Last April 19-25, 2025, me and my family had our first international trip and we chose HongKong and Macau for their wedding anniversary. Our preparation started last 2024 by starting with our flight tickets. If you have read my previous blog about creating itineraries, that is how I made ours for the trip. Yes, you read it right! Our travel is DIY, no travel agencies, no private tours and private cars. We just had a tour guide for our Macau trip. Most of our attractions were purchased through Klook so if you are not a member yet make sure to join Klook and enjoy exclusive discounts by downloading the app through this link: KLOOK, and get a free PHP 250 promo code after a successful registration. You can also avail of up to 5% discount when you use this code: ACBTRAVELSKLOOK
So here is our itinerary during our family trip. I have also included the links where you can purchase the admission tickets of some of the places we visited. I will also include the prices we got that can be used as your basis in planning for your own budget (we got most of it at a discounted price). We are four in the family so I will indicate the total price. I might also put reviews on some.(hihi) Food and pasalubong expenses are not included.
-----------------------------------------
Day 0 - Travel Time
Airline: Cebu Pacific
➣Flight Tickets - PHP 45, 641.28 (Purchased during seat sale last 2024, regular price is around 15k each)
Inclusions:
- Bacolod-Manila, Manila-HongKong, Macau-Manila, Manila-Bacolod tickets
- 24kg baggage for Bacolod to Manila and Manila to HongKong, Macau to Manila and Manila to Bacolod trip
- 20kg baggage for Bacolod to Manila and Manila to HongKong, Macau to Manila and Manila to Bacolod trip
- Airline fees like admin fee, fuel surcharge, passenger service charges, airport security tax
Pocket Wi-fi: BigSky
➣Date - April 19-25, 2025 (7 days, unlimited data)
➣Price - PHP 3,327.10
➣Experience - BigSky is my choice of pocket wifi during my travels so far. Since I was in-charge of the itineraries and bookings I should always make sure that my connection is stable. It is very affordable and can be shared with your travel buddies. It can connect up to 5 devices but I only experienced 3 so far. I am not sure if performance is still the same if 5 devices are connected. I have only experienced 2 or 3 slow connections during the duration of the trip and these were all when I was inside a very close building.
Accommodation: Kyoto Guest House
➣Date - April 19-25. 2025 (7 days)
➣Price - PHP16, 713.90
➣Experience - I have mixed reviews for this one, let me try to discuss it one by one😅.
- Our accommodation is not a hotel. It is somewhat like an apartment or a condo unit with multiple rooms inside. Given that, it is expected that the room will be small, and since we are 4, it is really not advisable to book this one unless you are alone or with a partner. The room has 1 double bed and 1 twin bed, reason why we thought that we can fit in the room. 3pax can be a maximum but moving inside the room should be done one at a time. Our luggages were just stored under the bed. The bathroom is very small as well that your clothes might get wet if you hang it inside. It has no bidet (like with most of the accommodations there) but you can make use of the detachable shower head.
- Location: What's good with this place is that it is located in a very accessible location. It is near bus stops and the entrance to the train station. It is also near money changers, bank ATMs, convenience stores, and local restaurants. However, if you are very particular to the place going to your accommodation, this might not be the one for you. The place is located inside the Chungking Mansions. The place is safe but you might be sensitive to the smell. Once you enter Chungking Mansions, you will see different stalls that sell mostly food, Indian and Filipino food are mostly available there. In the brighter side, you will get to see/meet our kababayans there. Before heading to the room, guests needs to ride the elevator which can only fit 5-6 people. Luckily, our block is not busy, so mostly, our waiting time is only around 2-5 minutes going up and 4-8 minutes going down.
- Cleanliness and Comfort: The room is very clean upon entering, when it comes to comfort, since we are 4, not that much. However, if I am alone or we are 2 in the room, it will be comfy for us. They also offer make-up room in case you wanted to have it cleaned, but since it is small, minimal cleaning is needed. Trash bags are available as well.
- Service: The staff that welcomed us is very accommodating as she is also a kababayan. They were responsive even before we arrived in HongKong. We gave prior notice that we might arrive late and they were fine with it. However, we have paid a tax amounting to HKD 61. We never bothered to ask though since we were really tired.
- Amenities: The room has hot and cold shower, which is nice. They also provided shampoo, conditioner and body wash; slippers for the bathroom; collapsible table and chair; aircon; electric fan; WiFi; drinking water; communal microwave; communal refrigerator; and TV (local channel only).
- Check-in time starts at 1:30 PM and check out time is at 11:30 AM
- Overall experience: It was okay, nothing special, just a place to take a rest, though I know that most of the people will choose comfort when it comes to accommodation.
