Best Beaches in Hong Kong, Ranked: How to Get to Each One

The best beaches in Hong Kong are better than most visitors expect, and the honest ranking comes down to one trade-off: the further you travel, the better the sand and the water. Tai Long Wan in Sai Kung is the best beach in the territory and takes a minibus plus a hike. Repulse Bay is the easiest and sits much lower on this list. Everything else falls somewhere in between.

Below are the eight I would actually send a friend to, ranked, with the exact bus, ferry or sampan for each. One thing to know before you pick: Hong Kong's beach season and its lifeguard season are the same thing, and from November most beaches lose their lifeguards. That changes which beach is "best" depending on when you are here.

Before you go: nets, lifeguards and seasons

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department runs 42 gazetted public beaches. Three are temporarily closed, and every one of the other 39 has a shark prevention net around the swimming area. They are all free. Most have changing rooms, showers and toilets, and many add a kiosk and barbecue pits.

Lifeguards work from April to October, 9am to 6pm, stretching to 8am to 7pm on weekends and public holidays from June to August. From November to March, cover shrinks to a short list of beaches, which I flag below. Beaches outside that system, like Tai Long Wan, have no net and no lifeguards at any time of year, so you swim there at your own risk.

1. Tai Long Wan: the best beach in Hong Kong

Tai Long Wan is a bay on the far eastern edge of Sai Kung holding four beaches in a row: Sai Wan, Ham Tin Wan, Tai Wan and Tung Wan. The sand is pale, the water is clear, and steep green hills close in on every side. Sai Wan and Ham Tin are the two most people reach, about a 45-minute walk apart over a hill, and both have simple restaurants and toilets. There is nothing at the other two.

How to get there: from Sai Kung town, catch minibus NR29 (also signed 29R) from Chan Man Street to Sai Wan Pavilion, then hike down for roughly 40 to 45 minutes. The faster option is a speedboat from Sai Kung Pier, about 30 minutes and around HK$130 one way. There is no lifeguard or shark net, and the name literally means "big wave bay", so treat the sea with respect. It is the headline of any Sai Kung day trip.

2. Cheung Sha: the longest beach, with a bus to the sand

Cheung Sha on south Lantau runs for more than three kilometres and is split into Upper and Lower Cheung Sha. It is the best balance of quality and effort on this list: soft sand, green hills behind, and enough space that it rarely feels packed. Lower Cheung Sha has the beachfront restaurants and water sports; Upper Cheung Sha is quieter and has a kiosk and barbecue pits. Lantau's free-roaming cows sometimes wander across the sand.

How to get there: take the ferry from Central to Mui Wo, then New Lantao bus 1 towards Tai O and get off at the Upper Cheung Sha Beach stop. From Tung Chung MTR, bus 11 towards Tai O stops at the same place, which makes it easy to pair with the cable car or Tai O on the same day.

3. Shek O: the best beach day on Hong Kong Island

Shek O is the beach I would pick if you only have half a day and no ferry. The sand is soft, the water is shallow, and behind it sits a small village of lanes and Thai restaurants. The government facilities run to 39 barbecue pits, a playground, a car park and an obstacle golf course.

How to get there: MTR to Shau Kei Wan, Exit A3, then Citybus 9 to the Shek O terminus. Note that Shek O's lifeguards stop at the end of October. The full details, including the coastal walk to Lovers' Bridge, are in my Shek O day trip guide.

4. Hap Mun Bay: the clearest water you can reach without hiking

Hap Mun Bay sits on Sharp Island, inside the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark, and its water is a clear emerald green. It is small, calm and netted, with a kiosk (reliably open at weekends) and 22 barbecue pits. Nearby, Sharp Island's tombolo appears at low tide, a natural sand path across the water you can walk out on.

How to get there: walk along the waterfront at Sai Kung Public Pier and buy a ticket from the sampan sellers, roughly HK$40, for a ride of about ten minutes. Check the time of the last boat back before you settle in.

5. Big Wave Bay: the best beach after a hike

Big Wave Bay is the classic finish to the Dragon's Back hike, and it earns its place on its own. It is known for its rolling waves and was long Hong Kong's go-to surf beach. The bay is also home to a prehistoric rock carving that is a declared monument. Facilities are a fast food kiosk, 20 barbecue pits, changing rooms and showers.

