How to Enjoy the Outdoors During Hong Kong’s Summer

Summer in Hong Kong is notoriously hot and steamy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the great outdoors. Here’s our pick of the city’s most scenic outdoor spots for summer fun.

Stretching from Central Piers to Admiralty, Tamar Park is so much more than the Legislative Council’s backyard. This beautifully landscaped series of sloping lawns and pathways, dotted with sculptural artworks and cooling water features, offers sweeping Victoria Harbour views to the north, and feng shui architecture to the south – take your pick.

Similar to Tamar, with its harbour panorama and clipped grass, but tucked up the ‘quieter’ Sai Ying Pun end of town, Sun Yat Memorial Park is great for people-watching and sporty recreation. Everyone from kids to grannies uses this much-needed communal Western space for breaking tai chi shapes and practicing dance routines. There are also basketball courts, fitness stations, a footie pitch, jogging track, and playground to keep fidgety tots occupied.

Up your view-game with a hike up to Victoria Peak Garden, the loftiest perch on Hong Kong Island. Fitness bunnies can skip up our favourite passage – the Morning Trail – starting at the foot of steep, winding incline Hatton Rd, ambling round flat, circular Lugard Rd, then ascending for another 20 minutes via Mt Austin Rd. Or, if sweating it up the hill sounds like your idea of hell, take a taxi up to The Peak Lookout restaurant (right next to Mt Austin Rd) and breeze it up to the top for the mother of all outlooks.

Surrounded by jewel-green sea, it would be rude not to dip your toes into the Hong Kong waters, and Deep Water Bay on the southern shore of Hong Kong Island is but a short taxi ride away from Central. Less developed and therefore less tourist-mobbed than Repulse Bay or Stanley, facilities are simple but sufficient; fresh from a renovation, Coconuts Thai Bar and Grill serves Isaan hits such as zesty laab, yum som o with a side of laidback vibes and endless sea views.

Alternatively, to really get away from it all, jump in a taxi up to busy fishing town Sai Kung, in the verdant New Territories, then all aboard a boat to jaw-dropper bay Tai Long Wan. Your ride will drop you on Ham Tin beach, which has a diner-shack, campsite and other amenities, but we suggest trekking over the headland to the secluded white sands of Tung Wan. Aaand relax.

Tamar Park / Admiralty / Hong Kong Island / lcsd.gov.hk

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park / Sai Ying Pun / Hong Kong Island / lcsd.gov.hk

Victoria Peak Garden / Mt Austin Rd / Central / Hong Kong Island / thepeak.com.hk

Deep Water Bay / Hong Kong Island

Tai Long Wan / Sai Kung / New Territories