Everything you need to know about Hong Kong if you are driving on your own. During the trip, we have collected practical information and share with you. Prices for tickets, food, hotels, transportation, visas and attractions in 2021. Plus our tips and reviews from tourists. Bonus - addresses of inexpensive cafes. Everything you need in one place!
Exchange rate: 1 Hong Kong dollar (HKD) ≈ 10 RUB.
Flights to Hong Kong
The cheapest flight to Hong Kong is from Vladivostok - round-trip tickets cost from 16.5 thousand rubles (direct S7 flight). In second place are Irkutsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, tickets cost from 23.5 thousand rubles. A flight from Moscow will cost 26 thousand or more, from St. Petersburg - from 30.5 thousand rubles, from Novosibirsk - from 30 thousand.
Visa for Hong Kong
Do Russians need a visa to Hong Kong? No, if the trip does not exceed 14 days... The purpose of the visit should be tourism, meeting with friends / relatives, transit or business visit (however, making a profit during the trip is prohibited).
For a longer trip to Hong Kong, you must apply for a visa. This can be done in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. Also, citizens of Ukraine and Kazakhstan do not need a visa for 2 weeks, but Belarusians will have to apply for it.
Required documents for a visa: application form in English (you can download it on the embassy's website); 1 photo 3x4 for the questionnaire; passport valid for another 6 months after the end of the trip. If you are arriving in Hong Kong through another country where a visa is required, you must also present it.
The cost of a Hong Kong visa is $ 30. Do not forget to fill out a migration card in English before entering - it is usually issued on the plane.
Transport in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is enmeshed in a network of public transport: there are many bus routes, subways, vintage double-decker trams, ferries and, of course, taxis. The latter are expensive: red cars - 22 HKD for the first two kilometers, and then 6 HKD for every next 200 meters.
In general, you don't even need to use a taxi in the city, as there is a convenient and not very expensive metro. In the metro, a one-time ticket costs from 3.5 to 55 HKD - the price depends on the distance. Trams are very cheap - only 2.5 HKD. The same is true for ferries (like Star Ferry) - ticket from 2 to 3.4 HKD.
Attention: for trips, you always need to have a trifle, since change is often not issued, and this is worth remembering. This is not very convenient if you plan to stay in the city for more than 2-3 days, so tourists in their reviews recommend such travelers to purchase an electronic card Octopus... Its cost is 150 HKD, of which 100 is on the balance (it can be replenished), and 50 is a refundable deposit (the balance on the card can also be returned), plus 9 HKD is withheld for use. You can pay for all types of transport, even some taxis, and you can also pay in certain stores and receive discounts. Thus, it allows you to save money. Learn more about the Octopus card.
We recommend that you thoroughly study the subway map and download a city map to your phone before traveling to Hong Kong on your own. Some tourists complained that the GPS was not working well there - we were convinced of this ourselves. The metro is open from 6 am to 1 am.
Buses in Hong Kong are mostly double-decker, often there is a huge queue for them and trams at stops during rush hours. All stops are equipped with stands with route timetables and fares.
Hotels in Hong Kong
Don't expect to find cheap hotels in Hong Kong - for less than $ 28 for a tiny double room, you're unlikely to find anything. You need to come to terms with this. What should you remember when choosing a hotel? Firstly, real estate is expensive here, and its area is modest (but all the conditions are usually in the room). Secondly, we recommend looking for hotels on Rumguru in advance, a month or two in advance - it is highly likely that you will "catch" a good discount from a star hotel.
Hotels are cheaper on the Kowloon Peninsula, on the Hong Kong Island everything is much more expensive. If you are traveling with a family or a company, you can save on accommodation by booking an apartment or an apartment on the popular private accommodation service Airbnb.ru - there are many beautiful and interesting options, unlike boring hotels.
Find out: Where to live in Hong Kong for a tourist.
Food in Hong Kong: what to try
"Culinary Capital of the World", "World Food Fair", "Gourmet Paradise" and other flattering names are all about Hong Kong. Despite the rather high price tag, tourists recommend not to skimp and taste the masterpieces of the local cuisine.
What food and drink is worth trying in Hong Kong? There is so much of it that you cannot list everything. Here are some of the things that tourists advise in their reviews and travel reports:
- A variety of dumplings (dim sum): with shrimp (haa gau), with pork and broth inside (xiao long bao). They look modest, but very tasty! Price from 13, on average - 20-25 HKD.
- Yutao - deep-fried long strips of dough. These can be found, for example, in Vietnam and other countries of Southeast Asia.
- Egg tarts are sweet-salty, specific. From HKD 2 apiece.
- Fish balls.
- Egg waffles (gai daan jai), there are also berry, chocolate, etc. From 15 HKD.
- Congi, konji (congee) - rice porridge. There are many options for the dish, there may be various additives (garlic, herbs, meat, etc.).
- "Pineapple" buns (baolaobao, Pineapple cake) - actually pineapple is not there, but they are delicious. They say that outwardly it resembles a pineapple.
