The Day Kowloon Surprised Us: Walk Hong Kong With Kids
On day five in Hong Kong we slowed down, booked a morning with Walk Hong Kong in Kowloon, and accidentally had one of the best days of the trip. Here's what happened - and what it cost.
We'd had two days of non-stop Hong Kong. The kind of days where you hit the ground running the moment you clear immigration and somehow don't stop until you're flat on the apartment floor at 10pm, shoes still on, arguing about whose turn it is to order dinner. Productive, yes. Sustainable? Absolutely not.
So on day five, we deliberately slowed down. No must-see lists, no peak tram queues, no structured itineraries timed to the minute. We booked a morning with Walk Hong Kong and basically handed the day over to someone who actually knows what Kowloon looks like beneath the surface.
It ended up being one of our favourite days of the entire trip. You can watch the full thing here: https://youtu.be/pYu_9FQntTU
What Walk Hong Kong Actually Is
Walk Hong Kong is a local tour company that runs walking tours across different neighbourhoods - Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, the New Territories. What sets them apart from the usual group-with-an-umbrella situation is that everything is flexible. They move at your pace, they answer whatever you throw at them, and they take you through streets that no itinerary app is ever going to suggest.
We did the Kowloon tour. It covered a local temple, Kowloon Walled City Park, and a whole lot of street-level neighbourhood time that the kids actually engaged with. The tour cost $286 USD for our family, which lands it firmly in "worth every cent" territory when you consider we'd have wandered around seeing the surface of things for free otherwise.
The Temple: Red Strings and Quiet Rituals
The morning started at a local temple, and this is the kind of place you'd walk past a hundred times without understanding what you were looking at. Our guide slowed everything down and explained the significance of the offerings, the incense, the ritual of tying red strings for luck and love.
The kids - who had varying levels of enthusiasm for cultural sites up to this point - were genuinely curious. There's something about a guide who explains why rather than just what that changes how you take it in. Lily had questions about the strings. Harper wanted to know if the luck was guaranteed. The answers were good.
Kowloon Walled City Park: History That Hits Different
This is the one that got me. Kowloon Walled City Park is, on the surface, exactly what it sounds like - a lovely, peaceful park with Chinese garden elements, elderly locals doing tai chi, kids running around. The kind of place you'd sit with a coffee and not think much about.
Except that until 1994, this exact site was one of the most densely populated places on Earth. The original Walled City was a largely ungoverned enclave - 33,000 people packed into 6.4 acres, building on top of each other, operating outside the jurisdiction of both British Hong Kong and mainland China. A city within a city, running its own rules. Dentists, noodle shops, factories, entire communities stacked twelve stories high in near-total darkness.
Knowing that history, and standing in what is now this green, tranquil space, is genuinely unsettling in the best possible way. The park has preserved sections of the original stone walls and a small museum. Our guide made it come alive in a way that a placard never would.
The Bikes, the Local Kid, and the Part We Didn't Plan
After the park, we rented bikes. Simple enough. What we didn't plan was the local kid who rolled up, sized up our children, and just... joined us. No common language to speak of, just kids doing kid things on bikes along the waterfront. We rode, bought waters, let the afternoon go where it wanted.
This is the stuff that's hard to manufacture and impossible to book. It's also the stuff the kids remember. Not the queues, not the cable cars - the afternoon they rode bikes with a stranger who became briefly, genuinely, their friend.
The bike rental and waters came to $40.69, which is frankly excellent value for two hours of the kids being too happy to complain about anything.
Dim Sum: We Did It Properly
After the morning out, we found ourselves at a proper dim sum restaurant. $44.98 for our family of five, which in Hong Kong dim sum terms means we ate extremely well. Har gow, siu mai, cheung fun, turnip cake - the full spread, ordered the old-fashioned way by pointing at trolleys and hoping for the best.
The kids have eaten enough dim sum across our time in Asia that this wasn't a novelty - it was just lunch. We're not going to pretend that's not one of the better parenting outcomes of four years on the road.
The Day 5 Budget Breakdown
This is part of our ongoing effort to show what it actually costs to travel as a family of five. No estimates, no "it depends" - real numbers from real days.
| Expense | Cost (USD) |
|---|---|
| Tram | $1.37 |
| Metro | $7.19 |
| Bike Rental + Waters | $40.69 |
| Dim Sum | $44.98 |
| Transit Home | $7.37 |
| Sushi (off camera) | $58.50 |
| Walk Hong Kong Tour | $286.00 |
| Groceries (off camera) | $37.88 |
| Apartment (per night) | $121.33 |
| Daily Total | $605.31 |
That's a $605 day, with most of it being the tour and accommodation. Strip those out and the day-to-day activity spend was under $160 for five people in one of Asia's most expensive cities. Context matters with these numbers.
