How to Use Klook to Save Money When Travelling, Pt. 1 – Mobile Internet + MTR!

I recently went on a trip to Hong Kong and China, and of course, I checked Klook.com for deals!

I discovered Klook.com on a previous trip, and at the time, it seemed like nobody had heard of Klook. I wasn’t even sure if it was legit. Since then, I have used Klook several times – they are very legit, and offer good value-for-money deals!

WHAT IS KLOOK.COM?

It is a website that offers deals that you can claim at your travel destination. I have used it to buy MTR passes, airport express transfers, sim cards, meals, etc… It’s like Metrodeal, but for travel, and Klook sells legitimate items / deals.

PREPARING FOR THE TRIP

First, I headed over to the Klook website, scrolled down and clicked on “Hong Kong” as my destination.

I scrolled through the different offers – guided tours, food tours, transportation services, restaurant vouchers, etc…

After going through all of the available offers, these are what I bought:

I had a rough idea of our itinerary so I planned accordingly. I paid using a credit card.

MAKING SURE I HAVE MOBILE INTERNET DURING THE TRIP

The most important thing for me, even if I don’t buy anything else on Klook, is the 4G SIM Card. I need this. I can’t remember how we all survived our travels without a cellphone and mobile internet!  It’s so easy now to just check Google Maps if I am looking for some place. Also, if I see something nice, I can easily take a pic, message it to family / friends and ask if they want me to buy some for them as well (“pabili“). And then, when shopping, especially for beauty products, it’s so easy to look for reviews online first before plunking $$$$ on items I will not be able to return! Most importantly, mobile internet keeps us connected via Facebook, Messenger, Viber, etc…

There is also an offer to rent a pocket wifi instead, but I always choose to go with the SIM card because it comes in handy when we split up. If I get a pocket wifi, it means that we should always stay together, and we can’t call each other if one of us gets separated. With a SIM card, we have internet on our phones, PLUS we can call each other, too! This means we are not forced to stick together all the time – if one of us is tired and wants to sit in a coffee shop, the other can still browse the mall and nearby shops. If there’s any problem, we can easily call each other because the SIM card includes HK$18 in prepaid load.

Only P350 per SIM Card = 5 Days of Internet + $18 in prepaid load

And you know what? It’s only like P350 per SIM card! If you use roaming data from Globe or Smart, that’s around P600 PER DAY! Getting a SIM from Klook is way cheaper! The price fluctuates because of the exchange rate, but it’s usually around P300-350.

The 4G SIM Card includes 1.5GB of mobile data and HK $18 of prepaid load. I never use it up! I do web surfing, posting and reading social media, sending and receiving videos, photos and voice calls on Viber and FB Messenger, etc… I avoid any heavy use like watching YouTube, etc.. I leave that kind of thing for the hotel WIFI.

The 4G internet speed in HK is really fast.

Note: I only bought SIM cards for the HK part of our trip because I didn’t think we would need them in China, based on our itinerary.

MTR TOURIST DAY PASSES

I also bought MTR Tourist Day Passes – each pass gives the user unlimited MTR trips for a 24-hour period. It starts the countdown upon first use. MTR trips that go across Hong Kong and Kowloon side tend to be the most expensive, so we planned our destinations to make the most of the 24-hour unlimited pass.

We started the first use right after lunch on Day 2, so the pass will end at the same time the next day. This gives us the whole of the afternoon and evening of Day 2 to go where we wanted to go, and then, after a good night’s sleep, we still had the whole morning of Day 3 to make trips again.

Note: The MTR Tourist Day Pass cannot be used to go directly to/from Shenzhen, but it can be used for almost all the usual Hong Kong destinations. If you want to go to Shenzhen, there’s a workaround though – take the train to Sheung Shui Station. Exit the station using the pass then buy yourself a single trip ticket for the next station, Lo Wu / Lok Ma Cha (these are the stations to cross Shenzhen).

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR SIM CARDS / POCKET WIFIS / MTR TICKETS

After claiming your checked in baggage from the carousel, just head out to the main Arrivals area of Hong Kong Airport. Look towards the left side, and you’ll see an area with booths.

The Klook booth is at A13.

• Hong Kong International Airport Arrivals Area, Terminal 1, Counter A13
• Opening Hours 7:00am-11:00pm

It’s best to download the Klook app on your phone. With the Klook app on my phone, I didn’t have to print out any of the Klook vouchers at all.

I just showed the vouchers on my Klook app, the lady scanned it, and she handed me my MTR Passes and SIM Cards. The SIM cards are tri-cut, so you don’t need to worry about SIM card sizes. I didn’t bring a SIM ejector tool but I used the back of my earrings instead to open my phone’s SIM card slot. 

There’s no need to do any activation for the SIM cards – just insert one into your phone, restart your phone, that’s it. If you return the SIM card to the Klook counter before you fly out, you get HK$5 returned to you. I didn’t return mine this time, but I did a couple of years ago. But apparently, there’s no information about the $5 anymore in the current website.

The MTR Adult Tourist Day Pass is not supposed to be funny but seeing it always gives me a chuckle. It sounds like a day pass for porn, LOL! 

Check out Part 2, where I talk about our dining vouchers + taking the Airport Express.