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Citizens from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand need only a valid passport to enter Hong Kong. UK citizens may stay up to six months and US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand visitors for up to three months without a visa. (Ensure your passport is valid for at least a month after you plan to leave Hong Kong.) To visit mainland China (beyond the New Territories), you will need a visa. These are easy to obtain when you are in Hong Kong, from travel agents. China Travel Service issues China visas for HK$150 (or HK$300 to process in 24 hours). You’ll need to leave your passport and one passport photo. Citizens of most countries may visit Macau for up to 20 days without a visa – Portuguese citizens are allowed 90 days.

The milder months from October to late January are a popular time to visit, although Hong Kong’s climate is at its best in March and April. Hotel rooms will be heavily booked and more expensive in October and April. Flights also tend to be heavily booked during these months.

Just south of the Tropic of Cancer, Hong Kong’s sub-tropical climate has a mild winter (December–February) when temperatures can drop as low as 10 C (50 F), while spring (March–April) and autumn (October–November) are short, warm and pleasant. In summer (May– September), temperatures average about 28 C (83 F), relative summer humidity regularly soars above 80 or 90 per cent and typhoons and tropical storms often visit.

Light clothing will suffice for most of the year. A long-sleeved top is advisable for some of the arctic air-conditioning; a light jacket for the winter months.

Cantonese, Mandarin and English are the official languages of Hong Kong. English is widely understood and spoken, so English-speakers will find it easy to get around, although expect communication difficulties with taxi drivers and residents in remoter rural areas.

No compulsory vaccinations are required for Hong Kong, but a yellow fever vaccination is necessary if you are visiting southern China from a yellow fever infected area. Common medical and hygiene products are readily available. Ensure you have valid medical insurance.

The local currency is the Hong Kong dollar (HK$), divided into 100 cents. Bills are issued in 20-, 50-, 100-, 500- and 1,000-dollar denominations. Coins come in 1-, 2-, 5- and 10-dollar and 10-, 20- and 50-cent denominations. Pegged to the US dollar, the exchange rate always hovers close to HK$7.8 to the US$1. HK$ are accepted in Macau but change is given in MOP$. ¥RMB are needed for mainland China.

Take lots! Hong Kong can be expensive. There is no limit on the amount that can be changed (see Money Changing and Forwarding).

Hong Kong is not the shopper’s paradise it once was. Many branded and designer goods are on a par with or even pricier than in the West. Bargains can be found, however, in the markets and warehouse outlets (see Designer Outlets in Ap Lei Chau & Places to Shop).

Being a major hub, Hong Kong is well served by direct connections to much of the globe. Major cities linked by direct flights to Hong Kong include: Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, LA, London, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver.

There are plenty of stopover options for breaking your journey. Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok can make interesting and cheap stopover breaks if flying in from the west, or Seoul and Taipei if flying in from the east. Most carriers do not charge for arranging inbound or outbound stopovers; some even offer special deals.

Flight and hotel deals are worth checking on the websites listed in the directory. Note some serve bookings from the US or UK only.

The cheapest times to head to Hong Kong are just after Chinese New Year in early January, and from November to mid-December. Late deals can sometimes be found on websites such as lastminute.co.uk. Booking well in advance can also secure lower prices. Some websites, such as travelocity.com, offer e-mail services alerting you when tickets fall below a certain price. Bargains are less likely if your return leg falls in August, or between Christmas and Chinese New Year, when many locals fly out.

If you’ll be spending time in Southeast Asia first, very competitively priced air tickets to Hong Kong can be bought from the Asian hubs of Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

There are tourist informa-tion offices in transfer area E2 and the arrivals buffer halls A and B. There’s also a hotel information and reservations office in the arrivals halls.

For those with time and money, the most adven-turous way to reach Hong Kong from Europe is by rail via the Trans-Siberia Railway, through Mongolia or Manchuria to Beijing, and then connec-ting to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong-bound trains depart regularly each day from Guangzhou. Sleeper services between Beijing and Shanghai depart on alternate days. “Soft” sleeper compartments are plush and less crowded but can cost almost as much as flying.

Fast, regular ferry services to Hong Kong run from Guangzhou and Macau. Services from Macau take anywhere between one and two hours and from Guangzhou two to three hours.

The excellent, modern airport trains to Central take just 23 minutes and depart every 10 minutes from 6am to 1:30am daily. Taxis are also readily available at the airport. The E11 bus through Central, Wanchai and Causeway Bay takes about an hour and is the cheapest option.

