Lantau Island Private Tour: Big Buddha & Tai O with Guide

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/16

Duration7h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · CM +1

PickupAt your hotel

Walk Lantau at your own speed with a guide who knows where to linger

A full-day private walking tour of Lantau Island with a live guide in English, Cantonese or Mandarin, including cable car access to Big Buddha, the Po Lin Monastery, a boat ride through Tai O's stilt village, and lunch at Tai O Heritage Hotel. You walk between 5 and 10 kilometers depending on how much time you spend at each stop, at a slow pace across flat terrain, though reaching the Buddha statue itself requires climbing 268 steps. Hotel pickup is available with the Hotel Departure option; the Tung Chung MRT Departure option starts at the station.

Step-by-step itinerary

Full-day Lantau Island private tour

Ride Ngong Ping 360 cable car
Explore Ngong Ping Village
Climb 268 steps to Big Buddha
Visit Po Lin Monastery
Bus ride to Tai O village
Boat ride in Tai O
Visit Tai O Heritage Hotel
Enjoy lunch at Tai O Heritage Hotel

The Experience

You start with a 25-minute ride on the Ngong Ping cable car, soaring over Lantau Country Park and the airport before arriving at the Big Buddha. The cable car is a one-way inclusion; your guide leads you through the Po Lin Monastery and its hall of 10,000 Buddhas, then up the 268 steps to stand at the base of the Tian Tan Buddha itself—a 34-meter bronze statue that took 12 years to complete. The views from there stretch across mountains and sea. If the cable car closes for maintenance on your tour date, your guide refunds that portion and you travel by bus instead, so the day still holds together.

From Ngong Ping, a 20-minute public bus ride takes you to Tai O, a fishing village built on stilts above tidal flats where the Tanka people have lived for generations. Your guide shows you the stilt houses, the manually operated drawbridge, and the traditional shrimp paste production and seafood market the village is known for. You'll take a boat ride through the waterways—included in the tour—to see the village from the water. Lunch happens at Tai O Heritage Hotel, a restored 1902 police station with colonial rooms and a rooftop restaurant serving local specialties.

The tour runs 7 hours without hotel pickup, or 8 hours if you choose the Hotel Departure option. You'll use public buses between stops, and the pace is slow across flat ground, though how far you walk at Tai O depends on how much time you want to spend there. The guide speaks English, Cantonese or Mandarin—choose your language at booking. If you're not comfortable with the 268 steps to the Buddha or prefer to skip them, you can stay at the base and still see the monastery and village.

What’s included

Professional guide in English, Cantonese or Mandarin.
one-way Ngong Ping cable car ride in a standard cabin.
entry to Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha.
boat ride through Tai O fishing village.
public bus rides between stops.
set lunch at Tai O Heritage Hotel or Tai O Cafe.
hotel pickup if you book the Hotel Departure option.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Hello Hong Kong

Is this one for you?Book the Hotel Departure if you're arriving without a rental car or prefer not to navigate to Tung Chung station; the pickup means you start the day from your accommodation. Choose the Tung Chung MRT Departure if you're already near the station or want to save on the pickup fee—you'll meet your guide there and end with a public bus ride to either Tung Chung or Mui Wo depending on where you're staying.