what is the best hong kong travel guide for travelers in 2022? If you’re making plans to visit Hong Kong, you’ll want help figuring out what’s worth seeing, how to get around, and other great travel tips. Below, I’d like to share with you my favorite Hong Kong travel guides reviewed and rated based on my own experience.
if you’re planning to travel to hong kong in the near future, chances are you’ll want to have some sort of hong kong travel guide with you.
You are reading: Hong kong guide books
There are already plenty of china travel guides and even beijing specific guides or shanghai guides, but if you’re going to be spending most of your time in and around hong kong, it’s often best to grab something that’s dedicated. to the entire region and all it has to offer.
Fortunately, there are quite a few options available, each catering to a different type of traveler. Here’s a look at the guides we’ll cover today:
Take a look at the list of the best hong kong travel guides below to help you determine which one best suits your needs.
Note: Many of the links below are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I may be compensated if you decide to purchase one of these hong kong guides. Rest assured, I have used each of these books and recommend them with confidence!
rough pocket guide: hong kong & macau
I am incredibly impressed with the quality of the Rough Pocket Guide to Hong Kong & macau. Although not as well known as Lonely Planet or DK, Rough Guide has an impressive library of travel guides, including many from China.
The advantage of this rough guide is that it is not only available in e-book format, but it is also one of the cheapest guides available for hong kong.
The “pocket” in the name is misleading: an indication of its small size rather than a description of how comprehensive the book is. The rough guide for Hong Kong and Macau was last updated in September 2016, which is slightly behind LP and DK, but still current enough. the guide covers everything from itineraries to festivals, museums, festivals, markets and outdoor trips.
to summarize, the rough pocket guide to hong kong & macau includes:
- 160 pages: all “full color” as advertised
- removable map: as well as detailed, zoomable maps for the version e-book
- Detailed Itineraries: These itineraries take all the planning work out of the equation.
If you’d rather have someone else plan your trip for you, but don’t want to pay for a tour guide, Rough Guide is a great Hong Kong travel guide that will tell you which days to go where easily.
lonely planet hong kong
As you’ll notice in just about any city you travel to, lonely planet produces the most popular guides to just about anywhere you want to go. lonely planet hong kong is no exception.
One of the reasons they have become so popular, aside from the great content, is that they are one of the few publishers that has decided to offer their guides in both physical and electronic formats.
This is the case with your lonely planet hong kong travel guide, which can be purchased as both a physical guide and an easy-to-use e-book version.
lonely planet hong kong offers a quick list of the “top 16 places” you’ll probably want to visit, a number of great suggested itineraries, and some beautiful color photos to help with planning.
this is what you get with lonely planet hong kong:
- 320 detailed pages – full of maps, color photos and more.
- offline maps – high resolution maps for your e-reader or pdf versions to download.
- pull-out map: this is just for the print version, obviously.
- several approaches : Suggestions for traveling with children, taking day trips (including Macau) or short walking tours.
Of course, The Lonely Planet China touches on Hong Kong and LP also publishes its short pocket guide to Hong Kong, but none of the guides give you the amount of detail you’ll find in this complete Hong Kong travel guide.
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if you are going to be in hong kong for only a day or two, the china guide will suit you. if you plan to be here for a few days or more, the city-specific guide is worth the extra money.
dk eyewitness: hong kong’s top 10
dk is known for its beautifully photographed and illustrated guides that give readers much deeper insight into the places they hope to visit.
the dk top 10 hong kong is another addition to the “top 10” series that does a good job of concisely presenting the best places in hong kong without overwhelming the reader with too much detail.
Of course, this means you’re sacrificing the details of a book like lonely planet for a book that tries to guide you only to those places it thinks would be most interesting.
if your time in the city is limited, the advantage of using the dk top 10 is that they list only those places that would be considered “must see”.
another good news is that while not all dk guides are published in ebook format, they have decided to make an ebook version of dk hong kong. this is what you get with dk top 10 hong kong:
- 128 pages: packed with color photos and cutout illustrations of major tourist destinations
- removable maps: maps of the metro, city and other sights
- top 10 lists: top 10 museums, festivals, hotels, bars and many more
- ideas guide: they have 60 great ideas on how to spend a day in hong kong
The idea guide with 60 ways to spend a day is another reason why dk is a great resource for planning your trip, not just taking it with you and improvising.
fodor’s hong kong travel guide
Another great option for your travels comes in the form of Fodor’s Hong Kong, an excellent guide that sets itself apart from the competition (ie lonely planet) with many additional sections catering to specific travelers.
this includes sections titled “free and almost free”, “hong kong cinema”, “hong kong with kids”, and even “beaches” (yes, there are some unbelievably beautiful beaches in china!).
so basically what fodor is trying to do is provide the same level of beautiful photography and great travel information that you’ll get with a lot of the other guides, but then add other compelling value-added components.
