World City Guide

Tours of the City

Walking Tours
Walking tours of central Hong Kong are apt to involve elbowing one’s way through crowds of shoppers. But the Hong Kong Tourism Board, 99 Queen’s Road Central (tel: 2807 6543; website: www.discoverhongkong.com), does have a couple of itineraries, with ‘Heritage and Architectural Walks’ in Hong Kong Island Kowloon, and varied other theme walks/hikes for the outlying islands. Guides and a rental audio commentary system are available for HK$50. The walks take from two to four hours. The HKTB Visitor Hotline (tel: 2508 1234) or any tourist office provides details. Other operators also run HKTB-approved tours, such as Gray Line Tours (tel: 2368 7111; website: www.grayline.com.hk) or Splendid Tours and Travel (tel: 2316 2151; website: www.splendidtours.com). Details of these are available on the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s website, categorised by theme.

Walkers wishing to range further afield have plenty of well-trodden routes for penetrating the rural New Territories and backwoods of Hong Kong Island, such as the 100km (60-mile) MacLehose Trail, the 50km (30-mile) Hong Kong Trail, or even the 3.5km (2.2-mile) Peak Trail. But water bottles are essential for any traveller attempting these routes during the summer.

Bus Tours
Numerous themed bus tours are listed on the Hong Kong Tourism Board website (see above), including a Hong Kong Unique Experiences, a Touring Hong By Night’, a Touring Hong Kong’s Outlying Islands and a Hong Kong Culture and Heritage Tours. Tours vary in duration, departure point and cost, for details, visitors should contact the HKTB’s Visitor Hotline (tel: 2508 1234) or the Tour Reservation Hotline (tel: 2368 7112) or visit www.discoverhongkong.com. Gray Line Tours (tel: 2368 7111; website: www.grayline.com.hk), Splendid Tours and Travel (tel: 2316 2151; website: www.splendidtours.com) and Sky Bird Travel Agency (tel: 2736 2282; website: www.skybird.com.hk) all offer similar bus tours of the city.

Boat Tours
Boat tours of Hong Kong’s waters are provided by several companies. Hong Kong Watertours (tel: 2155 2088; website: www.chinaetravel.com) provides a variety of harbour and island tours from HK$28, while Star Ferry (tel: 2118 6241) provides ferry tours for HK$180. Harbour tours take around two to three hours. Hong Kong Watertours has pick-up points throughout Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, although the tours sail from Queen’s Pier on Hong Kong side or the Kowloon Public Pier on Kowloon Side. The Star Ferry tours sail from the Star Ferry terminals on either side of the harbour.

Other Tours
Helicopter trips are available for those wanting to discover the Hong Kong skyline from above. Contact Heli Hong Kong (tel: 2108 9898; fax: 2108 9938; website: www.helihongkong.com) for further information.