Watch full trip video of our 5D4N HK trip below!
For those who are lazy to read:
Hi everyone!
So, I had planned a short 5D4N trip to HK/Macau with my parents, Thye and some of my dad’s friends. It was pretty stressful given that there are young and old in this trip.
Also, the last time we went on a Hongkong trip it was about a decade(yes 10 YEARS) ago so I am glad that we managed to cover almost all of the itinerary I’ve planned. If you are too lazy to continue reading this long post, you can scroll all the way down to download the detailed itinerary!
Before we start, here are some tips:
- Book Uber to your hotel instead of taking the Airport Express to and fro if you are travelling in a group as it will be WAY cheaper. (Also, save the hassle of travelling and transiting with luggages among the crowd)
- Get the MTR card from the MTR control station near your hotel (be it Uber or Airport Express). If you pre-buy it online like I do, you cant refund any deposit in the card at the end of the trip. So you have to like spend every single cent in it.
- If you are heading to the Peak, you can avoid the long queue by taking an Uber(likewise if you travel in a group cause its much cheaper than the tram tickets combined) and take the tram one way down if you really want to experience it as the queue down is way shorter.
Day 1
Arrived in HK and the first thing is to buy the airport express (direct train to either Hongkong Island or Kowloon station). Their MTR(name of trains service) is actually pretty much like Singapore and travelling around is quite convenient. Just one thing to note- *try to plan all the places in Hongkong Island on the same day as “train across the sea” cost about HKD12 per trip.
Checked into our Hotel (Sunny Day Tsim Sha Tsui) which is located near Jordon MTR and I will seriously recommend this hotel for those who love a convenient and budget place! Its a 3 stars hotel fyi but the rooms are not too bad, better than Genting First World Hotel if you will like a comparison!
The location is good (walkable distance to most of the food places I’ve planned- Tsui Wah, Australia Dairy Co etc) and best of all? Its located right on top of a MacDonald and beside a massage palour!!
First stop for food hunting- The famous Tsui Wah Restaurant
Right to The Peak after that- cause my dad wanted to go. A tip to all- the tram queue up is pretty long and after we calculated the total ticket costs for 7 of us(all adults), booking a XL uber ride is actually way cheaper than taking the tram up! If you really wish to experience the tram ride, you can follow what we did, Uber up and take the tram down.
Also, do note for the location its either Victoria Peak(the highest point with nothing but scenery) or if you actually wanted to head to where the Wax Museum and Restaurants are, the location should be The Peak. *Do not put wrongly cause the fares and location do differ.
Since we were pretty near Central (walkable about 10-15mins), dinner at the famous 一樂燒鵝 (Yat Lok Restaurant) for Goose meat!
Address: 中環士丹利街34-38號地舖, G/F, 34-38 Stanley Street, Central-Full directions details in downloadable itinerary!
According to online research done, this is one of the most authentic local Roast Goose stall. Shopped around Central after that, nothing much unless you are into branded shops like Gucci, LV, Chanel etc. Or Adidas, Nike etc. If you have time after dinner, you can also go to the mid-level escalator to have a look! Set GPS or follow map in itinerary.
Causeway Bay for shopping after that cause its along the same MTR line (blue line- Hongkong Island)
Day 2
Where else but the Australia Dairy Co. for breakfast!! Whats more, its only a 5 mins walk from our hotel location(Sunny Day Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui) so Thye and I went to queue first cause we heard that queues are always long.
Not sure if its the norm or its just the timing we went (around 8.30-9am) but the queue moved pretty quickly and after 15mins of wait, its our turn!
*Warning- I will have to say food are okay only and service isnt top-notch, read the reviews in the link^
Off to Lantau Island after that. You can skip this and go to Cheung Chau Island instead (its in the itinerary too) if you have no interest in this. I pretty much wanted to go Cheung Chau but yeah, my dad will like to visit Lantau.
