We have a 3 day stop over in Hong Kong in January and would like to visit the out islands. Is this something easily explored on our own or should we go on a tour? We are in our mid 50's and usually don't do tours. An Island Hopping Pass on the ferry looks good but don't know anything about it.

I absolutely loved Cheung Chau island. We took the ferry over, spent the afternoon wandering the small island, and had a fantastic seafood lunch (fresh grouper) at one of the tiny restaurants along the waterfront. It was a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.
Lantau Island was also enjoyable; I went hiking there and climbed the steps to the monestary...this is much more physical. (but that's what i was looking for). I haven't been to Lantau since they opened up the Disney park, though.

Love Cheung Chau seeing the pirates caves.
Lamma is our favourite. We walked from Yung She Wan to Sok Kwu Wan and then had a huge seafood lunch and lots of Chinese tea to wash it down at one of the restaurants there.
We're off there for a 3 day stopover in March and can't wait!

Thank You. I didn't realize Disney was on Lantau. Does that make the ferries quite busy?

I live in Hong Kong. You do NOT need to take a tour for Cheung Chau, IMO. It is a tiny island and it is virtually impossible to get lost. Just take a ferry out, walk around the little village, see the beach and the temple and have a meal if you want. For ferry schedules, take a look at http://www.nwff.com.hk, click on "Ferry Schedule" and then " Local Service" and then "Central – Cheng Chau". The ferry pier is just west of the main Star Ferry pier on the Hong Kong Island side. I would avoid going on a Sunday if you can, as it is most crowded then. A good restaurant there is New Baccarat Seafood Restaurant, 9A Pak She Praya St, tel 852/2981 0606. You really don't need a reservation unless maybe on a Sunday afternoon when the weather is really nice. If you haven't already seen it, some info on the island can be found at http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/...lk_walk5.jhtml.

For Lantau, most people take the subway/MTR to Disney as it is a stop on the line, so you will not find ferries crowded in terms of a Disney crowd. However, if you go to Lantau on a Sunday, you will find it crowded with people going up to the Buddha or to walks on the island, so if you can, I would avoid going on a Sunday. Saturdays will be a bit crowded, but not nearly as much as Sundays. For ferry schedules, go to Ferry Schedule" and then " Local Service" and then choose "Central – Mui Wo". (FYI, the airport is also on Lantau, it is a huge island, much larger than the island of Hong Kong.)

I am kind of of two minds about Lantau, esp if you only are there for a few days and have never been to Hong Kong before. To commit to a trip to the Buddha on Lantau will take a good bit of the day, typically 4-6 hours or so. I personally think the Buddha itself is not that interesting, and if you are going to other parts of Asia you will see lots more interesting sites in terms of temples and Buddhas. Lantau does have some great walking (which almost no tourists do anyway), however, there are some really good walks on Hong Kong Island itself that are much easier to get to. If you want to do a walk and the Buddha that is a good combo. There s a very good and easy walk DOWN from the Buddha to the village of Tai O, which IMO is much nicer than taking the bus. This is a very easy, mostly downhill walk which will give you some really fantastic sea views. It will take about 4-5 hours, so you need to commit to the time, but is a great walk and not challenging. This is the Lantau Trail stages 4, 5 and 6, these are marked, follow the signs.

As of about October if all goes well, there will be a cable car running up to the Buddha, to get there you will need to take the MTR to the Tung Chung stop (just before the airport). This would be an interesting and quite scenic way to get up to the Buddha. You would then either take the cable car back down, or you can take the bus down to Tai O (or walk to Tai O) and a bus over to Mui Wo and the ferry back (or a bus to Tung Chung and take the MTR back). This means you would only take the ferry one way (or not at all), but all in all, you are still committing to half a day or more for the trip.

I would not bother to have lunch in the vegetarian restaurant at the Buddha, the food is not that good really and there are many other better restaurants in Hong Kong. If you want to help the monks, make a donation.

I am not such a fan of Lamma, I guess I just think there are such great walks with city or stunning sea views ON Hong Kong island that you don't need to go to Lamma. The backside of Hong Kong Island is really quite rural and you would not know that 7 million people are living on the other side. Also I think the seafood restaurants on Lamma are just OK, and are quite touristy. It just seems that you end up spending more on a meal there than you should, and are always being pressed to take a whole fish or something like that even if you only have a small party. I would rather take visitors on a good walk around the Peak or do the Dragon's Back walk to Shek-O on Hong Kong Island and have a really good meal someplace like the Black Sheep or the Thai/Chinese place, or go over to Stanley and go someplace like the Boathouse. There is an excellent easy downhill walk from the Peak to Abderdeen that would also be a good choice, and you can have lunch at the restaurant on top of the floating Jumbo (much better than the Chinese restaurant inside the Jumbo). Black Sheep Restaurant, 452 Shek O Village, Tel: 2809 2021. Shek O Chinese and Thailand Seafood Restaurant, 303 Shek O Village, Tel: 2809 4426. The Boathouse, 86–88 Stanley Main Street, Stanley Tel: 2813 4467. Top Deck at the Jumbo (http://www.peakcafe.com/TOP_DECK/v_top_deck.asp. You could hire a little boat to take you around Aberdeen harbour afterwards. Directions for Dragon's Back walk are at http://www.hkcrystal.com/hiking, click on "Recommended Walks" and then click on "Dragon's Back. The whole walk takes just under 3 hours, but you can cut out some parts by skipping the beginning or end and take a taxi or bus. This is a very helpful walking website generally.

A ferry trip just out and around the islands is nice, and other than Cheung Chau, you don't have to necessarily get off at any of them, and in January is quite pleasant in the winter sunshine. If you want to see an active temple, consider going to the Wong Tai Sin temple in Kowloon which is the fortune tellers temple. You can do the joss-stick thing or visit one of the dozens of fortune tellers in the "mall" of fortune tellers next to the temple. The temple itself is interesting and almost always full of worshippers. There is a little info on it at http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attr...sin_temple.htm. It is very easy to find, just take the MTR to the Wong Tai Sin stop, take Exit Door B 3 and follow the signs, the temple is right at the stop.

Great information Cicerone.
Noting what you say about restaurants on Lamma.

Sorry, another interesting temple that is easy to get to would be the temple at Repulse Bay. This would be on the way to Stanley and is a nice stop off on the way out or back. It is on Repulse Bay Beach, a very pretty wide curving beach. Take the 6 and/or 6A bus up and over the hills and down into Repulse Bay for a thrilling ride for about a US Dollar. Sit upstairs and in front for the best views and thrills. Alight at Repulse Bay (hard to miss the huge curving sweep of the bay as you come down into it), go to the beach, turn right and go to the end of the beach where the temple is located. There are some very casual restaurants here (have not eaten at any) or if you want a more elegant meal in old colonial-splendor go across the street to the Repulse Bay shopping center and have lunch or dinner at the Verandah. http://therepulsebay.com/restaurants.html

You could stop at Repulse Bay before or after a trip to Stanley or Shek-O.

Thank You so much Cicerone for all the great info. It is always nice to hear from someone who lives in the area. This is our 30th Anniversary trip and we are really looking forward to it.

Cicerone, you mentioned the Verandah. I never made it there when the hotel still existed but I have read about the Sunday buffet there. Can you advise if the buffet is every day or is it a la carte during the week ? If you have experience there would you recommend either style over the other ? Thanks, your knowledge and advice is always helpful.

I have had the vegetarian meals many times at Po Lin Monastery - from when I was a kid to 2 years ago. Nothing fancy, but there wasn't any good dining alternatives in Ngong Ping before, so it was a natural lunch spot. It's quick and inexpensive, so I just feel "why not". Now the Ngong Ping 360 mini-theme park is open, there may be other lunch places.

About the Island Hopping Pass. While there are frequent ferries from Central to each of the three islands, there's only one slow ferry that circulates among the four ports. Therefore, there's only one sailing every 2 hours. You need to schedule your trip carefully if you want to utilize the pass to go to more than one islands. And since the saving is small, you may want to just buy regular tickets. It also doesn't cover Lamma, and there are no direct ferry from Lantau or Cheung Chau to Lamma.

As for the Big Buddha itself, well, I have seen plenty of buddha statues all around Asia, big and small. And I have to say that the one at Po Lin Monastery is actually very nice. Of course it's big, but it also has good proportions and a very "kind" face. Po Lin Monastery, on the other hand, is really nothing special; but do take a look at the buddha statue in the original smaller hall behind the newer and bigger one in front. If I remember correctly, it's made of jade, and is from Burma.

Having said that, I agree with Cicerone that if you have only 3 days in Hong Kong, you may want to save time doing something else in the citiy. But of course, it depends on your interest. The point about crowds on weekends is also valid. Ferries to and buses on the island are also more expensive on Sunday. If you can, go on a weekday, absolutely.

Peteralan, the Verandah only serves brunch on Sundays. FYI, they are closed on Mondays. Sunday bruch is fun because they have a jazz quartet/band so you get the whole colonial Raj 1920's feeling, but really it is good for lunch a la carte as well. It's a lot less crowded on weekdays, and traffic in the area is much less, which makes Repulse Bay area a bit more enjoyable, so it is kind of a toss-up IMO.

Thanks for that Cicerone, it is back on my list for next time. Sorry Laurelie!