Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China, and was ruled by British from 1841 to 1997. It was returned to China in 1997. Under the one country, two systems principle, Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy in its legal, economic, and political systems, distinct from mainland China. It has its own currency (HK) and immigration laws. When we visited Hong Kong in October of 2025, 1 US $ = 7.8 HK.
How many days do you need in Hong Kong – Depends on the places you are planning on visiting. To see all the sites we visited (See map) you will need 4 full days. If Macau Island is not in your list, 3 days will be good enough. We spent a day in each of the marked areas – Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island, Macau. We chose to stay in a hotel in Hong Kong Island for the first 3 nights and Lantau Island on the last 2 nights. The airport is in Lantau Island.
About transportation to all the attractions –
- We used a combination of public transport (Bus/Metro) and uber to visit all the places.
- If a site was far from the train station, we opted to take uber. Most of our uber trips cost less than $10 (US).
- Macau and Lantau do not operate uber. Taxis are available.
- Taxis take cash only (Hong Kong currency). Bus and train take credit card.
- The popular mode of transport to Big Buddha in Lantau Island is by cable car. You can use credit card to purchase the tickets at the counter. If the cable car does not operate due to bad weather, there is a bus service available which will accept cash (HK) or Octopus card.
- It is advisable to keep some Hong Kong currency handy. We had about $500 HK for the 4-5 days which we used mostly on taxi, tips, and bus to Big Buddha (as the cable car was not operating on the day we visited due to cyclone warning)
- There is a train (airport express) from the airport to Hong Kong Island (or Kowloon). After we landed in Hong Kong, we bought 2 train tickets for 170 HKD (discounted if you buy 2). The train takes about 25 min to the city. We then had to take another train to our Grand Hyatt hotel which was near the convention center.
A few experiences we would like to share –
- We went in October during the end of rainy season. Weather was hot and humid. Although low season, popular places like Victoria Peak, Avenue of Stars, Big Buddha, and Macau Island were crowded throughout the day.
- Cable car to Big Buddha – If there is high wind/cyclone warning, cable car will not operate. Bus service will be available. Bus takes about 45 min (20 min longer than the tram)
- Be prepared for delays in shuttle service to Macau if the weather is bad. Ferry services to Macau operate from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.