If you are going to Lantau, the cable car open at 10am so breakfast at 8.30am is a good choice! Took the crystal clear cable car up, explored the village there, tried their beancurd and climbed 99 steps up to the big buddha. Cardio pretty much done that day!
If you’re a fan of vegetarian food, then you MUST try the vegetarian lunch at the Monastery.
Oh, you can also shop at the factory outlets located right outside the MTR station after Lantau. Also, we could have make it to Cheung Chau Island (the only regret this trip) cause there is a direct bus outside the Monastery right to the pier but the “elderly-a.k.a my parents and my dad’s friends” were too tired from climbing the steps so we decide to give it a miss and do shopping at the factory outlets instead.
Sadly, there isn’t any free time left in my itinerary on other days to head there unless we have 1 extra day. So if you can, you should go and try it out! Heard its pretty fun and you can cycle around the entire place.
Took a direct train to Prince Edward after that for One Dim Sum! (since our next plan is shopping @ Mongkok and its just one stop away).
*Note that queue is quite long even at 3pm.
Shopping all the way at Mongkok & Tsim Sha Tsui after that. Late dinner @ Tsim Sha Tsui Ichiran Ramen since its just a 15mins walk from our hotel.
Day 03
Have been looking forward to this day since the start of the trip cause… WE ARE GOING HIKING!! But, only Thye and I went cause everyone else legs were breaking after the past 2 days of walking and climbing of steps..
But, breakfast with the parents first before we embark on our hiking trail.
KAM WAH CAFE IS A MUST! THE POLO BUNS AND EGGTARTS ARE SO GOOD! Its like I am still craving for it even though Im back in Singapore 🙁
Off to our Dragon’s Back hike after that! Took the MTR to Shau Kei Wan Station and took Bus 9 to the starting point of the dragon’s back trail.
Note that the entire trail will take 4-5hrs to and fro if you really want to reach to the peak. We actually hiked halfway and found a hidden spot with perfect view and decided to just stop there. So, we only took about 2 hrs to and fro.
The photos below showed the “secret” spot! There is actually a sign on the left stating no trespassing but we saw a couple of tourists walked in so we followed (tbh I really thought that is the route to the peak initially).
And….. the view that followed is amazing! We decided to just chill here and end our trek which also help to save time for the activities later in the day. If not, we reckon we will take abt 1/2 a day to complete the trail if we continued..
Back to the hotel to shower/change and off to meet the parents and the rest for lunch! Went to the Michelin Kam Roast Goose Restaurant and the queue is insane! If you can, I will recommend you to take-away to your hotel or somewhere instead. We went at 2 plus and the wait was 3 hrs long..
To be honest, I prefer Yat Lok Roast Goose to this. It pretty tasted much like normal roast duck to me.
Oh, and please go to try the Sun Kee cheese noodles if you can!! It is just somewhere right behind Kam Goose! But they happened to close on the day we went so there are no photos for it 🙁
Tried the local tram bus and took it from one station to another haha.
Shopping @ Causeway Bay again after that since we were in Hongkong Island (blue line). Then back to our hotel area (Mongkok, Tsim Sha Shui etc) for more shopping.
*Note that you can slot in your own free-and-easy plans here. I wanted to head to Stanley market and take photo with the “transformer building” but I do not want 6 people to follow me there just for a photo of some building so I decided to forgo it. Its in the itinerary by the way so you can just follow!
Went to the massage parlour right beside our hotel at the end of the day(they open till 4am). Feels so good especially when our feet were seriously aching from nonstop walking!
Day 04
A FULL DAY IN MACAU! Ferry tickets can be bought easily over at the ferry terminal counters, we went to the Sheung Wan Ferry Terminal instead of the Harbourfront as I wanted to try Lan Fong Yuen(famous for their pork chop buns) and there is one shop at that ferry terminal. But, I will recommend you all to try the original store at Central(link above) instead cause I heard its quite different in terms of ambience and food. Well, there was seriously no time for me to head there anymore so this will do.
