Travel in Lantau
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Informations on Lantau: history, politics, economy, culture, Did you mean: Lantau
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Lantau (?? Làntóu, also ??? Dày? sh?n) is the largest island in Hong Kong.
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Understand
The opening of the Lantau Link in 1997 has seen the largest islands in the Hong Kong territory now firmly connected to the mainland, with Hong Kong's new airport, a MTR line and a city of 50,000 popping up overnight in Tung Chung, and with Disneyland opened in 2005 the island seems poised for certain growth.
Get in
Ferries to the island, as well as buses, impose a peculiar 50% surcharge for travel on Sundays and public holidays (with the exception of services to/from/within Discovery Bay, Disneyland and the airport). It's cheaper, and less crowded, to visit during the week or on Saturdays.
By train
The Tung Chung MTR line is the fastest way to get to Lantau. The trip takes around 25 minutes all the way from Hong Kong station and costs $23.
By boat
The obvious way of getting to the island is to take a ferry. Ferries depart from the Outlying Islands pier in Central, to the west of the Star Ferry terminal. The largest operator is New World First Ferry (http://www.nwff.com.hk/).
- Discovery Bay: Pier 3, $27 (fast only), every 10-30 minutes
- Mui Wo: Pier 6, $10.50 (slow) / $21 (fast), every 30 minutes
By bus
Since the opening of the Lantau Link a number of buses also cross over to Lantau, although they are considerably slower than the MTR and less scenic than the ferries.
By car
Much of Lantau is zoned as a national park and is off limits to vehicles without a permit.
Get around
On Lantau you can travel by bus and taxi; note that seemingly short distances on a map (eg. Tung Chung to Ngong Ping, less than 5 km if you're a bird) can take a while (in this case over 40 min!) due to the twisty mountain roads and their circuitous routes. A cable car from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping is under construction but will not open until 2006.
See
- Hong Kong Disneyland (http://disney.com.hk/en), tel. +852-1-830-830, 1 (http://www.disney.com.hk/hkdisneyland/eng/index.html). China's first Disneyland opened in September 2005 and features all the Disney favorites, if slightly tweaked for local tastes. The park is accessible via the Sunny Bay station on the Tung Chung MTR line. This is the smallest of all the Disneylands. It has four zones: Main Street USA, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. On weekdays tickets are HK$295 for Adults and HK$210 for children. On weekends and holidays the tickets are HK$350 for adults and $250 for children. Children under 3 are free. If your schedule allows, visit on a weekday to avoid the crowds.
- Po Lin Monastery, Ngong Ping. Famed for the Tien Tan Buddha (aka Big Buddha), which at 26.4m is the largest uncovered outdoor bronze Buddha statue in the world (note the careful series of qualifications). Open 10 AM to 6 PM, access to the Buddha itself is free, but entering the somewhat underwhelming museum inside requires a meal ticket for the vegetarian restaurant; a "snack" costs at $23 while full meals are $60 (normal) or $100 (deluxe). To get to the monastery, take bus 2 from Mui Wo or bus 23 from Tung Chung (both $16/25 on weekdays/Sundays).
- Tai O fishing village. A traditional fishing village with stilt houses above the sea. Take the bus from Mui Wo ferry pier.
Do
- Hikers may wish to try the 70-km Lantau Trail, which does a loop around Lantau Island. The full route will require several days but is divided into a dozen stages, some of which can be covered in as little as 45 minutes.
- Po Lin Monastery and the Tien Tan Buddha Statue. To reach the Buddha statue, take Lantau bus #23 from MTR Tung Chung station or Lantau bus #2 from Mui Wo ferry pier. The "Big Buddha" is 26.4 m tall and is the World's largest outdoor bronze Buddha. Open:10AM to 6PM. While entry to the statue is free, there is an entrance fee for the museum. A snack at the vegetarian restaurant costs HK$23, a normal meal HK$60, while a deluxe meal will put you back HK$100. A cable car from Tung Chung should be up and running by the beginning of 2006.
Eat
- The Po Lim Monastery's vegetarian restaurant is well worth of visit for a taste Chinese vegetarian food, an artform devoted to turning soybean products into very passable imitations of meat and fish. Meals at set times only ($60/100), enquire at the Big Buddha's ticket booth.
Sleep
There are some guesthouses (a few of which call themselves hotels) and two hostels on Lantau. Lantau also has 10 campsites. When you get of the ferry pier in Mui Wo, there are some booths were you can rent apartments for the weekend. There are two hotels along the beach , the silvermine beach hotel (http://www.resort.com.hk) and another one further up on the beach
Stay at the SG Davis Hostel 2985 5610 at the Po Lin Monastery.