Tim Martin / The New York TimesSkip the Michelin-starred restaurant and the guided tour. Opt for a map and a good pair of walking shoes to take in Hong Kong without all the expense.

The document in my email, set on elegant Four Seasons Hotel letterhead, was titled “One Perfect Day in Hong Kong.” It specified a one-day, $1,000 agenda that included a Michelin-starred restaurant, a helicopter ride and a private tour of Kowloon.

The document was from the hotel’s concierge team, whom I’d contacted earlier. After I arrived, team member Clementine King went over the specifics as I sipped an espresso and cast furtive glances at those around me as I tried to figure out who stays at a hotel with rates from $645 a night.

Probably the same sort of traveler who’d spend $1,000 in a day popping around town. (Actually, 7,600 Hong Kong dollars at the time of my visit, at a rate of 7.6 Hong Kong dollars to the U.S. dollar.) My task would be to design a day that was as similar as possible, but at one-tenth the cost. That would require planning and tips from friends, most notably, Daisann McLane, Frugal Traveler emeritus (1998-2004), who gives private and small group tours through her company, Little Adventures in Hong Kong.

Breakfast

High: The Four Seasons agenda started at Lin Heung Tea House for dim sum. “Dim sum breakfast is cheap,” King said. “It’s good bang for your buck.” (Hey, that’s my line!) Her estimated cost: 150 Hong Kong dollars (about $20).

Low: My breakfast was at Sing Heung Yuen, which McLane told me was one of the few old-fashioned outdoor street cafes left in the city. I had a noodle soup thick with stewed tomatoes and topped with a runny poached egg. Total bill, with iced milk tea and toast: 49 dollars (about $6).

Tour

High: King said their usual tour guide was too expensive even for our $1,000 day (well, excuse me!) and suggested booking a two-hour tour of Kowloon through the site Sam the Local, requesting stops at the Jade Market and a traditional tea shop. Cost: about 400 Hong Kong dollars.

Low: I used a local, too — a local map. The one from Creative City costs about $7 online and has sharply designed walking maps of six regions of the city, with a bent toward the unusual or creative. In bustling Sham Shui Po, I stopped into a 200-year-old “bonesetter” shop, which, according to the map, used to specialize in treating knife wounds.

Lunch

High: The Italian three-course lunch or the Japanese bento box at Aqua, on the 29th floor of a building overlooking the harbor. Cost: 500 Hong Kong dollars.

Low: The comfortable tables on the roof garden of the IFC mall have a view of the harbor. And you can bring your picnic from any number of options in the mall. I went to City Super, a Whole Foods-ish market, and bought a gluttonous amount of toro salmon and octopus sashimi, plus Japanese beer, for 139 dollars.

Dinner

High: Lung King Heen, the upscale but understated Cantonese restaurant, which has three Michelin stars, on the fourth floor of the Four Seasons. Estimated cost: 2,600 Hong Kong dollars.

Low: For a cheaper, more classic Cantonese dinner, two of McLane’s tour guides met me at family-friendly Ser Wong Fun. We ordered three dishes, starting with a pig’s lung soup, which had an arrestingly intense broth sweetened by dried figs and dates. Stir-fried lotus root with lily bulbs and Chinese celery was fresh and tender. One-third of the bill was 122 dollars.

Nightcap

High: One drink (plus service) at “glamorous but relaxed” Sevva is 200 Hong Kong dollars. The day’s total: 7,129 dollars (about $938), leaving plenty for taxis.

Low: I had over 200 dollars left, even discounting the several subway rides I’d taken. So my friend Conrad Lau joined me for splurgy, celebratory gin and tonics for about 120 dollars at the hip gin bar Ping Pong 129. But then it was back to frugality at Jovie’s Karaoke, a loungey space full of Filipinos and Pakistanis, with free karaoke. A bucket of six San Miguel beers was 100 dollars. My treat. Total: 727.5 dollars (including subways and other minor expenses), or $96.