We had a fantastic time taking Cub and Bunny to Mr Dandelion's birth city. Hong Kong is a vibrant, busy country with lots to do, lots to see and lots to eat. It's a fast-paced change from suburban Western Australia where we live and a wonderful place to holiday. The public transport is fantastic - fast and convenient. It is very easy to make your way around Hong Kong as a tourist.
Living in Perth, Asia is a popular travel destination and Bali, Thailand and Singapore are the most popular options, but I wouldn't discount Hong Kong as a wonderful experience and cannot wait to take Cub and Bunny there again in the near future.
We stayed in a double room at the Royal Plaza Hotel Hong Kong. The location was fantastic: in Mong Kok, right above the Mong Kok East MTR and a short, easy walk via overpasses to the busier Mong Kok MTR station. It's close to many popular attractions such as the Ladies Markets and the Night Markets and best of all for travelling with small children the hotel is attached to a large shopping mall complete with food court and playground. We started most mornings with a play in the playground, much to Bunny's delight!
Below you will find my list of toddler friendly activities in Hong Kong for tourists:
1. The Peak and Peak Tram
2. Hong Kong Disneyland
3. Hong Kong Park
4. Open Air Markets (Bird Market, Flower Market, Goldfish Market)
5. Ocean Park
1. The Peak and Peak Tram
The Peak Tram operates from 7am to midnight daily, departing at 10 to 15-minute intervals from the lower Peak Tram terminus located on Garden Road in Central. A return trip costs HK$ 80 and it's a fun way of getting to the Peak.
The Peak itself is an absolute must do and offers panoramic, iconic views of Hong Kong. Unless it is foggy, like it was on the day we went, in which case you can see nothing. Check the weather forecast and plan accordingly! At The Peak there are a range of places to eat and also a children's playground which is worth checking out.
There is also a Madame Tussauds wax figure museum located at the peak. We felt Cub and Bunny would be too young to appreciate this one, but Mr Dandelion and I have been there pre-kids on previous holidays and had a lot of fun. Best for older children and adults I think.
2. Hong Kong Disneyland
When you have toddlers who LOVE Disney as much as Cub and Bunny do, Disneyland wasn't a negotiable option, it was a must do. Catch the special Disneyland MTR train in and from the moment your day starts the magic begins. We arrived around 11am and stayed until after the fireworks, so it was a very long day for two little kids, but worth it. We hired the Disneyland strollers but if you are travelling with your own stroller - take it! They are not the cheapest to hire and once the novelty of the hire strollers wore off they became rather uncomfortable for Cub to nap in when the time came, as you can see below. We ended up padding Cub's stroller with a folding fabric change mat as it was hard plastic.
Disneyland Hong Kong is the smallest of the Disneylands but perfectly sized for the under 5 set. This TripAdvisor review of Hong Kong Disneyland by TripAdvisor user Selenapan99 has a fantastic rundown of all the attractions in the park and their suitability for toddlers. Meeting Minnie Mouse and Cinderella were Bunny's top highlights and while the lines may seem long to meet and greet the characters, they are worth it. 3. Hong Kong Park
Hong Kong Park, located in Central, is a completely free attraction and well worth a visit if you have little ones. It has a large, multi-story playground (disinfected 4 times a day) complete with sandpit, slides and lots of other kids to play with. Bunny had a ball going down the slides and Cub enjoyed himself too. A short walk from the playground is a large walk-through aviary, full of birds and designed to be a 'tropical rainforest'. It's a beautiful patch of serenity in such a busy city.
A word from the wise, as the bottom left photo shows, Hong Kong is NOT stroller friendly. Central in particular is full of stairs. We were fortunate to have lots of hands to help on this day, but I wouldn't want to repeat the experience. Cub is travelling in the Ergo and it was a much better option.
4. Open Air Markets (Bird Market, Flower Market, Goldfish Market)All within a reasonable walking distance for each other and all worth a look. The turtles and fish on Goldfish Street are fascinating in their own way and the flowers of Flower Market are beautiful. Go later in the afternoon for all three of these, as there seems to be no set opening time and if you go early most stalls will be closed.
5. Ocean Park
I have a confession - we actually didn't go to Ocean Park. We chose to return to Disneyland for a second day, which I absolutely do not regret as Bunny loved it, but Ocean Park would be a fantastic place to take slightly older children. A spectacular cable car, beautiful pandas and some great rides, it's a fun day out for primary school aged children and upwards.
And what about food?
Hong Kong is a city of food and as such there are no issues finding food, even for fussier children! Fast food stores are everywhere and for the brave the street food and local restaurants offer more traditional cuisine. We tended to start the day with traditional jook (Chinese rice porridge) which we purchased from the food court attached to our hotel, but other days we chose the hotel buffet breakfast and loaded up on more western foods like cereal, toast and pastries. Snack food is easy to come by with 7/11 stores and bakeries on almost every corner and there are so many options for eating out at night you won't feel the need to order room service. Cub was still on formula milk when we were in Hong Kong and we brought a full tin from Australia with us, but infant formula is readily available if you need it (although slightly more expensive than Australia).
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