2 days hidden highlights of Hong Kong

Travel Tips

1. Take a ferry to Lamma Island for a half day trip to check out the super chilled small villages, take a very easy walk across the island and eat some great seafood.  Lamma has a far more chilled out hippy vibe compared to HK Island, yet is only a 30min ferry ride from Central with ferries leaving roughly every 30mins from Pier 4 and for only HK$16 (USD2).  Lamma has two ferry spots – Sok Kwu Wan (West side and slightly more developed) and Yueng Shue Wan (East side and less developed) – ferry timetable here http://www.hkkf.com.hk/index.php?op=timetable&style=en .  Aim for Sok Kwu Wan, have a wander around the narrow streets with the little local shops and fishing spots, and then make your way along the family walk which connects the two ferries.  The Family Walk is around 5km / 3miles, takes only around an hour, very easy except for a brief 5min steep part, well signposted and allows you to see the beaches, small villages, mountains and small coves of the island.  When at Yueng Shue Wan, get some seafood from the various restaurants there – I’d recommend the Rainbow Restaurant as it is always good, plus they give you the option of taking their private ferry back to HK Island (Aberdeen), or just take the basic ferry back to central.  Nice fun half day and bear in mind that getting the ferry there gives you just as good views of HK Island as you would get with the Star Ferry

2. Take in some of the walking trails that are right in the middle of HK Island.  It always amazes me how many paths and trails there are right in the centre of HK Island that are flat, tree covered, not busy and with world class views.  Three in particular I would highly recommend: 1. Luggard Road – when visiting The Peak, get away from the crowds and walk around the 3.5km flat Luggard Road loop that starts and finishes at the Peak .  Better views than The Peak as you can see HK harbour, plus all around the rest of the island.  It also lets you easily see some of the wonderful jungle plants along the way, in particular a huge hanging Indian Rubber Tree.  2. Bowen Road – taking you from Central area to Happy Valley with regular views of the whole of HK harbour, this is a favorite with runners in HK and my personal favourite.  Start where Magazine Gap Road and Bowen Road meet and walk to where Bowen Road meets Stubbs Road.  3km, completely flat, most of it with no cars.  3. Blacks Link – superb views of Victoria Harbour, but also with views of the majority of the South Side of the Island.  Has the added bonus of being even quieter than the other two, although a little steeper just at the beginning.  Start at Wan Chai Park, walk along the clear signs for Blacks Link, finish at HK Cricket Club.  3km in total, around 80m / 260ft ascent

3. Visit Deep Water Bay beach and walk along the sea front.  It’s kind of crazy that a city as developed in places as Hong Kong can have such a beautiful beach within 5km / 3miles of city centre.  You can jump in a cab from Central, cross over to the south side of the island and be at Deep Water Bay Beach within 12mins – that’s pretty unique, especially considering that when you’re at the beach you’re surrounded by mainly the jungle and with views out towards the undeveloped Middle Island.  So, assuming nice weather, head down to chill out at the beach and make sure to try Coconuts Restaurant on the beach and take the gorgeous walk from Deep Water Bay to Repulse Bay along the seafront.  You’ll genuinely be amazed you’re so close to Central

4. Hike or boat up to Tai Long Wan.  In my opinion, HK’s most beautiful beach for both sand quality, water quality and surroundings.  It really is stunning as you walk over the nearby headland to see the two main beaches with Sharp Peak looming over them.  Not for the first time, you’ll be just amazed that you’re in HK.  Getting there and back you’ve got 2 options: road or sea.  For road – either take a taxi direct to the Sai Wan Pavilion inside Sai Kung National park, or a bus to the entrance of the National Park (Sai Kung Country Park Visitor Centre – 45/60mins from Central) and then taxi from there to the pavilion (15mins).  Must be a taxi as Ubers are not allowed in the park.  Once there, it’s an hour walk down to the main beach of Ham Tim.  For sea, take one of the speed boats from Sai Kung Public Pier, which you can reach in 45mins from Central.  Takes around 30mins and HK$120 / US$15 per person.  Can get a little bumpy as you get towards Tai Long Wan, but only for 10mins or so, and along the way you’ll see the UNESCO World Heritage rock formations that hug the coast.  My suggestion is to take the taxi to the Sai Wan Pavilion, walk to Ham Tim as you pass by some of the small beaches and villages, chill out on the beach, walk over to the longer Tai Long Wan beach (just around the headland from Ham Tim), and then make your way back via speed boat to Sai Kung Town for some food in one of the seafront seafood restaurants.  If looking for a bit more adventure when up in Tai Long Wan, the nearby rockpools are fun and the climb up to Sharp Peak (3 hours round trip) is well worth it.  I could write all day about Tai Long Wan, but won’t – instead, Sassy does a great summary here https://www.sassyhongkong.com/whats-on-hk-tai-long-wan-guide-beach-eat-drink-camping/

