Hong kong for cheap

January 9, 2008 11:01 PM

What's the cheapest way to stay in Hong Kong? Assuming one is willing to brave all discomforts (within reason of course, no sleeping under the bridge), what is a cheap cheap way to stay for 10 days in Hong Kong, including accomodation and food?

By cheap, I mean by chinese reference -> $20 a night is expensive. Is it possible to stay for $10 a night in Hong Kong? This is easily done on the mainland.

Be creative - would it be feasable to sleep in Shenzen at night and travel Hong Kong at day?

posted by markesh to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

Head to Chungking Mansions is the obvious answer. If there's not a guesthouse with beds for $10 there, there won't be anywhere within a few hundred miles, Shenzen included. Also, there's fantastic food.
posted by DangerIsMyMiddleName at 11:22 PM on January 9, 2008

I heard that it's a wee bit seedy there in the Mansions. Is there any place that is more respectable? But still cheap?
posted by markesh at 11:36 PM on January 9, 2008

couchsurf ?
posted by liverbisque at 12:06 AM on January 10, 2008

HK's youth hostels are not as conveniently located as the Chungking/Mirador Mansions, but they're better suited to seeing HK's natural wildlife areas and probably less sketchy. Dorm beds range from HKD 50-90, to out-of-your-budget for private rooms. You can book in advance through the Hostelling International website, which is a good idea because space is limited. For accommodation, staying overnight at a net cafe is pretty much the lowest I'd consider going, and it could be even cheaper than dorming.

Food-wise, noodles/wonton are cheap and filling. If you're staying for 10 days, though, I would suggest supplementing the local fast food with trips to the grocery store. Wellcome has locations throughout Tsim Sha Tsui.

(Personally, I'm a repeat customer of the singles at Mirador Mansion's Cosmic Guesthouse. Over HKD 100 a night, but clean and friendly. A popular option, so advance reservations are a must.)
posted by msittig at 12:45 AM on January 10, 2008

Hong Kong is not the mainland. You might notice the machine guns and razor wire outside when you walk over the bridge from Shenzhen. Sleeping in Shenzhen (assuming you have multiple entries for the Mainland, and don't look suspicious to HK Immigration, which you'll have to go through every time) would probably be more trouble than it's worth--plus, you'd have to pay for transport from and to the border every time.

Mirador Mansions has at least a few guesthouses which are cheap (by HK standards), small (of course), but perfectly non-seedy--they're a tangible step up from Chungking. Cosmic is one of those--some friends stayed in a double at "New Garden" and it was nice, too. Check reviews. You can't really beat the Mansions' location, either.

Sleeping in the right parks, if it's allowed, would probably be less sketchy in HK than some of the places in Chungking--but you say you're willing to "brave all discomforts," so I think you'll find Mirador cushy enough.

There's cheap* food all over. There are tons of teahouses in Sheung Wan, just west of Central, for instance, in addition to the Mansions restaurants. You can pay about HK$30 for a fancy (and pretty tasty) western health food organic wrap at Mix in some of the most vapid of malls, so you aren't even limited to little holes in the wall. If you're willing or able to bump up to HK$100 once in a while for a fancier meal, it can be worth it. It's no Mainland, again, but compared to the rest of the developed world the food's awfully cheap.
posted by deeaytch at 6:01 AM on January 10, 2008

You don't state where you need to be during the daytime, but I'll assume it's somewhere in Kowloon or on the Island. Train fare from SZ roundtrip every day will cost you US$20, which I would say is prohibitively expensive and time-consuming (about an hour each way).

If you're going to be doing stuff mainly on the Island: Cosmic Guest House

If you are interested in the New Territories: I would recommend checking out this hostel in Sha Tin, which is US$16 a night and includes food (I guess if you've been staying in China for a while, you might be willing to forgo the food in HK and take advantage of the complementary food, but personally I'd say it's not to be missed). Anyhow, roundtrip from Sha Tin to the Island is more like $4, and the trip is closer to 30 minutes each way.
posted by rxrfrx at 6:23 AM on January 10, 2008