If you’re going to travel widely in Hong Kong consider buying an Octopus card, which you charge with money and swipe over the readers on most local buses, trains, ferries and trams. Special tourist versions allow unlimited travel for 24 hours or three days.

The excellent, efficient MTR (Mass Transit Railway) system runs from 6am to 1.30am on five underground lines connecting Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories and Lantau. It’s clean, cheap and air-conditioned. The KCR (Kowloon-Canton Railway) line, connecting Kowloon with the New Territories, runs from 5.30am to 1am.

Cheap, frequent buses connect almost every place in Hong Kong. Pick up a bus route map at any of the HKTA’s offices. Major hotels offer free shuttle buses between the hotels and Kowloon and Central KCR stations.

Red taxis operate in and around central Hong Kong and are reasonably priced. Surcharges apply for tunnel tolls, luggage in the trunk and late-night journeys. Tipping is appreciated but not expected. Green taxis run in the New Territories; blue ones on Lantau. Bear in mind, though, that few taxi drivers can speak much English.

Ferries link Hong Kong Island with Kowloon, the outlying islands, Macau and China. The frequent Star Ferries (see Star Ferry)shuttle between Hong Kong and Tsim Sha Tsui on Kowloon from 6:30am to 11:30pm. Next to Central’s Star Ferry pier are the main piers for outlying islands.

The ancient, wood-panelled, double-deck trams running west to east from Kennedy Town to Chai Wan are a slow, sometimes cramped but undeniably atmospheric way to get around Hong Kong. A very reasonable flat fee applies for all destinations. The legendary Peak Tram (see The Peak) leaves from Garden Road.

The best way to see many central Hong Kong districts is to walk. The distances are short, although the inclines can be steep. Walking is really the only way to see the sights in Western, the Mid-Levels, Wan Chai, much of Kowloon and Hong Kong’s country parks. Walking in parts of Central and Admiralty, however, can be a disorientating trudge around a maze of walkways and underpasses.

Forget cycling among the urban congestion and fumes, but think about hiring a bike to hit some of the rugged, steep country trails. Contact the Hong Kong Cycling Association for details.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has conveniently located branches offering brochures and advice. There is also a website and multilingual visitor hotline.

HKTB’s website (see directory) is a good starting point. Others include theSouth China Morning Post ’swww.scmp.comandwww.totallyhk.com. For directory services go towww.hkt.com.

The broadsheet dailySouth China Morning Post provides extensive coverage of local, Chinese and world news. The tabloidi-mail offers less comprehensive coverage and an irreverent spin.

HK Magazine (free) is a weekly listings magazine with eating, drinking and going out tips.BC Magazine (also free) is a clubbing-heavy, twice-monthly guide with listings. Both are available from bars and restaurants.

ATV World and TVB Pearl are Hong Kong’s two terrestrial English-language channels. RTHK is Hong Kong’s publicly funded but editorially independent radio broadcaster. RTHK 3 (567 AM, 1584AM) has mainly news, finance and current affairs; RTHK 4 (96.7–98.9FM) plays Western and Chinese classical music, RTHK 6 (675AM) broadcasts BBC World Service programming.

The HKTB has free maps of central Hong Kong and free booklets includingA Guide to Quality Merchants ,Hong Kong Access Guide for Disabled Visitors andExploring Hong Kong’s Countryside , available in several languages. Good maps (theCountryside Series ) are available from Government Publications Centres.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (www.tdc.org.hk) offers useful information.

The government website,www.info.gov. hk, with links to all its departments, is a good starting point for facts and figures. The CIA’s online World Factbook offers raw statistics on Hong Kong and China at:www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Hong Kong Observatory’s phoneline and website offer daily and three-day forecasts. The Weather Underground site,www. underground.org.hk, andSouth China Morning Post athttp://weather. scmp.comalso have local weather and air pollution information.

Traffic is often bumper to bumper, so walk or take another form of transport.

Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers crowd Central’s sidewalks and squares on a Sunday, so don’t expect anything other than slow progress. Watching these low-paid workers enjoying their only day off makes for a contrast, or perhaps rebuke, to the bustle and conspicuous consumption usually on display.

Long queues form for the Peak Tram and the whole Peak area is much busier at weekends and particularly on Sundays. Turn round and come back another day if it’s cloudy, too, as you’ll miss those spectacular views.

