I recently went to Macau and Hong Kong with my family, and a lot of my friends have been asking me about it. How much was my ticket, where we stayed, what was the itinerary, did we have a guide, among so many others. To answer those questions, I decided to revisit my old blog, and get to writing again, even though my writing is pretty rusty; I can't seem to get my ideas together like I used to. Anyway, through this, I don't have to answer the same questions again and again, and help other people plan for that dream vacation, as well.
I am an obsessive planner when it comes to trips. I watch promo fares like a hawk, do more research about a certain destination more than I would do for a homework in school, read a lot of travel blogs, and make plenty of lists. I am also a fan of DIY travel, meaning I don't really prefer tour guides, and package tours. Most people who do not know me usually get surprised when I tell them that my friends and I just make our own itineraries for our trips abroad. Anyway, for our recent trip to Macau and Hong Kong in September 2015, I did my planning a year in advance. Yes, that's right. I booked my ticket in October of last year.
So here, my friends, is a rough guide to Macau and Hong Kong.
Airfare
I got three roundtrip tickets to Macau from Manila for only P13,427.25 from Cebu Pacific. That's only roughly P4,475.75 per person. Notice that the base fare is only P6.00. That's just P1 per way per person!
Cebu Pacific has promos every week, and if there's any holiday or long weekend coming up. The catch is the travel periods may take a few months or up to a year from the date of purchase. If you're like me who gets to have scheduled vacations, this is the best way to save on your airline tickets if you're planning to go somewhere on your vacation. If I'm planning to go on a trip, I check Cebu Pacific's website every day for any promo fares for my preferred date. Just remember that promo fares are often, if not always, non-reroutable, non-rebookable, non-refundable. So you should either be very sure of your travel dates, or you should be willing to risk losing a few thousands. The Poor Traveler has great tips on how to grab that promo ticket that you should check out.
Accommodation
Another common question that my friends ask me is where to stay, and how to book a hotel. I have mentioned before, that one thing traveling has taught me is that you don't have to spend a lot to enjoy, and that includes having great accommodation. I have stayed in hostels, budget hotels, pension houses, and rooms/condo unit rented out through Airbnb. My friends and I have used websites like agoda.com, booking.com, airbnb.com, and hostelworld.com.
For Macau and Hong Kong I used booking.com. They also an app that you can download for your iPhone or Android phone, that's very convenient to use.
We stayed in Best Western Hotel Sun Sun at Praca Ponte E Horta Macau for HKD1010.98 or around P5054.9. It was the cheapest I could find for 3 people for 1 night. I didn't realize I had booked an executive suite which was regularly priced at HKD3078/night, so it was already a good deal. One good thing about booking online is that you get great deals like this. It's just a matter of finding the right one.
In Hong Kong, we stayed in two hotels. For the first 4 nights in Hong Kong we chose to stay in Las Vegas Guest House at Chungking Mansion, in Tsim Sha Tsui. I booked the room for a total of only HKD1,836 or around P9180 for 4 nights. The room was only about 12 sqm., and was a bit cramped, but it had all the essentials: one double bed, one single bed, a bathroom, fresh towels everyday, aircon, mini refrigerator, free wifi, hair dryer, and unlimited supply of drinking water. The guest house is secured with a keycard, so you don't have to worry about security. The reception is at the 9th floor of Chungking Mansion, and our booking says we're supposed to be at the 15th floor, but turned out our room is on the 13th floor. Confusing? I know.
One thing you need to know about Chungking Mansion, though, is that it is situated in the backpacker's area of Hong Kong, so it is a bit chaotic, and intimidating for the first time traveler to Hong Kong. The ground floor is filled with money changers, and stalls selling all sorts of stuff, from Indian delicacies, to cellphone accessories, to luggages. It is similar to a condominium divided into Blocks A, B and C. Each block consists of 15 floors with the flats converted into guest houses. It is not your typical hotel. You could be checked in at Las Vegas Guest House in Flat C4, and flat C5 is Osaka Guest House, while another flat several floors below also belongs to Las Vegas Guest House. It's a bit confusing, but you'll kind of get the hang of it.
For our last day in Hong Kong, we decided to have a 5-star hotel experience, so I booked a Grand Plus double room at Royal Plaza Hotel in Mong Kok. One night cost HKD2450 or around P12,250, and it was the cheapest five star hotel I could find that was not very far away from the sights and attractions. We got a free upgrade to a suite room, because the room I had booked was not yet available when we checked in. It had a mini bar, a large receiving area, two queen sized beds, a bathroom with bath tub, complete toiletries, and TV, two LED TVs, and an iPod dock. It was only walking distance from the Ladies' Market, and is connected to Moko Mall, and the Mong Kok East Station. It's also two stations away from Tsim Sha Tsui Station, and it's also fairly easy to go to and from Central station.
