Three days in Hong Kong adds a Lantau Island day for the Tian Tan Buddha and the Tai O fishing village to the standard Hong Kong Island and Kowloon itinerary. The route averages 6-9 km of walking per day with 5-6 MTR or tram hops on Days 1-2 and a Tung Chung Line plus cable car (or bus) plus village bus on Day 3.

Day by day

Day 1: Hong Kong Island: Central, Peak, Sheung Wan

  • Central IFC and Mid-Levels Escalator morning walk — 45 min. Free. MTR Hong Kong exit A2.
  • Sheung Wan Man Mo Temple at 124 Hollywood Road — 45 min. Free. The giant ceiling-coil incense burns 3 weeks; the 1847 Taoist temple is the city's oldest active hall.
  • PMQ design quarter on Hollywood Road — 1 hr. Free. The 1951 Police Married Quarters now hold 100 design studios; the courtyard cafe terrace runs flat whites $4-5.
  • Rest valve — lunch at Kau Kee Restaurant on Gough Street — 45 min. Beef brisket noodle soup $7-9, cash and Octopus.
  • Tram from Sheung Wan to Central — 15 min. $0.40 flat Octopus.
  • Citybus 15 from Exchange Square to Victoria Peak — 35 min. $1.50 Octopus.
  • Peak Galleria Lions Pavilion lookout — 30 min. Free.
  • Lugard Road and Harlech Road loop — 50 min. Free. 3.5 km flat paved loop at 500 meters.
  • Citybus 15 back to Central, then Star Ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui — 45 min. $2 total Octopus. Time the Star Ferry at 7:45 PM.
  • Symphony of Lights from the Avenue of Stars — 15 min. Free. 8:00 PM nightly.
  • Star Ferry back to Central, MTR to hotel — 25-40 min.
  • Total: ~7 km walking; 1 tram, 2 MTR, 2 bus, 2 Star Ferry segments.

Day 2: Kowloon: TST Museums, Wong Tai Sin, Mong Kok

  • Tsim Sha Tsui Avenue of Stars and 1881 Heritage walk — 45 min. Free. MTR Tsim Sha Tsui exit E.
  • Hong Kong Museum of Art — 1.5 hr. $4 adult, 10am-6pm (closed Thu). The Xubaizhai Gallery of Chinese ink painting on Level 4.
  • MTR Tsim Sha Tsui to Wong Tai Sin via Kwun Tong Line — 20 min. $1.20 Octopus.
  • Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple — 1 hr. Free entry; donations welcome. The 1921 Taoist-Buddhist-Confucian temple complex draws 3 million worshippers per year; the kau cim fortune-stick chamber is open 7am-5pm.
  • Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery at Diamond Hill — 1 hr 30 min. Free. MTR Diamond Hill exit C2. The 3.5-hectare Tang-dynasty garden holds the wooden cypress-and-pine pavilion with no nails or glue; the adjoining nunnery is the world's largest hand-built timber-construction Buddhist complex.
  • Rest valve — vegetarian set lunch at the Chi Lin Vegetarian inside the Nan Lian Garden waterfall pavilion — 1 hr 15 min. Set menu $13-22, cash and card.
  • MTR Diamond Hill to Mong Kok via Kwun Tong Line — 12 min. $1.10 Octopus.
  • Mong Kok Ladies Market and Sneaker Street — 1 hr 15 min. Free entry.
  • MTR Mong Kok to Yau Ma Tei — 4 min. $0.65 Octopus.
  • Temple Street Night Market — 1 hr 15 min. Free entry. The Tin Hau Temple south plaza dai pai dong stalls run dinner $6-12 at 8pm.
  • Yau Ma Tei MTR back to hotel — 20-30 min.
  • Total: ~9 km walking; 4 MTR segments.

Day 3: Lantau Island: Tian Tan Buddha, Tai O, Cheung Sha

  • MTR Tung Chung Line from Hong Kong Station to Tung Chung exit B — 35 min. $2.10 Octopus.
  • Ngong Ping 360 cable car to the Buddha plateau — 25 min. $26 standard round-trip; $34 crystal-floor cabin. Alternative: New Lantao Bus 23 from Tung Chung Town Centre, 50 min, $2.10.
  • Tian Tan Buddha 268-step climb and Po Lin Monastery courtyard — 1 hr 30 min. Free. The Buddha hall opens 10am-5:30pm; the monk-led chanting runs 11am-12:30pm at the Po Lin Hall.
  • Rest valve — vegetarian set lunch at the Po Lin Monastery canteen — 1 hr 15 min. Set menu $13, 11:30am-4:30pm, cash only.
  • New Lantao Bus 21 from Ngong Ping Bus Terminus to Tai O — 25 min. $1.80 Octopus.
  • Tai O stilt-house fishing village walk — 1 hr 30 min. Free. The 250-year-old Tanka houseboat village; the Tai O Bridge gives the village's wide photo frame.
  • Tai O Heritage Boat ride past the houseboat cluster and the Brothers-and-Sisters Buddhist temple — 30 min. $3.20 cash at the pier kiosk.
  • New Lantao Bus 1 from Tai O to Mui Wo via the Cheung Sha coastal road — 40 min. $1.80 Octopus.
  • Sun Ferry from Mui Wo to Central Pier 6 — 35-55 min. $2.50 ordinary class, $4.40 fast ferry. Sit on the upper-deck open-air front for the harbour approach to Central at sunset.
  • Walk to MTR Hong Kong Station, then to hotel — 15-30 min.
  • Total: ~6 km walking inside Lantau; 1 MTR, 1 cable car, 2 bus, 1 ferry segments.
Traveller Tips
  • Day 3 only works on a clear day; the Tian Tan Buddha plateau at 482 meters sits inside the cloud ceiling on most summer mornings and 30% of October-November mornings. Check the Lantau weather webcam at np360.com.hk before you board the Tung Chung Line; shift the Lantau day to a clear forecast and swap in a Macau ferry day instead.
  • Skip the Ngong Ping 360 cable car on Saturday and Sunday when the wait time at the Tung Chung lower station runs 60-120 min; the New Lantao Bus 23 from Tung Chung Town Centre is the same hill at 5 min walk from the MTR for $2.10 with no queue. The bus catches the same plateau and the same Buddha steps as the cable car.
  • Carry $25-35 in $20 and $50 notes for Day 3 Tai O Heritage Boat ($3.20, cash only), village vendors at the dried-seafood stalls (cash only), and the Po Lin Monastery vegetarian canteen (cash only).
  • Skip the optional sunset boat tour from Tai O Pier ($16-25); the same coastal angle from the New Lantao Bus 1 to Mui Wo runs the south Lantau Cheung Sha cliff drive for $1.80 and lands at the Mui Wo ferry pier in time for the 7pm Sun Ferry back to Central.
  • The Po Lin Monastery vegetarian canteen at 11:30am-4:30pm runs the set menu for $13; the standalone Bodhi Vegetarian inside the Ngong Ping Village arcade runs the same dish lineup for $22. The monastery canteen is the value pick; skip the village restaurant.