come from just about everywhere in the world.

The official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English, the most widely spoken tongue being Cantonese. English is spoken by many.

Filipinos are the dominant minority.

If during your holiday you need a policeman who speaks English, look for one wearing a red shoulder badge.

The free market economy of Hong Kong is highly reliant on international trade, as it has been for decades. Victoria Harbour is one of the busiest deep water ports in the world.

However, about 85% of Hong Kong residents are employed in the service sector.

The city has several thousand super-rich residents but most people work long hours and live in small, crowded apartments.

Hong Kong parks are often full of people early each morning practicing tai chi. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (0011 852 2508 1234) provides free tai chi lessons in front of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Kowloon at 8am every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Despite being a compact city best known for its frenzy of people, Hong Kong still has plenty of quiet, meditative locations in keeping with the philosophy of its residents.

Hong Kong has plenty of trails for tranquil holiday hiking, as well as southern beaches with good swimming.

Surfing waves can be enjoyed at Tai Long Wan in Sai Kung East Country Park, a string of four pristine bays and beaches dotted with noodle stores. Tent hire is available (On Kee Store on Ham Tin beach) if you want to camp for a few nights.

Most of Hong Kong, particularly in the northern New Territories, is semi-rural. This is where you'll find secluded beaches and rural tranquility if you want more peaceful holiday travel.

The four main areas are Hong Kong island, the 234 outlying islands, plus Kowloon and the New Territories on the Chinese mainland peninsula, north of the island.

The New Territories share a 20 kilometre land border with China.

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Hong Kong shopping centres are an amazing experience and are one of the many reasons so many tourists enjoy holiday travel in Hong Kong.

East of the island's Central Business District is the Admiralty commercial district, best known for the restaurants and clubs of Wan Chai and the major shopping centres of Causeway Bay.

If you're stuck on the mainland and want to escape the persistent crowds of humanity, the eastern Sai Kinh Peninsula is a protected natural playground for holiday hiking, camping and swimming.

Travel tips for Hong Kong

Hong Kong holiday travel tips

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