Hong Kong

Currency

Chungking Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui has the best rates in the city and always has. Avoid the airport and hotel desks. The dollar is pegged to the US dollar, so the rate barely moves.

ATMs & cards

HSBC, Hang Seng and Bank of China machines are everywhere and mostly free to use. Get an Octopus card immediately — it pays for the metro, buses, ferries and convenience stores, and is the single most useful thing here.

Chungking Mansions has the best cash rates in the city. Get an Octopus card on arrival — it pays for transport and convenience stores and is the single most useful thing here.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

One of the safest cities in the world, walkable at any hour, with pickpocketing in crowded markets as the only common issue. Be aware that the National Security Law is broadly drawn: political demonstrations, and even certain slogans or clothing, carry legal risk that does not exist elsewhere. Typhoon signals suspend transport and close everything when raised to 8.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Worth having

• Routine vaccinations up to date
• Hepatitis A

Getting treated

Excellent, and public emergency care is available to visitors at a fixed non-resident fee that is modest by Western standards. Private hospitals are fast and expensive. English is spoken throughout the system.

Tap water is safe. Summer heat and humidity are the main hazard, and typhoon signal 8 shuts the city down — take it seriously rather than going out to look.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Dim sum for breakfast, roast goose for lunch, and cha chaan teng for everything else. The Michelin-starred street food is genuinely cheap. Go where the queue of locals is and point at what they ordered.

Getting around

• MTR — fast, spotless, signed in English, and it reaches almost everything
• Star Ferry — the harbour crossing, a few dollars, and still the best view in the city
• Tram — the double-deck "ding ding" along Hong Kong Island, flat fare and very slow in the best way
• Peak Tram — up to Victoria Peak; book a timed slot or queue for an hour
• Airport: Hong Kong (HKG), 24 min on the Airport Express

Must-see

Things to do

• Take the Star Ferry at dusk, then walk the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade
• Hike Dragon’s Back for the coastline
• Eat dim sum somewhere with trolleys and no English menu
• Take the ferry to Lamma or Cheung Chau for the afternoon
• Ride the tram end to end on the upper deck

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Cantonese

• Hello你好 — Nei hounay HO
• Thank you (for service)唔該 — M goim-GOY
• Thank you (for a gift)多謝 — Do jehdo-JEH
• Yes / No係 / 唔係 — Hai / M haihigh / m-high
• Excuse me, let me pass唔該借借 — M goi je jem-GOY jeh jeh
• How much is it?幾多錢 — Gei do chingay-daw CHEEN
• The bill, please埋單 — Maai daanmy-DAAN
• Delicious好食 — Hou sikho-SIK

English is widely spoken and you will manage entirely without this. Using m goi for thank you is still worth it — it is the single most useful word in the city.

Religion

No majority faith

Taoist and Buddhist practice blends with Confucian tradition, alongside Christian and Muslim communities. Temples are working places of worship — do not step over offerings or block the incense.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Stand on the right of an escalator; walking on the left is expected and enforced socially
• Offer and receive business cards and money with both hands
• Get an Octopus card immediately and use it for everything
• Let people off the train before boarding — it is one of the few queuing rules taken seriously

Don't

• Do not tip in restaurants where a 10% service charge is already added, which is most of them
• Do not stick chopsticks upright in rice; it resembles incense at a funeral
• Do not discuss politics, protests or the National Security Law in public. This is not squeamishness — it carries legal risk
• Do not eat or drink on the MTR; the fine is real and enforced