Visa To Hong Kong, Macau And China?

[aussiestyle1983]

Do Thai or Aussie passport holders need a visa to enter Hong Kong, Macau and China?

Just wondering as the wife a I will go there next week, but I forgot the check the visa situation first, silly me......

Any recomendations of things to Do in HK?

I know this is not Thai related, but it is a travel related topic

[lesdunbar]

G,day,

You both can enter Hong Kong and Macau, both of you can obtain a 5 day china visa at shenzhen at the Chinese side of the HK / China border. Costs HK$ 150-00 each.( issued on the spot) Or go to the Chinese consulate in HK and apply . Takes about 3 working days.

Hope this can help,

cheers,

lesdunbar

please check this site

http://www.chinaembassy.or.th/eng/lsfw/qzxk/t164568.htm

[aussiestyle1983]

thanks a lot for that very usefull info mate!

[Mighty Mouse]

I would like you to keep adding to this thread with information about your trip, especially the Hong Kong part.

We too are planning on taking a side trip from Thailand to Hong Kong for about four nights.

Originally I wanted to treat Hong Kong as a stopover from Australia, but there are no direct flights. For example, Thai Airways flies from Sydney to Bangkok and then onto Hong Kong, but from Hong Kong it goes back to Bangkok before returning to Australia.

Our best alternative is to book a flight with Orient Thai, Cathay Pacific, Air China etc. From what I can gather, the return airfare is in the vicinity of 8,000 - 11,000 baht, including taxes.

Booking a hotel in Hong Kong is our next consideration. Is it better to book on line for a cheaper price?

I'd be very interested in your selection of hotel including your review if possible.

I have read many reviews on-line regarding some of the three star hotels such as: Guangdong Hotel, BP International, Stanford Hillview Hotel, Shamrock Hotel, Majestic Hotel.

We really only need a room with a bed so five star hotels are wasted money as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway have a good trip.

[ercorn]

I find it`s cheaper to book a hotel to HK online.Be warnd that the prices increase over the weekend.

[aussiestyle1983]

Mighty Mouse.

We booked our flight on Emirates. They sometimes have good specials from BKK to HKG because they need to keep tjheir planes full as the continue from BKK to HKG from the Middle East. The airline uses new 777-300ER aircraft with large personal TV's and excellent entertainment. We got our tickets for 7,099 THB ecah incluseiv of all charges. We checked every airline possible and the only cheaper one was Air Asia to Macau (not HKG) Orient Thai is un-reliable for INTL flights, so Emirated for its price was a bargin for the quality it gives. We also only booked 2 nights in advance through their website and still got a better rate from any travel agent.

Be aware, you can book airline as late as possible, but most hotels can only be booked online at least 3 working nights in advance. We found some good rates for decent 3 star hotels (we wont be in the room much any way) but it was to late to book for a good rate on the internet, so we called the hotels dirrect and reserved the one who offered us a similar price to what was offered on the net. So yes, book through the net is alot cheaper, but you need to d oit at least 3 nights in advance. We will stay at the Ramada, we would of liked one of the ones you mentioned (Guangdong Hotel) and another few, but after leaving it to late, we had to settle for the cheapest (many good reviews about it for 3 star, location a little away from main areas, but close to Macau Ferry and Tram stop in front of door which is what we need) So we can only wait and see, ill let you know how it goes once we are back.

[Mighty Mouse]

Thanks for the tips Aussiestyle. I'll place Emirate Air at the top of my list.

I'll also book my hotel on-line, at least three days in advance, and try not to take in the weekends. Thanks for that Ercorn.

I'm one of these travelers who likes to have my holidays fully arranged before leaving for the airport, so any bookings that I make will need to be confirmed at least one week before traveling.

I have a couple of travel agent contacts in LOS and will compare their best prices with any specials that I can obtain directly from the airlines.

I have been to Hong Kong before but it was a very long time ago and was part of a package tour. We stayed at a five star hotel but wasted a lot of our time waiting for tour guides to arrange transport, day trips etc.

My wife has never been there and I would like to show her the view from the Peak. It has to be a clear day though. This time I'll be taking the tram, not the tourist bus.

She, being a typical Thai girl, wants to pig out on Chinese food. She loves experimenting with different cuisines and still maintains her hour glass figure. Any recommended eating places would also be appreciated.

When I was last there I got off the beaten track and ate at many local restaurants, well away from the tourist areas. The downside is that the restaurant staff can't speak English and their menus are written in Chinese.

I had to rely on English speaking customers to assist me with food selection. It added to the fun and I had some great dishes that I may have never experienced otherwise.

The times that I couldn't find an English speaking customer, I just pointed to a fish swimming around in the tank and gestured for it to be cooked any style.

It was a cheap and interesting way to eat.

The last time I was in Macau, there was only one floating casino. Now, I believe their casino's are world class and well worth a visit.

If you intend to visit one, place all your money on red.

[aussiestyle1983]

I recommend the following restaurant: Jumbo

Jumbo is a very famous/ world known Hong Kong sea food restaurant, it is also massive!

[aussiestyle1983]

I would like you to keep adding to this thread with information about your trip, especially the Hong Kong part.

The trip was great, but Singapore is alot more tourist friendly than HK.

I recomend staying on the HK Island itself rather on the other side of the harbour (Kowloon)

There is some shopping in the Kowloon area and afew parks, but nothing special.

Hong Kong Island is where all the action was, so Id deffinently stay there again.

Areas like Central, Cause Way Bay and Times Square would be the most convienent located.

We stayed in Kennedy Town, which was excellent, it was on the tram line and only took us 5 mins on the tram to get to the central area. Nort Point is a shit hole, a lot of people recomend it, but after going there and seeing the area, it is just a boring dirty area a little to far out of the way. Kennedy town is not to busy, but it has a traditionalk HK feel about it, you can also walk to central in less than 30 mins, but the tram is excellent!

There are afew hotels there, Novotell, Ramada etc, you can book them all online, but do it at least 1 week in advcace. We stayed at the Ramada Hong Kong. After reading the reviews, good and bad, we stayed there anyway for the prices. It was the cheapest 3 star hotel/ decent hotel we could find and it was excellent! The room was big, had a private sitting area, excellent bathroom (no bath tub and capsual shower) but it was well decorated, and the tram stopped in front of the hotel. They also up grade you for free if there are better rooms available. We caught the bus from the airport (A12) whcih stops at the hotel ($45HKD) only took about an hour.

So Mighty Mouse, if you dont plan to spend alot of time in your room, I recomend this hotel, ok area, very close to the central area, easy access to the airport, good price. ($660 up on the internet per night)

[Mighty Mouse]

Thanks for the report Aussiestyle.

Staying on Hong Kong Island is a option I hadn't considered. I'll have to do some more internet research into the hotels you recommended.

Jumbo sounds like the kinda place I like to eat.

I'm glad you had a good time.