If any of the sections I mentioned above appeal to you, Fodor’s Hong Kong might be the right choice for your trip to Hong Kong.
As with all the other guides listed above, Fodor’s offers their Hong Kong Guide as an e-book download giving you the option to take all this valuable travel information with you on your trip without taking up space in your luggage.
The version you see here is a bit dated (May 2015) but they are in the process of updating as I write. Fodor’s Guide to Hong Kong includes:
- 320 pages: full color photos and maps of Hong Kong and Macao.
- color maps & illustrations: easy-to-read color regional maps, including an “on the go” map.
- trip planning tools: including how to travel with kids, where find free things to do, etc.
This would be a heavy book to carry around, but it really is a great option if you’re not convinced that Lonely Planet is the way to go.
national geographic traveler: hong kong
national geographic is the ultimate choice for the best travel guides to hong kong. here we refer specifically to the national geographic hong kong travel guide.
The advantage of going with National Geographic is their focus on unraveling the historical and cultural context of each place you plan to visit in Hong Kong.
The downsides are that unlike each of the 4 travel guides above, National Geographic does not offer their guide in a downloadable e-book format and it hasn’t been updated in over a decade.
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As you’d expect with any guide, National Geographic provides great photos of Hong Kong, as well as detailed maps that should get you from point A to point B without getting lost.
In addition to all the information they provide on places to visit within Hong Kong, there is also a section entirely dedicated to “off the beaten path” excursions that you may enjoy.
another great aspect of the national geographic hong kong guide is the sections dedicated to walking and driving tours, something everyone should consider doing in a city like this, which is so conducive to walking.
The National Geographic Traveler: Hong Kong includes:
- 272 pages: full color photos and maps.
- maps & metro guides: detailed and up-to-date maps
- off-the-beaten-track excursions: a look at places other guides might not touch
- “travelwise” section: useful section covering the basics of traveling to Hong Kong
This last section has been of great help to many travelers I know and helps with trip planning, transportation, practical tips and information in case of an emergency.
national geographic is last on this list, but it’s still a great option for your trip to hong kong.
bonus: best china travel guide
Of course, as you prepare for your trip to Asia, there’s more to preparing than just knowing where you want to go in Hong Kong.
There are many other questions you’re probably asking yourself about getting money, using transportation, speaking the language, getting a visa, what to pack, and much, much more.
that’s where a guide like this – china travel | everything you need to know before you go is helpful.
Full disclosure: I wrote this book, so of course I think it’s good. however, you should read the unbiased amazon reviews for yourself. you will find that it has been useful to hundreds of other travelers from all over the world. is an excellent companion book to any of the shanghai travel guides listed.
The way I describe it to people is that this book teaches you the “how” to travel to China, whereas previous beijing travel guides delve into the “where”.
my travel guide is available both in pocket format and as a downloadable ebook here:
final thoughts | the best hong kong travel guides
As you can see, there are a number of excellent Hong Kong travel guides to help you prepare for your trip.
Not all of them are regularly updated, not all of them have e-book versions, and not all of them are suitable for the same type of traveler, so I hope this review helps you better understand what fits your needs.
Whatever you do, I recommend you do some reading before you travel. It doesn’t even have to be a travel guide – there are plenty of good Chinese books to choose from that will give you a better understanding of the history and culture you’ll be delving into.
hong kong is an amazing collection of islands with a rich and controversial history and beautiful culture. Although it is a dense city, fortunately it is not that difficult to get around.
make sure you have a good hong kong travel guide to tell you what’s worth seeing and how to get around the city.
have you been to hong kong before? what was your favorite hong kong travel guide?
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