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One of the most rewarding things a family can do is to travel together and experience new cultures, traditions, foods, and create new memories. Hong Kong is an excellent destination for a family trip abroad, with lots of fun family friendly activities and great infrastructure for getting around. For many first-time travelers, traveling with toddlers and children can be quite hard, especially if this is their first time abroad. However, traveling with toddlers and children isn’t as difficult as one might guess, as a parent; you are required to be extra prepared for the trip. It’s also good to keep in mind that many things can go wrong abroad, therefore, it’s essential to have the necessary items required. When planning a family trip to Hong Kong, here are some useful tips to make the most of your trip.
Planning the Essentials
How many bottles of milk, clothing, and toys do you require to bring along on your family trip to Hong Kong? Clothing-wise, it’s recommended to bring along more clothes than they need in the case of accidental spills, tears, missing clothing pieces, and so forth. As children’s clothing is light-weight, its best to bring along more than you need. Additionally, if your child requires on-the-go medication, bring along their essential medication as medicine from other countries sometimes are made unpurchaseable or unavailable. However, before bringing along the prescription, it’s advisable to do proper research if the medication can be legally brought into the country.
Other items of note:
- Passport – When bringing along passports, make additional copies of each passport and securely tuck away the copies into bags, wallets, and purses.
- ID – Make additional copies and securely tuck them away
- Birth Certificates (for minors) – Make necessary copies of the Birth Certificates. While they’re not essential, it’s ideal to bring it along in case of emergencies.
- Plane Tickets – Make additional copies.
- Hotel Booking – Make additional copies.
- Adapters – Bring along a couple of adapters to charge each electronic device. These can be purchased at any electronics store or at the airport.
Family-friendly Hotel Accommodation
Choosing a family friendly hotel will make a huge difference during your stay. One of the recommended family-friendly hotels to choose in Hong Kong is Rosewood Hotel. This 5 star hotel really caters for kids with excellent child friendly accommodation and meals available. A child can stay for free in your chosen room and breakfast is free for under 5’s too!
Traveling Around Hong Kong
Have you heard about the Octopus Card? The Octopus Card is an all-in-one card used to travel all around Hong Kong without the hassle of purchasing extra tickets and fumbling with change at the booths. The Octopus Card is Hong Kong’s most widely accepted card for transportation and additionally, it can be used to purchase items at retail shops as well. See here for the full list of available services used by the Octopus Card, including the Mass Transit Railway (MTR).
A hop-on-hop-off bus is another great and easy way to get around to see the sites on a family trip to Hong Kong.
While on a family trip to Hong Kong, invest in a tourist SIM card to stay connected and easily call for help if you get stranded.
Things to do on a family trip to Hong Kong
Hong Kong is full of fantastic family friendly attractions to enjoy during a family trip to Hong Kong
Hong Kong Disneyland
One of the greatest attractions for families is Hong Kong Disneyland. Families can conveniently travel to the amusement park from Sunny Bay Station, from early morning until late at night. To enter the park, guests can conveniently purchase their tickets at MTR Hong Kong Station – Tung Chung Line Concourse before going to the attraction. At the park, there are many things to do and during the month of October, children should not miss the upcoming spookacular event, Disney Haunted Halloween. The entire park is transformed into a bone-chilling Halloween event, inviting adults and children to traverse through the park for an once-in-a-lifetime spooky event. It’s an event not to miss in October!
While the event is generally all fun and games for children, for younger children, it is advisable to ensure the events are suitable for young children. The event is best suited for tweens, teens, and adults. While at the amusement park, it’s a recommended gesture to give your children a map and contact details. Make note of the park’s information centers in the case of any emergencies should arise.
Hong Kong Science Museum
Another exciting location to go to is the Hong Kong Science Museum, a large exhibit place featuring more than five-hundred exhibits. Free admission is available for children under four years of age, accompanied by an adult. If you’re planning on going to the museum, it’s ideal to go on Wednesdays as it’s free. Additionally, the G/F Exhibition Hall is currently closed due to renovations but guests can continue onto the 1/F, 2/F, and 3/F exhibition halls for further exploration.
The science museum was established on the principal of allowing children to learn and gain hands-on experience with items on display. Like many displays, always accompany your child to the booth and encourage them to learn, plus help them along the way.
Ferry cruise
Get away from the bustling city and hop onto the Star Ferry, a passenger ferry service operator carrying passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Currently the ferry is on its winter schedules and prices start at HK $90, HK $170, and HK $195 for an Adult Single Ride Day Round Trip, Adult Single Ride Night Round Trip, and the Symphony of Lights Harbour Cruise. The trips offer concessionary fares applicable to children between the ages of three to twelve years of age. The great thing about riding the Star Ferry is guests will be able to spot all of Hong Kong’s famous harbor side attractions.
Ngong Ping Cable Car
The kids will love the Ngong Ping cable car ride on your family trip to Hong Kong. The cable car rides over the stunning mountains of Lantau Island to Ngong Ping Village – a Buddhist sanctuary that feels far away from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. The kids will enjoy visiting the 34 metre tall Buddha statue!
Eating Out in Hong Kong
If your children are nit-picky eaters and worry they will reject Asian food, it is safe to say there are many Westernized food chains in Hong Kong for the fussy eater. However, if your child is keen on trying something new and exhilarating, the Temple Street Night Market is an ideal place to shop for finger foods and local delectable dishes. Nevertheless, if your child remains unmoved by the weirdness of foreign food, the hotel’s healthy meals are made specifically for the fussy eater in mind.
Traveling on a family trip to Hong Kong (or any other parts of the world) should never be troublesome with children. Bring your child to a new country when they’re young exposes them to new cultures and experiences which can’t be obtained at home. When traveling with children, it is ideal to bring along more than you need and encourage them to try and experience something new altogether.
