5 Days in Hong Kong: The Perfect Itinerary
From the neon-lit night markets to an island with no cars, five days is just enough to scratch Hong Kong's extraordinary surface.
Before You Arrive
Hong Kong rewards preparation. Not over-planning — but knowing a few things ahead of time will save you queues and frustration.
Get an Octopus card at the airport the moment you land. It works on the MTR, buses, trams, the Peak Tram, and the ferries, and it's accepted in most convenience stores and many restaurants. Add HKD 200 to start; you can top up at any MTR station.
Book the Peak Tram return ticket online for a specific time slot — the walk-up queue can be over an hour, especially on weekends. The cable car to Ngong Ping on Lantau is worth booking ahead too.
Day 1: Kowloon — Orient Yourself with Neon
Land, check in somewhere near Tsim Sha Tsui (the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula), and walk. Kowloon is dense, loud, and completely disorienting in the best way. That's the point.
Afternoon: Walk Nathan Road north from the Star Ferry Pier. The Chungking Mansions — a crumbling vertical city of guesthouses, restaurants, and informal trade — is worth walking through even if you're not staying there. It's chaotic and somehow functional.
Evening: Head to the Temple Street Night Market (open from around 7pm). It's touristy, but the cooked food stalls at the southern end are genuinely good. Try the clay pot rice if it's on offer. Fortune tellers set up on the pavement after dark; getting a reading costs a few hundred HKD and is worth it for the theatre alone.
After dinner: Walk back to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront for the Symphony of Lights at 8pm — a free nightly laser and light show projected across the harbour skyline. Earnest and slightly over the top. Worth seeing once.
Day 2: Hong Kong Island — The Urban Core
Take the Star Ferry across the harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central. The eight-minute crossing costs HKD 3.40 and is one of the best value experiences in Asia.
Morning: Walk from Central through Sheung Wan to Sai Ying Pun. Stop at the PMQ building — a converted police married quarters that now houses independent designers, galleries, and a good rooftop café. Browse the antique and dried-goods shops on Cat Street (Upper Lascar Row), where the curiosities range from genuine antiques to convincing reproductions.
Midday: Take the Peak Tram (you booked ahead) to Victoria Peak. The view of the harbour from the top is the one photograph you'll see on every Hong Kong travel article. It earns the cliché.
Instead of the tourist mall at the peak, walk the Lugard Road circuit — a 3.5km loop at the same elevation, with views north to Kowloon and south over the Lamma Channel. Quieter, free, and far better than the viewing platform.
Evening: Take a taxi or bus to Stanley on the south side of the island. The waterfront here is genuinely pleasant rather than tourist-grade. Sit outside with a cold Tsingtao and watch the fishing boats come in.
Day 3: Lantau Island — Big Buddha and a Village with No Roads
Lantau is Hong Kong's largest island, mostly undeveloped, and feels like a different country.
Morning: Take the MTR to Tung Chung, then the Ngong Ping 360 cable car across the mountains. Book the crystal-floor cabin if heights don't bother you — looking straight down through your feet at the forest canopy 500m below is memorable.
At the top: Tian Tan Buddha — 34 metres tall, sitting above a working monastery. Climb the 268 steps early. Arrive before 10am to beat the tour groups.
Afternoon: From Ngong Ping, take a bus to Tai O — a fishing village built on stilts over a tidal channel. No cars, narrow alleyways, preserved dried seafood shops, elderly women selling shrimp paste from doorways. Eat the fish balls from the market stalls and the egg waffles from the cart near the bridge. Walk slowly.
Evening: Ferry from Mui Wo back to Central. The journey takes about an hour, and if you time it right the sun sets behind Lantau on the way back.
Day 4: Dragon's Back — The Best Urban Hike in the World
Dragon's Back is consistently rated one of the world's best urban hikes, and it earns the label. A ridgeline trail that drops steeply to the sea, with Hong Kong's skyscrapers visible on the horizon.
Getting there: MTR to Shau Kei Wan, then bus 9 to the To Tei Wan start point (the bus stop is right at the trailhead).
The trail: The main section from the trailhead to Shek O takes around 2–2.5 hours at a relaxed pace. The ridgeline section is exposed and sometimes windy — keep going even when your legs disagree, because the views south over the South China Sea and north back over Kowloon are genuinely dramatic.
After the hike: Walk down to Shek O beach. On a weekday you may have large stretches of it to yourself. The Thai restaurant on the main square has been there for decades and the food is solid. Cold beer after a hike in Hong Kong's humidity is one of life's simple pleasures.
Evening: Bus back to Shau Kei Wan MTR, then take the MTR to Sai Kung for seafood. Pick your fish from the tanks at one of the waterfront restaurants — point and price, then eat.
Day 5: Mong Kok, Dim Sum, and Last Views
Morning: Dim sum at Tim Ho Wan in Mong Kok — arrive at opening (10am) or expect a wait. The baked BBQ pork buns are what people queue for. Order them before you look at anything else.
Late morning: Walk the Mong Kok market cluster:
- Flower Market Road — a full street of cut flowers and potted plants; the heady smell hits you a block before you see it
- Goldfish Market — an entire street of pet shops selling goldfish in hanging plastic bags, which is exactly as strange as it sounds
- Ladies' Market on Tung Choi Street — clothes, accessories, novelties, aggressive haggling expected and welcomed
Afternoon: Ride the historic trams along Hennessy Road in Wan Chai. HKD 3. Sit on the upper deck at the front and watch the city pass at walking pace. It's the best slow travel in Hong Kong.
Getting around: The MTR is fast, cheap, and air-conditioned — use it as your backbone. Taxis are inexpensive by Western standards but can be scarce in the rain. Your Octopus card covers everything.
Weather: Hong Kong is subtropical. October and November are the sweet spot — cooler, clear, lower humidity. May to September brings heat, heavy humidity, and typhoon risk. Avoid Golden Week (late April/early May and early October) unless you want your experience to be primarily of other tourists.
On food: The best meals in Hong Kong are rarely in restaurants with English menus. Learn to point, keep Google Translate's camera mode open, and eat where the plastic stools are full.
