Lantau island on own

On our first day in Hong Kong I was thinking of doing Lantau Island on our own using public transport. We stay overnight on the first port day in Hong Kong and disembark on the 2nd day.

Is this doable or am I being too ambitious. We have a further 3 nights in Hong Kong but they will be 24, 25, 26 of december so not really sure if that would be the best time to do this day trip.

If it is possible any ideas or suggestions regarding the best route to take.

Thanks in advance

Q for OP - what is on your bucket/wish list of things to do/see on Lantau Island ? on day of ship arrival into HK - on the dates you've given. It's a long holiday weekend and in the case of HK, X'mas is recognized & celebrated in a festival mode, it will be packed with lots of visitors coming over from mainland, both with tour groups & independent travelers.

If you are comfortable, go on day 1 or 12/23 as it would not be as bad. Ship is docking at KCTC if I'm not mistaken, it's easy to take a PMB (public mini bus) to the nearby MTR station, buy the tourist train/bus pass or Octopus card (widely accepted for debit payment at 7-11's, McDonalds & many local businesses) and ride the train (you will need to transfer onto the correct lines) out to Lantau - Tung Chung Station would be your destination. From there, you can transfer to the island bus routes, PMB or taxis to get around, etc.

If you end up visiting places like Tai O, the old fishing village for lunch or early dinner before leaving - you can consider taking a ferry back to the city on the H.K. island side, finish up the evening with options & choices, then return to the ship for overnight. (Keep in mind MTR isn't 24/7 and basically services will be on its last run around midnight - buses & PMB and taxis run all night long or 24/7 & are inexpensive)

Public transport system are visitor's friendly and signage/voice announcement are mostly bilingual English/Chinese & easy to use/follow - and if need/want WiFi access to use Maps, etc. - local tourism board has special visitor's prepaid Sim cards on sale, easy to activate & use - for about $15 USD, good for short-stay visitors & can be refilled after heavy usage ... in addition to numerous options & variety of plans being offered.

To start & kick up things a bit in brainstorming on what to do & where, etc. - I suggest skimming thru this thread, from not too long ago & come back with more specific questions ... lots of expertise lurking here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2338419

We are arriving on 20th and disembark on 21st but are going to Macau the first couple of days. I do want to see the fishing village, as well as the Budda.

Thanks for your response it was helpful.

Gotcha - here's one of the many well written DIY Lantau day trip - very easy to do. But, make sure you check the weather & NP 360 cable car status (as most tourists really wanted to just ride that ride/down the mountain for the scenery as planes take off & land at the nearby HKG int'l airport ... on a clear day, you can see mainland China in the distance. Windy conditions, maintenance & other operating factors do sometimes result in the suspension of cable car operations all day) http://www.thewholeworldisaplayground.com/how-to-hong-kong-big-buddha-lantau-public-transport/

Depending on your timing, you might want to consider the tour in reverse - once you reach Tung Chung MTR, take the air-conditioned bus out to Tai O Fishing Village first, it's about 1 hour ride and walk around, take pix & maybe do a seafood lunch at one of the restaurants on the waterfront. Or, if you are leaving from town, take the MTR to Central & take the ferry out to Tao O directly, it's a scenic ride & see the true farming & countryside and lookout for herds of abandoned cows along the roads. From there, you can take the bus (there's also a PMB route to go up to Ning Ping Village) ... the shops & stores are just behind the parking/bus/taxi terminal with clear signage. It's another 15 minutes of walking across/along the path toward the Big Budda statue on the top (beware, lots of steps/stairs to climb !!!)

Making sure you have good & clear weather on the morning of, before leaving the city, is the key - late December is considered winter & can often be windy, chilly but "cold" to locals - many will be dressed in downs, wool weathers & the whole 9 yards when temp's are 10 degrees C or dipping below 50 degrees F - rare but possible to get near freezing & frost on the mountain tops as these are some of the highest elevations in HK.

Walk back down to the Village & you will likely find the lines for the 360 Cable car to be much shorter, there's really no need to pay extra for the optional glass bottom compartment cars or your own, ride it to come down over the hillside (sometimes, you will see hikers below on the trail) and soon, you will see the satellite town of Tung Chung ahead - from there, you can walk a short distance to take the MTR to "town"

Optionally, from Tung Chung's cable car terminal, look for Cityflyer buses - express bus Route # E11 (it runs between Asia-Expo, with stops @ Tung Chung & will get you to the Macau ferry terminal in Central, Exchange Square (Star Ferry & Airport Express) and Admiralty Station/Queensway (MTR Station) etc. toward Tin Hau @ Causeway. http://www.nwstbus.com.hk/routesearch.aspx?t=1467207736725&intLangID=1

The MTR and Cityflyer have free mobile apps that enable you to do quick & easy route search & plan your trips on the go, download those before the US and there are lots of free WiFi hotspot all over HK to use (and, it always work on the concourse level of the MTR stations). If you are going to be there for a week or so, I highly recommend getting a local prepaid Sim card with 4G data, many of them will roam/continue with services in Macau at no extra or minimal surcharges - inexpensive, perhaps just $20 to $25 USD for 7+ days and easily refilled if you exhausted your generous data allowance.

Have done this trip - first by ferry to Lantau - Bus to the Buddha and then Cable Car to the MTR and back to Hongkong. get yourself a Senior Oyster card if you qualify and you will travel for pennies / cents. You can even get any balance refunded before you leave.

We took the public transportation from HK and just loved the trip.

The cable car ride was amazing and the Big Buddha one of our trips highlights

When you are at the Big Buddha make sure you visit the hall of the 10,000 gold buddhas just to the left of the statue. Just ask someone to show you where it is. This is a working monastery so this room full of gold buddhas is where the Monks pray.

get yourself a Senior Oyster card if you qualify ...

Arrh, LOL not "Oyster" but Octopus for seniors :p

Yuen Long in N.T. (reachable by light rail & buses is another off-the-beaten path town to visit) is now better know for its marsh wetlands but used to famous for farmed fresh oysters on the banks of the Pearl River, but I wouldn't touch them with a pair of silver chopsticks, as the waters are industrial mineral polluted. Regardless, it's best to make sure that they are well cooked or deep fried instead of eating raw oysters in HK.

Imported oysters are fine but they aren't exactly cheap - a fine seafood buffet at upscale hotel dinner buffet (not even Michelin star category) can easily set you back $75 to $100 USD per person with 10% gratuity added (no extra tipping needed) Speaking of seafood, be careful with ordering those whole fish in the tank ... prices displayed are typically per oz. and not necessary per pound or kg. Not unusual to pay $150 or $200 USD and up for a fancy graded sea brass & alike, even in places like Tai O - very "competitive" compared to retail dining prices in Vancouver BC, San Francisco, Sydney & New York.

thanks for all the good advice

much appreciated.

On our first day in Hong Kong I was thinking of doing Lantau Island on our own using public transport. We stay overnight on the first port day in Hong Kong and disembark on the 2nd day.

 

Is this doable or am I being too ambitious. We have a further 3 nights in Hong Kong but they will be 24, 25, 26 of december so not really sure if that would be the best time to do this day trip.

 

If it is possible any ideas or suggestions regarding the best route to take.

Thanks in advance

Lantau Island is easy. Metro there, then either get the cable car (not running when we were there) or the bus up to the Big Buddha. We loved it.

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