Cheung Chau, Lamma and Peng Chau

Hong Kong is so much more than Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, in fact Hong Kong is made up of 261 chunks of land jutting up out of the ocean. The largest of those islands being Lantau, which is filled with great stuff to do including the incredible Lantau Peak hike which you can read about here. However, Cheung Chau, Lamma and Peng Chau, three much smaller islands are very much off the beaten track.

Each of these islands offer beaches, great walks, temples and seafood. With their close proximity to Hong Kong Island and Kowloon it makes them and easy day trip from the cities bigger and more illustrious destinations. Do be aware that during the summer months these places can be extremely popular with local Hong Konger’s hunting down a quieter alternative to the cities chaotic heart. 

How To Get There

To get to Cheung Chau, Lamma and Peng Chau you will firstly need to head to central pier, or Aberdeen if you want to head to Lamma. Do bear in mind that ferries to Lamma from central are more regular than from Aberdeen. None of these islands can be accessed by boat from Kowloon. 

Travelling between these islands is limited at best. There are some services between Cheung Chau and Peng Chau, but they are not very frequent. It may be better to travel back to Central and then transfer to another ferry. 

Cheung Chau

Head to central pier where you can take a boat from pier number 5. Boats go every half an hour rotating between fast and slow boats. Cheung Chau has only one point entry. 

Lamma

You have a few more choices here. From central pier 4 you can catch a ferry to Yung Shue Wan in the north or Sok Kwu Wan in the south. You can also catch ferries to both destinations from Aberdeen. Be aware that ferries back to central go more frequently from Yung Shue Wan than from Sok Kwu Wan. If you’re planning on doing the cross island walk it’s better to get the ferry to Sok Kwu Wan and then walk to Shue Wan.

Peng Chau

Head to central pier and from pier 6 you can catch boats rough once every 30 -45 minutes. The journey takes between 30 minutes and one hour depending if you catch the fast ferries or not. Like Cheung Chau, Peng Chau also only has one point of entry.

For more info on getting to Cheung Chau, Lamma and Peng Chau check out this website here. 

Where to eat

Cheung Chau

Seafood restaurants and stalls crowd the harbour and these are usually pretty busy. The food is pretty good, although a little expensive. There are also a bunch of cafes around Tung Wan Beach serving a mixture of western fast food and cantonese classics. Away from these two areas food options thin out. Although the back streets are home to some small, but excellent cantonese restaurants. 

Lamma

Upon arriving in Sok Kwu Wan there are a number of seafood restaurants that spill out onto the path. Then coming towards Yung Shue Wan there are a bunch of cafes, restaurants and snack shacks to pick up a bite. The area around Yung Shue Wan has far more options for eating and shopping that Sok Kwu Wan.

Peng Chau

The smallest of the three islands, most of the eateries are clustered around the port and you can’t miss them when you disembark. Head away from the port and there are a number of excellent cantonese restaurants located in the alleyways that lead onto other areas of the island. The rest of the island is very sparsely populated so don’t expect to find much outside of the port area other than great views and quiet walks. 

What is there to do? 

Cheung Chau

Temples

Head out of the ferry and turn right and you will come across the Tin Hau and Hung Shing temples, around Kwun Yam Wan you will find the Kwun Yam tucked away in the forrest behind the beach. There are plenty of other temples on the island, with a bit of research you can find what you’re looking for.

Walking

Cheung Chau has a beautiful walk from the ferry pier the winding streets across the centre of the island round the Cheung Chau sports ground down to Tung Wan beach and Kwun Yam Wan. From Kwun Yam Wan follow the signs for the mini great wall walk and you will get some great views of the coast. There are also other walks on the the north and south of the island. The south of the island is easier to access than the north and has some gorgeous coastal views. Just south of Tung Wan there are a couple of excellent view points offering great views. 

Beaches

The main beach on the island is Tung Wan, but just 5 minutes away is the prettier, quieter Kwun Yam Wan which we would definitely recommend.

Lamma

Temples

Upon arriving at Sok Kwu Wan you will soon encounter the Tin Hau temple. There are a few shrines around the northern part of the island, although not much more than than. 

Walking

The main walk is the cross island walk from Sok Kwu Wan to Yung Shue Wan. Its very easy and offers some nice views and it is recommended as one of the best walks to do in Hong Kong. Whilst it doesn’t measure up to Dragons Back, Lantau Peak of the first two stages of the Maclehose it is still an enjoyable walk and is certainly not as challenging as the walks mentioned. There are also some hiking trails into the hills around the southern and northern points of the island.

The area around Yung Shue Wan has some lovely alleyways to explore. This is why I recommend starting in Sok Kwu Wan and finishing in Yung Shue Wan; there’s plenty of to do whilst you are waiting for your ferry. 

Beaches

The main beach on the island is romantically named power station beach, and as the name suggests this is not a beach that is going to win any beauty pageants. There are some cute beaches on the middle part of the island. Lo So Shing being our personal favourite, although in comparison to the beaches in other parts of Hong Kong these do pale in comparison. 

Peng Chau

Temples

A few shrines here and here but Cheung Chau is definitely the temple king of these three islands. There are some hidden temples, however we missed most of them on our trip there sadly. 

Walking

There are some excellent country trails that will take you all over the islands hilly centre and down to the coast for some nice views looking back to Hong Kong island, Lamma and Kowloon. A hike up to the top of Finger Hill is a good place to start and from here you can head on down to the islands edge. 

Beaches

This is not really an island for beaches sadly, but the views from the coast are lovely. 

As with many thing in Hong Kong, much of the pleasure lies in exploring and finding those hidden gems. These islands remain firmly off of Hong Kong’s tourist trail leaving plenty to be explored and discovered.