Morning
Land at HKG
Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok. Buy an Octopus card at the arrivals counter before anything else.
Airport Express to Hong Kong Station
Platform sits inside the terminal. Hong Kong Station connects to Central by covered walkway, so you never surface.
Dim sum at Tim Ho Wan, Central
Level 1, MTR Hong Kong Station — the concourse the Airport Express lands in. Open 9 am to 9 pm; the baked barbecue pork buns are the order.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: The Pottinger
74 Queen's Road Central. Boutique rooms on the escalator side of Central; Tai Kwun and Hollywood Road are both uphill on foot.
Lunch at Mak's Noodle
77 Wellington Street, Central — the original shop, open 11:30 am to 9 pm. Wonton noodles in deliberately small bowls; order two and a plate of gai lan.
Central–Mid-Levels Escalator
Boards off Queen's Road Central via Cochrane Street. It runs downhill until 10 am, then uphill until midnight — time it.
Man Mo Temple
124-126 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan. Open 8 am to 6 pm; the hanging incense coils burn for weeks and the smoke is thick.
Tai Kwun
10 Hollywood Road. The old Central Police Station and Victoria Prison; grounds are free and open 8 am to 11 pm.
Evening
Dinner at Yardbird
154-158 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan. Binchotan yakitori, Tuesday to Saturday from 6 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday; book ahead.
Morning
Peak Tram from Garden Road
Lower terminus on Garden Road beside St John's Cathedral. Rebuilt in 2022 with 210-seat cars; buy a timed ticket online.
Sky Terrace 428
Top of the Peak Tower on Peak Road. The open deck at 428 m; go straight up before the tour groups land.
Peak Circle Walk
Lugard Road into Harlech Road. A flat, paved loop right around the summit with the harbour, Lantau and Lamma laid out below.
Afternoon / Day
Lunch at The Peak Lookout
121 Peak Road. A stone cottage with a garden terrace under the trees; opens at noon on weekdays, 8 am at weekends and on public holidays.
Hong Kong Park
Cotton Tree Drive, above Admiralty. Built on the old Victoria Barracks; the Edward Youde Aviary holds over 530 birds. Free.
Tea at LockCha Tea House
Inside Hong Kong Park. All-vegetarian dim sum and a wall of loose-leaf tea; they will brew a flight and talk you through it.
Ding ding tram east
Board at the back and pay the flat fare when you get off — same price however far you ride. Take the front seat upstairs from Admiralty.
Roast goose at Kam's, Wan Chai
226 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai — step off the tram halfway. Goose over rice at the counter, 11:30 am to 9:30 pm; the queue is part of it.
Evening
Dinner at Mott 32
Standard Chartered Bank Building, Des Voeux Road Central. Ask about the 42-day apple-wood Peking duck when you book — it is not a walk-in order.
Morning
Star Ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui
Central Pier 7. Around ten minutes across the harbour for a few dollars on the upper deck — the cheapest good view in Asia.
Clock Tower and the promenade
Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. The 1915 tower is all that survives of the old Kowloon-Canton Railway terminus; walk west along the water.
M+
38 Museum Drive, West Kowloon. Closed Mondays, open to 10 pm on Fridays. The Sigg Collection of Chinese contemporary art is the draw.
Afternoon / Day
Lunch at Australia Dairy Company
47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan. The cha chaan teng benchmark: steamed milk pudding and scrambled egg on toast. Cash, shared tables, no lingering.
Ladies' Market, Mong Kok
Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok. A kilometre of stalls from Argyle Street north; open the haggling at about half the asking price.
Yuen Po Street Bird Garden
Yuen Po Street, Mong Kok. Songbirds in bamboo cages, live crickets sold as feed, and the flower market two streets over.
Evening
A Symphony of Lights
Free, 8 pm every night, best from the waterfront outside the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. Cancelled in heavy rain or typhoon signals.
Temple Street Night Market
Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei — one minute from Yau Ma Tei MTR exit C. Stalls set up mid-afternoon; eat late at the open-air seafood tables.
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Morning
Tung Chung line to Lantau
Board at Hong Kong Station. The cable car terminal is beside the Tung Chung MTR exit, so there is nothing to work out at the far end.
Ngong Ping 360 cable car
Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung. Runs 9 am to 6:30 pm at weekends, 10 am to 6 pm on weekdays; book a slot and pay up for a Crystal Cabin.
Tian Tan Big Buddha
Ngong Ping, Lantau. 268 steps up to the seated bronze. The monastery grounds run 9 am to 6 pm and the kitchen shuts earlier, so climb first and eat after.
Afternoon / Day
Vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Monastery
Ngong Ping. The monastery kitchen serves 11:30 am to 4:30 pm; buy the meal ticket at the counter below the Buddha steps.
Bus 21 down to Tai O
From the Ngong Ping terminus. A slow run of switchbacks down the west side of Lantau — sit on the left for the coast.
Tai O stilt village
Tai O, Lantau. Pang uk houses on stilts over the creek; boatmen at the bridge run short harbour trips looking for pink dolphins.
Tea at Tai O Lookout
Shek Tsai Po Street, inside the converted Old Tai O Police Station. Glass-roofed dining room looking straight out to sea.
Evening
Bus 11 back to Tung Chung
Tai O to Tung Chung by road, then the MTR straight back to Central. Faster than retracing the cable car, and it runs later.
Cheung Chau, Then Home
Morning
Fast ferry from Central Pier 5
Sun Ferry to Cheung Chau: roughly 35 minutes on the fast boat, closer to an hour on the ordinary. Check the last sailing back before you go.
Pak Tai Temple
Pak She Street, Cheung Chau. Built in 1783 and a declared monument; the forecourt is where the bun towers go up at the Bun Festival.
Tung Wan Beach and the Mini Great Wall
Cheung Chau. Cross the island's narrow waist on foot in ten minutes, then take the rock-cut ridge path above the sea.
Afternoon / Day
Seafood lunch on the Praya
Praya Street, facing the ferry pier. Pick from the tanks outside — agree the price by weight before anything goes in the wok.
Cheung Po Tsai Cave
Sai Wan, Cheung Chau. A short sampan hop from the pier; the pirate's hideout is a genuine squeeze, so bring a torch.
Ferry back to Central
Sit outside on the top deck. The island fleet comes in past Lamma with the Hong Kong Island skyline filling the window.
Evening
Last Star Ferry crossing at dusk
Central Pier 7, running until 11:30 pm. Ten minutes to Tsim Sha Tsui and back as the towers switch on. Worth the detour.
Fly out of HKG
Airport Express from Hong Kong Station, a covered walk from Central. Trains run every ten minutes or so late into the night.