*We bought one way tickets cause we were unsure what time we will be done and its a good thing we did that! (I will tell you all why later)
Address of the one at the ferry terminal: Shop 304D, 3/F, Shun Tak Centre, 168-200 Connaugh Road Central, Sheung Wan
Plans for Macau were to go the Sendora Square, St Paul Ruins, Venetian Casino (note that this is at the other part of Macau known as Taipa[Cotai Ferry]), Taipa Village (somewhere near Venetian Casino, there is a walkway linked to the place) and lastly, bungee jump at Macau Tower which I backed out eventually.. All the directions are pretty much stated in the itinerary which you can download at the end of this post.
If you dont intend to head to Venetian Casino side, you can just try out the Casino at Hotel Libosa. Those who are not really keen to gamble can head over to Taipa side cause you can actually spend 1/2 a day at Taipa village just walking, eating and chilling. They have quite a few decent cafes there!
Oh if you are open to try curry fishballs and their beef tendons, this stall is good! You will spot it on the way to Sendora Square.
Ruins of St. Paul- nothing much, just some touristy site. You can shop around at Sendora Square after that.
By right, there are quite a no. of buses to Taipa Village from Sendora Square but we were unsure where to stop and the bus drivers don’t get what we were saying- they even said there is no Taipa Village LOL.
So, we decided to just take a cab there. Ended up, we saw all the buses we had checked at the bus stops in Taipa Village..
A must to try in Taipa Village- Seng Cheong Crab porridge!
Off to the Venetian Casino after that woooo!
One of the reasons why I did not end up heading to bungee is.. Other than fear of heights plus its like the tallest bungee in the world and my heart was not fully prepared for it, we also spent like 3 hours in Venetian Casino LOL.
By the time we were done, the sky had turned dark and I prefer to have day photos of the jump for the amount Im gona spend.. heh(I know excuses).
You can get the famous Lord Stow’s Bakery eggtarts at either Taipa Village or a stall in Venetian itself.
Back to Hongkong after that and this is why I am glad that we actually bought a one-way ticket cuz we took the ferry back directly from Cotai Ferry Terminal* and alight at the Harbourfront (nearer to our hotel). The Casino provides free shuttle buses to Cotai Ferry Terminal.
*Please note that there are limited ferries in Cotai Ferry Terminal as compared to the Macau Ferry Terminal so please check the last ferry etc before heading there!!!
Back to the hotel to rest after that and headed out for supper at 11 PM since its our last night in Hk, we must make the full use of it!
Went to one of those “大排档” a.k.a food stalls at Temple Street as seen in TV drama and omg, it’s one of the best meals I ever had throughout this Hongkong trip! No kidding! The fried intestines are SO good!
But, I will have to say this is strongly not for the faint-hearted or people who has a high sense of cleanliness and hygiene. There are rats running around the places while we were dining. Also, only try if you are open to exotic food like mantis shrimp, pig intestine etc. Top it off with a cup of beer and it feels like heaven!
Day 05
Our flight is in the noon so planned breakfast before heading to the airport. Brought the gang to try out Hongkong’s “Redstar”. However, I have to warn you that the service there is BAD. First, you got to find your own seats. Yes, the people there will not help you at all. Also, the customers there are mainly local regulars and the elderly can sit there for hours just drinking tea.
Secondly, it works exactly like Red Star in Singapore, the waitress will push the trolley of dimsum around and you will just have to tell them what do you want. But, service is so slow that people will tend to head to the trolley themselves instead of waiting for them to come, and the thing is…. the waitress will scold you for being impatient. Zzz
Well, you will have to be prepared to get a scolding every now and then. Just get used to it.
Final shopping and packing after that and time to head to the airport. There are still some time to kill before flight so we had lunch/high tea at Tsui Wah again since they have an outlet in the Airport!
Location in airport- here.
And.. That’s the end of our 5 days in Hongkong!
For those who are interested to explore the places we went to, do feel free to download the detailed itinerary below:
