How to Spend 2 Days in Hong Kong!

Hong Kong Skyline

​Whenever I start telling someone about my SEA trip, I always start with a recommendation of stopping in Hong Kong. It's a city for everyone because of its diverse layout and landscape. It's also a major international flight destination, and you can find some cheap tickets if you're like me and heading east from the US. We ended up saving over $300 a ticket just by flying into Hong Kong instead of directly into Vietnam or Thailand!

Hong Kong has something for everyone and I will continue to recommend it to everyone who asks me about exploring Asia! The main island of Hong Kong and its counterpart, the Kowloon side, feel very similar to New York City. On one hand, like NYC, it's older, crowded, a little dirty, and just exploding with skyscrapers, market, neon signs, and dazzling nightlife.

However, it's also very different from New York City because many of the islands that make up greater Hong Kong are covered in uninhabited forests and surrounded by breathtaking beaches. This wilderness makes you feel like you're thousands of miles in the middle of nowhere, not in a city with 7.5 million people nearby. And it's all connected by a 20 minute railcar ride!

Hong Kong is also a great starting place for Westerners to immerse themselves into the culture of China, without actually having to visit China itself, since Hong Kong is an autonomous territory. This just means you don't need a visa to visit HK in the same way you would need one mainland China! Score!

So here's my top recommendations for spending two days exploring this fabulous and diverse city!

Hong Kong: Major Zones

​If you didn't already do your research on HK, what you need to know is that the city is split into several major zones and many smaller neighborhoods, but that most of the city is centered around, and split between, the Kowloon Bay. This means the central hub of the city is separated into two areas: the Kowloon side and Hong Kong Island with the bay in the middle. Most of the residential areas of the city are located on the Kowloon side, and the business and trendy areas are located on Hong Kong Island. Lantau Island is further away but still worth mentioning. This means the two-day traveler will end up visiting three main regions: Kowloon (mainland), Hong Kong Island, and Lantau Island. 

Where to Stay

There are many lodging options on both sides of the bay, and which side you stay on can be determined by where you think you will spend most of your time while in HK. I settled on us staying on the Kowloon side for two reasons: (1) price and (2) accessibility.

Hong Kong Island is just that, an island, and therefore limited in space. So the prices of hotels on the island tend to be more expensive, and rooms tend to be smaller. Staying on the Kowloon side means rooms are a little cheaper and a little bigger, but not by much!

The second reason we opted to stay on the Kowloon side is because it is more centrally located and most of the things we wanted to see, aside from Victoria Peak, were here. Which side you stay on can depend on what sights you plan on seeing while there. Below is my itinerary and schedule for two days in HK. It may not seem like it, but you can do a lot in two days. I would recommend at least 3-4 days, but if you're a budget traveler like me, then sometimes you just have to work with the days that are cheapest!

Schedule: Two Days in Hong Kong

​Arrive at Night

8:00 pm -- Temple Street Night Market

Temple Street Restaurants

As a general rule, I always try to arrive at night to my destinations, especially when jetlag is involved. I've learned that after a full day of traveling to my destination, sometimes for more than 12 hours, I know better than to try to explore a full day in my new city. If I arrive at night, I'm guaranteed a good night's sleep after being awake so long, and I'm able to reset my clock to eliminate any jetlag. 

So we arrived in Hong Kong at night and spent just a few hours exploring this new city! I purposely picked a hotel that was nearby the eclectic and exciting Temple Street Night Market. I loved this place because it was the perfect start to our time in HK. Start with dinner at any of the small plastic chairs and tables that give you that essential Asian street-food experience. Everything is cheap and authentic and there are many places to choose from. After dinner and a large beer, end with browsing through the shops and stalls that are set up each night right there on the street! Then head to bed to get a good night's sleep and get ready for a full day of exploring tomorrow!

First picture of us in Hong Kong!

​Day 1: Kowloon and Lantau Island

8:00 am -- Ngong Ping Cable Car Ride

I wanted to start our 2 days of sightseeing in HK by heading right to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. The sight of this enormous Buddha is what originally drew me to Hong Kong. It's a little touristy, but it's still an amazing sight and absolutely worth the visit when in Hong Kong! Honestly, it was the highlight of our HK stopover!

