I'm local HongKongnese, suggest hv a early breakfast (we call it "Yum Cha") in nearby Chinese restaurant, then go to the Peak by tram (quite near yr hotel), then late afternoon or night to go to the Victoria harbor.

Great advice...thanks! Will take advantage of a shorter tram line early in the morning :)

I did find that I was less jet lagged going west to HK than on the way home. My advice would be to just power through that first day, and then get a good night's sleep. You should be refreshed and ready to go the next morning.

Keep us posted! I'm doing the exact same flight in November !!

In reality, we actually fly east over the arctic circle, Russia, and china! But guessing jet lag is the same.

Smgboston, send me a PM in late October so I remember during my trip to tell you how it goes.

You have a 12 hour time difference between Boston and Hong Kong, which is a lot when considering jet lag. Compared to travelling to Europe, it is twice as much difference (eg. Boston to Paris is a 6 hour difference). You are also going to be flying for more than 15 hours, and that is a long time in a plane pressurised to levels way above what you are used to at sea level in Boston.

When you arrive, take it easy. Don't make any important decisions or spend significant sums of money. Make sure you know exactly how to get from the airport to your hotel.

When you arrive very early in the morning, your internal clock will be telling you it is mid morning. Staying out in daylight is important to overcoming jet lag, so I suggest you go to your hotel and leave your luggage (if you can't do an early check in). Don't go to your room and lie down - it will only make the problem worse. Then do some easy sightseeing (avoiding crowds) which is outdoors, and stay outdoors until it gets dark. Try to eat at the approximately normal times for eating in Hong Kong. When you get tired, sit down on a seat which does not have a back, so you aren't too comfortable, and have a small nap.

You can then go to bed after dark, but early, and make sure you have an alarm clock or a wakeup call from the hotel, at a reasonable hour in the next morning. (I once slept for 13 hours straight because I was jet lagged).

As you say, everyone is different, but you are going to have a much greater time difference that you are used to when going to Europe from the east coast US. But it will get easier every day.

#7's advice for dealing with jetlag is generally good. But a couple of the facts are wrong:

-- Airplane cabins are not pressurized to levels above those at sea level! For U.S. airlines they are pressurized to about the level of air pressure on the ground at 8,000 feet of altitude. (Source, here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabin_pressurization ) So the problem with cabin pressure on long flights is not that it is too high -- rather that it is too low for sea-level dwellers. And so the air is thin, as well as too dry .

-- If a traveler from Boston arrives in HK in early morning (6 am-ish), it is not "mid-morning" on his/her internal clock. Rather it is 6 pm!

Now, to the OP's question: I think it would be very reasonable for you to plan an active morning and early afternoon. But then, in my experience, by mid-afternoon in HK (which is the wee hours of the morning on your body clock), you are going to feel a pronounced drop in energy. At that point, plan to be in a place (your hotel room most likely) where you can put your feet up and relax for a while. It is best NOT to go to sleep, but if you must get some shuteye, set an alarm so you don't take more than a two-hour nap. Then go out for an earlyish dinner, and plan on hitting the bed early. (If you take melatonin or sleep medication, that may help prevent waking up at 2 am and being unable to go back to sleep.)

In general, physical exercise (walking around) and exposing yourself to bright sunlight during the day are the best things you can do to assist with adjustment. It's better to avoid alcohol, which interferes with the adjustment mechanism.

I don't want to sidetrack the OP's question, but I have to say that the poster above does not make any sense to me about aircraft cabin pressure. If the cabin pressure is the equivalent of 8000 ft altitude, then it is considerable higher than someone coming from sea level is used to (that is, the air has much less oxygen content, about 25 per cent less than at sea level). I have stayed in cities at an actual altitude of around 8000 ft, and it does take a while to get used to it - any physical activity, even just climbing a flight of stairs, has you gasping for breath at first. In Australia, where I come from, we don't even have any mountains that are as high as that. Of course, you are sitting down, doing very little, but 15 hours plus on a plane pressurised to the equivalent of 8000 ft altitude is going to leave you more tired when you arrive.

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