A beautiful small fishing island just 45 minutes' away from central pier by ferry. Has lovely beaches and a real village feel to it, such a great atmosphere.

You can have the best seafood down by the pier, relax on the beach, swim in the sea, go for walks or cycles or try windsurfing (the womens' world champ lives there). Has an altogether slower, friendlier pace than HK and is so close and easy to get to.

Take ferry from pier 5 - 30-50 min journey depending on ferry. Ferry every 30 mins.

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Hong Kong Island has some fantastic beaches on the south side of the island.

Accessible by minibus, taxi and bus, these beaches can be a fantastic half-day out away from the city.

The beaches, from west to east, include Deep Water Bay, Repulse Bay, South Bay and over the point to Stanley.

Deep Water bay is a great place to enjoy the sun and sand and is connected to Repulse Bay around the point past Middle Island by a promenade (20min walk).

Repulse Bay is fundamentally a high-end residential area with a large beach and shops.

A short taxi ride from Repulse Bay is South Bay beach. This gem is usually less crowded and great for swimming and has a decent restaurant for snacks.

Over and around the point is Stanley (famous for its market) which has two beaches of note – the first is the main beach facing east (a short stroll from the main bus terminus); the second is St Stephen's beach. Facing into Stanley Bay, its a 15min walk along Wong Ma Kok Rd (taking you past one of HK’s many military cemeteries from WW2 – a sombre reminder of what went on here in recent history). Great for picnics and just enjoying the scenery, you can also take part in dinghy sailing and kayaking if you have the energy.

From Central Exchange Square terminus: to Stanley – 6, 6X, 260, 66 (6X, 260 via Deepwater Bay) all routes pass through Repulse Bay.
To South Bay: take a taxi from Repulse Bay (£2).

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To get to this beach, take the bus from downtown Hong Kong. It’s about a 30 minute ride. There is a beautiful temple on the beach. There are loads of reasons to recommend it: nice sand, swimming area, great photo opportunities and nice sunsets. Bring an umbrella because there isn’t much shade.

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Fabulous restaurant on Lantau Island. There’s an enormous patio (stoep) under the trees on a wide, sandy beach, serving South African food (interesting, quite delicious with a Malay influence, and some of the best bread I have ever tasted).

Really friendly staff with a good, relaxed approach makes for a welcome break from the frantic pace of Central. Great stop-over on a day trip to Lantau for a long lunch, some sunbathing and swimming.

Near Tong Fuk village, Lantau Island

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The most beautiful beach in HK, if not in Asia. Unfortunately, like most good things you have to put in some effort to get there, but once there, you will be glad you did. This is a real rural beach - no buildings to spoil the views and the mountains rolling into the sea. It is great for surfing, but a bit of a hike with the surf-board, but beware of the strong rip-tide (drownings have been common in the past). This is really where the hardy come to enjoy - many people camp out near the beach at weekends, although if you go mid-week you will probably have the place to yourself. Well, you and the wild cows!!

Take the MTR to Choi Hung; then the bus to Wong Shek Pier (only at weekends, weekdays take the bus to Sai Kung and then a taxi to Wong Shek pier), then a little out-board motor boat to the start of the walking trail; from there it's a 45 minute hike over the hill. The path is concreted, so is not too bad. Check out www.hkoutdoors.com/new-territories/tai-long-wan-sai-kung.html

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Take the MTR (rail system) to Choi Hung station, then get a 1A bus to Sai Kung all the way to the bus terminus at the seafront. The restaurants are right there and all of them are good. Someone on the staff usually speaks English.

For coffee, wander along the front away from the terminus to where it meets the road, turn up the road and you'll come to a big square, where all the action happens. There are several cafes there where you can sit out. Jaspa’s coffee is the best.

Another way to spend the time (you could combine the two) is to take a taxi from Sai Kung (it costs very little) to Pak Sha Wan. Tell the driver you want to go to the pier.

On the pier, boat people will approach you. For HK$10, you can jump on one of the kaidos (little boats) and they'll take you five minutes to Trio beach. It's a government run one, which means it's shark-netted and has a loo and a very basic cafe. Walk along the beach from where the boat drops you to the second little beach – it’s always emptier. There's a kids playground up the steps beside it. The boats keep coming back and forth all day. Just keep an eye on which flag yours was carrying, as a way of identifying it.
It’s a lovely spot to watch the big sail boats and the tycoons’ yachts from.

Note: there are no places to stay in Sai Kung, but if you get stuck out late you're only a $200 taxi ride via the Eastern Tunnel from Central.

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On the far side of Hong Kong island (away from Victoria Harbour) is a great beach for swimming and sunbathing, with golden sand and some good places to eat. Go during the week and it is virtually empty, but go early at the weekend as it gets crowded later on.

There is a bus from the Star Ferry at Central, or a taxi is reasonable if shared by three people. The beach is on the south-western corner of Hong Kong island and the bus terminates alongside the changing rooms

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An excellent alternative to the noise and bustle of Central Hong Kong but easy to get there, with the locals, by ferry - which is two minutes from the hotel. Close to the airport (about 40 mins by taxi, 60 by bus). Excellent value.

D.D. 2 Lot 648 Silvermine Bay, Mui Wo, Lantau Island
Tel: (852) 2736-0922 Fax: (852) 2405-0922

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Great hippy vibe, some cool laidback bars, quieter beaches, wonderful seafood restaurants and amazing green mountains to climb round the back. A brilliant day out. Try to find the crazy old man with a yellow beard selling second hand books, or try the curry at the cafe next to Diesel's bar.

Star Ferry pier 3 (used to be) - couple of quid, a half hour ferry ride and bingo.

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