Travel costs for Hong Kong

Here's a run-down of average travel costs for Hong Kong, the final (and most expensive) destination on my trip. You can see my travel style in this post on travel costs in Thailand, so you can calculate how your likely spending would match up to mine.

8 to 14 March (6 nights, 7 days) = £483 total
Average costs per night = £80.50

Accommodation
Here's the rub – Hong Kong has a huge selection of budget accommodation, most with a reputation for being really grotty. I wasn't prepared to stay in some squalid Chungking Mansions hole, so I spent some time researching better options.

Unfortunately I did this only a couple of days before I arrived, and discovered most of the less-dodgy budget accommodation was already fully booked, and what accommodation remained was rather expensive (even the YWCA was asking for 1400 HK$ a night).

I managed to secure a budget room for the first 2 nights, then moved to a mid-range hotel, which was offering a good mid-week deal.

Budget place = 605 HK$ a night (£50)
Mid-range place = 905 HK$ (£77)

Take my advice – this is one place where it pays to book ahead.

Transport and sightseeing
£4.26 average per day

It's easy to get around using local ferries, trams and the MTR, and excellent value for money.

Food and drink
£6.46 average per day, eating at small restaurants and hawker stalls.

Most expensive meal – £4.70 at a cheap Italian restaurant.
Cheapest meal – £0.50 for a stuffed bun.

The birds of Hong Kong Park

Space is at a premium in Hong Kong.

There's no room to build out, sandwiched between the hillside and the sea of Hong Kong Island, so everyone builds up. People live in high-rise apartment buildings, and work in high-rise offices. Even the public transport is tall and skinny (the narrow double decker trams that dash from one end of the island to the other).

With so little space available, every inch space to breathe is precious.

That's why I love Hong Kong Park, and especially the walk-in Edward Youde Aviary. Visitors meander along wooden walkways set 10m above the ground, with a bird's eye view over the forest... and the 90 species of bird that live in the aviary.

It's truly wonderful.

Red lory

Silver-eared mesia

Cute as a button Java sparrow

Views of Hong Kong

Crowded. Claustrophobic. Noisy. Expensive.

Yep, Hong Kong is all of those things.

Exhilarating. Outdoorsy. Flavourful.

It's those things, too.

Whatever you're looking for, you can find it in Hong Kong (although if what you're looking for is some peace and quiet, you might have a travel some distance to find it).

Oh - and unlike me, remember to clean inside your camera occasionally. I can't believe the amount of dust spots on these babies....