Hong Kong: See It Soon

Written by Smith Jones    Monday, 18 February 2008

Hong Kong is the ultimate marketplace---fun, frantic, a magnet for shoppers around the world. But the Crown Colony’s future is murky. As the 1997 turnover from British to Chinese rule approaches, many Hong Kong investors are leaving, and that may well affect tourism in the future. If you’ve been considering a Hong Kong visit, now might be the best time.   Arranging Your Trip. Don’t pay list price for airline tickets and hotel rooms if you can avoid it. Instead, buy a package deal---it often costs less than you’d pay for the least-expensive regular-rate airline ticket alone. The cheapest five- to seven-day packages include airfare, hotel, and ground transportation, and start at about $800 (all package prices are per person, double occupancy) from the West Coast; add $220-$250 for Midwest or East Coast departures. By comparison, regular roundtrip economy excursion airfares run $972-$1,144 from the West Coast, $1,221-$1,393 from the East, depending on the season when you’ll be traveling there. Accommodations on the low-end package can be Spartan and a bit out-of-the-way, but clean and well maintained. Costlier packages use higher-grade hotels, add one or more sightseeing excursions, some meals, and, at the high end, a full-time guide. The Hong Kong Tourist Association offers the “Vacation Planner,” which lists many purveyors of Hong Kong packages. They range from major travel companies, such as American Express Vacations (tel:800-241-1700), to Asian-specially outfits like C&C China Express (tel:415-397-8811) and Marco Polo Tours (tel:800-831-3108). For the free brochure, write now to one of the association’s four U.S. offices: New York (590 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10036), Chicago (333 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60601). Los Angeles (10940 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1220, Los Angeles, CA 90024), and San Francisco (360 Post St., Suite 404, San Francisco, CA 94108). United Vacations (tel:800-351-4200) offers a five-night package that ranges in price from $966-$1,127 (depending on season) at the comfortable Ramada Inn Hong Kong to $1,256-$1,518 at the high-end Shangri-La. Pacific Select (tel:800-722-4349) offers a six-night package that starts at $1,199, (December, January, and February), and includes lodging at the popular Omni Marco Polo. A day trip by train to the Chinese port city of Guangzhou (formerly Canton) can be arranged for an additional $150 per person, including lunch. Many packages include multi-stop options that combine Hong Kong with top Asian destinations, including Bali, Bangkok, Singapore, and Tokyo. Thailand is especially popular; Inter-Pacific Tours International’s (tel:212-953-6010) package offers “first-class” accommodations for three nights each in Bangkok (Siam Inter-Continental) and Hong Kong (Omni Marco Polo) at prices starting at $1,525; high-season prices are about $200 more.   Where to Stay. Most Hong Kong hotels are sleek, modern, and, compared with London or Now York, relatively inexpensive. Regular room rates at “first-class” hotels like the Omni Marco Polo and the Kowloon run $150 a night. “Superior deluxe” hotels like the Shangri-La, the Mandarin, and the Peninsula run about $250 a night. Less expensive “deluxe” hotels often found in package deals include the Royal Garden and the New World Harbor View.   When to Go. September, the tag end of a hot, wet summer, is likely to be humid. October and November, when the weather is cool and dry, are the best months to visit; April and May are also pleasant. The best hotel availability is in December, when skies are usually clear and the temperature averages 59°- 68°F. January and February are often overcast, but also the least expensive time to visit.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 23 February 2008 )