Best Day Trips for Families from Hong Kong 2026

On a Saturday morning in October, we board the 9:30am ferry to Cheung Chau. My daughter is eight. She has a small backpack containing sunscreen, a book she won't open, and a piece of pineapple cake saved from yesterday's breakfast. The crossing takes thirty-five minutes. By the time we arrive, the island has already begun to feel like somewhere else entirely — the absence of cars is felt before it is understood, like a sound you didn't know was there until it stops.

This is what Hong Kong's outlying islands do for a city family. They supply, in a single ferry ride, the sense of departure — of having genuinely left — that resets something in the mind. The city is still visible on the horizon. But it is there, and you are here, and these are different things.

Cheung Chau — The Car-Free Island

Cheung Chau (長洲) is the most accessible and arguably the most satisfying family island day trip from Hong Kong. The ferry from Central Pier 5 takes 35–40 minutes on the fast ferry and 55–65 minutes on the regular service. No cars are permitted on the island — only small utility vehicles and bicycles — and this single fact transforms the quality of the experience. Children can walk in the street. There is no anxiety about traffic.

From the pier, the main street runs west to Tung Wan Beach — Cheung Chau's main beach, with lifeguards, showers, and a reliable surf for bodyboarders. The walk takes about ten minutes and passes through a market street selling dried seafood, mango mochi, and the island's famous fishballs. Bicycle hire is available immediately at the pier (approximately HKD 30–50 per hour for a child's bike; HKD 50–70 for an adult) and the island is flat enough for comfortable family cycling.

The Pak Tai Temple (北帝廟), a ten-minute walk from the pier, is one of Hong Kong's most significant — eighteenth century, elaborately decorated, and the centre of the famous Bun Festival each May. The Cheung Po Tsai Cave, accessible via a thirty-minute coastal walk, is a pirate's cave associated with the legendary Cheung Po Tsai. Eight-year-olds find this irresistible.

Food: The waterfront restaurants along the promenade serve excellent fresh seafood at moderate prices. East Bay Seafood Restaurant and Hometown Teahouse are local favourites. The egg waffles (雞蛋仔) from street vendors near the pier are obligatory.

Lamma Island — Seafood and Easy Walking

Lamma Island (南丫島) offers something slightly different to Cheung Chau — a little more grown-up, a little more rugged, with a walk between two villages (Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan) that is among the most pleasant family hikes in Hong Kong. The 4km trail between the two ferry piers takes about one and a half hours, passes through coastal countryside, and is genuinely manageable for children aged five and above.

The walk passes Lo So Shing Beach (洛水坑泳灘), a lovely small beach about halfway along where you can stop for a swim. The seafood restaurants at Sok Kwu Wan are the destination for lunch: whole steamed fish, garlic butter prawns, typhoon-shelter crab. Rainbow Seafood Restaurant is the most established, but the row of open-fronted restaurants along the pier will all do you well.

Lantau Island — Big Buddha, Tai O, and Cheung Sha

Lantau (大嶼山) is Hong Kong's largest island and offers the richest day out — enough, in fact, for two separate day trips for families who want to go deep. The classic itinerary combines the Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛) at Ngong Ping with the fishing village of Tai O (大澳) and, if energy allows, Cheung Sha beach for an afternoon swim. This is a full, rewarding day.

The cable car is a highlight in its own right — 5.7 kilometres of aerial crossing above Tung Chung Bay and the Lantau highlands. The Crystal cabin, with its glass floor panels, is viscerally entertaining for children (and mildly alarming for adults with height sensitivities). Book tickets online to skip the queue, which can reach two hours at peak times.

Tai O village (大澳), reached by Bus 11 from Ngong Ping (25 min), is one of Hong Kong's most distinctive communities — a stilt village built over the water at the western tip of Lantau. The narrow alleys, the dried seafood hanging in the sun, the resident Chinese white dolphins in the surrounding waters — it is genuinely unlike anywhere else in the territory. Dolphin-watching boat trips run from the Tai O waterfront (approximately HKD 50–80 per person; 45 min).

For the full Lantau experience including Cheung Sha beach, see our guide to the best family beaches near Hong Kong.

Sai Kung — Kayaks, Seafood, and Clear Water

Sai Kung (西貢) sits in the New Territories at the edge of a vast country park and marine park, and its combination of waterfront town, accessible beaches, and available kayak hire makes it perhaps the most versatile family day out in Hong Kong. The town itself is lively and unhurried — a contradiction that Sai Kung somehow manages — with seafood restaurants spilling onto the waterfront and fishing junks anchored in the harbour.

Kayak hire shops operate along the Sai Kung waterfront, and the sheltered water immediately in front of the town is safe for beginners and young paddlers. For a more adventurous day, kaito boats from the town pier can carry families to nearby islands — Kiu Tsui (Sharp Island) has excellent snorkelling and a sand tombolo that appears and disappears with the tide. A kaito to Sharp Island costs approximately HKD 30–40 per person return and takes fifteen minutes.

Pat Sin Leng — Family Hiking in the New Territories

For families with older children (eight and above) who want a proper hiking day rather than a beach day, the Pat Sin Leng (八仙嶺) range in the northern New Territories offers manageable terrain with genuinely dramatic views. The family-friendly approach is from Hok Tau Reservoir — a flat, shaded trail around the reservoir that takes about ninety minutes return and involves no significant climbing.

The reservoir loop is genuinely beautiful — wooded, quiet, with views of the mountains that frame the northern edge of the territory. In spring, the surrounding hills bloom with azaleas and wild orchids. Pack a picnic; there are no facilities on the trail. The nearby Plover Cove Reservoir is a longer walk but offers the rare experience of walking along a dam wall with sea views on both sides.

Planning Tips for Family Day Trips

For more island exploration, see our complete guide to Hong Kong's best islands. For a broader list of things to do with children across the territory, see our guide to kid-friendly activities in Hong Kong.

Frequently Asked Questions