The Top 20 attractions that you must visit in Hong Kong
This is not MY list - it is based on various travel resources
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong since January 2nd 1972 - I know the place.
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The Top 20 attractions that you must visit in Hong Kong
This is not MY list - it is based on various travel resources
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© Copyright Acknowledged | All rights reserved.| Image taken by Jamie
Victoria Peak - Lugard Road Lookout | Best City View in the World | Hong Kong
I have been wanting to do this blog post for some time but was unsure on how to do it, do I make it my top 20 list or a list representing the views of tourists and travel experts and such.
In the end I decided NOT to make it my list, whilst on the whole I agree with most of the list there are some attractions that are in my humble opinion simply a waste of time.
I do not criticise lightly however, I should point out that I have lived in Hong Kong for 54 years and I am in my 16th year as a Private Tour Guide in Hong Kong so I do know a few things! and with all due respect to those “travel resources” they simply do not have the same level of knowledge as I have, I quite often laugh when I read travel articles about Hong Kong written by travel writers who may well be visiting Hong Kong for the first time, which means lack of knowledge and context which translates in to what I call a fluff piece article
These days one of the biggest problems we have is crowds, the Hong Kong Tourism Board seems to be aiming for the mythical target of 100 million per year (we got to 65 million in 2018 and 50 million in 2025 and the only way we will get to that target is to attract more tourists from Mainland China, lovely people and we welcome them with open arms but it means when an attraction gets promoted on Chinese social media, then crowds just overwhelm the place
A short while ago, I photographed the astonishing sight of 500+ Mainland Chinese tourists queueing up for a hop on hop off tour bus at 7pm in the evening! and overwhelming crowds to take the Star Ferry near the bus stop.
So bear this in mind when you visit places like Victoria Peak or the Big Buddha on Lantau Island and wish to take the NP 360 Cable Car
Still for me anyway the list that was prepared is very thought provoking and I have been thinking on it for a few weeks and if you are considering coming to Hong Kong and do not want to take a tour then it is a good place to start!
A special mention for Victoria Peak in Hong Kong
I have written many blog posts about this attraction, I have been up there well over 6,000 times since 1972 and have been on the Peak Tram many thousands of times and I have written specific HOW TO GET TO GUIDES for your visit (see menu links) which I urge you to read, it will absolutely enhance your experience.
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The Top 20 Attractions | to do or visit | Hong Kong
What I am going to do is tell you what attractions are either a waste of time or that simply you can do on your own and naturally the biggest problem with a list like this, is that to do all of them you would need to spend at least a week in Hong Kong if not longer! something travel writers | experts fail to take into account, they simply do not factor how much time is needed to visit places!
Attractions that are in my opinion a waste of time
Symphony of Lights - we are still waiting for the major revamp that has been in the works for years, it is completely underwhelming and lasts for about 8 minutes only, there is nothing wrong with the concept but it simply lacks that wow factor
Avenue of the Stars - just a short walk from the Star Ferry in Kowloon, again totally underwhelming with the exception of the Bruce Lee Statue but the biggest problem is the crowds night and day of Mainland Chinese Tourists who arrive in the thousands, the place is always jammed
Hong Kong Observation Wheel - I have written quite a few blog posts about this, totally underwhelming, it is simply NOT high enough, long queues are a real issue but the biggest problem, well it is on the wrong side, it should have been placed in Kowloon looking across to Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, it is the reverse and simply cannot compete with the view from Victoria Peak!
The Man Mo Temple - supposedly in a convenient location ( it isn’t) but it is far too small and gets hundreds of tour coaches arriving all day 7 days a week so it is jammed to the point of making you angry, we have 600+ temples so there are plenty of much better alternatives that are much larger and pretty much devoid of crowds!
West Kowloon Cultural District - just fine if you like Museums, but a lot of people go there for the view of Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, which is nowhere near as good as the view from the Star Ferry on Kowloon side, transport links are not very good at all and a lot of walking is involved to get to the waterfront and to the Museums and it is also a favourite with large Mainland Chinese Tour Groups
Attractions you can do on your own but you need the whole day and they can be very crowded
Disneyland
Ocean Park
As for the rest then you can assume they are just fine! and for all of the markets mentioned I have prepared HOW TO GET TO Guides (see menu link)
Some images I have taken over the years of Hong Kong Attractions, I am not a professional photographer but I have an awesome camera and I never take images with a smartphone as the quality is still lacking, just a personal opinion!
Those with keen eyes will note that some images are of attractions that DO not appear on the top 20 list above but are some of my personal favourites.
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© Copyright Acknowledged | All rights reserved.| Images taken by Jamie
Some of my favourite attractions | to do or visit | Hong Kong
click on any image to enlarge
© Copyright Acknowledged | All rights reserved.| Images taken by Jamie
Some of my favourite attractions | to do or visit | Hong Kong
I do not do food tours as mentioned above, I have very specific reasons and part of it is that I do not speak Cantonese or write Chinese, I am from Yorkshire in England and I lack the language gene and it is not through lack of trying and yes a lot of restaurants do not have English menu’s or staff who speak conversational English.
.. and yet I have eaten at close to 1,400 restaurants in Hong Kong since January 2nd 1972, my wife was born in Hong Kong and we have been together over 40 years and her first language is Cantonese and a lot of her family are Chinese or half Chinese so I have never had much of an issue!
This does not translate to doing food tours though, yes, I could do them, no problem there but they would never ever be as good as the food tours done by my friends (see the 3 links above) most of their awesome guides are locally born Hong Kong Chinese and obviously food culture is part of their DNA, it is impossible for me to compete with that!
So please feel free to contact them for food tours
© Jamie Lloyd | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong |
| 2010 - 2026 All rights reserved. |
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