Hong Kong by Boat: A Practical Guide

Post by Marco Ferrarese

Hong Kong is primarily a city on the water: being it the cityscape across the Avenue of Stars, or a view from Victoria Peak, the water element is predominant in the city’s soul. Just jutting outside of China Mainland, the peninsula of Kowloon only constitutes the concrete heart of a city that is hardly known if not experienced by water.

The main islands constituting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are Kowloon and its New Territories to the North, Hong Kong island just south of it, the smaller Lamma island comes next in a clockwise order, ending in the massive Lantau to the closer West, the home of the largest seating Buddha statue in the world, and the dreamy fishing village of Tai O. And last but not least, home to Hong Kong Island’s airport.

With such a diversified group of islands, it is impossible to think you have experienced Hong Kong if you do not try to tackle it by boat. One of the best ways to start  is getting to Central in Kownloon, where there are fast and regular ferry services to Mui Wo in Lantau island’ In under an hour, you will be able to see the nature of Lantau disappearing into the open sea, and reconnecting with the massive skyline of Kowloon. For most, this is the quintessential Hong Kong ferry trip. Otherwise, always from Central, it is possible to get on a boat to the main outlying islands of Peng Chau, Cheung Chau, and Lamma .

Another popular alternative is constituted by humble but legendary Star Ferry service between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island from piers in Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom in Kowloon and Central and Wan Chai on the Island. An historical ferry route founded in 1888, It offers a memorable and scenic boat experience across one of the most-photographed harbours in the world.  This ferry trip has been rated first in the “Top 10 Most Exciting Ferry Rides” poll by the Society of American Travel Writers (“SATW”) in February 2009.

One of my personal favorite trips is however the one connecting Hong Kong with the tiny ex-Portuguese peninsula of Macau, where gambling and night life are king and queen. There are several ferries leaving from the China Ferry Terminal to Macau or vice versa every half hour. One reliable company providing this service is First Ferry.

And if you want to make your entrance in the Mainland with style, there are also several services connecting Hong Kong with several major ports  along the coastline of Guangdong Province, and some of them reach as far as the spring city of Xiamen in Fujian province, from where it is possible to keep on travelling North all the way to Beijing and the rest of China, or fly into Taiwan across the outlying islands.

The important thing is that whatever you do in Hong Kong, you consider using the ferry has a smart way to get around and explore this city-state in great style… few developed places in the world have the bright, shiny light blue sea that Hong Kong is able to boost.

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