Beyond Hong Kong: Lantau Island, Tai O Fishing Village & A Heritage Stay by the Sea

A bit of background before we head to Lantau Island- My First HK Visit

It was a warm summer in 2023. Delhi had skipped spring altogether, jumping from freezing mornings to relentless heat. Work had been intense- split between the corporate HQ and aviation ministry offices during my second stint with Air India.

I’ve always enjoyed working in aviation, but like many phases in life, work had slowly begun to take over everything else. It was time to pause, step away, and reclaim a bit of space outside it.

So on one such summer afternoon, my wife and I sat down to plan a short break, somewhere within five hours of travel. Hong Kong wasn’t even on my radar. I had always dismissed cities like Hong Kong or Singapore as glass-and-steel skylines lacking character. As I would soon discover, that assumption couldn’t have been more wrong.

View of Central from Tsim Sha Tsui across Victoria Harbour

Hong Kong beyond the Skyline: Why Lantau Island stands out

Hong Kong is a city of contrasts, a modern skyline rooted deeply in Cantonese culture. While Hong Kong Island feels fast, vertical, and constantly in motion, places like Lantau Island offer something entirely different-space, silence, and a slower rhythm of life.

We explored most of what a first time visitor would: Victoria Harbour, Central, the Mid-Levels escalators, Victoria Peak, and the markets of Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok. But what stayed with me the most was a day trip to Lantau Island, specifically the Ngong Ping 360 cable car ride to the Tian Tan Buddha and Tai O fishing village.

Arrived to pleasant weather in Hong Kong

 

Being a Sub-tropical city, weather fluctuates quite a bit in Hong Kong. It was bright and clear an hour later after this picture was taken. 

A Trail from Victoria peak which seemed to be loved by Hongkongers and tourists alike!

Steep incline on the tram from Victoria peak (You can book the peak tram through this Klook Link)

Tsim Sha Tsui, sounded like a familiar neighborhood even before visiting, thanks to watching the same Russel Peter's show multiple times.

The high density "Monster Building" in Quarry Bay (Click image to enlarge)

Hong Kong eye?

A day trip to Lantau Island: Ngong Ping 360 cable car, Tian Tan Big Buddha and Tai O Village

We did the classic Lantau Island itinerary that begins at Tung Chung with the Ngong Ping 360 cable car.

Its directly accessible through Hong Kong MTR from any part of the city, the cable car (Has a normal car and a Crystal car with a see through floor) climbs steadily with sweeping views of the South China Sea and Hong Kong International Airport along the way. The cable car ride ends at the top with a walkway leading towards the Tian Tan Big Buddha and the monastery, the walkway also has a few shops and restaurants along the way.

From Ngong Ping, we continued towards Tai O, a traditional fishing village on the far end of the island. We even took a short boat ride in search of the rare Chinese white dolphins (Fu Shan), though luck wasn’t on our side that day. Still, Tai O - with its stilt houses and quiet waterways, left a strong impression. It was unlike anything I had seen before.

Ngong Ping 360 Cable car from Tung Chung

This is a perfect one day activity to do while in Hong Kong that we booked through Klook (You can choose the same or any different option using this Klook link at no additional cost to you, would appreciate this support to the blog). If you are just interested in the Big Buddha and Cable car ride, you could just do that by either booking through Klook to avoid the queue or directly buying the ticket near the cable car entry. However, I recommend visiting Tai O village as well, which for me felt a lot more meaningful and brought us back.

That trip ended too soon, but it stayed with me. My wife and I knew that we wanted to return, not just to Hong Kong, but to Lantau Island. 

Tian Tan (The Big Buddha) at the end of Ngong Ping 360 Cable car ride, this also has a tourist village and Shops/Restaurants.

Po Lin Monastery near Tian Tan Big Buddha Statue, Lantau Island.  

Boat ride from Tai O

Canals within Tai O Village

Returning to Lantau Island and Staying at the Tai O Heritage Hotel

The desire to visit Hong Kong again, specifically Lantau Island and Tai O village remained and an opportunity to visit came two years later. By then, I had moved to Dubai, and travel had become much easier thanks to better connectivity.