Hong Kongers may blithely litter their streets, countryside and harbour, but no-one eats or drinks on the spotless subway.

That is unless you want to pay steep surprise cover charges on top of your already expensive drinks. These may still be popular destinations for US sailors on shore leave, but don’t expect to recapture the world of Suzy Wong.

Expect to be arrested if you are found in possession of illegal drugs of any kind. Hong Kong law officially makes no distinction between the types of drug found. Spot checks and raids are sometimes carried out in areas such as Lan Kwai Fong.

There’s no doubt Hong Kong is a relatively safe city, but don’t tempt fate by wandering through quiet streets and heavily built-up housing areas in the dead of night. Take a taxi instead.

On smoggy days you can see, smell and taste the pollution in places such as Causeway Bay and Central. When the pollution index heads above 100, escape the smog by taking a trip out to the countryside or the outlying islands.

No change is offered on buses, so take the right money, use an Octopus Card or be prepared to lose the change owed to you.

Important information and emergency hotlines are efficient and provide foreign-language speakers – mainly English.

Hong Kong’s tap water is safe to drink. Wash fresh fruit and vegetables. Avoid locally caught seafood if your health is fragile, as high pollution levels and some diseases can lurk in local fish. Many local restaurants source fish from abroad.

Urban air quality is improving rapidly following the introduction of cleaner vehicle fuels. Even so, the air pollution index can still head above 100, at which point people with respiratory complaints are advised to stay indoors. Consult the SCMP’s websitehttp://weather.scmp.comfor regular updates.

Sadly, Hong Kong has made slow progress in treating the sewage it empties into its own waters, let alone in tackling the pollution washing from China’s rivers. There are good beaches (usually government managed) but seawater quality can vary markedly. Toxic algae blooms occasionally make swimming unsafe. It’s best to swim on a lifeguard-staffed beach with shark net. On unmanaged beaches never swim at dawn, dusk, in murky waters or with open wounds.

Crime and theft directed at tourists are rare in Hong Kong. To be completely safe, take common-sense precautions such as keeping a close hold on personal possessions, using a hotel safe if provided and not leaving valuable items or documents in your backpack.

If you are planning to spend time in Hong Kong, registering your passport with your local consulate or embassy will make replacing a lost one easier. Extra travel insurance may be a good idea if you are travelling with expensive items.

Hydration is important at all times, especially so in Hong Kong’s stifling summer heat and humidity. Ensure you drink plenty of fluid. Cool, light, loose cotton clothing will be most comfortable. Wear a hat if you are outdoors for long periods or turn your umbrella into a sun parasol. If you’re worried about the heat, avoid too much activity during the hottest part of the day. Head up Victoria Peak for cooler climes or to the coast for sea breezes.

Don’t underestimate your ability to sweat and lose fluid in the heat. Take lots of water. Buy a good map, take a mobile phone if you have one and small change for local transport. Sensible clothing and footwear are a must for walking unpaved trails. Pocket tissues might come in handy for some of the public toilets in rustic areas. In winter, take a waterproof.

Caritas Medical Centre and Queen Mary Hospital are among those with 24-hour accident and emergency departments.

Banks and ATMs are numerous. Opening hours are 9am–4:30pm Mon–Fri and 9am–12:30pm Sat. Most ATMs operate 24 hours. Credit/debit cards are widely accepted.

Banks offer the best foreign exchange rates, although there are plenty of independent bureaux de change. Using your bank card at an ATM may be cheaper than changing money or using travellers’ cheques. Money forwarding can be arranged through local banks, or try Western Union.

The Hong Kong postal service is rapid and efficient. Local mail takes one to two days. Zone 1 air mail (all of Asia except Japan) takes three to five days. Zone 2 (the rest of the world) takes five to seven days. The General Post Office operates Hong Kong’s post restante service.

Local calls in Hong Kong are free. Many hotel lobbies and shops will make phones available free for local calls. Coin-operated public phone boxes cost HK$1 minimum. Some accept credit cards or have Internet services. Phone cards for calling abroad are available from convenience stores, some vending machines, the Star Ferry piers and HKTB offices (see HKTB Services).

The international code for Hong Kong is 852, for Macau 853, and for mainland China 86. Hong Kong and Macau have no area or city codes, but Guangzhou is 020 and Shenzhen 0755.

Hong Kong’s mobile networks are GSM-based. Dual-band mobile phones will work in Hong Kong if you have set the service up with your home provider. Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) has outlets offering phone rentals by the week. WAP services are available, but not advanced.

