I discovered a stunningly beautiful and super off-the-beaten-path mountain and sea trail in Hong Kong for a one-day trip
Having been to Hong Kong so many times, I’m sharing a day trip route that’s both photogenic and less crowded❗️
✅Highlights
🌸Ride the glass cabin cable car overlooking the mountains and sea (P10)
🌸Authentic Ngong Ping Village Market (P7)
🌸34-meter tall Tian Tan Buddha (P6)
🌸Breathtaking mountain and sea trail (P1)
🌸“Venice of the East” Tai O fishing village, also Hong Kong’s “cat island,” with many cats in the streets and alleys (P8)
✅Route
❶ Morning
Ngong Ping Cable Car Station (next to Tung Chung Station 🚇) → Take Ngong Ping Cable Car (25 minutes) → Ngong Ping Village Market → Tian Tan Buddha → Po Lin Monastery
❷ Afternoon
Take Bus No. 21 to Tai O fishing village → Walk around Tai O fishing village → Visit Tiger Hill Lookout → Take Bus No. 21 back to Ngong Ping and take the cable car back
🌟Refer to our itinerary schedule:
10:00: Ngong Ping Cable Car Station
10:25: Cable car arrives at Ngong Ping Village Market, visit the market, Tian Tan Buddha, Po Lin Monastery
12:00: Lunch at the market
13:20: Take Bus No. 21 from Ngong Ping Village Market to Tai O fishing village (departs at 20 minutes past every hour)
13:30: Explore Tai O fishing village
15:30: Visit Tiger Hill Lookout
16:45: Take Bus No. 21 from Tai O fishing village back to Ngong Ping, then take the cable car back
✅Trip tips
✔️Time arrangement: Cable car operating hours 10:00~18:00, recommended to arrive at the cable car station between 10:00~11:30 to start the trip
✔️Time arrangement: Last bus from Tai O fishing village to Ngong Ping is at 16:45, remember to return before then
✅How to get to the starting point Ngong Ping Cable Car Station
✔️If coming from Shenzhen or Zhuhai, the Cross-Border Island Express bus goes directly there
✔️If coming from within Hong Kong city, take the MTR directly to Tung Chung Station
✔️Exit from Tung Chung Station Exit B and walk 200 meters
✅Photo spots
P1, 3, 4, 11: Tiger Hill Lookout
P2: Tai O heritage hotel 🏨, perfect for afternoon tea by the sea
P5, 10, 18: Ngong Ping Cable Car
P6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16: Ngong Ping Village Market
P13: Tai O fishing village
P9: Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok South Road
Below is a Hong Kong travel guide compiled based on the latest 2025 information, covering pre-trip preparation, transportation, accommodation, attractions, food, and practical tips to help you plan efficiently:
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### **1. Pre-trip Preparation**
1. **Documents and Visas**
- Mainland visitors need to apply for the “Home Return Permit” and valid endorsements (G endorsement for individual travel, L endorsement for group travel). Cross-location application is supported, taking about 7-15 working days, costing 80 HKD.
- At immigration, use the self-service channel, prepare fingerprint and facial recognition, and fill in the “Customs Passenger Fingerprint Service” QR code in advance.
2. **Currency and Payment**
- Most malls and chain stores support Alipay/WeChat Pay, but it’s recommended to exchange a small amount of HKD (about 500-1000 HKD per person) for street snacks, Star Ferry, etc. Exchange rates at border crossings are poor; prioritize booking exchange at mainland banks.
3. **Communication and Electronics**
- SIM card: Recommended to buy “MySIM” card after arrival (33 HKD/month for 50GB), cheaper than international roaming.
- Power adapter: Hong Kong uses British three-pin plugs; bring an adapter or USB charging cables.
4. **Luggage Suggestions**
- Light backpack, sunscreen, sun umbrella (Hong Kong summers are hot and humid), sports shoes (expect a lot of walking). Hotels do not provide toothpaste or toothbrushes, bring your own.
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### **2. Transportation**
1. **Airport to City**
- **Airport Express**: 24 minutes direct to Central, fare about 115 HKD, suitable for time-sensitive travelers.
- **Bus/Taxi**: A-line buses cover main areas at affordable prices; taxis are more expensive (red/blue/green taxis serve different areas).
2. **City Transportation**
- **MTR**: Covers the whole city, recommended to use Alipay “Travel” QR code or buy an Octopus card (150 HKD including deposit, refundable).
