If you don't want to read about the advantages and disadvantages of both sides you can just skip ahead to my answer here!

One of the hardest things to decide on when I planned my trip to Hong Kong back in 2017 was where it would be best to stay. Hong Kong is a dense city, but it's also a city that's built on two sides of a body of water and separated by Victoria Harbour. Victoria Harbour is a very important feature for the city, and without the harbour there would not be a Hong Kong at all since the unique location of the harbour is what made it historically important. So we should all be happy for it even though it does make the city into a divided one where there's not one central area where everything you need is centered. It is important to mention that it's easy to cross the harbour and to get between the areas with the Underground Metro and you can get from Kowloon Station to Hong Kong Station in three minutes, or Tsim Sha Tsui Station to Admiralty Station, on Hong Kong Island, in four minutes. The Subway / Metro / Underground in Hong Kong is called Mass Transit Railway, often shortened as MTR and it's those three letters you should look for when you want to travel quickly in Hong Kong. You can also take the historic Star Ferry which takes about ten minutes to cross the Harbour. In fact, you should take Star Ferry at least once despite where you decide to stay on your trip to Hong Kong. Even I, who normally isn't so fond of travelling on the water, felt that it was one of those things you have to do while in this city.

I had two separate visits to Hong Kong on the same trip so I actually decided to stay on both sides. When I first arrived I stayed in Kowloon, in Jordan near Tsim Sha Tsui, and had a full day of sightseeing before I took a flight to Hanoi the next morning. A week later I came back to Hong Kong and stayed on Hong Kong Island, in the area of Wan Chai, for a few days. I did go between the areas several times in those days on my quest to fully explore any city I visit.

Kowloon

Kowloon is part of the Mainland of China, geographically speaking. It's the older part of the two main areas of the city and it's the most populated area of Hong Kong. Kowloon is actually the name of the whole peninsula but the area of interest for visitors is usually only the lower part with Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok.

The place to be in Kowloon is at the southernmost tip in the area called Tsim Sha Tsui (often shortened as TST). If you stay in Kowloon you'd want to be as close to the waterfront of TST as your wallet allows it. I stayed in the now permanently closed Evergreen Hotel a bit further up into the urban jungle and it worked well. Jordan and the subway station with the same name is a good compromise between the perfect location and budget. It's within walking distance of everything you want to do or see in Tsim Sha Tsui and the rest of Southern Kowloon, however the area can feel a little rough. That's also part of the charm of the area and I never felt unsafe so don't let the looks trick you.

The Waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui hosts several of the many large museums of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Science Museum to name two of them) but most importantly it offers some of the best views of the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island. A skyscraper is best viewed from a distance and this is the perfect distance to view Hong Kong Island. Another major landmark for the city that can be found along the waterfront is the Avenue of Stars. It's inspired from the Walk of Fame in Los Angeles and celebrates the film industry of Hong Kong. Also in Tsim Sha Tsui you'll find Kowloon Park as an oasis in the concrete and in it, among other things, there's a complement to Avenue of Stars in the form of Avenue of Comic Stars which celebrates comic book characters with a connection to Hong Kong. There's a lot to look at in Kowloon Park.

The main street of Kowloon is Nathan Road which cuts through the area and most smaller streets will eventually feed into this major thoroughfare. The road is 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles) long and is lined with shops and restaurants of all kinds. Underneath runs the subway and as many as five stations can be found along the stretch of the road.

While Kowloon indeed is not as tall in general as Hong Kong Island, the tallest building in the city is actually located there. It's the International Commerce Centre which was built in 2010 and located in West Kowloon. I never went to it as the area is still pretty much under construction. Most of West Kowloon is built on reclaimed land, a very common principle in Hong Kong where the coastline has frequently been extended by creating new land.

Mong Kok is the one of the major areas in Kowloon that's slightly further away. Staying on the Kowloon side would make it much easier to visit since it's known for the many and large night markets combined with that the subway in Hong Kong does stop quite early in the evening. Night markets in general is one major reason to stay in Kowloon. If that's something you enjoy and like visiting then you will have much more choices on the Kowloon side than on Hong Kong Island. The most famous is Ladies Market, in the previously mentioned Mong Kok. There's also a large and well-known night market on Temple Street in Jordan.

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island is much more modern than Kowloon and it's in general taller. This is due to the fact that the old airport in Hong Kong was located very close to the city and restricted heights of the buildings in Kowloon while Hong Kong Island had no such restrictions. Today, the new airport is located further away and the old is closed so there's a lot of construction that with time might dissolve this difference between the two.

The main areas where you will probably spend most time on the island is Central and Wan Chai. Central is, as the name might suggest, the center of the city. Not necessarily from a touristic point of view, but it's the Central Business District and one of the most modern parts of Hong Kong with skyscrapers, high-end shops and malls. Near Central there are several other areas worth visiting. In Sheung Wan you'll find the Man Mo Temple and also the historic Western Market. SoHo is an area filled with restaurants and smaller shops. Lan Kwai Fong is a night-life area that's very popular for tourists and locals alike.

During my visit, I stayed in Wan Chai, in Burlington Hotel on Hennessy Road. It's a hotel I can strongly recommend and Hennessy Road is one of the main thoroughfares of the area so it's very central. In Wan Chai you'll find the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from which you can get great views of Kowloon. The area is a mix of old and new with many tall skyscrapers and modern shops, restaurants and gallerias but also street markets, night markets and wet markets which cater to the more traditional side of the city.

Sights on Hong Kong Island includes Victoria Peak and Hong Kong Park. Victoria Peak is the most famous sight of Hong Kong. From Victoria Peak you get views of the whole city as well as Victoria Harbour. Get there with the Peak Tram, a funicular railway from 1888. It starts in Central and will take you all the way up to the Peak. The other way to get there is with buses, which can also be quite interesting because they will take you through some roads that might not really be suitable for buses. At the Peak you can take a long walk along Lugard Road and truly enjoy the views from all sides. The full walk takes around two hours, but if you only want the best views you can go to Lugard Road Lookout directly in just a few minutes from the Summit (where both the funicular and buses have their terminus). At the Peak you also have a Galleria (Peak Galleria) and Peak Tower, from which you have an observation deck at the top floor. I would recommend going there during the evening to get good (and safe) nighttime views of the impressive skyline.

Hong Kong Park is rather futuristic looking and while not the best park I've been to, it's one of the most unique. Don't spend too much time there but make sure to visit. It's conveniently located where Central and Wan Chai meet so you will probably find it without even looking.

So... Where should I stay?

It will of course depend on what your plans for your visit are. But if you're in Hong Kong just to do sightseeing and be a regular tourist then the short answer is that you should stay on Hong Kong Island. If you have friends, meetings or similar on the Kowloon side you should of course stay there. Their differences are not huge and it's easy to get between the areas. However, even though it's easy to travel across Victoria Harbour you will probably spend most of your time, especially the evenings, on the side you decide to stay at. And in that regard I prefered to stay on Hong Kong Island.

It's more modern, it feels cleaner, you have more options in the form of public transport and it's easier to navigate. I felt that the restaurants had a higher standard, even though you of course have a huge amount of options on both sides of the harbour. In general I feel that Hong Kong is not a city where there's so many actual sights. It's more a city of different districts and areas with unique charms and features and that sightseeing is more about visiting and experiencing those areas.