- Sago Mix is a dessert with sago, milk and pieces of fruit. Reminiscent of Filipino Halo Halo and Malaysian ABC and Ice Kachang.
- Peking roast goose and duck.
- Rice wrapped in lotus leaves.
- Noodles with wontons (Wonton Noodles).
- Sweet sesame balls (Deep Fried Sesame Balls).
- Milk tea.
- Tea coffee (inyun).
- Almond Milk - about 10 HKD.
Food prices are high, especially in light of the fall in the ruble. For example, rice with meat on a food court will cost around 30-40 HKD. But in Hong Kong, you can save money by eating at local noodle shops - read how not to go broke on food in the article about prices in Hong Kong.
Addresses and names of inexpensive cafes, restaurants and eateries in Hong Kong
Experienced independent travelers know how to eat deliciously and inexpensively in Hong Kong. We have collected on the Internet the addresses of establishments where you can eat on a budget, and share with you. Among them there are even cafes marked with one Michelin star!
- One dim sum - 1 Michelin star. Menu prices: 13 to 20 HKD. Address: Shop 1 & 2, G / F, Kenwood Mansion, 15 Playing Field Road, Prince Edward.
- Tim ho wan - also 1 Michelin star. Menu prices: from 12 to 22 HKD. Address: Shop 72, G / F, Olympian City 2, 18 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui. There is a long queue at the establishment, at the entrance you need to sign up and wait. There are two more cafes at the following addresses: G / F, 9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Shum Shui Po and Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station, Central.
- Food court in the shopping center Sogo Mall.
- Tourists are advised to visit Yoshinoya - there are inexpensive sets (20-22 HKD).
- Popular network Cafe de Coral.
Having been in Hong Kong for only two days, we did not waste time looking for the aforementioned establishments and waiting in lines that form at the entrance to Michelin restaurants. Inexpensive food by Hong Kong standards is easy to find, you just have to turn into the alleys and look into small Chinese eateries. Often they have a menu in English, you can also focus on pictures. Sellers often advise themselves on what to try.
Attractions in Hong Kong: what to see on your own
Look for interesting excursions on the Sputnik and Tripster websites. Individual and group, no crowds of tourists and in Russian.
First of all, we advise you not to run to see the sights, but calmly walk around the city and get imbued with it. He himself is already an attraction. Get to know the local cuisine.
Top attraction - famous Victoria Peak, a visit to which will cost a pretty penny: tram to the mountain and back, entrance, binoculars - all this costs about 93 HKD.Tourists offer to cheat: to climb to the peak on foot, since the views of the city are wonderful, and not to enter the Sky Terrace observation deck, but to admire exactly the same views for free from the nearest park. You can go down or up by bus for 9.8 HKD (from / to Central metro station). We got there: first on the Mid-Levels escalators, then on foot to the peak, and back by bus. We were not lucky, as there was a dense fog, which more or less dissipated only towards night, and we saw the city in lights only from the White Jade observation deck, where tourist buses stop. It costs about 10 HKD to get there, as it is to the peak.
Another point of attraction for tourists is Big Buddha on the island of Lantau, in the village of Ngong Ping. The entrance to the Buddha is free, but to get to it, you need to spend money. There are several trekking paths outside the village.
What else can you see in Hong Kong on your own? Avenue of Stars, Ocean Park, Po Lin Monastery, Disneyland, a variety of museums and many, many skyscrapers.
Safety
Although the city is considered one of the safest in the world, travelers are advised to exercise some caution. In general, the tips that tourists give in their reviews and travel reports to Hong Kong are standard:
- do not wander at night in dark neighborhoods far from the center and docks;
- stay alert in the crowd and watch out for bags and pockets;
- exchange currency carefully, as well as check checks, bills and receipts;
- beware of greeters and helpers who promise services or goods at very low prices - you need to know the average price of a product so as not to fall for the bait. Such a technique of deceiving tourists on Nathan Road is widespread, so for shopping it is better to go to Mong Kok market.
Wong Tai Sin and Sham Shui Po are considered unsafe areas.
Hong Kong travel tips and reviews
What do you need to know and remember when preparing to travel to Hong Kong and going there on your own? According to the reviews of tourists, it is worth paying attention to the following points:
- Driving is left-hand, so be careful.
- Cross the road at pedestrian crossings and traffic lights - for non-observance of the rules, a fine can be issued.
- Do not litter or smoke in the wrong places, and do not eat in the metro and parks - for this, exorbitant fines are imposed. For example, garbage thrown past a container can face a fine of up to 25 thousand HKD and imprisonment up to 6 months - as it is written on the garbage cans.
- We read that poisonous snakes are found in the parks of Hong Kong. None were noticed.
- During the typhoon period (from May to November), it often rains and hurricane winds blow. There may be a threat of a typhoon - this is announced by a board with the designations T1-T10. The higher the number, the closer the typhoon.
- Keep your passport with you - the police can check your documents.