This time, we wanted to do things differently. Instead of just a day trip, we decided to stay in Tai O itself. That’s when we came across the Tai O Heritage Hotel: a restored colonial era marine police station built in 1902.

Now a UNESCO awarded heritage property, the hotel sits on a small hill overlooking the Tai O fishing village and the sea beyond. It felt like the perfect way to experience a quieter, more intimate side of Hong Kong.

Tai O Village- No Private vehicles are allowed apart from few pre-approved locals.

A friendly dog with fashionable eyebrows. 

I am sure his friendliness is what led to someone doing this to him.

The erstwhile Marine Police Station, now Tai O Heritage hotel- perched atop a hill facing the sea.

Parts of the erstwhile police station now converted to few rooms for guests.

The stay!

Quite comfortable for a place that was once used to arrest pirates!! 

How to reach Tai O village on Lantau Island from Hong Kong

There are multiple ways to reach Tai O from downtown Hong Kong or Kowloon, depending on where you are staying:

1. Metro + Bus/Cable Car (Most Common Option) : Take the Metro (MTR) from anywhere in the Hong Kong to Tung Chung MTR station. From Tung Chung there are three options:

• Bus number 11 which runs between Tung Chung and Tai O Village (Cheapest option)

• Taxi (Fastest but not as cheap as public transport)

• If you are in the mood for a slow yet scenic ride in a cable car, take the Nong Ping 360 Cable car that terminates at the Tian Tan Buddha and take bus 21 to Tai O Village (Costliest and most time consuming option)

2. Ferry + Bus : Take a ferry from Central Piers in Hong Kong Island to Mui Wo Pier on Lantau Island, take bus no 1 after alighting from the ferry to Tai O village. These are operated by Sun Ferry with a decent frequency, you can check the latest timetable on their website using this link Sun Ferry Mui Wo Ferry Timetable

Central

3. Taxi/Self Drive Car all the way from Hong Kong: Regular Hong Kong taxis and private cars are restricted on South Lantau Island except with a LCRP Permit. You can take blue taxis with this permit up to the village, but this is a costly and least preferred option.

Look out for this Pier from Central

View of Outlying Islands between Hong Kong and Lantau Islands from the ferry.

Our Ferry and Bus ride from Hong Kong Central to Tai O

Since we already went on the Nong Ping 360 cable car on our previous trip, we wanted to try the Ferry/Bus combination, which also happens to be the cheapest way to commute. Ferry takes a little over 30 minutes to reach Mui Wo depending on the type (Fast Ferry- 35 mins, Normal ferry-50 mins).

While the ferry ride may be a routine mode of transportation for Hongkongers, it was very exciting for us with open sea views, wind on our face and the Hong Kong Skyline slowly fading behind.

Mui Wo bus terminal is located right next to the Pier with a decent frequency of buses to Tai O, the ride takes close to an hour. 

Pro tip: Grab a Window seat on the left side, this side offers sea views as the road traces the coastline of Lantau Island.

Exploring Tai O Fishing Village

Tai O, is a refreshingly quiet fishing village. Vehicles in this village are largely restricted beyond the bus terminal which adds to its charm.

Although fishing or tourist boats near the bus terminal drop guests to the hotel for a charge, we chose to walk the nearly 1 kilometer distance to the hotel, partly to explore the village and partly to try the famous Tai O donuts along the way at the Tai O bakery. It became quite apparent that most of the touristy things here are named after the village, from hotels to local delicacies. It took us about 20 minutes to walk the entire length to reach the hotel through narrow lanes, stilt houses and little shops with lots of cats for company. The village itself is very simple, felt unhurried and was full of character. The people, we would realize over the next 30 hours, were very hospitable too, quite a difference from the reputation carried by their neighbors from Hong Kong downtown.

