Why YOU Need a Hong Kong Private Guide

Here’s how booking a Hong Kong private guide can help you make the most of your stay in our fabulous city. Most visitors only have a short window to sight see.  There is so much to see and do and never enough time.

The Advantages of Booking a Private Tour Guide

1. Save Time and Jump the Line

Hong Kong is tremendously crowded and busy. Our population tops 7 million.  The entire population of New Zealand only comes to around 5 million.  If you’re visiting top tourist attractions and want to ride the tram to Peak or the cable car to The Big Buddha on Lantau Island you can expect long queues.  Queuing is practically a national pastime here in Hong Kong.  People are prepared to wait and aren’t deterred by long queues.  It’s orderly and it’s fair, but it’s time consuming.  Time that you don’t want to waste.

By booking a Hong Kong private tour guide, your tickets are organised in advance.  Accompanied by your own private tour guide, you can save even more time and jump to the front of the queue for both the Peak Tram and the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car.

Alternatively, we can arrange to visit many places by private vehicle.  This means travelling from one attraction to another is time efficient and comfortably air-conditioned.  In case you don’t know,  Hong Kong can be tremendously hot and humid during the summer months.  It can also rain a tremendous amount.  So as well as saving time, you can stay cool and dry whatever the weather.

2. Make Memories

Admit it, you’re not going to remember all the facts, figures and dates about places you visit on holiday.  You’re going to remember the experience and whether it was positive or not so positive.  Private tour guides know the most photogenic spots.  We live here, so we can share some cool insider tips and tricks and can give you the  scoop on what it’s really like to live in Hong Kong.

In 10 years time you won’t remember when the Peak tram was built or the key tenets of Buddhism, but you’ll have that great picture of you eating chickens feet, or holding a snake in the snake soup shop.  Your kids will remember being allowed to sound the bell on the tram or the secret echo chamber we showed them.  You also won’t remember the stress and frustration of getting lost or overpaying for a taxi, because you avoid it by booking a private tour guide.

woman holding snake

We can also tell you plenty of things that won’t be in your guidebook.  For example, most visitors have no idea that there’s a fascinating story behind the ragged flags hanging in historic St John’s church or how significantly Feng Shui has influenced some of Hong Kong’s most iconic buildings.

3. Relax, you’re on holiday

Travel is supposed to be fun and you go on holiday to relax.  That’s hard to do if you’re nervous about trying new things. It’s uncomfortable to be in a position where you’re worried you might offend locals by going where you’re not supposed to be and doing what your not supposed to do.  We’re also sure you’ll agree that there’s nothing more frustrating than realising that you needn’t have queued in the rain for two hours or missed the best view point because you followed the catch-all guidebook instructions.

By booking a private tour guide, your trip should be as stress free and enjoyable as possible.  Let us take away the fear.  You don’t need to worry about which bakery sells the yummiest treats, where to find the nearest bathroom or getting lost.  With a private tour guide, you are in safe hands.

4. Enjoy a Customised Itinerary

Let us know in advance if you have any particular interests, whether it’s architecture, history, art or religion.  The routes on our private tours of Hong Kong are fluid and no two are the same.  Alongside some of Hong Kong’s main attractions, our guides want you to see what interests you.  For example, you could enquire about working Hong Kong’s Jewish Heritage into a tour.

5. Have Peace of Mind

You want to know that you’re in safe hands when you’re out and about in a new city.  By law, private tour guides in Hong Kong should be licensed.  At Hong Kong Greeters our guides are fully licensed, so don’t worry about heading out for the day with a rogue trader.  We have public liability insurance and as part of our training have to complete first aid certificate.

Why choose a Hong Kong Private Guide from Hong Kong Greeters?

We are Friendly

Here at HK Greeters we hand-pick our guides.  As well as being knowledgeable, our guides are approachable and friendly giving you the warmest of welcomes to Hong Kong. In addition to all the nuts and bolts facts and figures of your tour, please ask us what living in Hong Kong is really like. You might be surprised at the price of property, you should be impressed by the public transport system and we can tell you that there is absolutely no pineapple in a pineapple bun.

We are Family Friendly

We work hard to accommodate your needs.  Whether you have accessibility constraints or small children, we will help you get the best possible out of your tour. Regardless of whether your want to minimise walking or simply stay away from steep hills and lots of steps, we can take that into consideration when planning a route. If public transport will be a struggle for you with pushchairs or a wheel chair, please inquire about our private car tours.