- **Special transport**: Star Ferry (4 HKD), tram (2.3 HKD) are great for experiencing city vibes.
- **Ticket options**:
- **One-day pass** (65 HKD): Good for frequent MTR rides within 24 hours, but not valid on Airport Express or Lo Wu station.
- **Airport Express Tourist Ticket** (250-350 HKD): Includes one-way/round-trip Airport Express and 3-day MTR pass.
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### **3. Accommodation Recommendations**
- **Luxury hotels**: Tsim Sha Tsui (The Peninsula), Central (Mandarin Oriental), near shopping and attractions.
- **Budget hotels**: Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei offer good value, recommended “Metropark Hotel Mongkok Hong Kong.”
- **Avoid**: Chongqing Mansions and unlicensed guesthouses, especially for female travelers.
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### **4. Must-visit Attractions and Suggested Itineraries**
1. **Classic route (5 days 4 nights)**
- **Day 1**: Victoria Harbour night view + Star Ferry + Peak Tram (best night view).
- **Day 2**: Disneyland (must-see fireworks) or Ocean Park (animal shows + rides).
- **Day 3**: Mong Kok street snacks + Tsim Sha Tsui shopping (Harbour City, K11).
- **Day 4**: Cheung Chau Island (seafood + beach) or Lamma Island hiking.
- **Day 5**: Central historic district (PMQ) + Lan Kwai Fong nightlife.
2. **Off-the-beaten-path experiences**
- **Sai Wan Swimming Shed**: Sunset photo spot.
- **Shek O Village**: Colorful houses and beach, filming location of “King of Comedy.”
- **Temple Street Night Market**: Affordable night market with Hong Kong movie vibes.
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### **5. Food Recommendations**
- **Must-try at cha chaan teng (tea restaurants)**: Silk stocking milk tea, pineapple bun, wonton noodles (recommended “Mak An Wonton Noodle”).
- **Street snacks**: Curry fish balls, egg waffles, shark fin soup (Mong Kok Fa Yuen Street).
- **Seafood and roasted meats**: Typhoon shelter crab (Lei Yue Mun), Yung Kee Restaurant roast goose.
- **Dessert shops**: Yee Shun Milk Company (double skin milk), Jiajia Dessert (black sesame soup).
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### **6. Shopping Guide**
1. **Cosmetics**: Sa Sa, Bonjour (check expiry dates), counters (Times Square Causeway Bay).
2. **Luxury goods**: Harbour City (most brands), Citygate Outlets (discounts).
3. **Jewelry and watches**: Nathan Road “Gold Street” (Chow Sang Sang, Chow Tai Fook), Emperor Watch & Jewellery (Rolex agent).
4. **Streetwear and sneakers**: Mong Kok Sneaker Street, Tsim Sha Tsui THE FOREST mall.
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### **7. Practical Tips**
- **Smoking ban and fines**: No smoking in public places; eating and drinking in MTR fined 2000 HKD.
- **Customs limits**: Duty-free allowance of 1 liter alcohol, 19 cigarettes, 1.8 kg milk powder.
- **Safety tips**: Keep valuables safe, avoid walking alone in remote areas at night.
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This guide combines core information on transportation, attractions, and food; you can adjust the itinerary based on your personal interests.
The building is very lofty and the view is very breathtaking. It offers a very scenic view of Hong Kong and everything is really really wonderful. A once in a lifetime experience.
It was a very good trip, the photos were very good, and it was really beautiful when the weather was good. It is also a good place to visit Hong Kong. Hong Kong under the blue sky and white clouds is really beautiful. I also bought souvenirs. It was a very satisfying trip!
