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Sunset over Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong's towers, seen from the trail on Devil's Peak

Sample journey · 6–8 days

Hong Kong: harbour, ridges and islands

Sheung Wan & Central, the Dragon's Back, the Star Ferry, Kowloon's markets & M+, the Sai Kung geopark, Lantau, Tai O & Cheung Chau

Photo: Sergio Capuzzimati / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Many people spend a couple of days in Hong Kong on the way somewhere else and leave with an impression of towers, neon and shopping malls. This route shows the other side: a city where breakfast begins with steaming bamboo baskets and, an hour later, you can be walking a ridge above the sea. Two nights in old Sheung Wan, three in Kowloon and two on the quiet side of Lantau, linked by the Star Ferry, trams, the MTR and ferries to the islands.

The journey is designed for curious eaters and active travellers, couples or friends, who want both the energy of the city and the surprisingly close wild country around it. The walking is moderate: the Dragon's Back, the coastal trails of Sai Kung and, for those who want more, the climb up Lantau Peak. Heat and humidity here are serious, so hikes are planned for early mornings, leaving afternoons for museums, teahouses and markets. The stays, the pace and how active it gets would be shaped around you.

The route

The journey

  1. Hong Kong airport
  2. Sheung Wan & Central
  3. Dragon's Back
  4. Star Ferry to Kowloon
  5. Yau Ma Tei & Sham Shui Po
  6. Sai Kung & the geopark
  7. Lantau: Ngong Ping & Tai O
  8. Cheung Chau or Lamma
  9. Hong Kong airport (or Macau)
  1. Spiral incense coils hanging from the ceiling of a Hong Kong temple

    01Days 1–2 · Sheung Wan & Central

    Incense, tea and trams

    From the airport the express train reaches Hong Kong Island in about half an hour, and then come the lanes of Sheung Wan, selling dried seafood, tea and traditional medicine. On the first evening, a walk along Hollywood Road to Man Mo Temple, where spiral incense coils hang from the ceiling, and dinner at one of the few surviving dai pai dong. Next morning, dim sum in an old teahouse while the city is still waking up, then the Mid-Levels escalator, Tai Kwun, a former police station turned into an arts and heritage centre, and the design studios of PMQ. In the evening, the Peak Tram funicular up to Victoria Peak as the harbour lights come on.

  2. A walker on a coastal trail above the sea and a beach in Hong Kong

    02Day 3 · The Dragon's Back & the harbour

    A ridge in the morning, a ferry at dusk

    An early start while it's still cool: the MTR and a bus to the trailhead in the southeast of Hong Kong Island. The Dragon's Back is an undulating ridge above the bays of Shek O and Tai Tam, looking out over the South China Sea and its islands; the path is not technical, but steep in places and largely unshaded. It drops through woodland to the beach at Big Wave Bay, where you can swim, with lunch in the village of Shek O. In the afternoon your luggage goes ahead by taxi and you cross to Kowloon on the green Star Ferry, ideally around sunset, as the towers of Hong Kong Island begin to glow.

  3. Temple Street night market in Kowloon, seen from above between tower blocks

    03Day 4 · Kowloon

    Markets, buttons and M+

    The morning starts at the Yau Ma Tei fruit market, liveliest early, and the Tin Hau temple nearby. Then Sham Shui Po: streets of fabric, buttons and ribbon, an electronics market and simple cafés serving rice noodle rolls and silken tofu pudding. In the afternoon, the West Kowloon Cultural District: M+, the museum of visual culture, the Hong Kong Palace Museum and a waterfront park where sunset over the harbour looks different again. In the evening, the Temple Street night market, though for dinner a side street may serve you better.

  4. The Sai Kung waterfront and hills seen from the deck of a boat in the evening

    04Day 5 · Sai Kung & the geopark

    Volcanic columns, and fish by the pier

    From Kowloon it's about an hour to the small town of Sai Kung, the gateway to the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark: at the East Dam of the High Island Reservoir, hexagonal volcanic rock columns rise from the sea, and a boat can take you around rocky islands with sea caves and arches. For the more active, a stretch of the MacLehose Trail and the path to Tai Long Wan, with white beaches and a few village cafés. In the evening you return to the Sai Kung waterfront, where fishing boats sell their catch and the restaurants cook it in front of you.

  5. A boat on the channel of the fishing village of Tai O at sunset, Lantau Island

    05Day 6 · Lantau: Ngong Ping & Tai O

    Up to the Buddha, on foot or by cable car

    The MTR to Tung Chung, then a choice. The Ngong Ping 360 cable car rises over the hills to the Ngong Ping plateau in about 25 minutes; for those who want more, a section of the Lantau Trail over Lantau Peak, Hong Kong's second-highest summit: steep and tiring, with the widest views of the whole route. At the top are Po Lin Monastery and the great bronze Tian Tan Buddha, reached by a few hundred steps. In the afternoon a bus drops down to Tai O, a fishing village of stilt houses, dried fish and shrimp paste, where it's worth staying for sunset. Two nights on Lantau's quiet south side or in Tai O itself.

  6. A pavilion on a hillside above a bay with fish farms on Lamma Island

    06Days 7–8 · Cheung Chau or Lamma

    An island that moves by bicycle

    From Mui Wo, the inter-island ferry crosses to Cheung Chau, an island with no private cars, only bicycles, narrow lanes and the Pak Tai Temple. You can walk the coastal path to the island's southern tip, taste fish balls and mango desserts and, if the dates align in spring, see the famous Bun Festival. If a quiet walk appeals more, choose Lamma instead: the path between the villages of Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan takes about an hour and a half, with seafood waiting by the water. On the last morning, a walk along Lantau's beaches, and the airport is on the same island. To continue, a night or two in Macau, reached by ferry or across the bridge.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Dim sum as the city wakes

    Steaming bamboo baskets, pots of tea and round tables where neighbours gather early in the morning.

  2. 02

    The Dragon's Back

    A ridge above the sea and islands, followed by a swim at Big Wave Bay.

  3. 03

    The Star Ferry at sunset

    A few minutes across the harbour as both shores slowly light up.

  4. 04

    Sunset in Tai O

    Stilt houses, drying fish and a quiet channel after a day in Lantau's mountains.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • With Macau

    With one or two more nights, a ferry or a bus across the bridge takes you from Hong Kong to Macau: Portuguese squares, Cantonese kitchens and Macanese cooking that blends the two.

  • Shorter: six days

    Skip Sai Kung or the island day and visit Lantau on the way to the airport, and the journey fits into six days, though the pace becomes brisker.

  • More walking

    With a day or two more you could walk longer stretches of the MacLehose Trail in Sai Kung, climb Sunset Peak on Lantau or take the Lion Rock trail above Kowloon.

  • As part of a longer Asian journey

    Hong Kong works well as the start or finish of a longer journey, with easy flights on to Japan, South Korea, Vietnam or Singapore.

Practical considerations

  • October to December is generally the most pleasant time; summer is very hot and humid, and roughly May to November typhoons are possible, when ferries, the cable car and hikes may be suspended. We always keep the plan flexible.
  • The hikes are moderate but often steep and unshaded; good footwear, plenty of water and an early start are needed. Lantau Peak is the hardest option and one we suggest only in good weather.
  • Public transport is excellent: the MTR, trams, buses and ferries link almost every place on the route, and luggage is easily sent ahead between stays by taxi.
  • The Ngong Ping 360 cable car sometimes closes for maintenance and ferry timetables change, so we check both before you travel.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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