Jamie | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong | Diary of a Fat Tour Guide
Tours by Locals | Hong Kong Hidden Gems, a total myth and why you should take this “term” with a pinch of salt.
Hong Kong has to be one of the most tourist friendly cities on the planet and that is a fact, there is so much to see and do and now we have a problem, the rise of the buzzword (phrase) Hidden Gems.
As a long time Private Tour Guide and with well over 2,000+ tours under my belt since 2011 I cringe whenever I hear this phrase because it causes no end of issues for Private Tour Guides because now everyone has a list of totally weird and bizarre things they want to do when they visit Hong Kong.
These phrases, hidden gems and secret spots are not new of course but have gained in popularity which mirrors the rise in apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat and the like and not forgetting You Tube and to be honest most people have zero interest in the hidden gem, they just want the image to post on these apps.
A common problem with obsessing over hidden gems is that you can easily spend 2 hours getting there, 2 hours back and 5 minutes taking a picture, Hong Kong is huge, about 426 sq. miles in area or over 1,100 sq. km and you would be amazed at how many hidden gems are out in the sticks!!
Let’s face most visitors to Hong Kong are here for only a day or two and need to maximise their time which is why you need a first rate Private Tour Guide who knows their way around Hong Kong and by the way hidden gems are a myth, since the rise of Google there is NO such thing as a secret spot, you can find anything on Google these days because that hidden gem has been visited and blogged about a thousand times already.
If you want to get a feel of some Hong Kong hidden gems go here to Atlas Obscura.
So what is my point you might ask……
Simply put, there are a lot of Tour Companies in Hong Kong who also obsess about hidden gems and secret spots and who think our most amazing and iconic places to visit are too touristy and too crowded and you can do them on your own or worse skip them altogether which makes me somewhat incredulous.
Have a look at my image below, this is the most amazing city view in the world, it is the view from my spot at the Peak, by Peak I mean Victoria Peak.
Amazingly unless you hire a top quality Private Tour Guide the chances are you will NOT see this view, you will end up on top of the Peak Tower having taken up the Peak Tram along with thousands of other people.. and you will get a nice view, that’s right, a nice view, to get the world class view you need to walk about 20 minutes through a jungle (well along a leafy road!) and even then, the people who do make it that far stop at the wrong place!
… and no my spot is not a secret spot by any means, I have been to it almost 7,000 times since 1972 and it never ceases to amaze me, no matter what the weather is like.
In addition Victoria Peak to me is Hong Kong, it’s historical importance since 1841 simply cannot be overstated and you need to know the history both historical and current and you need an expert to explain what you are seeing, an hour spent at the Peak with a real and passionate expert is worth much more than 50 hidden gems or secret spots.
oh… and the view of Hong Kong Island from either the Avenue of Stars, TST Promenade or the Ocean Terminal Deck is simply staggering as well, again, most people avoid these places because they are touristy and crowded and again a huge mistake.
…. at the end of the day forget about hidden gems and secret spots and hire a top notch Private Tour Guide in Hong Kong who will use their extensive knowledge to give an amazing and rewarding tour of Hong Kong.
… and do not get me started on “seeing Hong Kong like a local” I will cover that in another blog post and yes, like everyone else I have to use this phrase in my marketing!!
Jamie.
The greatest city view in the World, the view from Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, simply amazing
J3 Private Tours Hong Kong | Tours by Locals | Hong Kong Hidden Gems Hong Kong
Oh my golly gosh, the simply amazing Pagani Zonda Absolute - this is a custom made car and is rumoured to be the only one of it's kind in the world and it is in Hong Kong!... oh... and yes, this is my picture, talk about being in the right place at the right time.
Tags
J3 Private Tours Hong Kong, J3 Tours Hong Kong,Hong Kong Tour, Hong Kong Tours, Hong Kong Private Tour, Hong Kong Private Tours, Hong Kong Walking Tour, Hong Kong Walking Tours, Hong Kong Private Walking Tour, Hong Kong Private Walking Tours, Private Tour of Hong Kong, Private Tour Hong Kong, Private Tours Hong Kong, This is my Hong Kong, Hong Kong Hidden Gems, Best Tour Companies in Hong Kong, Discover Hong Kong, Popular Tours in Hong Kong, Luxury Travel and Tours
Kid Friendly Tour Hong Kong, Lantau Island Tour Hong Kong, Solo Traveller Tour Hong Kong, Business Persons Tour Hong Kong, Cruise Ship Shore Excursion Hong Kong, Airport Layover Transit Tour Hong Kong, Jewish Cultural Heritage Tour Hong Kong, Cheung Chau Island Tour Hong Kong, Photography Tour Hong Kong, Orientation Tour of Hong Kong, Car Tours of Hong Kong, Night Tour of Hong Kong, Multi Day Tours of Hong Kong, Senior Tours Hong Kong
Zolima Citymag, The HK Hub, Timeout Hong Kong, Sassy Hong Kong, Coconuts Hong Kong, Expat Living Hong Kong, Hong Kong Tatler, The Loop Hong Kong, Cruise Critic, The Robb Report,
Hotels.com , The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Hong Kong, The Rosewood Hotel Hong Kong,, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Hong Kong, The Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong, The Upper House Hotel Hong Kong, The J W Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, The W Hotel Hong Kong, The Intercontinental Hotel Hong Kong, Hotel Icon Hong Kong, The Island Shangri La Hotel Hong Kong, The Kowloon Shangri La Hotel Hong Kong, The St. Regis Hotel Hong Kong, The Grand Hyatt Hotel Hong Kong, The Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
Hong Kong Greeters, Hello Hong Kong Tours, Hong Kong Free Tours, Tours by Locals, Tours by Locals Hong Kong, Wanderlust Walks Hong Kong, Streets of Hong Kong Premium Private Tours, This is Asia Tours Hong Kong, With Locals Hong Kong, Big Foot Tours Hong Kong, Stephen Private Tours Hong Kong, Easy Private Tours, Hong Kong Foodie Tasting Tours, Hong Kong Foodie Tours, Little Adventures in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Food Crawlers, Running Panda Hong Kong, Humid with a Chance of Fishballs Hong Kong, Hong Kong Getaway Private Tours, Vive Hong Kong, Walk In Hong Kong, Hong Kong Free Walks, Walk Hong Kong, Splendid Tours Hong Kong, Gray Line Tours Hong Kong, Next Stop Hong Kong, MJ Tours Hong Kong, Hong Kong A La Carte, Context Hong Kong Tours, Das Ist Hong Kong, Wild Hong Kong, Viator Hong Kong, Klook Hong Kong, Ho Ho Go Hong Kong, Urban Adventures Hong Kong, Talks & Walks Hong Kong, Tripadvisor Experiences, Tripadvisor Hong Kong Things To Do, Tripadvisor Tours in Hong Kong, Tripadvisor Things to do in Hong Kong, Expedia Hong Kong, Airbnb Experiences Hong Kong, Get Your Guide Hong Kong, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Abercrombie and Kent Hong Kong, Frommers Tours Hong Kong, Lonely Planet Tours Hong Kong, Partnernet Hong Kong, Fodors Hong Kong, Forbes Travel Guide, Ngong Ping 360, NP360,