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| Our room at Royal Plaza Hotel |
Transportation
A lot of people wonder how I manage not to get lost in a new, unfamiliar country. The answer is I do a lot of research, download maps, download train apps, and when all else fails, ask the locals. I have the Hong Kong MTR system app on my phone, and all I have to do is click my origin station, and end point. The app will tell me how many stops, how much time, and where to change stations to get to my destination. Hong Kong's public transportation is also very efficient, and tourist friendly. Each exit in every station is marked with the attractions that are within that specific area, so you will not get lost.
Another wise thing to do while in Hong Kong is to purchase an Octopus card, similar to the EZ Link card in Singapore, or the new Beep card in Manila, which you can use on most public transports. You can also use it to pay for your purchases at 7-Eleven. Octopus cards can be bought in all MTR stations, at the airport, light rail stations, etc. for HKD150, which comes with an initial value of HKD100, and a deposit of HKD50 refundable when you return your card within 90 days. It is very convenient to use, and very easy to top up once your card value is not enough. You can also keep the card as a souvenir, or you can keep it for your next trip to Hong Kong. As I have learned, it is valid for 3 years from the date of purchase. We all chose to keep our Octopus cards as souvenirs.
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| The MTR System Map app for iPhone |
Getting around Macau, on the other hand, is fairly easy too, and you don't have to spend a lot. You can just walk around the city center to get to the famous Senado Square, and Ruins of St. Paul. There are free shuttles that will bring you from the city center to the casinos in Taipa, as well.
From Macau to Hong Kong, you can take the ferry from Macau Ferry Terminal, which I believe is nearer to the city center or the Taipa Ferry Terminal which is nearer to the casinos. We purchased our roundtrip tickets from a travel agency outside our hotel in Macau, and got them for HKD300 each. You must remember that there are two kinds of tickets. One that has a fixed date and time, and another that you can use any time, and date up to the expiration date. We chose the latter, and according to the Filipina in the travel agency, it is only valid for travel from Taipa Ferry Terminal, which was an advantage for us, because our last stop was the Venetian Hotel Macau. There are free shuttle buses from Venetian Macau to Taipa Ferry Terminal as well.
It takes 45 minutes from Macau to Hong Kong. There are different ferry terminals in Hong Kong, but we chose the Sheung Wan terminal. Even though it would have been nearer to our hotel if we chose the Tsim Sha Tsui one, the trip was more than an hour later.
Itinerary
Now here's what more people are interested in. I was with my mom on the trip, and she couldn't really stand long walks, and a hectic itinerary, so I tried to make the itinerary as easy as I could. Here goes our rough itinerary.
Day 0:
Travel from Manila to Macau (delayed flight; was supposed to be 7:30PM)
Check in at hotel
Day 1: Macau Day Tour (Senado Square, Ruins of St. Paul, Venetian Hotel); Travel to Hong Kong
Day 2: Breakfast at Tim Ho Wan; IFC Mall, Victoria Peak, Madam Tussauds, Avenue of the Stars, Symphony of Lights, Dinner at Temple Street
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| Family picture at the Ruins of St. Paul |
Day 2: Breakfast at Tim Ho Wan; IFC Mall, Victoria Peak, Madam Tussauds, Avenue of the Stars, Symphony of Lights, Dinner at Temple Street
Day 3: Ocean Park; Soho
Day 4: Disneyland
Day 5: Check in at Royal Plaza Hotel; Ladies Market; Harbour City
Day 6: Travel back to Macau for the late night flight back to Manila
Day 7: Arrival in Manila
Budget
Here's a rough breakdown of our major expenses for the 6-day trip, which included me, my mom, and my brother. I will use an exchange rate of P5=1HKD for simplicity. This does not include food expenses, shopping, and other miscellaneous expenses.* This is also not a budget travel guide.
Travel Tax (1,650 each) Php 4,950.00
Terminal Fee** (550 each) 1,650.00
Airline tickets (Mla-Macau-Mla) 13,427.25
Terminal Fee** (550 each) 1,650.00
Airline tickets (Mla-Macau-Mla) 13,427.25
Accommodation
Macau: 5,054.90
Hong Kong: 9,180.00
12,250.00
Transportation
Ferry tickets 4,500.00
Octopus Card (initial purchase) 2,250.00
Octopus Card top up (estimate) 1,000.00
Taxi fare (estimate) 2,000.00
Attractions
Peak Tram + Madam Tussauds + Sky Terrace 3,900.00
Ocean Park 5,175.00
Disneyland 7,485.00
TOTAL: P 72,822.15 or
P 24,274.05/person
*Food and water are a little expensive in Hong Kong, much more if you buy inside theme parks. I think most of our money were spent on food, and shopping.
**All tickets purchased starting February 2015 will already include the terminal fee of P550.
So there you have it. A rough guide to Hong Kong and Macau. Feel free to ask me questions. I just might know the answer.
Safe travels!
