Hong Kong's Secret Beaches: 6 Spots Tourists Never Find
Hong Kong's secret beaches are not a myth, they are just a bus ride or a hike past where most tourists stop looking. The city's famous skyline sits across the harbour from a coastline of coves, Sai Kung hiking beaches and a Southside stretch that locals keep fairly quiet. None of these need a boat charter you have to book in advance, and none of them show up on the postcard racks. Here are six that are worth the extra effort, with exactly how to reach each one. If you are travelling with young kids, our lifeguarded, family-filtered beach list is the safer starting point instead.
Chung Hom Kok, the quiet cove south of Causeway Bay
Chung Hom Kok sits on the Southside, past Stanley, reached by minibus 40 or 40X from Causeway Bay to Cape Drive. From the drop-off you walk down a wooded hillside path, and the tree cover is what keeps the beach shaded and the crowds thin, since most day-trippers get off earlier at Repulse Bay or Stanley instead. There is a children's playground, changing rooms and a kiosk for drinks, so it is not a bare stretch of sand, just one tourists tend to skip. It makes a decent pairing with a Southside day out like our Shek O day trip, on the other side of the peninsula.
Turtle Cove, the one behind a gap in the fence
Turtle Cove sits off Tai Tam Road on the Redhill Peninsula, and it earns its obscurity honestly: take the MTR to Sai Wan Ho, use Exit A, then bus 14 from Tai On Street, and from there it is a hike through a gap in a roadside barrier rather than a signposted entrance. Expect a genuine five-kilometre walk through hilly terrain before the cove opens up, lifeguarded and sheltered. Parking near the trailhead is extremely limited, so most people who drive end up taking a taxi instead, and a pushchair will not survive the path.
Clearwater Bay First Beach, Po Toi O's overlooked neighbour
Take bus 16 from Hang Hau MTR to Po Toi O and walk downhill, and you land at Clearwater Bay First Beach rather than the better-known Clearwater Bay Second Beach everyone photographs. It is lifeguarded with clear water, but there is no kiosk, so bring your own food and drink. The smaller crowd is really just a naming accident: most people see "Clearwater Bay Beach" signposted and assume there is only one.
Sai Wan and the beaches of Tai Long Wan
Tai Long Wan is the wide bay on the eastern edge of Sai Kung Country Park that holds several beaches in a row, Sai Wan among them, and hikers already rate it as some of the best sand in Hong Kong. Tourists rarely make it out because the access is deliberately roundabout: from Sai Kung town, walk to Chan Man Street near the McDonald's and catch minibus NR29 (also signed 29R) to Sai Wan Pavilion, then hike roughly 40 to 45 minutes down to the beach itself. There is no shortcut by road. Holiday schedules also run bus 96R from Diamond Hill MTR out to Wong Shek Pier on Sundays and public holidays, from where a hired sampan can save you the walk. It is a different boat and a different Sai Wan from our Sai Wan Swimming Shed guide, which covers a photogenic pier on Hong Kong Island itself, not this beach in Sai Kung Country Park.
Long Ke Wan, the postcard beach with two ways in
Long Ke Wan's turquoise water and white sand make it the single most photographed "secret" beach among local hikers, yet it barely registers with visitors because both routes in take real effort. The shorter way is bus 94 or minibus 7 from the Sai Kung Bus Terminal (or bus 96R from Diamond Hill on Sundays and public holidays) followed by a hike down from the road. The longer way comes from the High Island Reservoir East Dam side, a roughly two and a half hour hike past the geopark's hexagonal rock columns before the bay opens up below you.
Millionaire's Beach, the one with the misleading name
Millionaire's Beach sits at Ma Tau Wan, near Sha Kiu Village on the Sai Kung peninsula, and despite the name there is no resort or entry fee, just a cove that looks expensive. It is reachable by hiking in, in which case long pants are worth wearing against the trailside scrub, or by boat, the same kind of small charter covered in our Aberdeen sampan ride guide (a different pier, but the same type of booking). There is no official signage pointing tourists toward it, which is most of why it has kept the nickname.
Quick answers
What are some secret spots to visit in Hong Kong? Beyond the beaches above, the pattern repeats across the city: a short bus or minibus ride past the last stop everyone else gets off at. Chung Hom Kok and Turtle Cove sit minutes from Hong Kong Island's southside tourist trail, while Sai Wan, Long Ke Wan and Millionaire's Beach sit on the far side of a hike into Sai Kung Country Park.
Where is the secret beach? There is no single "the secret beach," it is a label several different spots share. If you only have time for one, Sai Wan is the most rewarding for the effort, roughly a 40 to 45 minute walk from Sai Wan Pavilion after the minibus from Sai Kung town.
How do I get to Millionaire's Beach in Hong Kong? It sits at Ma Tau Wan near Sha Kiu Village in Sai Kung. You either hike in, wearing long pants for the overgrown sections, or arrange a boat from Sai Kung pier. There is no bus route that drops you at the beach itself.
Do these beaches have lifeguards? Some do. Turtle Cove and Clearwater Bay First Beach are both lifeguarded. The Sai Kung hiking beaches, Sai Wan, Long Ke Wan and Millionaire's Beach, are remote and not routinely patrolled, so swim with more caution there.
None of these beaches require a tour booking or an entry fee, just a bit more patience with buses and trails than Repulse Bay or Stanley ask for. Bring cash for minibus fares, water for the hikes, and start early if you want the sand to yourself.