Its reasonable to assume that its not a very common event to find a young Indian couple lugging around a trolley through a small Cantonese fishing village. Unsurprisingly, lots of curious kids greeted us along the way and wanted to have a conversation, alas the only Cantonese we spoke was NeiHo and M'Goi which we used generously with loads of smiles.

Mochi from Tai O bakery. Try a bottle of Vitasoy when here.

Its a cute little village, the walk was lovely!

Landmark, midway from the village center to the hotel.

Almost there...

Stay and Experience at Tai O heritage hotel

We had watched a few videos of the hotel before we got here so we had an idea of what to expect, the actual place exceeded our expectations though. The hosts were polite and checked us in while explaining the history of the place and its transformation timeline from a marine police station in the British times to a heritage hotel.

Entrance to the hotel, there's a fun little lift too.

The sea facing end.

A Silent evening by the Pier

We spent the entire evening walking around the village and sitting by the pier looking at occasional fishing boats getting back after a day’s haul. The Sea looked spectacular from this hotel pier, especially during sunset where we spent a good part of the evening admiring the beautiful view. Apart from the rare distant noise from an overflying aircraft, all that we could hear after sunset was the sea breeze and few errant Cicada’s.

One of the Pier's nearby

A glorious sunset to end the day..

This village sleeps very early as most day visitors from Hong Kong would have returned by late noon. Shops and restaurants began to shut down by 6 pm and the village centre which was bustling with activity just a few hours ago turned into a ghost town with only few street cats for company. Thankfully, the hotel serves good food in its restaurant. The cold sea breeze got us to sleep like a log that night.

...the village sleeps on cue with sunset.

Morning Hike and Views of Hong Kong Airport

The next morning, we went on a hike from the village that leads to a Fu Shan (Chinese River Dolphin) viewing point. This trail passes through a ridge with a beautiful view of the sea, the Hong Kong- Macau Bridge and Chek Lap Kok Island (Hong Kong Airport). While we did not spot any dolphins, the distant view of aircraft landing on RWY 07R of Hong Kong International airport was a sight to watch. Since we went early in the morning, we had the entire ridge to ourselves and could just sit and enjoy the breeze hitting our face, a light drizzle made it even better. 

Short trail to Fu Shan Viewing point that begins in Tai O village. This is a relatively easy hike and offers great views on both sides.

Macau bridge in the background...

We were the only ones around and loved the hike.

My wife spent quite a while trying to spot a Dolphin. She didn't have much luck.

..it was my lucky day though, spotted a lot of aircraft landing in HK International, thanks to a phone with powerful zoom.

Getting back to Hong Kong Airport from Tai O Village

Once back from this hike, it was time to pack our bags and head to HKIA for our flight back home to Dubai. Bus 11 from the village centre to Tung Chung takes close to an hour, there are frequent shuttles from Tung Chung MTR/Bus terminus to Hong Kong Airport.

Citygate mall at Tung Chung terminus also has a lot of outlets in case you want to pick up any food or souvenirs before heading to the airport. 

Quite Content after a few hours hiking on the ridge. There's also a very old trail from Tung Chung to Tai O called the Tung O trail, we would love to do it someday.

Bus timings from Tai O to Tung Chung, Ngong Ping and Mui Wo in case you'd like to visit.

Why Lantau Island and Tai O Village are worth visiting

Across both trips, what stood out the most about Hong Kong was its ability to surprise. We loved the city’s distinct Cantonese culture with a British influence during both of our visits.

Beyond the skyline lies a completely different world: fishing villages, mountain trails, heritage sites, and a slower pace of life. Lantau Island, and especially Tai O, captures this contrast beautifully.

If you’re visiting Hong Kong, even briefly, I’d highly recommend setting aside a day or better yet, a night for this side of the city. There are few homestays in Tai O that are available for booking online as well.

Even if Tai O isn’t on your itinerary, consider taking a ferry from Central to one of the outlying islands. It’s a simple way to experience a quieter side of Hong Kong, good Cantonese food, sea views, and a pace that feels worlds away from Central.