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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Victoria Peak In Hong Kong : Wrongly Dropped Off at Peak Galleria Instead by Taxi Driver

hong kong travel blog
Our Hong Kong Trip: Peak Tower @ Victoria Peak


If you are visiting Victoria Peak in Hong Kong and plan to take the peak tram up to Victoria Peak before enjoying the "supposedly" magnificent view from The Peak, make sure you know the exact location of the Peak Tram before you take the cab. We hailed our cab in front of our hotel, said "The Peak" and next thing we know, we are going up and up Victoria Peak and stopped at a taxi and coach drop off point at "The Peak Galleria".

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Our Hong Kong Trip @The Peak Galleria : If you see this, then you are at the wrong side of The Peak


hong kong for kids
Our Hong Kong Trip @ The Peak Galleria : Well, at least the kids enjoyed themselves.

At the Peak Galleria, we saw a sign stating "Observation Deck" or something to that effect and we asked one of the salesgirl there "Where is The Peak and where can we take the peak tram?" She said "this is The Peak and you can't take the peak tram up to the peak since you are already up at the peak but you can take the peak tram down at the other end of the shopping centre."  That was pretty much what she managed to convey to us in her halting english, though she managed to add that a lot of other tourists seems to ask the same question as us. Hmm.. we were quite taken aback at first by her answer as The Peak Galleria looks like a normal shopping centre to us (which by the way is what it is) and we couldn't figure out why would Victoria Peak gets numerous fantastic reviews on tripadvisor if The Peak Galleria was all there is to it. 

victoria peak in hong kong
Our Hong Kong Trip @ The Playground at The Peak Galleria

hong kong with kids
Our Hong Kong Trip @ The Playground; The Peak Galleria

Our Hong Kong Trip : The Observation Deck @ The Peak Galleria-The kids were chasing birds

victoria peak central hong kong
View from The Peak Galleria


Anyway, the kids saw the playground and we spent 45 minutes there letting them have a bit of fun. Then off we went to the observation deck at The Peak Galleria, which was nothing special to us since the day was a bit cloudy. From the observation deck, we saw The Peak Tower which is what people meant when they say Victoria Peak, this is where The Sky Terrace 428 is and where supposed great views of Hong Kong can be seen, we didn't go up since the day was cloudy and reviews said the views aren't worth it on a cloudy day, plus the crowd was horrendous. We were also not very keen on Madame Tussaud's. So, we took the peak tram down to Garden Road (finding the peak tram tickets booth at The Peak Tower was also very confusing, keep your eyes peeled, the entrance is very small to the left of the escalator) and oh boy, were we glad that we didn't take the peak tram up! The incline was so steep I think my kids would be nauseous all the way up. Going down didn't present any problem. Views going down also was nothing spectacular. Of all the Hong Kong attractions that we visited during our trip, I'm sorry to say that Victoria Peak fails to impress.

tram to victoria peak
Victoria Peak Tram : Nope, this is not the tram, this is the tourist information centre

tram to victoria peak
Victoria Peak Tram : Not! Inside the Tourist Information Centre



If you are taking The Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, the lower terminus at Garden Road is a short walk away from Central MTR Station, if you are taking a cab, make sure you say The Peak Tram Lower Terminus @ Garden Road to the taxi driver otherwise you will end up like us at The Peak Galleria.


victoria peak location
How to Get to The Peak Hong Kong : Look Out For This Building at Garden Road

The Peak Tram Operating Hours are from 7.00am - 12 Midnight (Daily) while The Sky Terrace 428 is open from 10 am - 11pm (Mon-Fri) and 8 am - 11 pm (Weekends & PH).


Combo tickets for The Peak Tram and Sky Terrace 428 (called Peak Tram Sky Pass) are sold at The Peak Tram Lower Terminus only while separate tickets are also sold at The Peak Tower.

Peak Tram Sky Pass Ticket Price:

Adult : HKD 65 (Return) HKD 53 (Single)
Child (3-11) and Seniors (65 up): HKD 31 (Return) HKD 24 (Single)

Peak Tram Ticket Price:

Adult : HKD 40 (Return) HKD 28 (Single)
Child / Senior : HKD 18 (Return) HKD 11 (Single)

Sky Terrace 428 Ticket Price:

Adult : HKD 30
Child / Senior : HKD 15

Here's how to get to The Peak Tram (Lower Terminus) from Hong Kong Central MTR Station: 



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