Tap Mun / Grass Island

After two weeks in Hong Kong, the skyscrapers and unlimited shopping malls of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Mong Kok quickly became tedious and I started researching hiking trails on different outlying islands. Mind you, I am not a hiker. But so desperate was I to get away from what someone nicknamed Time Square on Steroids, I started to looking at alternative activities to make my stay there a little bit more enjoyable.
When a local colleague heard me asking for suggestions, she said, «I know a place but it’s really hard to get to. But totally worth it.» Immediately, I heard Barney Stinson’s voice in my head saying, «Challenge accepted!» And that is how I found myself a day later waking up at 6:00AM to get to Tap Mun or Grass Island.
Be warned! Getting to Tap Mun is quite the challenge. My colleague recommended two sequential routes. After much research, I decided to make up my own route. It ended up being slightly more expensive than making the four to six transport transfers my colleague recommended but it was totally worth the extra expense.
I went there first thing on a Friday morning and ended up being one of only two foreigners on the island. It felt like I had the place to myself. It has grassy, rolling hills and a very small and elderly population. Apparently it also has a history as a smuggling and pirate haven.
I went on a clear sunny day and the panoramic views were stunning. This was totally worth the hours of research and early wake up call. I did a circular hike all around the island and climbed to its highest publicly accessible point. The whole hike took roughly an hour and the only people I met along the way were a handful of campers and some local residents. It was so great to finally be far far far away from tall buildings and just see nature. Tap Mun is far enough that while on the island, I was closer to mainland China than I was to Hong Kong SAR.
I finished my hike with a meal at a local eatery where two women old enough to be my grannies made me the islands famous ice-​less iced milk tea and sea urchin fried rice.
Here’s how to make the roundtrip journey to Tap Mun:
— Get on the MTR from your closest stop and make the necessary transfers to arrive at University Station in Ma Liu Shiu.
— From University Station to Wong Shek Pier, take a green New Territories (NT) taxi. It’s cheaper than the red Urban Taxi (UT). The taxi stand is right outside the University station. It takes roughly 30 minutes early in the morning. It cost HK$ 137 and is totally worth the scenic drive.
— The first ferry from Wong Shek Pier leaves at 8:30AM. My recommendation is to take this because the island is least crowded at this time and will guarantee you don’t have to rush.
There are more ferries on the weekend than on weekdays. Make sure to leave by 3:00PM so there’s no chance of you getting stranded overnight.
On the return journey you can either take the same way back (ferry-​taxi-​MTR) or take a direct ferry from Tap Mun to the Ma Liu Shiu pier next to University Station. That ride is a bit longer but also scenic.