Best Day Trips from Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a brilliant base for day trips. You can be watching the Big Buddha emerge from the clouds on Lantau, wandering the cobbled lanes of old Macau, or eating seafood on a sleepy outlying island — all within an hour or two of the city, and back in time for dinner. Here are the trips worth your day and how to do each one.

Lantau Island and the Big Buddha

The easiest and most rewarding escape. The giant Tian Tan Buddha sits above Ngong Ping village, reached by a spectacular cable car ride over the hills. Read how to get to the Big Buddha, book the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, and pair it with the fishing village of Tai O for a full, gentle day out.

Macau

An hour by ferry and a world apart: Portuguese colonial squares, baroque church ruins, egg tarts, and the biggest casinos on earth. It is an easy self-guided day, though you will need your passport for immigration. Worth knowing before you go — your Hong Kong Octopus card does not fully work in Macau, so carry some local pataca or Hong Kong dollars.

The outlying islands

For a slower pace, hop a ferry to the outlying islands. Car-free Cheung Chau has a buzzing harbour and beaches; Lamma is all seafood restaurants and easy hiking trails; Peng Chau is tiny and quiet. They are some of the best-value, most relaxing days out in the whole region, and the ferries themselves are half the fun.

Before you set off

Most day trips start with a ferry or the MTR, so sort an Octopus card and check getting around Hong Kong first. Leave early — ferry queues build on weekends — and these all slot neatly into a longer Hong Kong itinerary.