Seven days in Hong Kong feels luxurious compared to how most visitors approach the city — two or three nights between flights to somewhere else, ticking Peak Tram and Symphony of Lights before moving on. A week gives you time to move between the city’s different personalities: the gleaming financial district, the dense market streets of Kowloon, the colonial south side of the island, the wilderness of Lantau, and the car-free calm of the outlying islands.
This is the itinerary we would plan for ourselves — someone who has been to Hong Kong before and wants more than the standard circuit.
Day 1: Arrival and Victoria Peak
Afternoon: Arrive at Hong Kong International Airport. Take the Airport Express to Central (24 minutes, HKD 115) and check in to your hotel. Wash off the travel.
Late afternoon: Take the Peak Tram from Garden Road to Victoria Peak. Time it for 30-40 minutes before sunset to catch golden hour views over the harbour, then stay for the city lights. The Sky Terrace 428 (HKD 49 extra) gives the best angle.
Evening: Dinner in SoHo or Sheung Wan — walk up the Mid-Levels Escalator from Central Market and choose from the restaurants along Staunton Street and Elgin Street. A cocktail at a rooftop bar with harbour views is a good way to begin the week.
Budget: HKD 300-500 for tram, dinner, and drinks.
Day 2: Central, Wan Chai, and the Symphony of Lights
Morning: Central at a walking pace. Start at the Star Ferry terminal and walk west along the waterfront to IFC. Cut through Central Market (a renovated 1939 market building now housing cafes and boutiques) to the Mid-Levels Escalator. Walk up through SoHo to Hollywood Road for the antique shops and Man Mo Temple.
Lunch: A cha chaan teng on Graham Street or in the PMQ area. Milk tea, egg toast, and macaroni soup — the classic Hong Kong lunch for HKD 40-60.
Afternoon: Tram from Central to Wan Chai (HKD 3). Walk the Blue House area, Pak Tai Temple, and Star Street. The Bowrington Road Cooked Food Market is worth a look even if you have already eaten.
Evening: Take the Star Ferry from Central Pier 7 to Tsim Sha Tsui (HKD 3.40) for the 8pm Symphony of Lights from the Avenue of Stars promenade. Walk back along the waterfront to the Star Ferry for the return crossing.
Budget: HKD 150-350 including meals, transport, and drinks.
Day 3: Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok Night Markets
Morning: Cross by Star Ferry to TST. Hong Kong Museum of History (usually free or HKD 10) on Chatham Road South — allow 2-3 hours. The reconstructed 1930s Hong Kong street is unexpectedly moving.
Lunch: Dim sum in Jordan or Yau Ma Tei — one MTR stop north of TST. The traditional restaurants around Shanghai Street serve proper yum cha from HKD 80-150 per person. Order har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, and cheung fun.
Afternoon: Walk or MTR to Mong Kok. Ladies Market from about 3pm. Flower Market Road. Goldfish Market. The streets come alive progressively from 4pm onward.
Evening: Night market stalls at full tilt from 6pm. Egg waffles, curry fish balls, and sugar cane juice from street carts. Langham Place food court for a sit-down dinner if you want more structure.
Budget: HKD 200-400 including meals, market spending, and transport.
Day 4: South Side of Hong Kong Island
Morning: Bus 6 from Exchange Square to Stanley (30-40 min, HKD 10). Stanley Market for a leisurely browse — silk scarves, paintings, linen shirts. Murray House colonial building at Stanley Plaza.
Lunch: Waterfront bar-restaurant at Stanley Main Street. Outdoor seating facing the bay, a cold beer, and fish and chips or a good burger. HKD 120-180 per person.
Afternoon: Bus 73 from Stanley to Aberdeen (20 min). Sampan tour of the typhoon shelter (HKD 50-100, 30 min). Walk the Aberdeen promenade. The waterfront restaurants here are genuine local seafood operations — better value than the more famous floating restaurant history suggests.
Return: Bus 70 back to Central (25 min) or taxi.
