Flights
Hong Kong International is one of Asia's principal hubs, with direct flights from everywhere — eleven to twelve hours from Europe. The Airport Express reaches the city centre in twenty-four minutes, which is among the best airport links anywhere.
Getting around
The MTR is fast, cheap and covers the territory; buses, trams and the Star Ferry fill the rest. The Star Ferry crossing costs a few dollars and is one of the great urban journeys in the world. Taxis are metered and plentiful. A car is entirely unnecessary.
When to come
October to December is the best period: dry, clear and mild. Spring is humid and hazy; summer is hot, wet and the typhoon season. Chinese New Year, in late January or February, transforms the city and closes much of it for several days — fascinating to witness, inconvenient to plan around.
Money and cost
Hong Kong is expensive for accommodation and unremarkable for food: a bowl of noodles costs a few dollars and is excellent. The Octopus card handles most small payments. Tipping is not obligatory; a service charge is usually added in restaurants.
Orders of magnitude
| Return flight from Europe | €600 to €1,100 |
|---|---|
| Mid-range hotel night | HKD 900 to 2,000 |
| Local meal | HKD 50 to 150 |
| MTR journey | HKD 5 to 25 |
What holds everywhere
- Insurance covering medical costs and repatriation stops being optional as soon as local healthcare is limited. Check it actually covers the destination: many policies exclude areas under adverse travel advice.
- Carry cash. In much of the world cards work in the big cities and nowhere else. Check the ATM situation and your bank's charges before leaving.
- Leave margin on connections. A tight transfer on a thinly served route is expensive: the next flight may be tomorrow, or in three days.
- The real budget runs over two years, not one trip: repeated flights, paperwork, translations, legalisations, any support sent. It is always underestimated.