Visiting Hong Kong is a great experience, and I always try to help make it extra special whenever my friends pay me a visit. Hong Kong day trips are the best way to learn more about the city and culture, and I enjoy taking them around the island. To their surprise, these day trips often end up taking us outside of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is near and dear to my heart, but I think it's important to spend time in other nearby places that are also great. If my friends are flying in from many hours away, I'm going to make sure they get their money's worth.

Where we go really depends on how much time they have. Some come for only a few days on business, so we try to fit in what I call a 'Best of' tour of Hong Kong. For first time visitors, my preferred Hong Kong day trip focuses primarily on Victoria Harbour. We'll book a ride aboard a sampan and ride around the harbor for a few hours. The most impressive part of this tour is the city skyline that stays locked in the distance at all times. I have yet to have someone tell me that they didn't enjoy themselves after a Hong Kong day trip in Victoria Harbor.

However, if my friends have some extra time, or they built in a day or two into their vacation knowing how much I like to show off the area, we'll get a little more adventurous. In my opinion, Macau is the best place for a day trip outside of Hong Kong. It's only an hour away by ferry, and you aren't required to obtain a visa before entering. Macau boasts the biggest gambling center on earth, and I've had a few epic nights with my friends there. Trust me; it's a fun place. Ferries run twenty-four hours a day, so you can really come and go as you please.

Sometimes visitors want to go to mainland China instead. I always tell them to plan ahead so they can get a Chinese visa, which is required to enter the country. My two favorite cities to visit on Hong Kong day trips are Guangzhou and Beijing. Guangzhou is a two hour train right from Hong Kong, so day trips are very doable. The best thing about Guangzhou is that it is the epitome of China's incredible growth, and its sleek, modern fell will impress any visitor. It still blows me away.

Beijing is a trickier place to visit in a day because it's a three and a half hour flight to get there. To make this Hong Kong day trip work, I've learned that you need to catch a flight at 8 am from Hong Kong, spend six or seven hours seeing the sights in Beijing, and catch a flight back at 9 or 10 pm. It's a long day, but it's a cool story for visitors to take home.

If you end staying in Hong Kong, there are some excellent tours of the city available as well.