We all know that children sometimes decide that they need to eat or go to the loo at the drop of a hat. That’s no problem. We know that children can be picky eaters and that even the best of us can suffer from dietary constraints. We will do our best to accommodate that. You can let us know in advance if you have request for any particular type of restaurant.

As an added bonus our city walking tours are free for under 16s, making the tours a little more pocket-friendly for families. Find out more about our family friendly private tours of Hong Kong here.

We speak your language

To make your trip even smoother our guides are all native or near native English speakers. Tours in other languages including Cantonese, Dutch, French, Portuguese or Spanish may be available on request. Please check with us.

Family friendly Hong Kong Tours Private Tour guide

 

Kid Friendly Family Tours Hong Kong with private tour guide.

Please get in touch if you’d like further information on any of our private tours in Hong Kong.  We also offer trips to neighbouring Macau and additionally offer group tours, like our Vegetarian Food and Cultural Tour of Hong Kong.  If you already have a tour in mind and are ready to book, click here.

Hong Kong Junk Tours

Visit Our Top 3 outlying Hong Kong Islands

Consider taking a private tour to one of Hong Kong’s outlying islands.  Each one has a unique personality and something to offer the day-tripper.  The islands reveal a different side of our buzzing metropolis.

Have you considered exploring Hong Kong’s islands?  They are just as rewarding as the busier parts of Hong Kong and the best way to explore them is on foot. You can take a stroll along the boardwalks of Tai O or the beaches of Cheung Chau.  Or, you can admire the fauna and flora of Lamma Island, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

We love guiding our visitors on day trips and have a huge soft spot for Cheung Chau.  Here visitors enjoy the unexpected contrast from the busy metropolis, chat with local residents, understand their history and experience the local traditions and foods which are harder to find in the urban areas.

Our private guides love handling unusual requests and giving an insider’s perspective – especially when helping our customers to explore the further reaches of Hong Kong’s outlying islands. This goes for visitors and local residents who want to get to know more about the city they live in. Here is a list of our favourite places to visit and why:

Yim Tin Tsai

Hong Kong Private Tour, Yim Tin Tsai
Visit Salt Pans, a Catholic Church and Eat Hakka Snacks in Yim Tin Tsai

This tiny dot of a place was once a hub of salt production for the small Hakka community.  However, it was largely abandoned in the 1980’s. Its heritage has since been revived with help from the local community.  On weekends you can visit the old salt pans, a Catholic church and try some of the homemade Hakka snacks.  One such snack is glutinous rice cakes filled with peanuts or red beans.

Yim Tin Tsai is reached via a 15 minute boat ride from Sai Kung Pier.  Many private tour operators will take you there and back from around HK $50 per person.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheung Chau

Hong Kong Private Tour, Cheung Chau Island
Visit Cheung Chau for a Family Walk, Cycle or Run.

Cheung Chau is a vibrant island with pirate caves, scenic beaches and family-friendly walking trails. It has become a hub for new-starter boutique businesses.  These include arts and crafts, cafes and gift stores.  They are all located in the traditional shop-house buildings.

We love to go and stay overnight with our family in one of the many Bed and Breakfast accommodations, or you can book yourself into the number one hotel on the Island.  Well, it’s the only hotel! It’s called The Warwick and it does a great dim sum menu.

To summarise, Cheung Chau is a great place to enjoy the scenery, food and water activities. Ferries leave every 30 minutes from Central Pier 5.  Alternatively you can catch the Inter-Island ferry from Mui Wo, Peng Chau or Chi Ma Wan.

 

Tai O, Lantau Island

Private Hong Kong Group Tours, Lantau
Visit Tai O village on Lantau with our Group Tours

Technically Tai O is part of the largest island in Hong Kong, Lantau.  However, this tiny enclave has a fishing history centuries long and is a world away from the rest of the island. It was in a key position to take advantage of the economic activity in the Pearl river delta prior to the signing of the lease for the New Territories in 1898, and was only reachable by road in the 1970’s.

There is a huge sense of community spirit and everyone is friendly and welcoming to visitors. We were lucky enough to make some great acquaintances there last summer when running our in depth group tours of the village.

The residents of this unique village have worked hard to retain its unique identity, despite many a plan from the government to redevelop the wooden stilted fishermen’s houses along the creek. It has a great street food scene too.

This place may not be around in thirty years, so it is definitely a must-see if you are visiting Lantau. Ferries leave from Tung Chung New Development Pier every 2 hours.  Alternatively, take bus 11 from Tung Chung Town Centre.

It is advisable to purchase your return ferry tickets upon arrival, especially at weekends.  This is because there is limited space and it is a very limited service. They will run extra services on Sundays. Allow around 2 hours of travel from Hong Kong Island.