Internet access is plentiful, convenient, cheap and often free (see Free Calls and Internet Access). Much of Hong Kong uses speedy broadband connections, including the main hotels, most of which have installed dual telephone/modem connectors into rooms.

Hundreds of magazines and newspapers from around the world are available to read free at the shiny new main library in Causeway Bay. Internet access here is plentiful, fast and free (bookings taken for one hour at a time). There’s also a good café with outdoor seating.

Faxing from business centres or photocopying shops is simple, although not cheap. Your hotel may offer a cheaper service and will accept faxes on your behalf.

Food kiosks and inexpensive Chinese restaurants abound. Fast food chains are competitive in Hong Kong. Lunchtime, all-you-can-eat buffets are also fairly common, or head to the Indian restaurants upstairs in Chungking Mansions.

Most bars offer long happy hours or promotions before a certain time of evening. Drink is free for women on certain nights at numerous bars. On race nights, soak up the atmosphere and some cheap beer at Happy Valley horseracing track (see Happy Valley Races).

There are plenty of options for cheap days out. Walk Hong Kong’s wilderness trails (see Walking Routes and Promenades), nose around the market at Stanley (see Market), or walk the Dragon’s Back path to Shek O (see Shek O). It need only cost the return bus fare and the price of a cheap lunch, which you can sleep off on the beach.

For dizzying views atop some of the world’s tallest buildings head to the free viewing galleries on the 47th floor of the Bank of China Building in Central (see Bank of China) and the 46th floor of Wanchai’s Central Plaza. Hong Kong’s museums and galleries are incredibly cheap to visit, but all have a free day each week and some are free all week.

Hong Kong Park, which includes the excellent walk-through Edward Youde Aviary, and the Zoological and Botanical Gardens nearby are well worth a visit and are completely free.

Learn the slow, graceful, health-promoting moves of the traditional Chinese martial art Tai Chi for free under the Tsim Sha Tsui clocktower early on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (see Practise Tai Chi).

Hong Kong’s many temples are free (although some change for the collection box is appreciated). Try the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road, the Tin Hau Temple off Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei (see Kowloon – Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Prince Edward) or the Wong Tai Sin Temple in eastern Kowloon (see Wong Tai Sin Temple).

Local telephone calls are usually free. Some hotel lobbies have telephones for free local calls. Internet access is plentiful, fast and free at the Convention Centre’s Business Centre and at the Causeway Bay Main Library.

For free music head to the foyer of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on Thursday lunchtimes and some Saturdays. The Fringe Club hosts free live music from local and visiting bands on certain weekends. Free exhibitions of local artists’ and photographers’ work are always on at the Hong Kong Arts Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Most shops open daily but not usually before about 10:30am and will not generally close before 6:30pm. Many, especially in the busy shopping districts, close later at 9pm or beyond.

The government is considering a 3 per cent sales tax, but at present there is no sales tax apart from on cars, cosmetics, alcohol and tobacco.

Small businesses, such as the many independent computer and electrical goods stores, are often worth trying to bargain with. Consider asking for a cash discount for items such as computers or antiques. Haggling is almost obligatory in the markets, particularly for gifts, antiques and souvenirs.

Where you see the QTS symbol (a large gold Q with black brushstroke), it indicates the shop has passed a Hong Kong Productivity Council Audit for fair trading, service levels, store environment and product knowledge.

Some Westerners, women in particular, find shoes designed for the slighter Asian foot a tight fit. It’s worth asking boutiques and shops if they have your size in their warehouse. Clothes are usually less of a problem. Hong Kong’s Marks & Spencer outlets provide a wide range of clothing sizes.

Dozens of tailors can hand-make suits in as little as 48 hours. The prices can be good, although a cheap deal sometimes means cheap cloth or corners cut. If in doubt use a better-known tailor. For men’s suits try the famous Sam the Tailor or the Mandarin Hotel’s bespoke A-Man Hing Cheong. For tailor-madecheong sams , try funky Shanghai Tang.

For dirt-cheap clothes, head to the markets at Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po. The ubiquitous Giordano and Bossini chains offer decent, good value Gap-style wear. For deeply discounted clearance designer wear head to the shops on the 4th, 5th and 6th floors of the Pedder Building in Central or Joyce’s warehouse outlet on Ap Lei Chau (see Designer Outlets in Ap Lei Chau).

