The Rough Guide to Hong Kong & Macau

Great walking tours are included in this Rough Guide to Hong Kong and Macau-the directions are explicit and easy to follow and the places to which we ventured exceeded expectations. There were GREAT shopping tips for a shopping mecca and we scored on several fronts! This is a great way to introduce yourself to Hong Kong and Macau before you get there and a great way to bring what you read into reality. A must-buy for travel to Asia.

I used the sixth (2006) edition of the ROUGH GUIDE TO HONG KONG & MACAU during a recent two-week stay in Hong Kong. Reading it before my trip, I found it to portray Hong Kong as a fascinating and immense place to visit, where one can spend weeks covering all manner of out of the way places. This was a great contrast to the Berlitz guide to Hong Kong I also took along, which make the region seem like a two-day stop where the only interesting thing is shopping. There's a chapter each on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and the outlying islands. The description of each town or wilderness inside these divisions takes the form of a walking tour. The authors guide the reader through the streets well, and like all Rough Guides the maps here are clear and accurate. I unfortunately didn't visit Macau, so I cannot comment on that portion of the guide. I didn't use the accommodation listings, as like many travelers I prefer to stay with local from hospitality associations for closer contact with the local culture. As the Rough Guide does not cover this option, I have removed one star from my rating. However, there does indeed seem to be an adequate amount of both budget and luxury accommodation, with the stops in between of course. The needs of shoestring travelers are not given short shrift here, as in the offerings of all too many guidebook publishers. I did use the recommendations for restaurants, which do a great job of steering travelers to hole-in-the-wall eateries with little English signage which might not look fancy, but which show you the real Hong Kong in a way flashier places don't. At the end of the book one finds a history of the region, as well as some general information on Hong Kong culture. The history soberly discusses the uncertainty of Hong Kong's true autonomy after the handover, while other guidebooks I read gave only a rosy view. In these appendices there's also a list of films and books, fiction and non-fiction, about Hong Kong, letting the reader learn more about the place before he visits. If you're an independent travelver going to Hong Kong, I'd certainly recommend ROUGH GUIDE TO HONG KONG & MACAU. I find it better than the Lonely Planet guide due to the range of its listings and the quality of its maps, and light years ahead of the paltry listings and assumption that the reader is a millionaire which one finds in many other guidebook lines.

I recommend this guide, it was quite useful. The descriptions of various areas were quite accurate, and the maps were mostly very good. The one of Macau seemed to have some minor errors, but that place is very confusing to walk around, so it could have been me. Anyway, you want the maps in this book or something pretty good, because the free tourist map is basically worthless. I really like Rough Guides, because their reviews are very honest and balanced, and they are excellent about cross-referencing recommended locations, restaurants, hotels, etc and maps in each book. This guide is up to the same high standards, so it was very easy to use. I would recommend that the walking tours guide (available for free at the airport, etc) is a good supplement to this guide. I used it extensively.

This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting HK and Macau.

I came across this book in a bookstore near the Central MTR station in HK on my third visit to that wonderous city. Having never purchased a travellers guide to Hong Kong, I decided on a whim to purchase it. I'm glad I did. After spending an hour or so reading some of the sections I realized I wish I had this book in my possession before my first visit! Part one (Basics) was accurate and a must read before visiting the city. Part two (Hong Kong) was clear and provided just enough detail without overwhelming. I can't validate the Macau section (haven't made it there yet). However, the restaurant section in my mind fell on its face by not lising my personal favorite HK restaurant, Jimmy's Kitchen (Hong Kong side). Jimmy's is a must, especially if you are suffering from chinese food burnout and need a good steak or other sort of western fare. Honk Kong is an exciting, crowded, fun and interesting place. It's a great place for a westerner to begin exploring Asia-a true blend of east and west. The Rough Guide should be your guide of choice for visiting one of my favorite places on this earth, Hong Kong.