5. Hiking the Dragon’s Back and ending up at Shek O beach.  The Dragon’s Back is the final stage of the HK Trail and has some of the most beautiful scenery on the island.  You’ll finish up in Shek O which is a gorgeous village right on far corner of HK Island, home to a lovely beach and various surprisingly decent restaurants.  No need to do the whole thing (which is 7.2km / 4.5miles and ends up in Big Wave Bay).  Instead, get a taxi to start off where Shek O Road meets Cape Collinson Road.  There you’ll find some steep stairs that take you up to what is shown on google maps as HK Trail sec.8 Public Toilet.  From there, just follow the directions along the ridgeline towards Shek O.  You’ll eventually head back down to Shek O Road as what is shown on google maps as the Dragon’s Back Public Toilet.  From there get a bus (or passing taxi) to Shek O – they come by very regularly.  There’s a few other options for how to do the hike – you could for example hike all the way to Deep Wave Bay or start at the Dragon’s Back Public Toilet and walk back on yourself – but I recommend the above as it doesn’t loop back on itself and you get to enjoy Shek O

6.  South side beaches and restaurants of Lantau Island.  You’ll most probably visit Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery.  If visiting, I’d really recommend the south beaches of Pui O and Cheung Sha – the beaches are lovely, the surroundings simply stunning (especially Pui O) and both have some gorgeous spots for enjoying the beachside restaurants.  Try Bathers on Cheung Sha, which is very good, or Treasure Island Beach Club (formerly Mavericks) for a very chilled beach shack vibe.  Biggest tip – getting taxis and / or MTR to get to the Big Buddha and Tung Chung area makes sense.  But, if visiting South Lantau, get the ferry from Mui Wo.  Much nicer and you have the added bonus of getting some of the world class views as you enter HK harbour

7. Ocean Park Theme Park.  Its surprisingly good! And with an amazing setting sat on top of the headland on the south side of the island.  Plenty of rides, animals, aquariums, cable cars, things to do.  You can also wander down to Deep Water Bay to chill out on the beach once finished.  Just make sure to get there early before the day tourists from mainland China arrive

8.  Eat at one of the local Cooked Food Markets.  HK has some of the best food in the world, but it doesn’t really have the same street food vibe that some of the nearby South East Asian countries do.  Yes they have the Temple Street night market and a few others nearby, but they’re fairly touristy.  The places where the locals actually go for their cheap food tend to be nearby neighbourhood restaurants, or . . . the Cooked Food Markets – 6 story buildings in all of the main areas that have the first floors selling produce and the top floor as a group of restaurants selling very cheaply to anyone.  It really is a mix of locals and increasingly expats who see great value in some of the restaurants.  Jump in to any of them, but I’d in particular recommend the North point Cooked Food Market (typically Chinese food and can get fun / rowdy) and the Sheung Wan Market & Cooked Food Centre (more variety with a good Italian and Indian)

9. Taking on one of Hong Kong’s more challenging hikes.  HK has a series of well laid out, long hikes that take in some of the most breath-taking scenery.  There are some which are only for lunatics, such as the 100km / 62mile  (including 6.2km / 20,000ft of incline) Maclehose Trail that goes East to West across HK and is raced annually over one day in November.  Others include the Lantau Trail (70km on Lantau Island) and Wilson Trail (78km South to North of HK), but my clear recommendation is the Hong Kong Trail which snakes 50km / 31miles across HK Island from The Peak in the West to finish by the beautiful beach of Big Wave Bay in the East and showcases some of the best views that HK Island has to offer.  It has some hard parts (especially the climb up to Mount Butler in the middle and the Dragon’s Back at the end), but it is very manageable in a day typically taking 10/11 hours (start at 7am and be in time for swimming and sundowners at 6pm), 66k steps and 315 flights climbed equivalent. Try to avoid during summer unless very fit and, even if you need to stop, there are opportunities to exit the trail every few kms / miles.  Give it a go – a great challenge to combine with your visit to HK

