Life in Hong Kong during the summer can be rather painful, as the heat (always over 30 degrees Celsius) and the humidity (from 70% to 80 or even 90%) pair up to make our days miserable. At first, I would stay in my room all the time with AC blasting in my face, and my errands outside would never take me too far without having some AC pit-stops. Saturday was a really beautiful day though, and it felt kind of wrong to stay inside, so my boyfriend and I decided to go to the beach of Shek O!

Hong Kong being comprised of a set of islands and coastal territories, there are countless beaches you can enjoy, for easily 8 months a year (at least in my opinion as a Montrealer). However, we chose Shek O for the simple reason that it’s the easiest and quickest to access by public transportation from Wan Chai.

I have to say that I was quite impressed. The bus ride from Shau Kei Wan MTR station to Shek O was absolutely charming, offering some amazing views of the bay and islands, on a road just sketchy enough to get that familiar mildly scary sensation when we had to turn or pass another vehicle (anyone who’s been in a double-decker on Hong Kong’s sinuous roads knows what I’m talking about), without actually fearing for our lives. Once in Shek O, we felt like we had just arrived in a little Caribbean village! The one or two-stories high, pastel-colored stores selling cold beer, ice cream and beach equipment, and the big advertisement signs that are faded from the sun, sure have a totally different vibe from the shops we see in other parts of the city.

It didn’t take long after we debarked from the bus before a local woman started showing us the way to the beach without us asking. At first, I wondered if she would try to ask for a tip or get us embarked in some weird scam; she was actually an authorized merchant at the beach, renting umbrella and chairs. With the tropical sun of Hong Kong, there’s no way you can refuse an umbrella: you can rent one for the day for HK$60. We didn’t take chairs, but she was ready to give us a deal of an umbrella and two chairs for HK$100.

We had a great time at the beach: there isn’t too many people but it was still lively, the sand is pale and the view truly beautiful, the sea floor is sand, no rocks or algae (yaye!), the water temperature is great. There was a “red alert” when we went, as the waves were quite big, but you still could have a safe and good time without going too far off. We didn’t have to bring snacks as there were many shops around (about the same prices as in the city), and the beach was secure enough that we didn’t mind leaving our bag alone (I still suggest you only bring what you really need, not too much money, and maybe put it in a beach bag or a backpack – don’t bring your purse!).

It was an awesome day: I would totally recommend Shek O beach! Do you know of any other nice beach around Hong Kong?

How to go:

Take MTR to Shau Kei Wan station (Island Line) – Between HK$2,70 and HK$14 depending on where you leave from (check here for single-ticket fares, check here for Octopus card fares)

Then take bus 9 to Shek O (last stop) – HK$6,90