Further Island Information

Find out more about Hong Kong’s islands in a recent article we were featured in for Hong Kong Business publication, part of the Hong Kong Development Council:  Settle Down into Island Time

Book a Golden Week Hong Kong Private Tour

Private Tour Hong Kong to Ngong Ping on Lantau
Ngong Ping Cable Car on Lantau Island

Golden Week is a busy busy time in Hong Kong.  Because of this, some of our clients have asked whether or not this is a good time to join us for a private tour in Hong Kong.  The short answer is YES it is.

This week in Hong Kong 2 of our (very generous) 17 public holidays fell in one week. Firstly, China National Day is on October 1st.  We celebrated the 68th Anniversary of People’s Republic of China (PRC) with a 23-minute firework display costing around $13 million HKD ($1.6 million USD). Secondly, my favourite, the Mid Autumn Festival fell on 4th October.  This is where we celebrate the full moon with our families, by hanging lanterns, often eating outside under the moonlight. Oh and we eat a ton of delicious moon cakes!

Golden Week

Have you heard of the term “Golden Week”?  No? What on earth is Golden Week? Well if you are from China, you could have enjoyed an extended 8-day holiday period this year covering both these holidays (1st – 8th October). It was estimated around 710 million people from the PRC were on the move to domestic and overseas locations, including Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Hong Kong locals only get the two public holidays, not the full week!

Mid Autumn Festival

Private Tour Hong Kong including Mooncakes
Enjoy Mooncakes during Golden Week

Mid Autumn Festival is celebrated with lantern displays in many of the major parks.  The verdict is in for this years best Mooncakes. The best one was considered to be Maxim’s lava egg custard mooncake (whoop! Maxim’s Palace happens to be one of our favourite restaurants). I did get to try one and it was probably better than my choice from Kee Wah Bakery (pictured right), but they are still all gone and were enjoyed immensely.

Skip the Line on your Private Tour of Hong Kong

We hosted a number of private tours this week.  We guided visitors from Worcester and Croydon in the UK and California and Alaska in the USA. Even though it is busier than usual during Golden Week, as private guides we have a few tricks up our sleeve.  For example, Charlee and Cooper (pictured above) were incredibly thankful for our skip-the-line access for the Ngong Ping cable-car to the Big Buddha.  The queues were so busy during Golden Week they went all the way back to the train station!

Radio Star!

I was also invited onto the local radio station RTHK 3 with Peter Lewis.  We chatted about what to do over the holiday period and what other people were doing. Watch the Facebook Live video of my interview below.

 

 

Here are some links to some of the things I spoke about with Peter.  We highly recommend all of them.

Tian Tan Buddha, Lantau, Hong Kong

Cable car ride to visit Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island on private tour with Hong Kong Greeters.

What a beautiful blue-sky day, it’s exactly what you want for a visit to the Tian Tan Buddha.  That being said, he also looks mysterious and is equally photogenic when swathed in mist on his hilltop perch. Did you know that the Tian Tan Buddha is often referred to as the Big Buddha?  This statue was officially established in 1993, making him still a young man.

 

You will find the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau, Hong Kong’s biggest island.  It also happens to be one of our favourite places in Hong Kong and we love taking our guests there.

Lantau Highlights

Take the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car to see the Tian Tan Buddha

To reach the famous Big Buddha, take the 24 minute Ngong-Ping cable car ride from Tung Chung. If you are put off by those long lines… we will help you beat the crowds with our skip the line access.

As you ride the cable car from Tung Chung, you’ll get a great look at Hong Kong’s airport.  It’s built entirely on reclaimed land.  You will also see the new bridge that connects Hong Kong to neighbouring Macau and then on to mainland China.  Keep your eyes peeled for waterfalls and hillside tombs below.  The views are stunning.

A Few Fun Facts about Hong Kong’s Tian Tan Buddha

  • The Big Buddha is the second largest bronze seated Buddha statue in the world.
  • He faces North towards Beijing.
  • He is 34 Metres tall.
  • You need to climb a whopping 268 steps to get up close to this magnificent statue.

Tai O Fishing Village

From the Tian Tan Buddha take a bus or taxi down towards Tai O.  This tiny island, just off Lantau, is accessed by a footbridge.  The quaint stilt fishing village is a rare and fast closing window to Hong Kong’s past.

Hong Kong’s Other Big Statue

As a side note, many visitors don’t know that Hong Kong also boasts another extremely large statue.  The lesser known Guan Yin statue, which you can read more about here, is up in the Northern New Territories and faces the Big Buddha down on Lantau.