How to get there: Citybus 9 from Shau Kei Wan, getting off at the Big Wave Bay stop just before Shek O village, then follow Big Wave Bay Road to the beach. Weekends get crowded once the hikers come off the ridge. It is also one of the few beaches that keeps lifeguards through November.

6. Clear Water Bay Second Beach: the best for a proper swim

This is where Hong Kong's regular swimmers do their morning laps. It is a long crescent with clear water, a kiosk and a staircase down from the road, which keeps it easy without needing a hike. There is very little shade, so bring a hat. The bigger point in its favour: it is one of a handful of beaches that keeps lifeguards all winter, 8am to 5pm from November to March.

How to get there: green minibus 103M from Tseung Kwan O MTR to Clear Water Bay, or KMB bus 91 from Diamond Hill MTR.

7. Repulse Bay: the easiest from Central

Repulse Bay is Hong Kong's most famous beach and the one with the most around it: a restaurant, a kiosk, a playground, a beach volleyball court and the Kwun Yam Shrine statues at the east end. The 292-metre beach was artificially extended, and the backdrop is apartment towers rather than hills. It ranks low here for that reason and for its weekend crowds, not because it is bad.

How to get there: bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 from the Exchange Square Bus Terminal in Central, or bus 63 or 65 from Causeway Bay. All the Central buses carry on to Stanley, so the two make a natural loop. My full verdict is in is Repulse Bay worth visiting.

8. Hung Shing Yeh: the best ferry beach

Hung Shing Yeh on Lamma Island is the beach for people who want the ferry ride to be part of the day. It has golden sand, calm water, barbecue pits and showers, and the Lamma power station chimneys across the bay, which you either find ugly or oddly photogenic. If it is busy, quieter Lo So Shing is a short walk further along the trail towards Sok Kwu Wan.

How to get there: take the ferry from Central to Yung Shue Wan, about 30 minutes, then walk 20 to 30 minutes along the paved path. It slots into a Lamma Island day trip with a seafood lunch at the other end.

Which beaches have lifeguards in winter?

This is the part most beach lists skip. From November to March the official cover looks like this:

All winter (November to March, 8am to 5pm): Deep Water Bay on Hong Kong Island, plus Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Silverstrand, Golden Beach, Lido Beach and Casam Beach in the New Territories.
November only, then back in March: Repulse Bay and Big Wave Bay on Hong Kong Island, and Silver Mine Bay at Mui Wo.
No winter lifeguards: Shek O, Hap Mun Bay, Cheung Sha, Hung Shing Yeh and most of the others.

November is still swimmable for most people, with the sea averaging 23.7°C at the Observatory's North Point station. If you are visiting this month, a November trip has plenty more going for it of what is on. For the coves the crowds never reach, see Hong Kong's secret beaches.

Quick answers

Which beach in Hong Kong is considered the prettiest? Tai Long Wan in Sai Kung, especially Sai Wan and Ham Tin, for its pale sand, clear water and the hills around it. If you want something prettier than the city beaches without a hike, Cheung Sha on Lantau is the easy runner-up.

Is Hong Kong good for beaches? Yes, more than its skyline suggests. There are 42 gazetted public beaches, all free, with shark nets and lifeguards in season, and the best of them in Sai Kung and on Lantau are genuinely beautiful. The trade-off is travel time: the best sand is a ferry, a minibus or a hike away from Central.

Which beach in Hong Kong has the clearest water? The Sai Kung beaches. Hap Mun Bay on Sharp Island is the clearest you can reach without a hike, by a ten-minute sampan from Sai Kung Pier, and Tai Long Wan is the other contender if you make the trip. The Environmental Protection Department publishes water quality grades for every gazetted beach.

Which is better, Repulse Bay or Stanley? For the beach itself, Repulse Bay: it has more facilities, including a restaurant and a playground. Stanley Main Beach is smaller, but Stanley has the market and the waterfront village. Since the same buses from Central run to both, the easy answer is to do Repulse Bay in the morning and carry on to Stanley for lunch.