The name Hong Kong roughly translates as fragrant harbour. The skyline of Hong Kong is one of the best in the world. It is a big and beautiful city that has a number of personalities. It is most noted worldwide for its cuisine and nightlife.

1) The beaches: When in Hong Kong, you can never be far from a beach. The best way to look for a beach is to go scouring the new territory in Hong Kong. Some of the best beaches you can visit in Hong Kong include:

• Repulse beach: It is a large urban beach on the south side of Hong Kong. It has been improving for the last few years and is a good location for those with children.
• Middle bay: Highly popular with gay people, this beach is 20 minutes away from Repulse beach. It is a decent beach with shower cubicles, cafes and lifeguards.
• Shek O beach: This beach is one of the better known beaches among the locals. It is well served by cafes and is far from the bustle of the city. It is also well connected by buses.

2) Gambling: Horse racing is very popular in Hong Kong, but Mahjong is also gaining popularity. Mahjong parlours are very popular in Hong Kong.

There are a number of attractions in Hong Kong such as sailing and hiking that can be great family activities for your holidays.

Planning a holiday sometime soon? Hong Kong could be a great place to visit. The best thing about Hong Kong is the diverse mixture of cultures. The British have stayed there now for a long time. Moreover, Hong Kong has a great Chinese influence too.

Hong Kong is one of the cities in China which gives all its visitors a chance to learn the culture and tradition of China. Moreover, it is also a mixture of western culture and Asian traditions.

Places you should not miss:

Hong Kong Disneyland

The first ever Disneyland in Asia is in Hong Kong. This recently opened park offers a lot of fun and excitement. It is a place where the entire family can enjoy together. From young to old, everyone will cherish these moments.

Hong Kong Disneyland is separated in four parts; Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Main Street USA. All these places will make your holiday special and memorable.

Hong Kong Museum of Art

If you want to learn about the history and culture of Hong Kong then visit the Hong Kong Museum of Art. They have a wide compilation of 14,000 things in this museum from calligraphies to paintings and antiques.

Ocean Park

Your family can have a lot of fun at Ocean Park. There is a butterfly house and Marine land along with an amusement park with cable cars and roller coasters.

These are just a few of the interesting places to visit in Hong Kong. Plan a holiday there and enjoy yourselves!

Holidays are an excellent part of the year. Such events allow you to enjoy much needed peace of mind. Holidays also provide you with a chance to explore places you have never been to and get that complete relief from the daily affairs of a mundane life. Planning holidays on a regular basis is also known to have a very positive impact on the general wellbeing of a person. One excellent place to plan holidays to is Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is an island located to the south of China. Hong Kong is home to a whole world of sights, sounds and smells which encapsulate the spirit of urban Asia. Hong Kong has a whole lot of things to offer to its visitors. You can choose to relax at the various parks or go shopping for ethnic items in the flea markets. Hong Kong also has a whole lot of beaches where tourists can just laze around and watch the world go by.

Hong Kong also plays home to a whole lot of oriental cuisines. You will be able to try out some eclectic foods which may not be able to make their way to your home country. A holiday to Hong Kong will also be quite affordable and enables you to have a lot of fun without having to spend a great deal of money.

If you are looking for holidays to a place in the east, then Hong Kong offers you an exciting and fun-filled time.

Hong Kong is one of the most beautiful cities in Asia and is the number one contender for a great cheap holiday or a last minute holiday. Hong Kong has some amazing attractions for its visitors which include Victoria Peak, Ocean Park, Victoria Harbour, Star Ferry, Nathan Road, Stanley, Lan Kwai Fong, Wong Tai Sin Temple and Hollywood. With so many places to visit and enjoy, you should consider Hong Kong as your holiday destination this year.

Although Hong Kong is slated as one of the ten most expensive places in the world, it does not mean that a cheap holiday will not come to fruition in Hong Kong. By making the right travel and accommodation decisions, you will definitely have a blast in Hong Kong during the time of your stay.

One of the first things to do when in Hong Kong is to look for cheap and comfortable accommodation. This will help you to save money. Hong Kong has a wide variety of hotels that provide excellent accommodation at reasonable prices. Also, make sure that the accommodation you choose is in close proximity to the various attractions in Hong Kong. Be sure to do ample research of cheap hotels in Hong Kong before you choose the one that is ideal for you.

With these considerations and guidelines in check, you will definitely be able to have a cheap holiday in Hong Kong that will leave you begging for more.

Earlier this month, Singapore Airlines launched new flights to Hong Kong on the new Airbus A380.

The first flight for the new service launched on the 9th of July and carried more than 450 passengers from Singapore to Hong Kong, both of which are highly popular with British holidaymakers for city breaks. The flight left at 9:50am and landed in Hong Kong at 1:30pm.

Singapore Airlines was the first airline to use the Airbus A380 in the fourth quarter of 2007 and has since flown over 1.4 million travellers on the A380.

As well as the new flights to Hong Kong, the airline uses the A380 to travel to London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney.

Singapore Airlines’ Executive Vice-President of Marketing Huang Cheng Eng said:

“The A380 is the crown jewel in Singapore Airlines’ young and modern fleet and we are proud to be able to introduce this wonderful aircraft on one of the most important routes in our network. We are delighted that our customers have come to embrace the Singapore Airlines A380 and its industry-leading cabin products.”

