Island hopping in Hong Kong: which islands you can actually combine in one day

Island hopping in Hong Kong is easier than it looks on a map and harder than it looks on a tour brochure. Hong Kong has 263 islands, but only a handful have a ferry you can simply walk onto, and only a few of those sit close enough together to combine in one day. This guide covers the two combinations that genuinely work, the one ferry that makes them possible, and the islands that deserve a full day of their own.

Every fare below is an adult single from the Transport Department's current ferry fare tables. Sunday and public holiday fares run around 40 to 46 percent higher on the Central crossings, so the weekday price is the one quoted unless stated. Go on a weekday if you can.

The ferry that makes island hopping in Hong Kong work

Most people plan island hopping as out from Central, back to Central, out again, which wastes an hour per island on water you have already crossed. The trick is Sun Ferry's inter-island route, which links Peng Chau, Mui Wo, Chi Ma Wan and Cheung Chau in a line along the east coast of Lantau. You sail into one end from Central and out of the other.

Peng Chau to Mui Wo takes about 18 to 20 minutes, Mui Wo to Cheung Chau about 31 to 35 minutes with a brief stop at Chi Ma Wan, and the full Peng Chau to Cheung Chau run is 49 to 55 minutes. The adult fare is HK$16.3 a journey, cheaper than any crossing from Central. The catch is frequency: it sails roughly every two hours in each direction, so you plan the day around its timetable rather than the other way round. Miss one and you are on the island for two more hours.

The Lamma, Cheung Chau and Lantau boats each leave from a different Central pier: Pier 4 is Lamma, Pier 5 is Cheung Chau, Pier 6 is Mui Wo and Peng Chau. All three take Octopus at the turnstile, and our guide to the outlying island ferries walks through which operator runs what.

Route 1: the three-island loop (Peng Chau, Mui Wo, Cheung Chau)

• Morning: Central Pier 6 to Peng Chau. 25 to 30 minutes, HK$31.9. Peng Chau is tiny, and the thing to do is Finger Hill, about 355 steps to a 95 metre summit looking across to Lantau.
• Late morning: inter-island ferry to Mui Wo. Twenty minutes, HK$16.3. Mui Wo is Lantau without the Big Buddha crowds: a beach, bike rental at the pier, and the Silvermine Waterfall walk, about an hour at a slow pace. Eat lunch here.
• Afternoon: inter-island ferry to Cheung Chau. 31 to 35 minutes, another HK$16.3. Cheung Chau is the busiest of the three and the right place to finish, because the seafood restaurants on San Hing Praya Street and the stalls on Tung Wan Road are at their best in the evening. Our Cheung Chau day trip guide has the beach, the pirate cave and the buns.
• Evening: fast ferry to Central Pier 5. 35 to 40 minutes, HK$32.9. The ordinary ferry is HK$16.7 and takes 55 to 60 minutes.

Total ferry cost on a weekday: about HK$97 per adult for four sailings and three islands. On a Sunday or public holiday the same loop is roughly HK$127, because the Central crossings jump to HK$46.6 and HK$47.6 while the inter-island fare stays flat. Check the inter-island departure times from Peng Chau and Mui Wo before you leave Central and treat them as fixed.

Route 2: Lamma plus Cheung Chau (the two-ferry day)

Lamma is not on the inter-island line, so combining it with anything means going back through Central. That works because the Lamma crossing is the shortest of the lot and Cheung Chau is the most forgiving island to arrive at late.

• Morning: Central Pier 4 to Yung Shue Wan. About 27 minutes, HK$24.9. Walk the Family Trail, the paved 5 km path across the island to Sok Kwu Wan: an hour to ninety minutes straight through, nearer two with a stop at Hung Shing Yeh Beach. Eat at the seafood restaurants on the Sok Kwu Wan waterfront. Our Lamma Island day trip guide has the trail, the beaches and the ferry times from both villages.
• Early afternoon: Sok Kwu Wan to Central Pier 4. 30 to 40 minutes, HK$30.9. Sok Kwu Wan sailings are far less frequent than Yung Shue Wan ones, so check the next departure when you step off in the morning, not when you finish lunch.
• Afternoon and evening: Central Pier 5 to Cheung Chau. Fast ferry, 35 to 40 minutes, HK$32.9. Pier 5 is next door to Pier 4, so the changeover is a two-minute walk.

Four sailings, about HK$122 on a weekday. If you cannot decide which island deserves the longer stay, our Cheung Chau versus Lamma comparison settles it. A quieter variation skips Central on the way back: from Sok Kwu Wan, Chuen Kee runs a 35 minute kaito to Aberdeen for HK$15 (HK$22.4 on Sundays and holidays), the better choice if your hotel is on the south side of Hong Kong Island.

Route 3: the Sai Kung islands (a different day, a different pier)

The other place Hong Kong does island hopping is Sai Kung, and it does not connect to any of the above. Sai Kung town is about an hour from Central by MTR and minibus, and the boats leave from Sai Kung Public Pier: small open boats to Sharp Island, a ten-minute ride with no published timetable, where you walk the pier, find the boat going your way and pay on the spot. Licensed kaito ferries from the same pier go further out to Kau Sai Village and High Island for HK$65, and to Fo Tau Fan Chau for HK$80 as a prepaid return.

Sharp Island's draw is the tombolo, a sand-and-rock causeway you can walk at low tide and cannot at high tide, so check the Observatory's tide tables first. Yim Tin Tsai, a fifteen-minute sampan ride from the same pier, is known for its chapel built in 1890 and makes a good second stop. Those two are a comfortable day. Adding a Central island to them is not.

The islands that need their own day

• Po Toi is reached by kaito from Aberdeen on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends, or from Stanley on weekends and public holidays only. Sailings are sparse and cash only, so give it the whole day.
• Tap Mun (Grass Island) leaves from Wong Shek Pier, a bus ride beyond Sai Kung town, with the kaito at HK$11 on weekdays and HK$16 on weekends. Getting there and back is most of a day on its own.
• The Big Buddha side of Lantau is a different day out from a different starting point. Mui Wo is on the same island, but treating Lantau as one "hop" turns a relaxed day into a logistics exercise.

One rule covers all of this: sail into the quiet island and out of the busy one. Evening ferries from Cheung Chau run late and often. The small-island boats do not.

Quick answers

Can you visit Lamma, Cheung Chau and Peng Chau in one day? Peng Chau and Cheung Chau, yes, via the inter-island ferry with Mui Wo in between. Adding Lamma means a third pass through Central and about an hour on each island, which is not worth the fares.

How do I get to Cheung Chau island? Sun Ferry from Central Pier 5: the fast ferry takes 35 to 40 minutes for HK$32.9 on weekdays, the ordinary ferry 55 to 60 minutes for HK$16.7. From Mui Wo or Peng Chau, take the inter-island ferry for HK$16.3.

How many islands are in Hong Kong? 263 islands larger than 500 square metres, by the usual count. Lantau is the largest at about 147 square kilometres.

Do I need an island hopping package or tour? No. Every route in this guide is a public ferry, and the most expensive day here costs about HK$122 in fares. A chartered boat only makes sense for the Sai Kung geopark coastline.