Hong Kong is a large city with plenty to see and do. If you haven’t been, it’s definitely worth paying a visit to this impressive metropolis.

How long to stay?

We’ve visited Hong Kong as a destination twice, once during Secret Trip and once when we took Alex there. Between the two visits, we stayed in Hong Kong a total of 10 nights. I’d say a five night stay here is plenty to give you a good enough feel of the area. Don’t expect to take too many day trips outside the city limits, but checking out Macau is an easy day trip available.

Hong Kong is also home to two major theme parks. If you have hopes to visit both of them, it’s not unreasonable to add on more time to your trip.

What we did

Hong Kong Disneyland

The Hong Kong version of Disneyland is one of our favorite Disney theme parks in the world. While it stands as the smallest Disneyland, you’ll find it’s jampacked with excellent rides, tasty food, and superb service. Plus, in contrast to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, one of the great things about this particular park is that it never seemed to feel quite as crowded. I imagine that’s partly because of Ocean Park, which is cheaper and more ingrained in local culture than Disneyland is.

But whatever the reason, you’ll find that the theme park is easily accessible via metro from practically anywhere in the city. There are some unique rides here that are worth a visit, like Mystic Manor, which is Hong Kong’s answer to the classic Haunted Mansion.

For more information about Hong Kong Disneyland, please see our full review of the park.

Ocean Park

The other main theme park in Hong Kong is Ocean Park. If you’re familiar with Chinese dramas, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of it before. If you’re not, well, just think of it as a massive theme park that pretty much has a little bit of everything in it. There are your typical amusement park rides and also an aquarium and animal habitats. The theme park is so large that you’re required to either take a train or a cable car to get between its areas.

The price of admission here is cheaper than Hong Kong Disneyland. However, given the cheaper price, expect massive crowds here. And unlike Disneyland, this one is a little more difficult to reach as it’s on the southern tip of Hong Kong Island. Still, the food is tasty and the variety at the park makes it unique, making it worth a visit if you’re in town and in the mood for a theme park.

For more information about Ocean Park, please see our full review of the park.

Peak Tram

Also on Hong Kong Island is the Peak Tram, which consists of a tram that scales the steep mountainside up to the top where you’ll get a good view of the city. It seems like every city has its own version of the touristy city view and this isn’t an exception. In fact, it’s so touristy that you can generally expect long lines to get onboard the tram. Of course, once you make it up the mountain, it didn’t feel quite as crowded.

There is a little bit you can do once you’re up there. You can write little love notes and hang them on a display. There’s also some shopping, if you feel inclined, but I can’t speak much about the prices, which I imagine to be inflated. If it’s your first time here, it can be worth a visit. But if you’re staying somewhere with a good view of the city, you might not need to come here.

And while you’re up there, be on the lookout for the magical costumed character shrimp. I wish he would make an appearance more often.

Visit Macau

If you’re looking for a daytrip option from Hong Kong, you might want to consider visiting Macau. It’s a simple ferry ride away from Hong Kong. Once you cross over to Macau, you’ll find plenty of free buses that will take you the rest of the way. So it’s incredibly easy to get here, which is a plus.

What is there to do in Macau, you might wonder. Well, most people come here to gamble. You can think of it as somewhat comparable to Las Vegas. There are big hotels with some grand decorations inside and plenty of casino games to encourage your money to stay behind long after you’ve left. And just like Las Vegas, you don’t want to wander too far off the beaten path given all the run-down businesses nearby.

Still, there is some shopping you could do here and there are some decent restaurants. Macau has a bit more Portuguese influence and you’ll see it in the abundance of egg tarts. If you haven’t been before, it’s worth a visit even if you’re not planning to gamble.

For more details on these activities and others we didn’t mention, please reference our full review of the city.

Where we ate

Tim Ho Wan

If you want delicious dim sum, Tim Ho Wan is the place to go. The restaurant can feel a little cramped, but getting all cozy inside is a small price to pay for the excellent food you’ll find here. It’s so good that it is recognized by Michelin as a Bib Gourmand in 2024 (it did hold one Michelin star as recently as 2021).

In any event, it’s worth a visit if you’re after some delicious authentic local cooking.

Spring Moon

Sticking with the Michelin-starred restaurants, we enjoyed our time at Spring Moon over in The Peninsula hotel. While we were here, we had to try out the Peking duck which still finds a way into our conversations even today. It’s authentic and every bit as delicious as it looks. The one downside, though, is not being able to nibble on the drumsticks after you’re done.

This isn’t a place I would necessarily feel comfortable bringing the kids given the ambiance. But it’s an excellent place for a nice date night. So tuck the kids in and go have fun here.

Afternoon tea at Woobar

Who doesn’t love having afternoon tea just like what you would find in the United Kingdom? Located inside the W hotel, Woobar offers a decently good tea experience. You’ll get your preferred style of tea along with plenty of small bites. Make sure you have room for all the food you’re going to eat. We were stuffed by the end of this and naturally ended up having a light dinner as a result (mostly by the insistence of Alex to eat more, otherwise we would have skipped).

For more details on the restaurants we ate at in Hong Kong, check out our full post on the topic.

Where we stayed

Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui

As a Category 4 hotel with Hyatt, this property is a good choice for using up your Category 1-4 Free Night Awards. It offers a central location within the city and pretty good service. It’s not going to be one of the most luxurious options in the city, but we found it perfectly pleasant with all the features we needed on our trip here, including an outdoor pool.

The Regency Club was also pretty decent, with some good food and plenty of complimentary drinks in the evening. If you’ve never been to hotel lounges in Asia, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.

For more details on our stay at the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui, please check out our full review.

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

The Grand Hyatt Hong Kong is one of our favorite Hyatt properties in the world. The service is impeccable with hotel staff looking to make every bit of your stay as memorable as it could be. The Grand Club is likewise simply amazing. Meanwhile, the food and room itself are simply perfect. The only downside? It’s over on the Hong Kong Island side of town, making it marginally more difficult to get places if you have plans to be over in Kowloon.

The property feels a little like a steal given it’s only a Category 6 property. Perhaps that’s partially because travel demand to visit Hong Kong has suffered a bit. But if you’re a Globalist (or have a Guest of Honor award) looking to stay in Hong Kong, look no further than this fantastic hotel.

For more details on our stay at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, please check out our full review.

W Hong Kong

Looking for an option besides Hyatt when staying in the city? The W Hong Kong offers a decent mix of luxury and affordability. The property also sits right on top of a metro station, making transportation super simple.

If you’re not familiar with W hotels, you should know that they are branded more for young adults. But, even still, the staff here was plenty accommodating for young Alex. In fact, everything about our stay was a bit better than we expected coming in. I’d place it at least on par with the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui.

Have you explored Hong Kong yet?