Introduction
Lamma island is the third largest island within Hong Kong’s territory. It currently attracts lots of tourists because of its proximity to Hong Kong island, seafood restaurants, scenic mountains and natural settings. It is a great place for outdoor sports, hiking, kayaking, swimming, shopping and eating seafood. This guide will take you to the adventures on Lamma island so you may enjoy a great time here.
What to do?
There are two main stops on Lamma island: Sok Kwu Wan and Yung Shue Wan. Both can be reached by ferries from Central Pier 4. It takes about 30 minutes to get to each of these piers.
Sok Kwu Wan is the more quiet place with just a handful of seafood restaurants and small shops. It has a temple, some delicious street food such as fried fishball at the Mango King where you can also get delicious and authentic mango mochi for just a bit over 10 HKD each. Their fishballs are more pricey and can go up to 30 HKD for a stick with three to four balls.
Mango Mochi at Mango King, Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island
If you are a seafood fan, you definitely should check out Fu Kee Seafood Restaurant. Their food is deliciously good, as I personally can testify because I go there very often to eat myself. They have a variety of food ranging from lobsters to fried noodles and rice dishes to salad and greens. The price is most probably one of the cheapest amongst the restaurants around Sok Kwu Wan pier. If you stay in my Airbnb vacation homes and state my name, John Wu, they will give you a discount and not charge you any service fees. You will also get free fruits as dessert. Their staff is super friendly and checkout for a special lady who works there as a waitress. She is very outgoing and provides one of the finest customer services in restaurants that I seldom see in Hong Kong.
If you are a person who enjoys a good pint of beer, wine with burgers and fries, go for LoSo Kitchen. They have a huge variety of beer from Hong Kong local brewery to international brands such as Heineken and Guinness. Their newest addition is a Japanese premium brand SanktGallen. Disclaimer: I am their supplier for their Japanese beer, so if you like it, please let me know and comment below. They also provide burgers, fries, and Western food. Probably, I would say, that their atmosphere is amongst the best for nightlife. They usually close late, until midnight or even beyond. I see a lot of young people and tourists chilling out in their garden overlooking the bay of Sok Kwu Wan: absolutely a stunning view!
The view on Sok Kwu Wan bay area from the street where LoSo Kitchen is located
After a splendid restaurant visit, you might wish to enjoy the beach. Then you just need to walk about 15 minutes to the Lo So Shing Beach. It is one of the largest and cleanest beaches on Lamma Island.
Lo So Shing Beach, close to Sok Kwu Wan pier
On your way to Lo So Shing Beach, you can find the Kamikaze Cave where the Japanese military hid their bombs for their suicide ships during the Second World War. There was a brief period where Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese and Lamma Island had a station for their marines.
Kamikaze Cave: Japanese troops hid their munitions for the suicide ships here
The way you are walking to get to the Kamikaze Cave and Lo So Shing Beach is called the Lamma Island Family Walk. It is the only street that connects Sok Kwu Wan with Yung Shue Wan. If you walk to Yung Shue Wan pier from Sok Kwu Wan, you need about one hour. There are no cars allowed on Lamma Island. This means it is perfect for walking, hiking and cycling. During peak seasons, such as weekends, public holidays, major events in Hong Kong or on Lamma Island, and between 10 am and 5 pm, the Lamma Island Family Walk is very packed and not suitable for cycling. If you are a cyclist, I would suggest to cycle from Sok Kwu Wan to Yung Shue Wan, which takes about 30 minutes, early in the morning, or just after 4 pm before it gets dark. There is a part in the middle of the Family Walk where there are no lamps and it can get really dark during the night. I have been walking through the island sometime during the night and it can get a bit scary if you are not used to it.
When you go to the East side of the island from Sok Kwu Wan, you will first hit a public playground for kids and a courtyard for football and basketball. When you go further you will be able to reach a huge bar and restaurant called The Bay, which has a stunning view of Hong Kong island across the sea. There is also a pier nearby where a ferry comes from Aberdeen and then goes to Sok Kwu Wan.
If you turn further South, then you will reach Mo Tat village, some of which is abandoned. I really love that part where you see old houses standing there unoccupied and opposite to it are houses of extremely high rent on Hong Kong island. Sometimes I wonder if I can just sleep a few nights there for free and talk to the landlord to maintain the area for free rent.
Abandoned village area within Mo Tat village
Abandoned Mo Tat School
If you follow along with the East part of the Lamma Island Family Walk, you will eventually make a circle back to Sok Kwu Wan pier and along the way, you will climb up a hill which leads to this pavilion.
