Traveling To Hong Kong With My Senior Citizen Parents

I love traveling DIY, but I realized how different it is when you're with your senior citizen parents.

During our Korea trip, I observed that the parentals get easily tired, from pulling luggages to walking non-stop. A vacation is supposed to be fun, and so that's what we gave mom and dad last October when we flew to Hong Kong.

Transportation that picked us up from the airport to our hotel, vice versa.




For Mom's 60th birthday, she requested a family trip instead of the typical surprise birthday in a resto with the whole clan (haha!). She prefers just going out of the country with dad and her daughters. After debating which country we should go that's in-line with our budget, with no visa requirements, and gets cold during -ber months... We ended up with Hong Kong.

My Ate was the one who hooked us up with Rakso Travel, also the travel agency that I went to before for my Korean visa. They proudly told me that Korea is their specialty. Anyway, aside from the visa application, they also offer other tour services. Ate got the Hong Kong package for the fam, which already includes the following:

TOUR INCLUSIONS

1) Roundtrip airfare via Cathay Pacific with 30 Kilos luggage allowance

2) Airline Tax, Terminal Fee, Philippine Travel Tax

3) Round Trip Airport to Hotel Transfers

4) 4-Star Hotel Accommodation for 3 Nights - Metropark Mongkok Hotel, with 1 Standard Twin Room for the parents, and 1 Standard Triple Room for me, Ate, and Cea.

5) Free daily breakfast coupon at nearby Mc Donalds

6) Half-Day City Tour (Avenue of Star, Aberdeen Fishing Village, Jewellery Store and Souvenir Shop)



The damages? We only spent a total of Php 24, 000 each for this package! We divided the fee for our parents as our birthday gift to mom, and just spent Php 40k each. I think I made sure to have around Php 20,000 pocket money for food and shopping, but it can get lower if you prefer to a budget trip.

Prior this trip, we also bought our HK Disneyland tickets via Klook for Php 3781 each (with promo codes, we only paid Php 2858 each so make sure to check out existing promo codes before booking!).

Here are some details of our 4D3N trip to Hong Kong!

Weather

We went around late October to early November, and weather is not so cold. I brought sweaters, but was sweating the whole time! Buti nalang may 1 Tshirt ako for Disneyland day, na super mas mainit pa since we were always outdoors!



Hotel

We stayed at the Metropark Mongkok Hotel, which is already part of our tour package. They gave us 1 Standard Twin Room for the parents, and 1 Standard Triple Room for me, Ate, and Cea. This is already inclusive of daily McDonalds breakfast vouchers.

Location is good, with just 3-minute walk to the nearest train station (Prince Edward Station)--which is also advantageous if you're with senior citizens. 

Rooms are also big, but medyo amoy yosi lang yung sa amin on our first days. We have separate room with the parentals, and buti mabango naman sa kanila. Maganda din the neighborhood, you have convenience stores, restaurants, shopping areas, etc. On our last day, mom and dad opted to just go around the area without taking the train, and marami naman na daw makikita according to mom.

Itinerary

Since we all have been to Hong Kong before, our iti for this trip is more chill. Again, perfect itinerary for the senior parentals.

Day 1: Just Around The City

• Check in Metropark Hotel (Prince Edward Station)
• Lunch at Dim Dim Sum
• Street shopping / mall hopping
• Dinner at Mak’s Noodle

First meal for this trip! Mom loves the food here.

Shopping and strolling!

First night's dinner:

Day 2: City Tour / Mom's Birthday!

This is the half-day tour inclusive in our package. Okay naman siya, you'll get to visit two sites, but as usual may souvenir shops din sa itinerary.

• Avenue of Star
• Aberdeen Fishing Village
• Jewellery Store and Souvenir Shop

Beautiful scenery and vibe at the Avenue of Star:

Boat ride around the Aberdeen Fishing Village:

Went on our own after the tours, and went to Causeway Bay for Ikea lunch and shopping!

Not so heavy commuting:

Mom loves shopping (and posing!) in Ikea! Haha!

Choi Hung Estate for rainbow photo op with the fam!

This is the pinaka malakad day na namin, but may pacing naman for every stop. Mom and dad rested here sa court, while we took pictures hehe.

Back in Causeway Bay for Mom's birthday dinner at Delicious Kitchen!

 This is my favorite meal for this trip!

Back in our hotel room to blow mom's birthday candles! At this time, may riot na sa baba so we just opted to stay in our room for the rest of the night. 

Day 3: Hong Kong Disneyland!

Full day was dedicated to Disneyland. They have discounted ticket for seniors, but starting age is 65 so si dad lang counted! From Php3000+, Php 800+ lang ticket ni dad! Check Klook for the specific price.

And we're back! Hong Kong was our first family trip back in I think 1992 (?).

Still the happiest place on earth!

We took so many rides this time as adults! 

I am so happy to share these memories with my family!

There are rides that are senior-friendly like It's A Small World (chill floating on water with nice sites), but dad also enjoyed Ironman (3D theater). If mahiluhin na, then pass nalang and just enjoy the outdoor installations and parade.

Quotang quota kami sa family photos, all worth it!

Day 4: Last Half Day in HK!

• The World Of Studio Ghibli with Cea
• Flight Back To Manila

Again, on our last day may kaniya kaniya na kaming itinerary. Ate went on a breakfast place with a friend based in HK. Cea and I went to a Studio Ghibli exhibit. Meanwhile, mom and dad decided to just explore our neighborhood.

Final tips when travelling with Senior Citizens:

1) Always check for discounts!
2) Be a girl scout and bring everything that you might need from meds to first aid kit to bottled water, etc.
3) Include indoor activities. Go on a local cafe, or explore a local shopping center. Best to make sure that there are lounges and restrooms accessible where you'll stay the longest.
4) Do not pack your itinerary. If possible, get a tour package so you don't have to worry about commuting and navigation. Pacing is key, expect that lunch breaks and coffee breaks will be longer.
5) Properly plan itinerary with right pacing per activity. Again as mentioned in #3, include indoor activities and rest stops. Also, expect to leave hotel not so early, and be back not so late at night you will still have a lot of time to watch the TV back in the hotel hehe.
6) Lastly, check up on them from time to time. Ask if they're tired or doing okay, or if they're enjoying. Overall, we were able to pull off this trip with minimal hassles!

I really enjoyed this trip! It wasn't as packed as my usual trips, but we were able to enjoy our time together as family. My dream in the coming years is to have more of travels with my family. ❤
Happy Birthday Mom!