The Best Day Trips within Hong Kong
When visiting Hong Kong, due to its towering architecture and densely populated territories, after spending a number of Days in the City, it is possible to feel overwhelmed.
Fear not, thankfully Hong Kong is also host to a various selection of beautiful reservoirs and outback scenic paradises allowing you to relax and escape from the crowds. Simply put, there is much more to Hong Kong than most realise.
In this Guide I will be sharing a number of destinations all within Hong Kong well worth your time visiting on a Day Trip from the City. If you’re spending a period of time in Hong Kong, I’ve also written an accompanying Travel Guide regarding visiting Hong Kong as a whole, which I will link here.
Getting Around
Transportation around Hong Kong is very well connected, whether you’ll be using the MTR (Mass Transit Railway), Buses, Ferries or even Taxis, they will get you where you want to be. For easiest use of Public Transport, I suggest purchasing an Octopus Card asap when arriving in Hong Kong and loading it up with Money. A simple tap on and off system for the Metro and Buses makes for easy use. The Octopus card can be used for convenience purposes and in Restaurants too, and they are purchasable at all MTR Stations.
Sai Kung
If laid back vibes and relaxing seaside strolls is your cup of Tea, then Sai Kung is the place to be. Sai Kung, also known as the outback or back garden of Hong Kong, is renowned for its beautiful scenery and the combination of various islands and beaches alongside its famous fishing villages and numerous hiking trails.
Within the calm and peaceful Sai Kung Town itself, you will find local fisherman at work straddled along the pier catching and selling their latest grabs from the Sea below, giving you a real insight into life out here away from the big city. Naturally, along the shorefront of the town a large selection of restaurants offer a wide range of seafood dishes and delicacies for all to try. If you’re a fan of seafood, you’ll be in heaven.
Wandering through the town which is full of shops, food offerings and markets of all sorts, you’ll soon gather and realise the energy out here is much slower than in the city. Offering a nice change of pace, you can take your time taking in the local way of life spending the day taking it easy at your own pace. Walking along the shoreline you can see just how beautiful the great outdoors really is, and it’s here you can also find an offering of opportunities to get offshore including trips to the outer islands and other activities such as Kayaking and Snorkelling.
Located on the east coast and in the New Territories region, Sai Kung is easily reachable by a combination of MTR and Bus. Although reachable by minibus from a few different MTR Stations, I found getting the MTR on the Kwun Tong Line to Choi Hung Station and then getting either the 1A minibus or Bus no.92 the quickest and most efficient way of reaching Sai Kung.
Shek O
Believe it or not, Hong Kong is also home to a range of incredible reservoirs, rugged mountain ranges, and stunning golden sand beaches. Located at the very back of the south eastern side of Hong Kong Island, Shek O is an area where all three of these wonderful landscape features thrive and survive. Literally translated into “Rocky Bay“, Shek O gives you the option of exploration and relaxation. To reach Shek O you will once again need to take a combination of MTR and Bus. First, take the dark blue Island Line to Shau Kei Wan Station on the MTR, and then from there you will need to take the Bus Route no.9 or the Minibus down to Shek O.
Starting with Shek O Beach, the beach itself is a beautiful place to slow things down and relax away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The white golden sand flourishes against the incoming waves, and the seamless calmer way of life down in these parts bares forth for all to see. Alongside the beach there is also numerous refreshment opportunities with plenty of little shops and a number of restaurants to choose from, as well as BBQ pits for you to cook your own Food from scratch. Things on the beach heat up pretty quickly, therefore remember to keep applying Sunscreen regularly if you plan on topping up the tan laying on the beach, because unlike in my experience, you don’t want to end up burnt.
Right next to the beach is Shek O Village. The village itself is quite small, however it showcases a further array and a variety of different restaurants and stores. Still worth taking the time to visit, the village is also home to a number of small temples and other hidden features ready to be explored. Although it won’t take much time, I found it a nice break to wander through in-between relaxing on the beach.
If you like Hiking and outdoor adventure, Shek O has it in abundance. Featuring numerous mountain ranges and the opportunities for breathtaking views, The Dragons Back is a popular Hiking trail in the area. Starting from Shek O Road near to Tei Wan Village, the route passes through and across Shek O Peak which offers breathtaking views out towards Shek O and the shore, with the trail ending at Big Wave Bay. The route itself is graded at moderate in difficulty, is around 8.5km long, and takes on average 4 hours to complete. Also as an added option, on Dragons Back you have the opportunity to go Paragliding whilst there.
Tai O
Now we come to possibly my favourite place in the whole of Hong Kong, which is Tai O. A fishing village located on the west side of Lantau Island, this location offers a remarkable cultural insight into the history and traditional lifestyle of Hong Kong from days gone by. Known as the ‘Venice of Hong Kong’, the village is known for its houses on stilts amidst and above the meandering waterways and canals below.
Similar to Venice, this distinctive way of life in part is what makes Tai O so special and unique, forming a formidable and close grouped community for those who live there. Featuring endless routes and pathways to explore, I’d suggest starting from the very front of the village at the pier and bus terminal area and working your way across, down and around from there. Divided on either side by the Tai Chung and Sun Ki bridges, each alley and path found offers something new and exciting to pursue and explore.
Within the village you can find an ever increasing amount of local vendors and restaurants offering their services for you to enjoy and discover. Growing each time I’ve visited Tai O, the increase in independent outlets here is a reflection of the popularity and public knowledge of Tai O from the tourists who come here.
Arguably the best way to view the true scale and size of Tai O is by taking a boat tour through and around the canals of the village. From viewing Tai O from the angle of a boat, you will get to see the way of life and culture from a local perspective on the water. Local fisherman are a common sight around here, and this is the best way to truly experience how they go about their day-to-day activities.
There are numerous ways to reach Tai O, either by Ferry or Bus. From Tung Chung MTR Station at the end of the Tung Chung line, you can catch the no.11 bus to Tai O. I’ve never taken this option, but I‘ve heard the route isn’t for the faint hearted as it winds and weaves its ways through the mountains of Lantau Island. Alternatively, and my favourite route once again from Tung Chung is first taking the taking the Ngong Ping Cable Car to Ngong Ping Village, (which itself is fun to explore), and then boarding bus no. 21 to Tai O. Although this route is more expensive, it offers amazing views across Lantau Island and Hong Kong Airport, which personally I think is worth the money to invest in and explore. Lastly, you can take a ferry from Central Ferry Pier to Mui Wo on Lantau Island, where from there you can catch the no.1 bus to Tai O. A slightly slower option, however this route once again offers scenic and panoramic views of Lantau Island and the rest of Hong Kong.
These three areas are only a few of the options available within Hong Kong which are easily accessible, and ready to be explored on a day trip out of the city. Further options catching the Ferry to Lamma Island or Macau, or even going across to visit Shenzhen in China for the day or more, although I believe the visa required is only available to certain nationalities, and eligible foreign visitors may apply for a Shenzhen 5-Day Special Economic Tourist Visa on arrival at the border crossing. For this I would recommend doing research into the requirements first.
As mentioned earlier, there is much more than meets the eye to Hong Kong, many think of it as a towering business city and not much more, but look beneath the surface and there is an incredible amount more to see and explore.