Get Ready For The Adventure
Sometimes young people make last minute decision to travel whether for work or leisure or any other reason.
We understand the very vibrant lifestyle of most travellers as we are young travellers ourselves. We understand the need to go on a trip immediately you get the urge before you change your mind and visit another place. However, you’re strongly recommended to come during the off-peak season in order to avoid crowds and save money. You may check the local public holidays from our festivals and events calendar.
To save more money on the trip, don’t forget to compare the prices from different web sites before you buy the flight ticket and book the accommodation.
Octopus card and mobile SIM card are suggested to equip in order to make your trip easier and stay connected to the internet.
Before you go, a packing checklist for solo travel essential tools was prepared by buzzpacker team for your last-minute packing. Tick the checkboxes before zipping your backpack close, so you won’t forget to take anything for the trip. Pack them well and go!
Travel Essentials
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Flight ticket occupies a very large proportion of the journey essential costs. Getting the best price from comparison is an indispensable process of every backpacker. But beware that not all the mega search engines at your fingertips include budget airlines. Select the correct engines not only save money but the valuable time. Below listed some engines that compare most of the budget airlines, you don’t want to miss out . Let’s shop around for the best deal!
#Tips 1 : Besides the tickets’ price, check also ticket’s flexibility to change the route, meals, late check-out etc.
#Tips 2 : Book 47 to 60 days before your departure date. According to various studies, this period offers the cheapest deal
#Tips 3 :Always compare more than one search engines and be aware that not all the mega search engines at your fingertips include budget airlines. Some
reliable tools are Google Flights, momondo, skyscanner, Jetradar and Kayak.
#Tips 4 : Error fares occur often and never miss them! Sites like theflightdeal.com and travelpirates.com constantly search for the best deals from the errors.
Book quickly as they don’t last long.
#Tips 5 : Set up flights tracking alert. Start tracking the ticket 2-3 months before your trip.(If the sweet booking point is 47-60 days before your journey as we
mentioned above, you should set the alerts 90 days before). Sites like Kayak and Sky scanner offer fare alerts.
# Tips 6 : Use the “Price forecast” function of searching engines. Sites like Kayak and Google flights offer a forecast too to tell whether a flight is likely to rise or
fall within next week by using historical data.Sometimes it advises you to wait for a better deal.
# Tips 7 : Always check the real-time flight information for updated schedule, especially if you book budget airlines, their schedules often change.
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Accommodation usually occupies the largest proportion of the travel expenses. Lowering staying cost can give you more flexibility and funds. However, it is not a good idea to trade off the safety concerns against a cheaper unlicensed guesthouse. In Hong Kong, a hotel/guesthouse providing sleeping accommodation should be licensed. Patronising licensed guesthouses is of utmost importance to ensure tourists’ safety. You may click here to check whether the guesthouse is licensed.
Accommodation in Hong Kong can be expensive, but it’s also possible to find great places with cheap price. Here we share some tips for Saving Money on that:
- Stay in Kowloon side, such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok and Yau Ma Tei. It is always cheaper than in Hong Kong Island and near the attractions.
- Some recommends budget hostels in Chung King Mansions (a building in Tsim Sha Tsui) for travellers. But from insider’s view, it’s not a really safe and comfort places to stay. You can get other better with similar cost.
- Book in advance. General accommodation cost in Hong Kong ranges from HKD800 to HKD1500 per night. Budget hostels with comfort environment is always popular and fully booked easily.
- Call or Email the hotel to ask if staff can offer a better rate then the one advertised.Sometimes they might have a discount.
- Opt to stay with a local for free via websites like couch surfing.com.
- Check several sites before booking. Compare all the official website, mega-search engines like Hotelscombined, Trivago and hotel-booking agencies such as Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia and Hotelsworld etc. You might be surprised how the prices can fluctuate in different sites.
- For Last-minute accommodation booking, you can also check Hotel Tonight and Jetsetter.The former finds users last-minute hotels, the best rates appear until noon on your preferred staying day while the latter offer discounted limited-time deals of luxury hotels.
- Make sure that the hotel or hostel you are booking is licensed. You can check the license here. Beware that unlicensed guesthouses may pose threats to the your safety, you may not be covered by your insurance policy if there is any injury and damage.
