Hong Kong advice

Hey, I am planning to go to Hong Kong for a few days before I go start a job in Jiangsu province. It is the first time I have travelled alone, I have very little money, so I can not stress how important it is for me to find a good hotel/hostel, which is easy to get to and value for money! I don;t mind too much about location, as I have heard that the public transport is excellent, I would just like to stay somewhere very close to a station (bus/tram/train) I've heard so many nightmare stories about hostels and don't want to be sleeping with cockroaches for 2 nights!
Also, after investing in a bus tour ticket whilst I was in Marrakech, I'm thinking I will do the same again- there's no way I can get lost, and no way I will end up paying extra for transport because I have got lost (I don't have the best sense of direction). I have looked at big bus tours (£30 for 48 hours unlimited with one fare on the ferry and the cable car) they seem like a reputable company, and a good way of getting to see as much of the city as you can in only 2 days! what do people think? have u had experience of this either good or bad? should I buy it off the site before I go? I would appreciate anyones wisdom on the world of females traveling alone x Reply to this

Hey

The Big Bus company has three routes, so you have to pay for all three. One goes around Hong Kong island, the other Kowloon and the third goes round Stanley. We just did the Hong Kong one and it was a good way to see some of the sights and get information about what you are seeing. The peak tram you can get in the ticket or you can buy seperately. The view from the top is just breathtaking so definatly do that. You can get a bus down again which is a lot cheaper if you don't do it as part of your ticket.

There is another bus company called Rickshaw tours (or something like that) which is 50 HKD for two routes around Hong Kong Island.

Don't buy it before you go. No point.



You can get a prepaid public transport card. It's called the Octopus. It's like a London Oyster card. You can travel on all the trams, buses, underground and whatever else. You pay a deposit which you get back at the end. It's a lot easier to use this, as the trams only take the exact money and it's coins which you never have. Anywy, with the combination of all the forms of transport in Hong Kong, it's really easy and cheap to travel around the city.

Sorry, don't know anything about hostels, we stayed in a hotel. But I hear the cheaper places are on Kowloon.

Hope this helps.

Kate Reply to this

Although this thread is quite old, other visitors might have similar questions, so let me try and answer them:

First of all, Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world. As long as you do not enter any shady places or whatever, you are pretty safe. No worries there.

Finding a place that is really cheap on the other hand, is rather difficult in Hong Kong. It also depends on what is seen as cheap. Bagpackers seem to prefer Chungking Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is pretty centrally located and probably one of the cheapest places in Hong Kong. However, it is probably one of the shadiest places too. Having said that, its still quite save, I know plenty of people who have stayed there in the past. A safer and prolly better option would be couch surfing (just google it) there are plenty of people offering a couch (or a bed) and you get to read more about the person first, so you wont end up in some pervs home.

Regarding transportation, currently there are like tourist tickets, which includes all public transportation and entrance to the most popular tourist spots. I would recommend that. You can get those tickets and see the advertisment for it (for more info) at any MTR station counter (which are pretty much everywhere here).
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Heya, i can suggest you to stay in Kowloon side, is much cheaper n easy transport everywhere, Temple street near by, shops and shopping mall near by, restaurant near by <snip>
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