Things to Do in Hong Kong When It Rains: The Grown-Up List
Hong Kong gets a lot of rain, and most of it falls between May and September, which is exactly when a lot of people visit. The good news is that this is one of the easiest cities in the world to spend a wet day in, because so much of it is built to be walked through under cover. Here is my list of things to do in Hong Kong when it rains, written for adults: proper museums, heritage buildings, a race night and two rides that are better in the wet, with the family version linked at the end.
First, check what colour the rain is
The Observatory grades heavy rain in three colours, and the thresholds are exact. Amber means more than 30 millimetres in an hour has fallen or is expected. Red means more than 50. Black means more than 70, and the official advice under black is to stay indoors or take shelter until it passes. Amber is a normal wet day, and everything below goes ahead. Red is unpleasant on foot. Black is the only colour that should change the plan: wherever you are when it goes up, stay there until it lifts.
Things to do in Hong Kong when it rains: the big museums first
The two heavyweight museums sit next to each other in the West Kowloon Cultural District, and you reach both from Kowloon Station through the Elements mall and a footbridge, 10 to 15 minutes of walking that is mostly indoors. M+ is contemporary visual culture, HK$190 for an adult, closed on Mondays and open until 10pm on Fridays, which is the quiet slot. The Hong Kong Palace Museum is Ming and Qing imperial objects on loan from Beijing, HK$70 for the core galleries, closed on Tuesdays and open until 8pm on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays. Each wants two to three hours, and a rainy day is the one day you will not resent giving them.
The Tsim Sha Tsui museums, for almost nothing
If HK$190 feels steep for a weather plan, cross to Tsim Sha Tsui. The Museum of Art on the harbourfront and the Museum of History are free every day they open, the Science Museum is HK$20 and the Space Museum's exhibition halls are HK$10, and both of those go free on Wednesdays. The trap is the closing days: History and Space shut on Tuesdays, Art and Science on Thursdays. I have set out which Hong Kong museums are free and on which days separately, including a zero-dollar Wednesday loop.
Central under cover: Tai Kwun, PMQ and the escalator
Central's hillside is the best wet-weather neighbourhood in the city, because the Central–Mid-Levels Escalator, 800 metres of covered escalators and walkways, runs uphill from 10am to midnight and drops you beside everything worth seeing. Tai Kwun, the restored police station and prison compound at 10 Hollywood Road, is free, with courtyards open 8am to 11pm and heritage exhibitions from 11am to 7pm, and most of it is indoors or under cover. PMQ, a short walk away at 35 Aberdeen Street, is around 100 design studios and shops around a courtyard, free to enter and mostly indoors. Central Market at the bottom of the escalator keeps its shop floors open 10am to 10pm. You can do all three without opening an umbrella more than twice.
Two rides that are better in the rain
The tram, the ding ding, is enclosed, slow and costs a flat fare of a few dollars, tapped on an Octopus card as you get off. The upper deck in the rain, with Wan Chai and Causeway Bay streaming past the windows, is one of the best cheap hours in Hong Kong. The Star Ferry is the other. From Central you reach the pier by covered walkway from IFC, the weekday adult fare is HK$4 on the lower deck or HK$5 on the upper, and a grey harbour with the towers vanishing into cloud photographs better than you would expect. Beside the piers, the Hong Kong Observation Wheel's 42 gondolas are enclosed and air-conditioned, the ride costs HK$20 and lasts about 15 minutes, and it keeps turning through ordinary rain and an amber signal. It only closes under a black rainstorm warning or typhoon signal 3 and above.
Wednesday night: Happy Valley
If your wet day is a Wednesday between September and mid-July, the evening is solved. Happy Valley Racecourse charges HK$10 at the turnstile, you can tap in with an Octopus card, gates open two hours before the first race at around 7pm, and nobody expects you to bet. The rail is open air, so this is an umbrella-and-beer night rather than a dry one, and it is worth checking the Jockey Club's fixture list on the day, since a few Wednesdays are skipped.
Tea, dim sum and the mall network
A long dim sum lunch is the classic local answer to rain. For something quieter afterwards, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware inside Hong Kong Park is free, open 10am to 6pm and closed on Tuesdays, and the park is about 15 minutes on foot from Tai Kwun. Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, IFC in Central, Elements above Kowloon Station and K11 Musea are all stitched to an MTR station by covered walkways, so a museum, lunch and an afternoon can be strung together with very little sky.
What to skip when it rains
- The Peak. The whole point is the view, and low cloud takes it away. It is also worth avoiding straight after rain, because the air often has not cleared. Move the Peak Tram to a clearer day.
- The Big Buddha and Ngong Ping 360. A cable car ride into cloud gives you nothing to look at, and the statue itself is outdoors at the top of 268 steps. Save Lantau for sunshine.
- Hikes and beaches. Dragon's Back and the other ridge walks are slippery and viewless in heavy rain, and a beach day explains itself.
Do the theme parks stay open?
Mostly, yes. Hong Kong Disneyland's weather policy keeps the park open under amber and red rainstorm warnings, with some outdoor attractions suspended, and it stays open with limited offerings even under black. Only typhoon signal 8 or above closes it, and if the park does close during your visit the ticket is valid for a return within six months. Ocean Park reads the same way: open with limited service under black, with rides, shows and the cable car liable to be suspended. If you are travelling with children, the family version of this list covers indoor play by age.
Quick answers
What is the best month to visit Hong Kong? For dry weather, October to December. The Observatory puts about 80 percent of the annual rainfall between May and September, with June and August typically the wettest months and December and January the driest.
What activities can be done during rain? Museums, the covered heritage sites in Central, the tram and the Star Ferry, the mall network above the MTR, a long dim sum lunch and, on a Wednesday in season, the races.
What are the best indoor activities in Hong Kong? M+ and the Palace Museum for a serious half day, the free Museum of Art and Museum of History for a cheaper one, Tai Kwun and PMQ for browsing, and the Observation Wheel for a dry 15-minute harbour view.
Where can you go for a weekend from Hong Kong? Macau. The ferry from Sheung Wan takes 55 to 60 minutes, and the Cotai resorts, with the Venetian's indoor canals, are built for exactly the weather that spoils a Hong Kong day.