Skyline 100: Hong Kong narrative poem above the cloud, 360 degrees overlooking the heartbeat of the city 100 floors of Hong Kong Global Trade Plaza, 393 meters above sea level, the "Skyline 100 Hong Kong Observation Deck" with the "eye of the city" attitude, the bustling and gentle view of this mountain and sea city. This is not a simple sightseeing spot, but a three-dimensional narrative about Hong Kong using a high degree of history, deconstructing the city with vision, weaving the future with technology, and presenting a unique cloud memory for every visitor. 1.55 seconds lift off: the first shock of time and space crossing from the world to the cloud into the observation deck, starting with the fastest double-decker elevator in the world. Within 55 seconds, the elevator climbed vertically at a speed of 6 meters per second, and the ear pressure changed slightly. The LED screen in the elevator simultaneously broadcasts the light and shadow short films of Hong Kong's four seasons, from the morning mist of Taiping Mountain to the fireworks of Victoria Harbour, from the fireworks of the tea restaurant to the neon of the office building. The city memory flashed back in the rapid lifting. When the elevator door opened, the 1300 square meters of floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall suddenly unfolded, as if holding the whole of Hong Kong to your palm. At this moment, you are standing in the pupils of the "Pearl of the East". 2.360 degree ring curtain: interpret the three perspectives of Hong Kong Victoria Harbour grand view: the bustling geometric poem facing the side of Victoria Harbour, is the "highlight position" of the observation deck. The spire of the ICC Building is close at hand, forming a "steel canyon" with the Hong Kong Island skyline on the other side: the "toothpicks building" group in the central ring is bitten by precision gears, the IFC twin towers are reflected on the sea, and the Star Ferry is rowing across the silk-like bay like a toy boat. At sunset, the glass curtain wall was turned into a natural color palette, the embers were plated with gold on the building, and the sea was broken and gold jumped. At this time, a photo was a magazine cover-level blockbuster. Mountain City Texture: The philosophy of symbiosis between nature and the city turns to the Kowloon Peninsula, and you can see the true face of Hong Kong's little-known "three-dimensional mountain city": Lion Rock is like a dragon lying across the side, the green ridge line cuts the dense building, the colorful buildings of the rainbow and the cement forest of Ciyunshan Public Housing. The graffiti wall of Lao Longkeng echoes the new landmark M+ Museum. This "high density and gentleness" is the wisdom of Hong Kong's survival with 30% of the land to carry 7.5 million people. The South China Sea is endless: the dialogue field between the city and the sea looks south, the blue of the South China Sea over the horizon, and occasionally a cargo ship slowly sails to the entrance of Victoria Harbour, as if measuring the distance between the city and the world. When the weather is fine, you can even faintly see the outline of Lantau Island, and the Buddha in the Temple of Heaven and the observation deck form a wonderful echo of "God on the earth, God in the sky and earth". III. immersive experience: Cloud multi-dimensional narrative theater space-time telescope: fingertip touch city memory observation deck in the "time-space telescope" is a clever integration of technology and humanities. Through AR technology, just look at a landmark outside the window and the screen will pop up old photos: fishing boats from the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier in the 1960s, Victoria Harbour fireworks that returned to the celebration in 1997, and the art exhibition in the West Kowloon Cultural District in 2020... The past and the present overlap from the same perspective, It is amazing how Hong Kong has changed from a fishing port to an international city in just a hundred years.
It's really convenient for us to get off at the terminal bus terminal from Tsim Sha Tsui by 215X bus. It's a square shopping mall (elements) with signs to Sky100. It's over 7 p.m. Not many people. The elevator goes directly to the 100th floor in a minute without feeling uncomfortable. The night view is beautiful and worth seeing.
Sky100 is located on the 100th floor of the tallest building in Hong Kong (International Commerce Centre). Our trip was scheduled in late February because we wanted to catch the last train of Sky100's New Year activities! I found out online that they would cooperate with the good luck tips suggested by Feng Shui masters during the Year of the Monkey Spring Festival, and set up special New Year's fortune decorations, so I also included this attraction in this blessing itinerary. Arriving at Sky100 before the sun sets, I happened to encounter a bright sunset, which was really beautiful! The west is the best place to watch the sunset, and it is the most suitable time to have a delicious Sky100 afternoon tea. Central in the east is another dazzling scene after nightfall. A little color is added to it, and the picture is full of the joyful atmosphere of the New Year. Sky100 will provide photo shooting services, which are taken by special staff. The photos are taken with the beautiful scenery of Hong Kong as the background, which is beautiful! And the new thing in the second photo is also worth recommending. It is the legendary augmented reality, that is, AR device. Just download the sky100 exclusive application and you can achieve the mini ICC effect shown in the picture.
It's great to look around HK 360 degrees! Ctrip is more suitable for booking tickets. The elevator arrives at the 100th floor very quickly, and the viewing platform has a large space, where there are food, rest and souvenirs to buy. It's good to send postcards and charming stamps with 100 features to friends. It happened to catch up with Liaoning Ship's visit to port, although it was also visible from a distance. Time has not waited to see the night scenery, I believe it will be very beautiful!
The Hong Kong International Trade Center is 393 meters high. Standing on the 100th floor, you can have a bird's eye view of the entire Hong Kong city landscape. It feels like you are in the clouds. It's awesome.