Visiting Hong Kong with the family

Hong Kong may not be the first place that springs to mind when you are contemplating a family holiday, but having just return from a fab holiday to Asia with a week in Hong Kong and a week in Singapore, I thought I'd share some of the great attractions in Hong Kong that we enjoyed with our children. I've made a little video of our travels to Hong Kong too, which you can see at the bottom of the post!

Disneyland Hong Kong

I must admit that Disneyland Hong Kong was one of the main reasons that we chose to visit Hong Kong. We are big Disney fans and so we were confident that we would enjoy a visit, we are also quite proficient when it comes to visiting Disney parks, and we were interested to see the similarities and differences. Hong Kong Disneyland didn't disappoint. It's the smallest Disney park and there's only the one park on site. We spent two days there and rode all our favourite rides several times, as well as seeing the parades, shows and fireworks. It is easy to get to on the MTR, and the last stop is a dedicated MTR train to Disneyland which is really fun, it has Mickey Mouse shaped windows, Mickey Mouse shaped straps to hang on to, and little Disney statues as decorations.

We visited in late October, half-term holiday for us but term time in Hong Kong, so the park was fairly quiet, and we were also able to enjoy the Halloween decorations and festivities. One thing to note was that only a couple of the rides use fast track and the opening hours were quite short. It was open from 10am until 8pm, but many of the rides were only open from 11am until 7pm. This wasn't a problem for us but might be worth considering if you are planning a visit at a busy time.

For me it was the perfect Disney park - lovely warm sunny weather but not too hot, small in scale so not too much walking, a good mix of rides and attractions, and not too busy. All the cast members were super friendly and had free stickers to hand out to the children, there were a couple of excellent rides that were new to us like the Iron Man Experience and Mystic Manor, and lots of familiarity too.

Ngong Ping 360

The Ngong Ping 360 is a cable car that takes you to Ngong Ping village, situated on Lantau Island. There are other ways of reaching the village but we loved going up in the cable car. We found an offer on the main website and also on Klook where you can travel in one direction on a Crystal glass bottomed cabin which was fantastic. Once you are at the village there are lots of fun attractions. We climbed up to the Big Buddha statue, looked around the monastery, and went for a short walk out to the Wisdom Path. There were also lots of little shops to look around, it was a really lovely place to visit.

Victoria Peak and The Peak Tram

On our first day in Hong Kong we took the Peak Tram up to Victoria Peak for amazing views across Hong Kong. It was a Sunday and because it was our first day we didn't rush to get going in the morning, with hindsight we should have arrived first thing as it was quite busy and we did have to queue for quite a while. It's a lovely trip up to the peak and then you can take a walk to various viewing points or do a circular walk around the peak. There's a shopping centre at the top with several things to do as well as shops and restaurants.

Hong Kong Park

Hong Kong Park is located at the bottom station of the Peak Tram, so it's easy to combine a visit. It's free to enter and there are some lovely playgrounds for children. We also spent quite a bit of time in the Aviary which is beautifully set out with lots of interesting birds and other wildlife to look for.

Hong Kong Science Museum

We always visit a science museum if there's one available, and the Hong Kong Science Museum didn't disappoint. The centerpiece is the Energy Machine which is like a giant marble run, the largest machine of its kind in the world. It runs every couple of hours during the day and is fascinating to watch. We visited on a Wednesday when entry was free and it was very quiet.

Hong Kong Museum of History

The Hong Kong Museum of History is located next to the Science Museum and was also free on Wednesday when we visited. It's a museum which takes you through the history of Hong Kong right up until the present day and was very informative. It was a good mix of information and interesting displays for the children, and we all learned a great deal.

The Star Ferry

A ride on the Star Ferry is a great way to see the harbour from another angle as you travel from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon and back. It's quite a short ride but definitely a more interesting way to get around.

A Symphony of Lights Harbour Show

The Symphony of Lights harbour show takes place each night, it takes place at 8pm and the narration is in English on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We watched from just outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and there was plenty of room to sit and enjoy.

Shopping in the markets

We spent quite a bit of time wandering around the markets, we always felt safe even in the evening. We found the prices very reasonable and it was quite easy to haggle. I bought sets of lovely embroidered purses, the children bought souvenirs like magnets, fans, keyrings and fidget spinners. The photograph below was taken in Ngong Ping village, which again was very reasonably priced for souvenirs.

I hope I've inspired you to think about a holiday to Hong Kong with the family, we had such a great time and I'd really recommend it! 

I made a little video which includes all of these attractions here: