Dragons Back & Big Wave Bay

One of my absolute favorite hikes in all of Hong Kong is the Dragons Back trail. This is one of the most popular hikes in all of Hong Kong, and it is very easy to understand why! This hike is very easy to get to and is not very difficult to complete, in total it is around 8km and should take you no more than 3 hours. I have seen many kids hiking this trail wearing crocs.  

Once you're on the trail it is very clear where you should be walking, follow the sign posts and enjoy all of the amazing views! When you reach the fork I strongly suggest heading towards Big Wave Bay, which is also one of my favorite beaches in Hong Kong! This beach is beautiful and clean, and there are plenty of stands where you can rent things like body-boards, surfboards, and stand-up paddle-boards. It has been a while since I have been here, but at the time I paid 50HKD (around $6.50 USD) to rent a body-board and around 150HKD ($20 USD) to rent a surfboard for the entire day.

How to get there: To get to the start of the hike take the MTR to Shau Kei Wan station which is on the island line (blue line) and leave from exit A, from there you will need to catch the number 9 red mini bus, otherwise known as the Hong Kong death bus, and ride until the Dragons Back stop on Shek O road. It's important to note that these mini busses are a wild ride, they go very fast and take corners like they're being chased by some kind of monster, and there are no "stop" buttons to alert the driver that you want to exit, you instead need to shout to the driver "yao lok" which means you want to get off. Given that the Dragons Back trail is so popular, the driver will automatically stop there anyway, so it's usually no problem. 

Getting back from the beach is easy, head up from the beach to the big parking lot and there are multiple buses which will take you back to different MTR stations, including the number 9 mini bus which you took to get to the start of the Dragons Back trail.

If you're new to hiking I would highly recommend this hike, it's not too long and has the fun reward of getting to hang out at the beach once you complete it!