Close to this, is a hanging rock where you can set up a tent and camp for free. It is flat and big enough for a two-person tent
Here is me on the hanging rock on a mountain peak on Lamma Island
This is what it looks like if you cycle to the top of the hill close to the hanging rock
As I mentioned you can get to Yung Shue Wan from Sok Kwu Wan if you go to the West side of the Lamma Island Family Walk from the Sok Kwu Wan pier. On the way, and after about 30 minutes of walk, you will reach the Hung Shing Ye Beach. It has a BBQ stand where you can make your own BBQ, a sitting out area, showers, toilets, drinking water supply and shops and restaurants around it. It is by far the most popular and biggest beach on Lamma Island at this point. It can get packed during holiday seasons so I suggest you check out Lo So Shing Beach first before you go to the Hung Shing Ye Beach.
This is my bike at the Hung Shing Ye Beach
Once you passed the Hung Shing Ye Beach you will get into the Yung Shue Wan side of the island where it is much more vibrant and more populated than anywhere else here. You get shops selling groceries for cheaper than on Hong Kong Island. The fruits and veggies here are mostly farmers markets and of better quality and lower price than anywhere else, I saw in Hong Kong. I was surprised to discover that if I go grocery shopping by cycling through the islanding from Sok Kwu Wan to Yung Shue Wan, I end up paying almost half the amount than if I take the ferry to Central and buy grocery there. But the restaurants there is higher priced than at Sok Kwu Wan.
The restaurants I highly recommend are Bookworm Cafe, which is a vegetarian restaurant serving innovative and exotic vegetarian food. Their drinks are also most delicious and coffee is very enjoyable. They open quite late during the day and usually past noon.
If you wish to enjoy arts, do some shopping from local artists, eat some healthy food and get a drink you are best served at the Lamma Art Collective. They host regular events for music, arts, shopping, local events organised by residents and is a centre of cultural exchange on Lamma Island.
If you need to withdraw money, no problem, on the Yung Shue Wan side there is an HSBC branch with ATM, which is also manned by bankers. There is even a post office if you need it. This side of the island is really a small city where you can get almost anything you would ever need for living, shopping and holiday.
History and Geography
The original Chinese name of Lamma Island is 博寮洲 (Pok Liu Chau) but people usually use 南丫島 (Nan Ya Dao). It is a part of the Island District within the New Territories region. Its location is South-west of Hong Kong Island. It has an area of 13.55 km2 and is 7 km in length. The highest elevation is 353 m and is the Mount Stenhouse or 山地塘. The population of Lamma Island as of 2014 is estimated to be about 5900.
The name Lamma Island is due to a reading error of Alexander Dalrymple in the 1760s. He purchased a Portuguese map on which the West part of Lamma Island was designated by “lama”, which means mud in Portuguese. It was used for the sailors to know the ground of the sea for them to anchor their ships. But Dalrymple took it as the name given to the entire island. It got stuck in the public and an additional “m” was added to make matters even more confusing.
The first settlement by humans was during 4000- 3000 BC, the Middle Neolithic to Bronze Ages. Later on, Yung Shue Ha was taken over by a clan in mainland China in the 19th century.
周潤發 Chow Yun Fat born close to Yung Shue Wan. He is one of the most famous actors in HK. His parents used to operate a seafood restaurant there.
On Lamma Island, building higher than three stories are prohibited. That is the reason why all the buildings here are so low and there is no skyscraper.
Yung Shue Wan used to be a major plastic industry settlement area but now it is full of seafood restaurants and a vacation paradise where many expats live.
Conclusion
Are you thrilled to go to Lamma Island and enjoy a getaway from Hong Kong’s hectic life now? Feel free to use this guide to explore Lamma. If you need a place to stay you can either book a guesthouse on Lamma, most of them are on the Yung Shue Wan side. Or you can try out Airbnb which has high quality and rather cost-effective accommodations. Take a look at my properties here and if you wish to stay do feel free to reach out to me on Airbnb.
Sok Kwu Wan Side Airbnb Vacation Home:
ROMANTIC TENT for Couples on Rooftop Lamma Island
SUNNY CHARMING Double BR for 2 Lamma Island
SCENIC Tent w/ SEAVIEW on Rooftop Lamma Island
Yung Shue Wan Airbnb Vacation Home:
ENTIRE APT 3BR for Family & Business Lamma Island
CHARMING Double BR in Quiet Forest Lamma Island
CHARMING Single BR w/ Flower Garden Lamma Island
COZY Double BR for Couples Lamma Island
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