Buying a SIM Card in Hong Kong is not difficult but it varies a lot in price. There are so many products in the market. As a tourist, you will easily buy some expensive cards with few surfing data, like the experience we had in other unfamiliar countries. Therefore, we have studies many local sim cards and select one with the best price to recommend. Save your time on looking for one from the wide variety of products and focus more on your exploration. If you prefer to select on your own, besides concerning the data and speed, ask also :
- they need complicated setting and fit for both 3G/4G phones
- sharing function available
- limit in calls and texts
- Available card size (fits Android and iphone)
- Check whether the country has real-name registration policy
#1 AIRSIM (Recommend for frequent Traveler only)
This sim card applies new technology that allows user to travel around the world with one card.The company offers roaming packages with low cost. If you are a frequent traveler, it does save you a lot of money on internet surfing. Details refer to www.buzzsim.com . If you purchase any Premium package of Buzzpacker Tour, you can get a FREE AIRSIM Card (with USD 10 initial credit) from us as a gift! With the initial credit, you can get a free 4-day Hong Kong data to access internet and make calls. Discover our plans.
# 2 Wechat Go Hong Kong 4G SIM Card (HK$52 with 8GB data limit in 8 Days)
This card offers 4G speed for the 8GB data, but what ‘s great is that even your data usage exceeds 8GB, they would not deactivate your card but just reduce your speed to 128kbps. A very use friendly approach. You can buy it online and take at the airport counter after arrival. We have compared it with other cards with similar price, like China Mobile 4G SIM, but it is available only for 5 days and have a limit of 3G data. And the “Travel sim card” suggested from HK Tourist board cost HK$118 for the same data.
Backpacking in Hong Kong is easy as most of people speaks English.Hong Kong people are friendly and helpful!
The Public transportation here is very convenient and efficient. There are MTR, Double deck bus, mini bus and ferry etc. They can take you to most of the places in a cheap price and environmentally friendly way. Normally Hong Kong people use “Octopus Card” , a stored- value card for local transportation, to travel around. Other than transportation, it can also be used for paying bill in various shops like restaurants, convenience store etc. It saves you so much time on queuing purchasing ticket each time and the Metro company offers a discount for Octopus card holder.It can be top-up easily at any Metro station and convenience stores on the street. It is highly recommend that you get one before you start your journey.
There are two types of Octopus card in general: On-loan local card and sold tourist card. The main difference between them is on-loan card needs deposit of HK$50 and has an initial stored value requirement. Tourist card does not need any deposit as you pay and buy the card.
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On-Loan Octopus card (Adult)
| Sold tourist Octopus card
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On-loan card can actually save more money if you don’t mind to take further steps to handle the process by yourself, cause you don’t have to buy the card. However, Tourist card is more suitable for you if you prefer convenience more. We recommend two reliable local online agencies that we always use, they allow you to purchase the tourist card online in advanced (Or even at last minute) and pick the card in airport after arrival.
KKDAY (They sell at HK$54 with initial stored value of HK$10 )
KLOOK (They sell at HK$92 with initial stored value of HK$50)
Klook also offers the package of On-loan Octopus card with HK$100 Preloaded and Hong Kong 4G SIM Card (8 days) at HK$168
Please be aware of their pick up location. Don’t get to the wrong place :
KKDAY -Counter A14 of Arrival Halls in Terminal 1 ,Floor L5, Hong Kong International Airport
KLOOK -Counter A13 of Arrival Halls in Terminal 1 , Floor L5,Hong Kong International Airport
(The Map of Hong Kong International Airport)
Most of the counters will open from 0800-2300 only, therefore, if you will arrive beyond their service hour, it’s better for you to buy the cards at convenience store or the MTR Customer Service Centre in the airport.
#If you purchase any Premium package of Buzzpacker Tour, you can get a FREE Tourist Octopus Card (with HKD 100 initial credit) from us! Discover our plans.
If you wish to join the local tours or some authentic activities provided by Hong Kong Travel Agents, make sure your Travel agent companies and guides are licensed. To ensure the tourist guides’ service quality, the person receiving and taking care of travellers visiting Hong Kong should be licensed. The licensed tourist guide, who has passed the qualifying examination regarding first aid skills, history, culture and custom of Hong Kong etc, should be assigned by a licensed travel agent. Though promulgating codes of conduct and directives and putting in place a disciplinary mechanism, the government regulates travel agents and tourist guides. You may check by the following hyperlinks: