Primarily an upmarket residential area, sun-drenched Repulse Bay has a relaxed resort-like feel to it. Its wide, wave-lapped beach is popular with both locals and visitors and is great for strolls in the early morning, daytime sun-soaking when the bathers are out in force, or lingering at sunset when all has turned mellow.

This crescent-shaped stretch of sand is one of the most beautiful beaches in Hong Kong. It is also home to the Hong Kong Life Saving Society clubhouse, which is built in traditional Chinese style, with a ceiling decorated with magnificent swirling dragons. Towering twin statues of the deities Kwun Yam and Tin Hau dominate the picturesque gardens that lead down to the beach.

The nearby colonial-style building, The Repulse Bay houses designer shops and award-winning restaurants and resembles the luxury hotel built in 1920 that originally occupied the site. Most of its grounds were redeveloped into luxury apartments more than 20 years ago, and only the original arcade remains.

Please check the latest information on public beaches here.

The beach was extended artificially, and thus the sand closer to the shore is coarser in texture than the sand further away. It is one of the longest beaches in Hong Kong. Photo credit: uk.hotels.com

Address: Beach Road, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong Island
Telephone: +852  2812 2483
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• Bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 from Exchange Square bus terminus (near MTR Hong Kong Station, Exit D) and alight at Repulse Bay Beach.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

When it comes to beautiful beaches, the village of Pui O can boast two contenders: Cheung Sha Beach, one of Hong Kong’s longest; and Pui O Beach. Head to either one for a cooling dip, to make some new friends, or to just chill on the sand for a few hours. There are also a few eateries nearby, so you can stick around for the sunset with a contented stomach.

Please check the latest information on public beaches here.

Pui O Beach has a very relaxed, laid back vibe and Cheung Sha Wan is one of Hong Kong's longest beaches. Photo credit: thetraveler.net

Address: South Lantau Road, Lantau Island, Outlying Islands
Telephone: +852  2984 7675 (Pui O Beach), +852 2980 2114 (Cheung Sha Beach)
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• Cheung Sha Beach:
  Ferry from Central Pier 6 to Mui Wo (fast ferry services take 35–40 minutes and ordinary ferry services take 50–55 minutes). Then take bus 1 to Pui O Beach (about 15 minutes) or bus 1 or 2 to Cheung Sha Beach (about 25 minutes).

• Pui O Beach:
  Ferry from Central Pier 6 to Mui Wo (fast ferry services take 35—40 minutes and ordinary ferry services take 50—55 minutes). Then take bus 1 to Pui O Beach (the bus journey takes about 15 minutes).

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

Hung Shing Yeh Beach’s clean water and powdery sand have been attracting expats and locals for a long time. It’s also a top spot to ring in yet another laid-back evening on the sand by throwing (or maybe even crashing) a party in the barbecue area, as the sunset’s rays reflect off the water.

Please check the latest information on public beaches here.

A 25-minute walk southeast (1.7km) from the Yung Shue Wan ferry pier, Hung Shing Yeh beach is the most popular beach on Lamma. Photo credit: jonistravelling.com

Address: Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, Outlying Islands
Telephone: +852  2982 0352
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• Take a ferry from Central Pier 4 to Yung Shue Wan (approximately 30 minutes). From the Yung Shue Wan Pier turn right and walk along the Family Trail to the beach for about 30 minutes.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

Silver Mine Bay Beach in Mui Wo is named after the area’s alternative name — Silver Mine Bay. The Mui Wo Valley was first settled by farmers around the middle of the Ming dynasty (16th century). By the 19th century, there were six villages in the valley, many of whose inhabitants worked in a silver mine that operated for several decades. Remnants of the mine can still be seen. Also surviving to this day are several watchtowers built by the villagers to protect themselves from pirate attacks.

By the 1930s the pirates had gone and the beach became popular with swimmers and weekend visitors to the nearby hotel. More recently, the villages in this area have attracted urbanites looking for a quieter life.

Close to the pier and bus terminus you can check out the market and find a good selection of Chinese and international restaurants, a no-frills seaside dining arcade, and seaside eating places specialising in noodles, seafood and duck.

Mui Wo is an ideal launching pad to explore other parts of Lantau Island, including the famous Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery and the stilt houses of Tai O Village.

Please check the latest information on public beaches here.

One of the most convenient beaches on Lantau Island, long and narrow Silvermine Bay is located just a few minutes' walk from the Mui Wo ferry pier. Photo credit: leasing-riverwalk.azurewebsites.net

Address: Tung Wan Tan Road, Mui Wo, Lantau Island, Outlying Islands
Telephone: +852  2984 8229 (Silver Mine Bay Beach)
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• Catch a ferry from Central Pier 6 to Mui Wo. Fast ferries take around 35–40 minutes; ordinary ferries take around 50–55 minutes.
  
  Silver Mine Bay Beach:
  Walk for 15 minutes from Mui Wo Ferry Pier. Turn right at the pier and go to Mui Wo Ferry Pier Road, then walk to Ngan Kwong Wan Road. Walk along Ngan Shek Street to Tung Wan Tau Road to the beach.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

On the weekends, surf-loving city dwellers head to the island of Cheung Chau to enjoy the beaches where an Olympic windsurfing champion once trained. Lee Lai-shan (or ‘Shan Shan’ as she is affectionately known locally) brought back Hong Kong’s first Olympic gold medal from the Atlanta Games in 1996.

A year-round favourite with locals is Tung Wan Beach, which has turquoise waters and charming night views of Aberdeen and Lamma Island. In a small nearby garden, a sculpture of a windsurfer commemorates Shan Shan’s achievement. Right next door to Tung Wan Beach, Kwun Yam Beach is where the young windsurfer with stars in her eyes cut her teeth. The Cheung Chau Windsurfing Centre here provides windsurfing, surfing and canoeing equipment, and it’s possible to see unusual coastal rock formations and the Mini Great Wall from the waters around here.

Please check the latest information on public beaches here.

Hong Kong’s first Olympic gold medallist trained here for the windsurfing event. Photo credit: beasbites.wordpress.com

Address: Cheung Chau Beach Road and Hak Pai Road, Cheung Chau, Outlying Islands
Telephone: +852  2981 8389 (Tung Wan Beach), +852 2981 8472 (Kwun Yam Beach)
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• Ferry from Central Pier 5 to Cheung Chau (fast ferry services take 35–40 minutes and ordinary ferry services take about 55–60 minutes). From the Cheung Chau Ferry Pier, walk along Tung Wan Road for approximately 10 minutes until you reach Tung Wan Beach.
  
  Kwun Yam Beach:
  Walk around another five minutes from Tung Wan Beach in the direction of Warwick Hotel.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

A hit with local windsurfers, Big Wave Bay Beach is located at the scenic eastern end of Hong Kong Island, close to the Dragon’s Back hiking trail.

It’s also home to a prehistoric rock carving that is now preserved as a Declared Monument. Remaining undiscovered until a police officer stumbled upon it in 1970, the rock carving shows geometric designs and animals, and is one of many similar carvings found around coastal areas of Hong Kong. These cultural art works reinforce how much Hong Kong’s early inhabitants must have depended on the sea.

Eateries surrounding the beach provide light refreshments.

Please check the latest information on public beaches here.

Often living up to its name, Big Wave Bay has a good beach with clean sands and is a popular surfing beach. Photo credit: thetraveler.net

Address: Big Wave Bay Road, Shek O, Hong Kong Island
Telephone: +852  2809 4558
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• MTR Shau Kei Wan Station, Exit A3. Take bus 9 to Big Wave Bay Beach.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

An oasis of green in an urban setting, Hong Kong Park is outstanding in the way its design blends in with the surrounding natural landscape. The park features an aviary, a greenhouse, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, fountains, lily ponds, playgrounds, a restaurant and even a marriage registry. The aviary features more than 80 species of birds in a well-designed tropical ‘rainforest’.

Also noteworthy is the way flowing water has been employed as a thematic motif to link the different features of the park by waterfalls, streams, ponds and cliffs made from artificial rocks. The park is also a great vantage point to take some snaps of the surrounding skyscrapers.

Morning Bird-Watching at Hong Kong Park
Join one of the free guided bird-watching walks held every Wednesday by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society. You can find more information here.

Opened in May 1991, Hong Kong Park was built at the upper half of the former Victoria Barracks Planning Committee. Photo credit: blog.virginatlantic.com

Address: 19 Cotton Tree Drive, Central, Hong Kong Island
Telephone: +852  2521 5041
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• MTR Admiralty Station, Exit C1. Follow the signs up the escalator to Hong Kong Park.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is the oldest park in the territory. Built in 1860 and partially opened in 1864, they were completed in 1871.

The gardens, with an area of 5.6 hectares, are divided into eastern and western parts by Albany Road. These are connected by a pedestrian subway. The eastern part, known as the Old Garden, comprises the children’s playground, aviaries, a green house and the fountain terrace garden. It is also home to birds such as the American flamingo, Bali mynah, Hawaiian goose and red-crowned crane. The western part, or the New Garden, is mainly home to mammals, including the Bornean orangutan, buff-cheeked gibbon, emperor tamarin and raccoon, as well as reptiles like the elongated tortoise and spurred tortoise.

On top of the zoological and botanical attractions, visitors can also enjoy features of historical importance, such as the Memorial Arch, the Bronze Statue of King George VI and the Pavilion.

Did you know?
Locals sometimes call the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens by the nickname ‘Bing Tau Fa Yuen’. Bing tau means the head of soldiers and ‘fa yuen’ means garden. The name came about because the park was once the site of Government House, and for a certain period, the Governor also served as the Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest zoological and botanical centres in the world. Photo credit: toothpicnations.co.uk

Address: Albany Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Island
Telephone: +852  2530 0154
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• MTR Admiralty Station, Exit B. Walk along Garden Road for 15–20 mins uphill to Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

After the hectic surrounds of Tsim Sha Tsui, the tranquillity of Kowloon Park washes over you like a mountain spring. But this peaceful place was actually once an army fortress that was handed over by the military for public use in 1970.

For some relaxation, head to the Chinese Garden, which comprises a two-tier lotus pond linked by a rock cascade, and be sure to look out for the terrapins basking in the sun.

Don’t let a wet weather day put you off from visiting either: listening to the rain falling on the foliage from the park’s 200-metre sheltered walkway is pure bliss. There are also kung fu and lion dance performances every Sunday. You can find more information here.

Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars
Located on the eastern side loggia of the park, The Avenue displays painted sculptures of local comic characters and bronze handprints of distinguished local comic artists. Experience the uniqueness of Hong Kong comic culture and take a photo with comic characters. Click here for details.

Located in the central zone of Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, Kowloon Park is one of the largest parks in Kowloon. Photo credit: takeitoutsidehk.weebly.com

Address: Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Telephone: +852  2724 3344
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• MTR Causeway Bay Station, Exit E. Walk along Great George Street until you reach the park; or

• MTR Tin Hau Station, Exit A2. Turn left at the exit and continue ahead until you reach the park.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.

An oasis of calm and space in teeming, bustling, non-stop moving Causeway Bay, Victoria Park can offer a welcome respite to an urban shopping spree. This is what makes it so popular with locals.

The park is also where you’ll see choreographed tai chi sessions in the mornings, model boat enthusiasts at the weekends and glowing lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Victoria Park, the largest public park on Hong Kong Island, is located in Causeway Bay in the Eastern District. Photo credit: timeout.com

Address: 1 Hing Fat Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island
Telephone: +852  2890 5824
Website: www.lcsd.gov.hk

How to get there:

• MTR Causeway Bay Station, Exit E. Walk along Great George Street until you reach the park; or

• MTR Tin Hau Station, Exit A2. Turn left at the exit and continue ahead until you reach the park.

 

With thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and discoverhongkong.com for the content.