So after grabbing breakfast and a little early-morning walk around our neighborhood, we hopped onto the MTR to Lantau Island. To get to Lantau, purchase an Octopus Card to use the very efficient and convenient MTR trains here. You can purchase them at the airport when you first arrive. In fact, we used the MTR Express to get from the airport to Kowloon, so we were able to use the card to travel back to Lantau. The MTR system is incredibly easy--don't be intimidated! Just follow the easy-to-read maps.

Follow the MTR maps to take you to the Tung Chung station on Lantau Island; you should see signs for the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Ride that will take you to the Big Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, and the little tourist trap town of Ngong Ping. The train ride should take about 35 minutes. The cable car ride to Big Buddha can get pretty crowded, so if you time it right, you can arrive early enough that you get a good spot in line without waiting forever. We showed up around 8:30 and waited 30 minutes for the line to open at 9am. The closer it got to 9am, the longer the line seemed to get. 

Once you're in your glass cable car, enjoy the ride! We rode with 6 other people, but that didn't bother us at all. There are more expensive, private cars. The most amazing part of this cable car ride is how peaceful and secluded it is, only 30 minutes from the city center, yet completely wooded and secluded. Keep an eye out along your ride and you will see the silhouette of the Buddha in the distance as you approach!

10:00 am - Big Buddha

Big Buddha, Lantau Island

We breezed right through the whole tourist town of Ngong Ping on the way there and headed straight for the Big Buddha. The rule is the same for most major tourist destinations: earlier is better. The crowds start to pick up later, so get there early to enjoy the views. There was a light mist all around us this day, giving the whole mountaintop a mystical quality. It was just incredible!

12:00pm -- Po Lin Monastery

After taking as many pics as you like, head back down the 268 steps to Po Lin Monastery, just next door. Wander through the Buddhist complex and get ready to be blown away by the stunning architecture! Be respectful, as it is still a working Buddhist temple and residence. 

Finish up your time on Lantau by exploring the village you passed as you came in to beat the crowds, and maybe shop for souvenirs. Then ride the cable car back to town and head back into Kowloon for afternoon exploring. 

3:00 pm -- Kowloon and Sham Shui Po

We had lunch on Lantau just because we were starving, but if you can wait to grab a bite to eat in this next neighborhood, it is known for its mouthwatering street food. Take the train back to Kowloon and get off the Sham Shui Po stop. Spend a few hours exploring this crazy area filled to the bring with cheap Chinese-made electronics, souvenirs, toys, clothes--you name it. We were adventurous and went into a three-story building that housed a food market. We saw all kinds of fascinating and questionable foods and goods for sale. Venturing into the canals of an authentic central market in Hong Kong was definitely one for the memory book. 

On that note, we did a lot of wandering Hong Kong. We felt really safe no matter where we went. We never felt like people we staring at us for being tourists either. It's a really fascinating and safe city to just explore and get lost in!

Decaying apartment complexes in Hong Kong

Streets of Sham Shui Po

​5:00 pm - Tsim Sha Tsui

End your day exploring the upscale, colorful, and glitzy area of central Hong Kong. The main street is lined with expensive shops and the neon lights are at night are dazzling. 

Make sure you do two things while in Tsim Sha Tsui: (1) See the light show at Victoria Harbor and the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade at 8pm, and (2) get  egg waffles !

I kept seeing pictures of egg waffles all over Hong Kong blog pages, but then when we got to HK, I asked around EVERYWHERE for them and couldn't find anyone who knew what they were! I must have asked 12 people until finally someone understood what I was asking for--we found ours at Lee Keung Kee North Point Egg Waffles. You can search the location on google maps. These puffy waffles can come with all kinds of toppings and are cooked right there on the street! Just don't look too closely at the sanitary conditions of the egg waffles press!  Oops!)

Egg waffle in Hong Kong

Tsim Sha Shui Promedade overlooking Victoria Harbor

​Day 2 -- Wan Chai and Victoria Peak

10:00 am -- Dim Sum for Breakfast

Make sure you start your second day with some of Hong Kong's famous Dim Sum for breakfast! We recommend DimDimSum in the Jordan district. We stayed in the Shamrock Hotel right off Nathan Road, so this restaurant was nearby and highly rated on TripAdvisor.

