Experiencing Hongkong should be included in everyone's bucket list because it has everything a tourist can ask for - from a modern city and financial hub, theme parks, skycrapers, cultural heritage places, food, shopping and entertainments! We really had a fantastic time staying there!

So I tried to think of a way on how can I share with you my experience to travel in Hongkong. The list might be short but these are the most important things (for me). So here you go, here are some tips for you to fully enjoy and to minimize hassles on your trip:

Prepare your Itinerary. Jot down all the places you want to go and search for the most convenient way to get there. For example, if you want to go to Disneyland coming from Airport, taking the bus is the most convenient and the cheapest option.
Buy your theme park tickets at Chinese Travel Agency, they give considerable amount of discounts compare to the price on the ticket gates. This includes Disney Land, Ocean park, Cable car and many more. Be sure to check them.
Stuff your bag with food and water. Bring a water container/tumbler as you can refill it from several drinking stations, just be sure that it is clean. Food and bottled water can be expensive depending on the area you stay, make sure you have something you can eat if you don't have the budget.
Buy Octopus card. This is one of the must-buy if you want to take trains and buses going around Hongkong. It has HKD50 downpayment. In our experience, we load an initial amount of HKD150 then we reload another HKD50 on our last day. Don't worry spending too much on the card since you can claim the unused amount at any MTR counter. 
Get a map. Most of the hotels and tourist centers have map of the city. This is important to get an overview of your directions if you want to go from one place to another. For example, If you are staying in a hotel in TST area then you want to go the avenue of stars, you can check the most convenient means of transport you want to use, should it be better just to walk, take the bus or take the MTR. If you have a working GPS on your phone, then you can ditch the map. :)
Use the Public Bus. I personally want to choose to ride at the Public bus over the MTR of course if it just a short route. First is that, you can enjoy sightseeing the city streets and its people when you are at the bus. Second, it is more easy and less walking as it has more stops than the MTR meaning you can get nearer to your destination. Third, I believe it is cheaper than the MTR.
Never hesitate to ask locals. The locals know everything. From the best hawker, best dimsum house, best deals and discounts, best place to hang outs, and the best route for your destination. Befriending a local is one of the most effective way to feel the vibe of the city. Be careful though, not all locals are able to speak english very fluently.

I will share to you the Itinerary that we used in our recent trip. We actually did not explore the city that much that we just want to go to Disneyland, the Peak and the harbour. There are some constraints that we are unable to control though, like time and our budget! haha!

So when you are doing your Itinerary, you need to consider some things: The location of your hotel should be near to your preferred tourist destinations, if not, it should be close to public transport station. The time and place of your flights should be considered as well. You should allot ample time between your tours for some unexpected event such as accidents or traffic jam. Below is the Itinerary we used in our recent trip:

Our itinerary was somewhat very loose but nevertheless we really enjoyed the trip. Sometimes, it is good to miss some famous and exciting destination so you still have a reason to go back and try it in the future.
Hope it helps. So enjoy your trip and don't forget to share your experience too!

You know what's the best part in Macau aside from its beautiful buildings, fantastic foods and casinos? - The FREE bus ride! You can get to anywhere without spending a single buck using hotels' free bus transport, and it is just not free - it also has WiFi on board!

Macau is dubbed as the Las Vegas of Asia, and undoubtedly it is. It has so many hotels and casino on its tiny Island. Being a french colony, it has maintained it beautiful structures and buildings. As one of my friend said "Don't go to Europe, THIS is Europe!". Even my lens can't put justice on how spectacular this buildings are. Surely Macau government done really something beautiful here.


Let's talk about how to go to Macau from Hongkong by Ferry. The ferry station is located at the Central area just near the Tsuen Wan Station. Just follow the signs towards it. We board the Cotai water jet for 334 HKD for two way. The travel time is around 1 hr. The Cotai water jet is pretty huge. It has bar, toilets, entertainment TVs while the seat is pretty spacious and comfortable, that is why we found ourselves sleeping on the entire trip.

After queuing and clearing at the immigration in Macau, we went outside and found all the buses waiting for tourists. You can't be confused since these buses were decorated based on the name of the hotel. We first went to Galaxy hotel since the bus going to Venetian that time already left. One highlight that we saw in Galaxy Hotel was the grand fountain in its grand lobby with a grand show then a grand crystal appearing in the middle with all the grand lights surrounding it. Did I say grand already? It was really that grandiose, believe me.

Galaxy hotel lobby

After that, from Galaxy hotel, we board the bus going to Venetian hotel. I always thought that the Venetian hotel is the highlight of any Macau trip and I was not disappointed. It is really beautiful inside. The design and the interior is amazing! Check the photos below to see what I am saying.

Inside Venetian Hotel

The famous Grand Canal

We also tried the famous Lord Stow's egg tart in Venetian. It is really famous since many people are queuing up to buy egg tarts on this shop, it is not cheap though as it costs 10 MOP/HKD per piece.

We head to the City of dreams after exploring the Venetian hotel. We didn't find much place to see there except for Hard Rock Macau. From there, we board the bus going to Senado Square.

Expect a lot of tourist and a lot of walks when you go to Senado Square and eventually when you head to the St Paul Ruins but we didn't mind since we ate a lot along the way before we reach St Paul Ruins. There was a lot of shops selling beef jerky and meats offering free taste. There are also bakeries and a lot more shops. It was fun walking while fighting your way just to get there.

Kaite at the St. Paul Ruins

The next on our Itinerary was the Grand Lisboa hotel and Wynn hotel so we just set our GPS to that place only to find out that it was roughly 1 km from the ruins. We walked for 20 mins before we reach the Grand Lisboa hotel then walk again for 400 m to reach the Wynn hotel. We didn't have the chance to explore Wynn hotel as we already want to head back to the ferry. So we board the bus from Wynn hotel going the the Ferry station.

We arrived at a totally different ferry station, bigger than the ferry station where we arrived that morning, only to find out that we were in a wrong ferry station. Cotai water jet is located in Taipa island. So from there, we board the bus going to galaxy hotel, then board the bus again to Taipa ferry station. We are not in a hurry so we really didn't mind boarding from one bus to another since it has A/C and most importantly, WiFi.

We arrived at the ferry station in Taipa island at around 6pm then an hour ferry travel going back to Hongkong. Again, we just slept on the whole trip, saving some energy since we still want to go the Victoria peak after.

I really enjoyed Macau! I was amazed, surprised and admired the beauty of Macau. It has a lot of cool stuffs to offer to tourist from free bus, free WiFi, free milk tea from casinos and free tasting at Senado square! I definitely want to come back and spend a night there!