Day trips from Hong Kong: Lantau, the Big Buddha and the islands
Short answer: the city itself is two or three days — the day trips are what fill out a longer stay. There are four kinds, and you pick by what your city days lacked: the icon (Lantau and the Big Buddha), the islands (car-free Cheung Chau, Lamma), the outdoors (Dragon's Back, Sai Kung), and the close half-days (Sha Tin, Stanley).
The icon: Lantau and the Big Buddha
Ride the cable car over the hills to the and — the single most photographed day out of the city. Pair it with the old stilt-house fishing village of , or the long sweep of . It's a full day; book the cable car ahead or expect a queue. ( is out this way too, if that's the trip.)
The islands: leave the cars behind
- — a car-free fishing island a ferry ride from Central: seafood, a temple, rented bikes, a quiet beach. Half a day to a full one.
- — walk the easy trail from Yung Shue Wan to Sok Kwu Wan and reward yourself with a seafood lunch at the far end.
These are the antidote to the density — Hong Kong forgets it's mostly green hills and coastline.
The outdoors: hikes and the back country
- — the famous ridge walk on the island's south-east, ending at for a swim. Half a day, and genuinely close to town.
- — the New Territories "back garden": a seafood town, boat trips to sea caves, and the strange hexagonal rock columns of the . A full day, and the least touristy thing on this list.
The close half-days
For when you only have a morning:
- Sha Tin — the , a hillside stair-climb lined with gold figures, plus the at the bottom.
- — the market and waterfront on the south side, an easy bus over the hill from Central.
(Macau is a ferry away too — but it's a whole other place. Give it its own day, or its own trip.)
The mistake to avoid
Cramming a day trip into a city day. Lantau, the islands and Sai Kung each want the whole day to earn the travel — squeeze one into an afternoon and you've paid the journey without the reward. Decide how many days you've got to spend out first, then match the trip to the mood.
Sorting day trips around your city days by hand — which one when, the timing — is hours of it. We do about 80% of that for you, in roughly a minute. Tell us your dates and we'll fit the day trips around your city days, each shaped as its own day. A solid first cut you can run with.
A full day-by-day plan in about a minute — free, no account.
✨ Plan my trip