Budget: HKD 250-500 including transport, meals, and sampan.
Day 5: Lantau Island — Big Buddha and Tai O
Early morning: MTR Tung Chung Line to Tung Chung (end of line, 40 min from Central). Ngong Ping 360 cable car to the Big Buddha area (HKD 250 return, book online in advance).
Morning: Tian Tan Buddha — climb the 268 steps to the base, admire the scale and the mountain views, descend to Po Lin Monastery. Vegetarian lunch set at the monastery (HKD 60-100) is simple and good.
Early afternoon: Bus 21 from Ngong Ping to Tai O (20 min). Walk the stilt house community, buy shrimp paste, take a dolphin boat tour from the main pier (HKD 25-50, 30 min). Tai O egg waffles from a street cart.
Late afternoon: Bus 11 from Tai O to Tung Chung (40 min, HKD 6). MTR back to your hotel.
Budget: HKD 400-700 including cable car, monastery lunch, Tai O tour, and transport.
Day 6: Sai Kung Hiking and Seafood
Morning: MTR to Diamond Hill (Kwun Tong Line), then Green Minibus 1A to Sai Kung Town (25 min, HKD 11). Taxi from Sai Kung Town to Pak Tam Chung for the start of MacLehose Trail Stage 1.
Hiking: MacLehose Trail Stage 1 from Pak Tam Chung. The route passes the High Island Reservoir hexagonal rock columns (UNESCO Geopark) and reaches Long Ke Wan beach in about 3-4 hours. The coastal views are extraordinary. Wear hiking shoes and carry 2L of water.
Lunch: Return by taxi or kaito (the trail ends at the beach — kaito can be pre-arranged) to Sai Kung Town for a long seafood lunch at the waterfront. Choose your fish from the tanks, order typhoon shelter crab and steamed prawns. HKD 200-400 per person.
Afternoon: Kaito to Sharp Island for a swim and the tombolo sandbar (HKD 25-30 each way). Return by 6pm.
Return: Minibus to Diamond Hill MTR and back to your hotel.
Budget: HKD 350-650 including transport, hiking, lunch, and island ferry.
Day 7: Lamma Island Day
Late morning: Ferry from Central Pier 4 to Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island (25 min, HKD 25). Take your time — this is a slow day.
Morning in Yung Shue Wan: Coffee at Bookworm Cafe (HKD 40-60), walk the village, browse the small shops. The pace is entirely different from urban Hong Kong.
Midday hike: Lamma Family Trail from Yung Shue Wan to Sok Kwu Wan (1 hour, easy). Stop at Hung Shing Ye Beach for a swim.
Lunch: Arrive at Sok Kwu Wan around 1pm. Choose a waterfront restaurant and order properly — steamed garoupa, baked lobster, salt and pepper squid, and fresh prawns from the tanks. Eat slowly. This is the best meal of the trip. HKD 150-300 per person.
Afternoon: Linger over dessert and a cold Tsing Tao. No schedule. Take the ferry back to Central from Sok Kwu Wan (35 min) when ready.
Evening: Final dinner in Central or Wan Chai — something celebratory, somewhere with a harbour view.
Budget: HKD 250-500 including ferry, food, and drinks.
Practical Notes
Octopus card: Buy one at the airport and charge it with HKD 300. It works on MTR, trams, buses, ferries (except the outlying island ferries), and most convenience stores. The most useful travel purchase you will make.
Hotels: Central and Wan Chai give the best base for HK Island. TST or Jordan are good if you prefer to be in Kowloon. Avoid Mong Kok if you need quiet — it is never quiet.
Budget summary: The 7-day itinerary averages HKD 300-600 per person per day for activities, meals, and transport. Hotels add HKD 700-1800 per night depending on standard.
What we would add with more time: Cheung Chau Island (ferry from Central Pier 5, 55 min, famous for its bun festival and wind-dried sausages), the Dragon’s Back hike from Shek O, and the art galleries in Sheung Wan and Wong Chuk Hang.