Lantau Island Day Trip – Landmarks Visit – Two Perspectives Review
His Perspective
Rating: 3/5
Would I go back: Maybe
Would I recommend: Yes
Comments: Poor directions to the meeting point. Public transportation was a disappointment. Fishing village was just ok. Lantau Island was very nice. Would only go back if people from the prior several days had seen the pink dolphins and they had a charter bus instead of public busses.
Her Perspective
Rating: 4/5
Would I go back: Yes
Would I recommend: Yes
Comments: Getting started was annoying but I really liked the tiny fishing village. Very sad I didn’t get to see the dolphins. Lantau Island was amazing. So beautiful. I want to go back and recommend anyone go see it.
Overview
Leave behind the hustle or bustle of Hong Kong on this 5 hour tour.Begin your adventure with a trip to Tai O, a fishing village filled with local markets and evocative architecture. Then, take a boat trip to look for Chinese Pink Dolphins in their natural habitat.Next, encounter one of the largest Big Buddhas in the world. Then, feast on a delicious lunch while enjoying the Island’s charming architecture. Top it all off by exploring Po Lin Monastery and learning about Buddhism from your guide.
Cost
Price*: $60.48 USD (per person)
Vendor: https://www.getyourguide.com/hong-kong-l169041/lantau-island-day-trip-landmarks-visit-t561415/
*Price is as of the writing of this article. Prices subject to change at vendor discretion.
Our Experiences
Starting out, was a mess. The activity starting point was listed as the metro Hong Kong Station. After the booking, we received a detailed meeting point that stated “Meet inside the gate at the E Exit next to the Ms. Field Cookies shop”. When we arrived at the metro station, finding the E Exit was not difficult. Finding the cookie shop was a trick even Google Maps couldn’t help with.
In our experience, the signs in Hong Kong leave a lot to be desired. They are good at getting you in a general direction but then stop giving you guidance no where near your destination. It turns out, the meeting point was through the turnstiles in the metro station. This meant that we had to buy metro tickets (not stated prior to purchasing the trip) to even get to the meeting point.
After we figured that out, and waited for the group to gather, we boarded the metro and rode it for about 15 minutes. From there, we were ushered to our bus. Well, ushered to our bus stop. As in public bus stop. As in, we were on a public bus with other people for all parts of the trip. Not comfortable at all. This also meant that there was no guide telling us about the areas we were driving through. But, once we got past all of that, it was a nice day.
Our first stop was at Tai O, where our guide provided a quick overview of the little fishing village. We then boarded a small boat for a quick ride through the village, then out to the ocean where we hoped to see the pink dolphins. Sadly, we did not get to see them. After returning to the village, we explored the town a bit more and the guide continued to provide us with interesting information about the area.
We then boarded another public bus and made our way to Lantau Island, home of one of the largest Big Buddhas in the world. Our guide started us off with an explanation of the area, highlighting the Big Buddha and walking us through the Po Lin Monastery. We then had an included local lunch where we were each able to choose 3 items from a large selection of local dishes. Not having much of an idea of what any of the items were, we just picked things that looked good, and that worked out pretty well for us.
After lunch, we were afforded about an our of free time to explore the area on our own. Most people, including us, chose to walk up the stairs to the base of the Big Buddha. The climb only reminded me that I need to exercise more, but once up top, I found it well worth the trip. The statue is massive and the scenery is breathtaking. It made us forget all about the frustrations of getting the day started.
From there, back to the public bus stop. The first bus that came, filled up with people in line in front of us so we had to wait another 20 minutes for the next bus. Fortunately, it was a fairly cloudy day and wasn’t too hot. The day before or the day after would have been miserable as they were both sunny and hot days. We then rode the bus to our end point and said goodbye.