10. Just getting lost in the concrete jungle!  Most people arrive in HK and want to systematically work through all the famous things, which is understandable and I’ve written a post on how to get the most out of these experiences in this travel entry – 2 days for the famous highlights of Hong Kong.  But one of the best things about HK, and indeed any city, is wandering into areas where you can see the local people living their normal lives, in this case often in an impossibly high concrete jungle.  Some nice spots to start from and get lost around would be Kennedy Town / Sai Ying Pun / Sheung Wan area on the island and in Mongkok around the Flower Market

Broader tips:

• First things first – The Protests.   Whilst you will have seen Hong Kong in the press a lot the past years, mainly with it looking like it’s on fire, HK is not in the slightest bit dangerous.  In fact, it will almost certainly be safer than where you are coming from.  The protests were politically focused with no danger to visitors, and are now over.  A National Security Law was introduced in 2020 that effectively banned all protests.  The new law is immensely sad for many people living in HK who thought HK could be something different to mainland China, but day-to-day life hasn’t materially changed and the experience of visiting certainly hasn’t.  Sack off HK because you aren’t passing through / have other plans.  Don’t rule it out based on fears of safety
• Where to stay.  This completely depends on what you’re looking for and how much you’re prepared to spend.  HK covers all options.  Just 2 tips.  1. HK is a pretty small place.  The key attractions of the harbour, Peak, Markets etc are all within around 30mins subway ride of each other, so you won’t completely screw yourself if a bit out the way.  That being said, for convenience, I’d suggest, on the island staying within the range of Sheung Wan (in the west) and Causeway Bay (in the East) on the Island Line MTR and, for Kowloon, anywhere around Tsim Sha Tsui or Jordan MTR stations. 2. I would in particular recommend staying somewhere in the Soho area, just because the vibe is so much fun, super close to all the highlights and with wonderful variety of restaurants nearby
• Island / Dark Side.  You’ll hear a lot of the expats in HK (known locally as Gwei Los – white ghosts  . . . in a kind of nice way) refer to Kowloon as the dark side.  This is basically anything not on the main island or any of the other islands – so, anything on the mainland – and plays into the joke that typically expats only venture between Soho, Wan Chai and the airport.  Plenty of nice places on the dark side to stay and of course many of HK’s highlights
• Getting around.  Very very easy.  Just get an Octopus Card, which can be used on all public transport and allows you to refund whatever you don’t spend.  MTR (subway) and ferries are very easy to navigate and taxis are everywhere.  Two points on taxis – 1. There are 3 colours.  Red is for the Island and Kowloon (where you will be spending 99% of your time); Green is for the New Territories (basically all the stuff north of the busiest bits of HK); and Blue (only on Lantau Island).  Just stick with the reds.  2. The red taxis will basically take you anywhere, but they are very particular about whether you will be planning to cross Victoria Harbour or not.  Most taxi ranks will make it clear if they are crossing the harbour or not; and if you are flagging a taxi down and want to cross the harbour do a wavy sign with your hands.  Don’t get grumpy with them if they refuse to take you across the harbour – it’s a well known local way of doing things.  Plus they’ll most likely just shout back at you in Cantonese.  Uber is also widely used
• Eating.  There are thousands of restaurants in Hong Kong and the relentless competition keeps the standards high.  Biggest tip is to avoid the super touristy areas (you’ll just get overcharged and be surrounded by fellow tourists) and try Soho (basically everything within a few blocks of the escalator and between Wellington Street and Caine Road) and the restaurant buildings I’ve mentioned in #10 above
• Drinking.  You’ll pretty much find bars everywhere in HK, but the main areas are:
  • Lan Kwai Fung.  Party central and, well, very central.  Basically the area around D’Aguillar Street
  • Wan Chai.  Traditionally known as the seedy end of town and synonymous with hooker bars.  Don’t let that put you off – many of the places are still great fun whether you are looking for ladies of the night or not.  Try Amazonia first for live music and atmosphere
  • Soho – I’ve mentioned it a few times.  Has heaps of bars as well as restaurants
  • Knutsford Terrace on the Kowloon side.  You’ll see far more local HKers here, but still very accommodating for tourists
• Books – its always great to know a little bit about a place before you visit.  To add a bit of fun to the learning, I highly recommend Taipan by James Clevell.  Historical fiction telling the story of the founding of HK, the various Treaties of Nanking that made HK so important and just generally a great read