How We Stayed Connected in Hong Kong
We've been running Holafly eSIMs for the entire Hong Kong trip and it's become one of those things we genuinely don't think about anymore. Land, turn it on, done. No hunting for a SIM card shop, no standing at a counter trying to explain your passport, no surprise data bills at the end.
For Hong Kong specifically, get the Holafly Hong Kong eSIM and use code ADAMANDLINDS for 5% off. It runs unlimited data, activates the moment you arrive, and handles the kind of day we had - navigation, Google Maps for the park, photos uploading in real time - without a second thought.
If you're multi-country travelling or spending longer stints moving between destinations, the Holafly Plans subscription is worth a look. One eSIM, 160+ destinations, billed monthly at $64.90 for unlimited data or $49.90 for the 25GB Light Plan. It also includes Holafly Always On as a backup, so you're not stuck without data in between activations. Use code ADAMANDLINDS for 10% off Plans.
The Full Hong Kong Series
This was Episode 5 of our Hong Kong series. Here's the full run if you want the whole picture:
- Episode 1: https://youtu.be/woxHfPAUDx4 - First day costs, the reality of Hong Kong prices
- Episode 2: https://youtu.be/i2g1WoAaAIA
- Episode 3: https://youtu.be/WV9KpXAVwK4
- Episode 4: https://youtu.be/2uOOvaM-uKg
- Episode 5 (this one): https://youtu.be/pYu_9FQntTU - Kowloon with Walk Hong Kong
- Episode 6: Coming soon
Is Walk Hong Kong Worth It for Families?
The short answer is yes, with one caveat: you get more out of it the more you engage. If your kids are old enough to ask questions and curious enough to want answers, this kind of tour is genuinely excellent. Our three (worldschooled, all used to being dragged around historic sites) were engaged the entire morning.
What Walk Hong Kong does well is flexibility. It's not a performance, it's not a script. It adapts to what you're interested in, it slows down when things are interesting, and it doesn't rush you through a checklist. For families who travel at their own pace - which is us, most of the time - that matters enormously.
The tour for our family was $286. For context, that's about $57 per person for a half-day with a guide who knew the city properly. Given what we got out of it, we'd book it again without hesitation.
Practical Info for Your Kowloon Day
The Kowloon waterfront promenade (Tsim Sha Tsui) is easily accessible by MTR - Tsim Sha Tsui station puts you right there. The Star Ferry from Hong Kong Island across to Kowloon costs just a few HKD and is genuinely one of the better harbour views you'll find anywhere. The tram on Hong Kong Island is $1.37 and still one of the best cheap experiences in the city.
Hong Kong's MTR is one of the most efficient transit systems in the world. The Octopus card handles everything - metro, trams, ferries, convenience stores. Get one at any MTR station on arrival. It saves an enormous amount of time and mental energy, which is worth something when you're navigating a city with three kids in tow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walk Hong Kong suitable for young children?
Yes. The tours are flexible and self-paced, which makes them well-suited to families. There's no fixed group timing to keep up with, and guides adapt based on what the family is interested in. Our kids ranged in age and all stayed engaged through the morning.
How much does Walk Hong Kong cost?
Pricing varies by tour and group size. Our family of five paid $286 USD for the Kowloon tour. Check their website at walkhongkong.com for current pricing and tour options.
What is Kowloon Walled City Park?
It's a public park built on the former site of the Kowloon Walled City, a densely packed ungoverned enclave that existed until its demolition in 1993-1994. The park preserves sections of the original walls and a small museum documenting the enclave's extraordinary history. Admission is free.
How do I get a SIM card or data for Hong Kong?
We use Holafly eSIMs. Get the Hong Kong eSIM at holafly.sjv.io/YR0VrR and use code ADAMANDLINDS for 5% off. It provides unlimited data and activates automatically on arrival. If you're visiting multiple countries, consider Holafly Plans - a monthly subscription covering 160+ destinations (code ADAMANDLINDS saves 10%).
What is the best way to get around Hong Kong?
The MTR (Mass Transit Railway) is fast, cheap, and covers most of what you'd want to reach. Get an Octopus card on arrival - it works on metros, trams, ferries, and many convenience stores. The tram on Hong Kong Island is one of the great cheap experiences in the city. The Star Ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central costs a few HKD and gives you a harbour crossing that's hard to beat.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our Holafly links we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you - and code ADAMANDLINDS gets you 5% off destination eSIMs or 10% off Holafly Plans. Read our full affiliate disclosure.