Dim Dim Sum Reviews

We wanted to start the day early, but the restaurant doesn't open until 10am. So you could do what we did and just walk and around the Jordan district, taking pictures and enjoying watching the city life come to life around you. Hong Kong'ers are not early risers, and so you will see most shops and businesses closed until about 10am. 

(Word to the Wise: we tried breakfast at a couple of local places, where they serve the traditional HK breakfast of a bowl of watery ramen with a slice of spam. I guess this is a basic breakfast for those locals on the go, but it just wasn't my idea of a delicious breakfast! There are so many other amazing options for breakfast, I would plan ahead where you want to eat!)

But the dim sum is incredible here, and I highly recommend you make your way here at some point!

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12:00 pm -- Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak Hong Kong

It wasn't until the second day that we finally made it to Hong Kong Island. We took the subway crossing under Victoria Harbor and headed straight for the tram up to Victoria Peak. I actually recommend you get here earlier than when we did. From what I read on other reviews, the line can get crazy long after 10am. We must have hit a sweet spot and arrived in a slow time, because a little after 12:00 there was practically no one here. I also think most people come either in the morning or in the afternoon near sunset. So we took the insanely steep Peak Tram up to the top and spent an hour or so enjoying the view!

Yes it's touristy, but you don't want to miss it here. The trails were closed when we went, but spend at least an hour walking the trails at the top for some really spectacular views of the city below. It's a truly unique sight for any traveler around the world!

2:00 pm - Wan Chai & SoHo

SoHo, Hong Kong

 
We got off the the tram and headed in to Wan Chai, the downtown area of HK. We wandered a bit, grabbed lunch somewhere, and just enjoyed being in the city.

Next we took a cab over to SoHo and visited Man Mo Temple, an ancient Chinese Temple completely engulfed by the high rise buildings that surround it. It's amazing that it was never knocked down! 

We ended up walking into some sort of event/showcase/expo happening the streets of SoHo and spent the rest of the day wandering the alleys and stumbling upon different performers and bands that we there for the event. It was really unique! Discovering cool events is one of my favorite things to do when visiting another city!

​SoHo is great for shopping as it has numerous trendy (and expensive) boutiques and clothing stores. This is why I felt HK was comparable to NYC! If you want big, brand name stores, you visit Tsim Sha Shui; if you want small and trendy stores, you visit SoHo. 

Inside Man Mo Temple, SoHo, Hong Kong

Wan Chai district, Hong Kong

SoHo District, Hong Kong

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7:oopm - Happy Valley Racecourse

If you're there on a race night, you could visit the Happy Valley Racecourse, a cultural favorite of Hong Kong'ers. Check their schedule on their website for racetimes! Unfortunately there were no races here that night, so we just decided to head back to Tsim Sha Shui and see the harbor and shops in the area one last time!

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Bonus - Options for Day 3

Here are options if you have time for a third day of exploring in Hong Kong! I definitely wish I planned for one more day here! This list is as much for me as it is for you, since I do plan on going back one day and need a list of places to go!

Chi Lin Nunnery 

This Chinese pagoda and temple complex and gardens was at the top of my list for its picturesque setting! I can imagine taking some exquisite photos here!

Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery

Doesn't this place just sound fascinating? Apparently, it's true to it word and has 10,000 Buddha statues lined up through the woods to the monastery! I would love to check this mysterious place out if I go back to Hong Kong. 

Choi Hung Estates

This place has been made famous thanks to Instagram. We didn't make it here, but if snapping an iconic instagram image is your kind of thing, I highly recommend this well-known, colorful apartment complex.

Dragon's Back Trail

I've heard great things about this beautifully scenic hiking route in Hong Kong! I hope to one day go back and explore this 9 km hiking trail!

As you can tell from the schedule above, there are so many options for exploring this diverse and fantastic city! And even though I listed many of the options here, it is by no means complete. I also recommend at least three to four days here, as I do feel that 2 days wasn't enough!

Are you planning a trip to Hong Kong? Or did you recently visit? What do you think of my list? Thanks for reading!