Hong Kong holiday tips

Your air tickets to Hong Kong will provide an exciting holiday in Asia's Pearl of the Orient, but it's well worth studying a few travel tips before you pack your bags and get on the plane.

Hong Kong is an international trade and finance hub built around one of Asia's major ports at the mouth of Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) and many Westerners are in the city for either a leisure or working holiday.

The territory, which was held by the British until 1997, is now reunited with China as a Special Administrative Region that enjoys economic and democratic autonomy from Beijing plus a free media, although there are ongoing differences over just how much freedom should be allowed.

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Hong Kong transport tips

Because Hong Kong is the major travel gateway to China and East Asia, it's easy to find plenty of cheap airfares for an Oriental holiday in this exciting city.

The new Hong Kong International Airport is 32 kilometres from the central business district and is a state-of-the-art facility with rapid, convenient travel/accommodation booking services and transport links such as a shuttle train into the city of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's airport is an attractive, well designed structure with clear signage and is easy to navigate. An In-Transit Excursions brochure is available that explains the airport's shopping and entertainment precincts, SkyMart and SkyPlaza, as well as activities in and around the city. Clearing customs is fairly straightforward and visitors pay no departure tax if they return by midnight.

In 2008, US$42 buys a return ticket on the Airport Express train as well as a three day rail pass for the city. The 25 minute ride from the airport connects with terminals in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, where there are free shuttle connections to most major hotels.

Without incurring customs duty, you can enter Hong Kong with up to 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco, a 1 litre bottle of wine or spirits, 250ml of eau de toilette and/or 60ml of perfume.

Lower import levels are allowed if you arrive from Macau.

For travel less than 90 days, visas aren't required by citizens of the Commonwealth, most European countries or America.

British citizens can holiday in Hong Kong for up to six months without a visa.

Further international visa information can be found at Hong Kong's Immigration Department.

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The most popular and scenic transport between Kowloon and Hong Kong island is by ferry, the trip usually lasting seven or eight minutes and ferries departing every few minutes in both directions.

The Hong Kong ferry terminals are called Wanchai and Central, and on the mainland they are Tsimshatsui, Hung Hom or Jordan Road.

Ferries to the outlying Hong Kong islands mostly berth just north of Exchange Square.

A Star Ferry ride from Central to the tourist district of Tsim Sha Tsui cost HK$2.30 for an upper deck seat in 2009. Lower deck seats are cheaper and the ferries run until 11.30pm.

If you find yourself dining with locals, there are some points of etiquette: never point with your chopsticks, only take food morsels that are closest to you on the dish, use bowls instead of plates, and ask the oldest person present for permission to start eating.

To cross from Hong Kong Island to the Kowloon Peninsula, it's often easiest to catch one of the green and white wooden Star ferries used each day by more than 100,000 travelers. You rarely have to wait more than five minutes for a ferry and the crossing takes seven minutes.

The harbour's main route is between Central in the CBD of Hong Kong Island and Tsim Sha Tsui at the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula. Ferries also run between Hung Hom and Wanchai, Wanchai and Tsim Sha Tsui, and Hung Hom and Central.

Albeit more expensive, a faster way to travel in Hong Kong is on the Mass Transit Railway underground train system.

Hong Kong railways only cover 34 kilometres, but the city isn't much bigger. Women travelling on Hong Kong's underground railway should note media reports that large numbers of women are being groped... i.e. indecently assaulted.

If you want to explore the full majesty of China, a holiday visa is required for a land crossing and train tickets can be purchased to various major Chinese cities. A rail journey from Hong Kong to Beijing takes about 30 hours.

The Trans-Siberian Railway provides train holidays that travel from Europe to Beijing and Hong Kong, but tickets cost a small fortune.

A train service runs four times daily from Kowloon to Canton and trains can also be caught from Hong Kong to Foshan and Changping.

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Hong Kong taxi drivers are pleasantly polite and efficient. Taxis are coloured red with a silver top on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, blue on Lantau Island and green with a white top in the New Territories.

Cab fares are reasonably priced but it's almost always cheaper and more convenient to travel on the city's superb public transport system.

If you hire a car during your Hong Kong holiday travel, be aware that the traffic drives on the left side, the roads are mostly confusing and packed, and motoring can be a nightmare if you don't also hire a driver.

The public transport system is so cheap and comprehensive and the region so small that it usually isn't cost-effective to hire a car during your holiday in Hong Kong.

The smart way to use public transport throughout Hong Kong is by purchasing an MTR Octopus smartcard ($HK150 including HK$50 deposit), which works on trains, trams, buses, ferries and even in a few shops. The Tourist Octopus can be returned for a refund of unused credit or the card can be retained for return visits as the credit remains valid for three years.

Public buses and private mini-buses are everywhere, making travel easy, interesting and informative.

Double decker trams are a slow way of getting around but they're great fun, running the extent of Hong Kong Island's harbourfront from the Western District to Shau Kei Wan.

If you prefer to travel by foot, an excellent brochure called Hong Kong Walks is produced by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, providing detailed instructions on the best routes.

Away from Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong travel mostly requires steep uphill walking.

However, a unique 800m outdoor escalator is provided by the city and just about everybody uses it to travel up, down and around town.

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A dramatic way to enjoy an overview of the city sights is by taking HeliHongKong's 12 minute tourist flight from the heliport at West Kowloon. The helicopter view of Hong Kong is breathtaking. A 12 minute tour costs about $HK800 with flights departing daily at 3pm and arrival necessary about 30 minutes early. More expensive 30 and 60 minute flights are also available.

The travel lure of Hong Kong has been further enhanced with the opening in 2006 of a new 7.5 kilometre cableway running from Tung Chung next to Hong Kong International Airport to Ngong Ping and the Big Buddha. The 20 minute journey offers spectacular views over the South China Sea and North Lantau Country Park.

The 20 minute cable car journey will allow tourists to soar up to 585 metres over the mountains and witness spectacular 360 degree views over the airport, Tung Chung Bay and the South China Sea. The cable construction has blended with the natural environment and the cableway system will be the largest in Asia.

Hong Kong has more than 10,000 restaurants, including some of the best in the world. Be prepared to see offal on the menu.

Tipping isn't expected but is appreciated for quality service. Most restaurants add a 10% service charge to their bills so keep this in mind when tipping a waiter.

Hong Kong dollar notes come in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000. Coins are in denominations of HK$1, 2, 5 and 10, and 10, 20 and 50 cents.

Although Hong Kong can present a daunting maze of shops, buildings and streets which can be confusing for tourists new to the city, the locals are mostly very friendly and eager to help.

All international travellers cheques and credit card brands are accepted in Hong Kong and the territory has numerous convenient money exchanges or Automatic Teller Machines.

Banks are normally open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4.30pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 12.30pm.

Hong Kong travel tips

Hong Kong holiday travel tips

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