We are just back from 5 days in Hong Kong. We had an amazing trip, due to the fact the city is very kid and stroller friendly.

We have traveled around to many different places and to find a city, which is fun for both parents and the toddler is not easy. We all love the outdoors and adventuring to places where the wild man can run free and Hong Kong fit the bill with their many parks, playgrounds and museums!

Victoria Peak & Hong Kong Zoological & Botanical Gardens
During our stay, we took the tram up to Victoria Peak to take in the breathtaking view. From the top, there are several hiking trails you can walk back down the mountain or just ride the tram back down.

Travel Tip: When you come back down from the peak, I would recommend a picnic lunch in the Hong Kong Zoological & Botanical Garden. We did this on a separate day because we didn’t realize how close it was. This hilly yet beautiful park is home to monkeys, birds, a playground and much more. We killed our last hours in town here before our flight but we could have easily spent most of the day there.

Kowloon
On another adventuring day, we took the Star Ferry across the harbor, from Central to Kowloon. On this side of the harbor you can see the Victoria Harbor Light and Laser Show every night at 8pm. Be sure to get there early to get a front row seat on the top promenade.

On our cold, rainy day in Kowloon; we took a walk down the Avenue of the Stars. Here there are “stars” like you would see in Hollywood with the actors names and handprints in the cement. We were a little underwhelmed because we obviously didn’t know or could even pronounce most of the actors names until we found Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. At that point we had to get in on the action!

After our walk among the stars, we came to an escalator that had an arrow pointing to a park and playground. We asked our little man if he wanted to check it out. Killi said “play?” We said “heck yea little man!” He was spoiled with the extravagant playgrounds around town.

We played in two different parks during our visit to Kowloon (the first I can’t remember the name (maybe Middle-land) and Kowloon Park). Kowloon is a great place to walk around and down back alleys to check out the local vendors. After some shopping we stopped for a New York style slice and it was delicious.

Once our bellies were full, we had to walk back toward the water to find the Hong Kong Science Museum. Both of my boys were in their element looking and playing with all of the hands on exhibits. We all played for hours and at the end toured their traveling dinosaur exhibit. At this point our son was completely wiped out and we headed back to the hotel.

Travel Tip: Make time in your day for the science museum and the space museum. We didn’t have enough time to do both but I have read many reviews and everyone raves about the space museum.

Stanley Market & Victoria Park in Causeway Bay
About thirty minutes away from Causeway Bay, nestled along the coast lies the Stanley Market. As our taxi snaked through the winding roads along the coast, I couldn’t help but reminisce about our road trip along the French Riviera. We arrived at the market in the morning and not to our surprise it started pouring rain.

I was a little worried since I thought this was an outdoor market but it is actually an outdoor/indoor market with a roof covering the local shops. Killi was able to explore along the narrow path for a while before the crowds arrived.

This is the perfect place for kids of all ages. After our walk through the market, where we found a new painting for our house for only $30USD, a toy helicopter (for Killi but I’m starting to think it was really for Chris), my first tea pot, and a chess set; we stumbled upon a quaint boardwalk. As we strolled, (really with Killi we run everywhere) we found a huge playground shaped as a pirate ship and tons of kids playing.

The rain didn’t stop us, we had a great morning at the market and made our way back to Causeway Bay to check out Victoria Park, home to another awesome playground! I believe this is what Killi’s heaven will be like; playgrounds around every corner.
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Hong Kong Disneyland
The entire reason for our trip to Hong Kong was so I could take my son to Disney. I never get sick of Disney World and I wanted our first time to see the Mouse to be special and different.

We arrived at the park and made a b-line to Toy Story Land. This is one of Killi’s favorite movies so I knew he would be excited. Turns out excited wasn’t the word for it; awestruck would be more appropriate. As we walked into that section of the park; we are greeted by a giant Woody doll, who talks to you and Killi’s jaw dropped.

For a moment, it felt as if the entire park was to ourselves. There were hardly any people at all and we even rode the Slinky Dog ride just our family. After our ride, we made a stop in the toy shop to buy my boy a Buzz Lightyear. As you can see from the expression on his face; this was the greatest moment of his life. We now take Buzz everywhere, and embarrassingly enough the security workers at the airport ask if it is mine since Killi was still with his dad on the other end.

We were able to ride some rides, although the sounds and lights might have been to much for him. He was a little freaked out by the huge characters. He slept through the Buzz Lightyear photo op (probably for the best). He might have been to young for this trip but to be able to share a Mickey Ear (something I do with my Gram every time we go), popcorn (something I used do with my grandpa when we would go), to see him just run around the park holding his Buzz in the monsoon rain with so much joy made this trip one of the very best experiences of my life with my son.

One Final Travel Tip: In the Hong Kong International Airport at gate 25 there is a big playground area!

Hong Kong is Killi approved.

Look for my next post with the best photos from the Nikon.