Hong Kong in 6 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)

Six days, and a proper food crawl through Wan Chai and Causeway Bay

Six days keeps the same HK$300 to HK$450 daily band (no hotel) as the 5-day plan and adds a sixth day of dai pai dong food and budget shopping in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, the two neighborhoods east of Central along the tram line. Everything through Day 5, the Peak by bus, two temples, Kowloon’s markets, Lantau’s Big Buddha, the trams and Stanley, carries over unchanged.

Prefer five days? See the 5-day plan . Have a full week? The 7-day plan adds a slack day for typhoon season. Full city coverage: Hong Kong on a budget .

Book these before you go:

Day Focus Daily cost (HKD, no hotel)
1 Arrival, Octopus card, Star Ferry, the escalator HK$320-420
2 The Peak by bus, Man Mo Temple, Temple Street HK$260-380
3 Wong Tai Sin, Mong Kok markets, Hong Kong Park HK$240-340
4 Lantau: the Big Buddha and Ngong Ping HK$260-380
5 The trams end to end, Stanley, Repulse Bay HK$260-360
6 Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, a street food crawl HK$260-360

Day 1: Land, get an Octopus card, cross the harbour

Fly into Hong Kong International Airport on Lantau and buy an Octopus card at the airport MTR counter before doing anything else. A tourist “Sold” card costs HK$39 empty (HK$89 with HK$50 preloaded); an on-loan adult card costs HK$150 (a refundable HK$50 deposit plus HK$100 of starting value, handed back at any MTR station). The Airport Express covers Central in about 24 minutes for HK$120 with Octopus; Citybus A21 runs to Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok for about HK$34.60, taking 60 to 70 minutes, and is the better call if the hotel sits on the Kowloon side. Drop bags, then walk to the harbour and cross on the Star Ferry (about HK$3 to HK$4, ten minutes) between Tsim Sha Tsui and Central rather than paying HK$230-plus for the tourist “Harbour Tour” cruise on the same boats. Close the day on the free Central-Mid-Levels escalator, an 800 meter, 135 meter climb that runs uphill from 10:20am through midnight, and get dinner at a cha chaan teng in SoHo for HK$25 to HK$65.

Day 2: The Peak without the Peak Tram price, then Temple Street

Skip the Peak Tram’s HK$116 return fare and take Citybus route 15 from Central (Exchange Square) instead, about HK$9.80 to HK$13 one way for the same 45-minute climb and the same free Lugard Road viewpoint, covered in more depth on the Peak in detail . Walk down into Sheung Wan for Man Mo Temple, free entry, built in the 1840s and still hung with spiral incense coils. In the evening, cross back to Kowloon for Temple Street Night Market in Yau Ma Tei, free to browse roughly 6pm to midnight, with dai pai dong stalls charging HK$30 to HK$50 a plate. Treat it as a food stop, not a shopping trip, and save the serious market browsing for tomorrow.

Day 3: Wong Tai Sin, Mong Kok, and a quiet finish in Hong Kong Park

Start at Wong Tai Sin Temple, free entry with a small donation welcomed, for the kau cim fortune-stick divination that draws locals daily. Walk or MTR to Mong Kok for the Ladies’ Market, Flower Market, and Goldfish Market, three markets in a few blocks selling everything from clothing to fish in bags. In the afternoon, MTR to Admiralty for Hong Kong Park, free, with an aviary, a waterfall, and the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware a few minutes from Central’s towers. Finish with a dim sum dinner at a mid-tier teahouse for HK$120 to HK$250 a person, or a Bib Gourmand spot for under HK$150.

Day 4: The Big Buddha’s free steps, the cheap way

Take the MTR Tung Chung Line to Tung Chung, then choose: the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, a 25-minute gondola ride for HK$295 round trip standard cabin, or New Lantau Bus 23, about HK$17.20 on weekdays (HK$27 on Sundays and public holidays), roughly 50 minutes each way with no queue. Either way arrives at Ngong Ping Village for the Tian Tan Buddha, a 34 meter bronze statue whose 268-step climb is free; the exhibition halls underneath and an optional monastery meal ticket carry a separate small fee. Walk the free grounds of Po Lin Monastery before heading back. Save this day for clear weather, since the view is the entire point of the trip out here.

Day 5: The trams end to end, then Stanley and Repulse Bay

Board a double-decker tram (“ding ding”) anywhere along Hong Kong Island’s north shore and ride toward Shau Kei Wan or Kennedy Town for a flat HK$3.3, tapping out at the front regardless of distance; treat the whole line as a rolling, cheap tour of the island. In the afternoon, bus or taxi to Stanley for Stanley Market (crafts and clothing, roughly 10am to 6pm) and a walk along its waterfront, then Repulse Bay next door for a free public beach with a different, more international pace than Kowloon’s markets. Dinner back near Causeway Bay closes the day.

Day 6: Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, a street food crawl

Walk the free Wan Chai waterfront around the Convention and Exhibition Centre in the morning, then head into Causeway Bay, Hong Kong’s densest shopping strip, past Victoria Park and the department stores on Hennessy Road. Spend the afternoon on a street food crawl rather than a museum: egg waffles, curry fish balls, and stinky tofu from stalls running roughly HK$15 to HK$35 a portion, plus a proper sit-down cha chaan teng dinner for HK$25 to HK$65. If Temple Street or Mong Kok’s markets got rushed earlier in the trip, this is the day to circle back for souvenirs with no fixed schedule.

How much does 6 days in Hong Kong cost without a hotel?

Budget travelers spend roughly HK$300 to HK$450 (US$38-58) a day on transport, food and sights across these six days, close to HK$1,800 to HK$2,700 total excluding lodging. The street food crawl on Day 6 is one of the cheapest days on the itinerary, since single portions run HK$15 to HK$35 each.

Is the Peak Tram worth paying for on a longer trip?

Only if the ride itself, not just the view, is the point. Bus 15 reaches the same free Lugard Road viewpoint for about a tenth of the HK$116 return fare. On a six-day trip with time to spare, some travelers do both, the bus once for the savings and the tram once for the new cars and the Sky Terrace deck.

Six days lets Wan Chai and Causeway Bay carry a whole day on food alone. Check current hours and any closures on Discover Hong Kong before the trip, and keep the street food crawl for a day when nothing else is booked.