Consider getting a visa for China (see Passport and Visa Information) and cross over to the border town of Shenzhen for cheap clothes and designer fakes. If you’re prepared to haggle for each and every purchase and do a lot of shopping, the trip will pay for itself.

Fake designer clothes and watches are cheap, common and easy to find in any of Hong Kong’s markets and especially in Shenzhen. Quality can range from the good to the dreadful, so buyer beware.

If time is short or legs tire, the five-hour Heritage Tour offers a whistlestop glimpse of ancient temples, ancestral clan halls and walled villages. The daily Land Between Tour takes in Hong Kong’s highest mountain, and various rural markets and fishing villages. HKTB can provide booking numbers.

This innovative and free series of walks and lectures by a group of experts on local culture, traditional Chinese medicine and feng shui, offers some excellent insights into traditional Hong Kong and Chinese culture. A daily talk is held at a set location covering a different topic each day. Get details from the HKTB.

It may be a stone’s throw from Central’s skyscrapers, but the self-guided Western Walking Tour takes you into a different world past dried seafood shops, herbalists and temples. Pick up a brochure from HKTB offices. A more remote alternative is the Lung Yuek Tau Heritage Trail, a short but fascinating walk starting at Fung Ying Sin Koon Temple, which passes elegant ancestral halls, and tiny, still-inhabited walled villages.

You’re almost guaranteed to see Hong Kong’s endangered pink dolphins off Lantau Island on this four-hour tour, and if you don’t you can go again free. Learn from the knowledgeable guides about the lives of these creatures and the threats they face.

See all of Hong Kong’s museums and galleries the easy way via the bus that shuttles between the art, science, space and history museums in Tsim Sha Tsui and the smart, impressive new Heritage Museum at Sha Tin. A one-week bus pass with unlimited entry ticket to all museums is available from HKTB offices. The special bus runs on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm.

Take in the skyline of Central from the harbour by day or night,or sail beneath the Tsing Ma suspension bridge. A range of harbour cruises is on offer. Visit HKTB offices for details.

Feel the earth move and the hooves thunder as you cheer the finishers home in the ultimate Hong Kong night out. Splendid Tours runs the Come Horseracing Tour during race meetings (see Happy Valley Races & Shatin Racecourse).

Local historian Jason Wordie’s weekly Detours column and the outward-bound Explore column in theSunday Morning Post Magazine may provide inspiration and useful information on Hong Kong’s hidden corners.

If money is no object, hire a junk for the day and explore Hong Kong’s secluded beaches and craggy islands. See theYellow Pages for listings.

Booking through the HKTB or a travel agent will almost always be cheaper than just turning up at a hotel. Many websites offer hotel reservation services (see Booking Flights and Hotels Online). The Hong Kong Hotel Association runs information and reservations lines.

Rates climb during the busy conference months of October and April, and the best hotels (and many of the rest) will be booked solid. Avoid these months if you can, or book long in advance.

Use of facilities such as gyms and pools are usually included in the room price. Breakfast is seldom included in the price except at top-of-the-range places. Note that a 3 per cent government tax and a 10 per cent service charge will be added to your bill at all but the lowest-priced guesthouses. Local calls are free from public phones in Hong Kong, but strangely not usually from your hotel room.

Don’t be put off by the name, the YMCA (see The Salisbury YMCA) in Tsim Sha Tsui is well appointed and offers terrific views and value. Or try the two-star Anne Black Guest House close to the Temple Street area in Kowloon. (see Value-for-Money Hotels, Cheap Sleeps)

If you’ve just got off the plane and need a place, try the hotel information and reservations offices in arrivals halls A and B, open from 6am to 1pm or make for Chungking or Mirador Mansions on Nathan Road (see Chungking House, Chungking Mansions).

The websites listed in the directory are easy to use and book through, with plenty of substantial deals and discounts of up to 65 per cent.

The Anne Black Guest House has plenty of clean, cheap single rooms. Less appealing (but half the price) guesthouses such as in the Chungking Mansions (see Chungking House, Chungking Mansions) are other good budget options for single travellers.

Most of the better hotels offer babysitting services. The YMCA (see The Salisbury YMCA, Harbour View International House) has a few competitively priced family suites.

Many hotels and guesthouses will offer excellent discounts for stays of a month or more. For long stays it may be worth renting a serviced apartment . The Wesley in Wan Chai offers very competitive monthly packages. (see The Wesley)