Full-Day Private Tour of Lantau Island including Big Buddha and Tai O

Lantau Island is often referred to as the ‘Lungs of Hong Kong’ because it is so green and underdeveloped. Take a tour of Lantau with us and visit the awe-inspiring Big Buddha and the wonderfully quaint stilt village of Tai O. Our Private Lantau Tours last 7 hours, 8 with a hotel pick-up. Your Lantau private tour starts with a ride on the Ngong Ping Cable Car. You will be treated to the most wonderful views of Lantau Country Park and the airport as you travel over the back of the island for 25 minutes. Our destination is the famous Big Buddha. Here you will learn about Buddhism, climb the 268 steps to the Buddha, visit the Po Lin Monastery and the hall of 10,000 Buddhas. From Ngong Ping, it is a 20-minute bus ride to Tai O, affectionately known as the Venice of Hong Kong. Tai O is one of the few remaining places in Hong Kong where you can still see stilt houses over the water. Tai O used to be a big community but due to the decline of the fishing industry it, like Venice, is now primarily a tourist destination, for both overseas visitors and Hong Kongers escaping the hustle and bustle of the city. Tai O is still known for its traditional production of shrimp paste and for its colourful seafood market.

Soar through the sky in Ngong Ping 360 cable car for an astonishing bird's-eye-view of some of Hong Kong's greatest natural and historical sights. As you step out of the cable car, you will be greeted by the culturally themed 1.5-hectare Ngong Ping Village, where a wide array of shops and eateries offer a delightful shopping and dining experience.

The remote Po Lin Monastery, hidden away by lush mountains, became a popular attraction when the extraordinary Tian Tan Buddha statue (informally known as the Big Buddha) was erected in 1993. Po Lin Monastery is one of Hong Kong’s most important Buddhist sanctums and has been dubbed ‘the Buddhist World in the South’. Home to many a devout monk, this monastery is rich with colourful manifestations of Buddhist iconography and its pleasant garden is alive with birdsong and flowery scents.

Tian Tan Buddha or the Big Buddha is the second largest outdoor sitting bronze Buddha statue in the world. Sitting 34 metres high and facing north to look over the Chinese people, this majestic bronze Buddha draws pilgrims from all over Asia. The eyes, lips, incline of the head and right hand, which is raised to deliver a blessing to all, combine to bring a humbling depth of character and dignity to the massive Buddha, which took 12 years to complete. Climb the 268 steps for a closer look at this remarkable statue, and to enjoy the sweeping mountain and sea views that can be seen from its base.

Tai O is home to the Tanka people, a community of fisher folk who’ve built their houses on stilts above the tidal flats of Lantau Island for generations. These unusual structures are interconnected, forming a tightly knit community that literally lives on the water. Their enchanting world is a photographer's paradise. The manually operated drawbridge that spans the narrow creek dividing the town replaced a rope-drawn ‘ferry’ that operated for over 85 years.

A visit to Heritage Hotel, dating from 1902, this building was formerly the Tai O Police Station and one of the earliest police stations built in the New Territories. It is situated on a small hill next to the Tai O Ferry Pier. The building was revitalised and converted into the Tai O Heritage Hotel in 2012. The hotel includes nine colonial-style rooms and suites with sea views and a roof-top restaurant serving Tai O specialties. The surrounding cannons, searchlight and guard towers have all been restored. Here you will be served lunch at the end of your tour.