Day 1 - Sky Terrace/Peak Tower (with side trips)
→ Recap Video ←
10:00 AM - Travel and Brunch at Yat Lok Restaurant (Michelin Star Restaurant)
Click here for my personal rating of some of their food.😊
11:30 AM - Travel to Sky Terrace 428 via Peak Tram
➣Tickets purchased through Klook at PHP 3,860.60 → The Peak Tram
➣Inclusions: Round-trip Tram and Sky Terrace 428 Ticket
- Madame Tussauds
➣Tickets purchased through Klook at PHP 6,898.60 → Madame Tussauds HongKong
➣Inclusions: Fixed date tickets
6:00 PM - Dinner at Ichiran TST
Click here for my personal rating of the ramen I got😊
Day 2 - Ocean Park
→ Recap Video ←
Tickets purchased through Klook for PHP 13,308.00 → Ocean Park Hong Kong Ticket. We started our travel by 9:00 AM to arrive just in time for the opening. We had our lunch in Club Panda, just inside the park. Click here for my personal rating of some of their food.😊
➣Inclusions: Adult tickets
Day 3 - Ngong Ping 360 and Ngong Ping Village (w/ side trips)
→ Recap Video ←
7:30 AM - Travel to Ngong Ping Village via Nong Ping 360 Cable Car
➣Purchased tickets through Klook for PHP 10,078.10 → Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Ticket
➣Inclusions: Crystal+ Cabin Round-trip tickets
➣Cable car has 3 types and prices vary for each cable car. We had the Crystal+ Cabin for a full view experience, however, if you are prone to motion sickness, this might not be for you.
- Standard Cabins - classic cable car cabins with 360-degree window but solid floor and ceiling
- Crystal Cabins - with glass floor
- Crystal+ Cabins - with glass walls and glass floor.
➣We also tried one of the activity inside the village, the Fengyun Pavilion of Chinese Dynasty The Three Kingdoms which was very interactive. We got this for PHP 1,481.90 through Klook as well → Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Ticket
- Lunch at Ebeneezers Kebabs & Pizzerias
Click here for my personal rating of some of their food.😊
7:30 PM - Avenue of Stars
➣The place is famous for its Symphony of Lights show which starts every 8:00 PM
Day 4 - HongKong Disneyland
→ Recap Video ←
Purchased our tickets through Klook for PHP 25, 868.00 → Hong Kong Disneyland. We started our travel by 9:00 AM to arrive just in time for the opening. Since we arrived earlier, we took the chance to do the Disneyland hack when it comes to taking a photo in the arch. Below are some of my reviews and experiences.😊
➣Inclusions: Group of 4 Day Tickets, and Meal Vouchers for Lunch, Dinner and Snack
Day 5 - Free Time
➣You can include whatever you want here or just take a rest for next day's Macau trip. But before you take a rest, remember, malaki ang ginastos mo😂 kaya make the most out of it.😂
➣In our case, our last day in HK is for buying of pasalubongs, trying their streetfood, and we also tried Cafe de Coral, as what everyone recommends. Click here for my personal rating of some of their food.😊
➣You may also include Monster Building, Sneaker Street, Ladies Market, Mongkok Market, Donki, museums and malls.
Day 6 - Macau
→ Recap Video ←
7:30 AM - Travel to Sheung Wan Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal
8:30 AM - Travel to Macau via TurboJet Ferry to Outer Harbor
➣Tickets booked for 9am trip but allowed us for an 8:30 trip since many seats are available.
9:00 AM - Start of Tour
➣We booked a personal tour guide, for 600HKD, through one of the groups in Facebook since our time is limited and we need someone who is familiar of the place. I have coordinated with Pangyaw Odlop in Facebook. He referred to us his wife who will be a tour guide for the day. They gave us a sample itinerary but it was up to us to finalize the place. But since we are not really familiar, they are the one giving suggestions on the places mostly visited by the tourists. The price includes bus fares already, so all we need is to follow their lead.😅
Here are the places we visited:
- Casinos with promos so they let us play without charge😅 (Lisboa and Sands)
- Ruins of St. Paul
- Rua do S. Paulo (also known as the Food Street, it is where you can find free food samples)
- Senado Square
- The Venetian Macao (where the famous escalator trend is found going to The Parisian)
- Parisian
- Londoner
- Grand Lisboa
- Wynn Macau (where you can watch the Prosperity Tree Show)
- Macau Fisherman's Wharf
10:25 PM - Flight to Manila and Bacolod
TOTAL EXPENSES: PHP 134,770.38/4 = PHP 33, 692.60 EACH
(Food and pasalubong not included)
-----------------------------------------
You may also check my socials for more travel videos. I might be going back to Youtube soon🤞
Please don't forget to follow, like and share. Thank you!🥰
Instagram: @itsannedorothy
Facebook: annedorothybuyco
Tiktok: @itsannedorothyb
❤️❤️
ReplyDelete🥰🥰
Delete