The A380 is also used by Emirates airline, which launched flights to Toronto and Bangkok earlier this year with the superjumbo aircraft.

The cruise liner Costa has just announced that they are deploying a second vessel to take holidaymakers on a cruise around Asia, the liner is currently travelling to Hong Kong.

Making an eastbound journey from the city of Dubai after a busy season serving holidaymakers who had booked winter cruises within the Middle East, it is now scheduled to arrive in Victoria Harbour at Hong Kong on 9th April.

The cruise liner will be making its new home in the eastern Asian city of Hong Kong and is set to include a new holiday itinerary that includes visiting the Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the Hainan Island.

The liner is known as Costa Classica and is a huge 14 storey vessel which has the capacity to hold 1,680 holidaymakers and passengers and is to begin operating from Hong Kong to ports in Japan, China, Korea and other destinations.

Sales and Marketing Director for Costa Cruises, Dario Rustico, said:

“The arrival of Costa Classica in Hong Kong on 9 April 2009 reinforces Costa’s commitment to the cruise industry in the Asia Pacific. As the first international cruise line to deploy two ships to the region throughout the year, we strongly believe in its long-term potential.”

The tourism board in Hong Kong have recently announced a number of new developments and attractions opening which are directly of interest to holiday makers and expected to happen during 2009 boosting the appeal of the country.

This coming year already has a few highlights which include the unveiling of an exhibition known as the ‘Amazing Asian Animals’ based at Ocean Park and due to open in April.

Ocean Park is under major reconstruction for expansion and the new Asian animal attraction is part of a larger project. Ocean Park is set to greet new animals including red pandas, birds, tortoises and a giant Chinese salamander plus much more.

Ocean Park, which is the Disneyland resort in Hong Kong, is also set to further boost its appeal to visitors during 2009 by increasing the size of the venue by a third, providing an additional three areas of new themes.

Pirates of the Caribbean is another new ride expected to prove itself as one of the most popular developments at Ocean Park, along with a new Haunted House attraction.

If you are planning to take a holiday to Hong Kong this year, there is going to be some great musical entertainment starting at the Lyric Theatre from 15th May to 14th June where you can catch Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical hit ‘Cats’.

The Virgin airline has launched a second service for flights between the airports at London Heathrow and the city of Hong Kong.

Flights will now run every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and then from the 4th December a complete daily service will be launched.

The new service will make use of an Airbus A340-600, departing from Heathrow’s Terminal 3 at 4pm and arrive at 12.30pm in Hong Kong the next day.

The return flights will currently run from Hong Kong every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday up until the 29th October and then the daily schedule will commence on the 5th December.

Steve Ridgeway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said: ‘We have long dreamed of adding another service to this ever-popular route, particularly since the launch of Sydney flights in 2004, and are thrilled to see it become a reality.  This second daily service will offer our passengers even more opportunities via Hong Kong, which is the third busiest long-haul route out of Heathrow.’

Virgin operates flights to thirty destinations from both London Heathrow and Gatwick airports currently, including places such as New York, Sydney, Dubai and Orlando and is a popular airline for many luxury holidays.

In China, the first full moon of the New Year is a great reason to celebrate, and a great reason for travellers considering luxury holidays to choose this country, in particular the city of Hong Kon.

The annual Spring Lantern Festival is held in Hong Kong city to celebrate the first full moon and takes place at the beginning of February.

After the sun has set, thousands of lanterns light up the sky in Hong Kong.  Chinese tradition dictates that lanterns protect the people from different spirits, which can inhabit the physical world, and the lanterns guide them back to the land of the dead.  Visitors can buy local lanterns to take part, or just watch in awe at the vast number of lit lanterns trawling the streets.

Strangely, the festival is also considered an east-Asian Valentine’s Day as youths go on dates to celebrate their relationship during this festival.

This tradition celebrates good luck and fortune, so holidaymakers may wish to travel to Hong Kong at the start of February to experience the fun side of this impressive city.

In 2009, the Spring Lantern Festival is due on the 9th February so if you want to see Hong Kong at its best, book your flights now.

Hong Kong is considered by many to be one of life’s luxury holidays and is an ideal stopover for a three or four days break en route elsewhere, although there is plenty to see for a holiday all on its own.

Indeed, soon we may be seeing Hong Kong listed on cruise itineraries before long as a new cruise terminal is being opened in the city.

The development of a new terminal located at Kai Tak is being offered financial support by the Hong Kong government, leading to an operating terminal berth in 2013.

Once the terminal has been built, it will be leased to a cruise operator who will rent the hardware, meaning that the government will still own the site.

Hong Kong’s travel trade is to be consulted on the terminal plans to make sure the terminal is both suitable to the requirements of the market but also modern.

Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development, Rita Lau, told Reuters:

‘Tourism is a very important economic pillar of Hong Kong so it’ll be in the interests of Hong Kong to support infrastructure which supports the development of tourism.’

This development could enable Hong Kong to rival other popular cruise destinations such as Singapore and Shanghai.  Several operators offer cruises in the far east, such as Princess Cruises, Costa and Silversea.