Pink Dolphins: Itinerary

Highlights

We meet in Tsim Sha Tsui to board the coach to Tung Chung where your guide will deliver a detailed introduction to what you will experience aboard the DolphinWatch boat. We will spend around three hours out at sea, heading towards Tai O, where we usually spot some small dolphin pods. The coach will then return you to Tsim Sha Tsui before lunchtime. There is an option also to meet the boat at the pier in Tung Chung, just select this option when booking.

Getting to and from the DolphinWatch Trip

Either meet us at 8.50am prompt, in Tsim Sha Tsui outside Kowloon Hotel (behind the Peninsula Hotel) or at 9:30am prompt from Tung Chung New Development Pier.The boat will return to Tung Chung New Development Pier around 1pm and the coach will return to Tsim Sha Tsui.

Inclusions

Included in your ticket price is a specialist pink dolphin expert guide, who will give you the low down on Hong Kong’s dolphin population.

Additionally, there will be an accredited local tour guide on hand, who has a wealth of local knowledge about Hong Kong’s history, customs and culture.

Insurance for the trip (inclusive of COVID coverage) is also covered by your ticket, as is transport from Tsim Sha Shui, to Tung Chung and back again.

Exclusions

On the DolphinWatch tour, food and drink are not included in the price.

Any Questions

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like to more about the seeing Hong Kong’s pink dolphins or want to enquire about our family friendly walking tours or Hong Kong Quests, fun city mystery trail activities that can be completed without a guide.

To understand more about Hong Kong’s rare Pink Dolphins, get the lowdown in our previous post.

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Hong Kong’s Jewish Population

Hong Kong’s total population is close to 7.4 million people.  Despite there only being an estimated  4,000 Jews in Hong Kong, their impact on the city has been substantial.  The earliest Jewish traders set up in Hong Kong, Macau and Canton as China opened up to international trade in the mid-1800’s. Although most are of Iraqi decent, nowadays, approximately half of the Jewish population of Hong Kong originate from overseas.  It seems that they now hail from many countries including the US, the UK, France, Australia, South Africa, Israel and Canada.

Jewish Heritage Sites

We have two synagogues in Hong Kong.  The first is the Ohel Leah next door to the Jewish Community Centre is pictured above.  The magnificent Ohel Leah synagogue in Central is often a surprise detour for guests. The second is Kehilat Zion in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Both have kosher restaurants and will deliver food locally. Additionally, there is the Shuva Isreal Restaurant in Central, Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Greeters is able to provide a specialist tour itinerary to include the Jewish heritage of Hong Kong.  This enables our guests to discover more about Jewish influence and heritage in Hong Kong.

Your itinerary can include:

• The Ohel Leah Synagogue, Midlevels
• The Jewish Cemetery, Happy Valley
• The Peninsula Hotel and Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
• The Verandah restaurant, Repulse Bay

Please let us know on the booking form, what you are interested in seeing. Our guide Nadia is the perfect guide for these tours, as her mother was Jewish.

How we can Tailor you Tour

Hong Kong Greeters provides customised private tours for visitors to Hong Kong.  We can tailor our Jewish Heritage itinerary to include other sites that interest you.  Perhaps you would like to head up the Peak and admire the famously expansive view.  If shopping is on your agenda, there are plenty of markets to explore, either for souvenirs or to see how locals shop.  There are many beautiful temples, which would contrast neatly with a synagogue visit.  Equally, there are lots of unique buildings, statues and other quirks of Hong Kong life, peppering the streets.

We e are able to offer this itinerary in the comfort of a private, air-conditioned, 8-seater vehicle. Please select below, and confirm the date of your visit by email to info@hkgreeters.com.

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Have you considered exploring Hong Kong’s islands?  They are just as rewarding as the busier parts of Hong Kong and the best way to explore them is on foot. You can take a stroll along the boardwalks of Tai O or the beaches of Cheung Chau.  Or, you can admire the fauna and flora of Lamma Island, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

We love guiding our visitors on day trips and have a huge soft spot for Cheung Chau.  Here visitors enjoy the unexpected contrast from the busy metropolis, chat with local residents, understand their history and experience the local traditions and foods which are harder to find in the urban areas.

Our private guides love handling unusual requests and giving an insider’s perspective – especially when helping our customers to explore the further reaches of Hong Kong’s outlying islands. This goes for visitors and local residents who want to get to know more about the city they live in. Here is a list of our favourite places to visit and why:

Yim Tin Tsai

This tiny dot of a place was once a hub of salt production for the small Hakka community.  However, it was largely abandoned in the 1980’s. Its heritage has since been revived with help from the local community.  On weekends you can visit the old salt pans, a Catholic church and try some of the homemade Hakka snacks.  One such snack is glutinous rice cakes filled with peanuts or red beans.

Yim Tin Tsai is reached via a 15 minute boat ride from Sai Kung Pier.  Many private tour operators will take you there and back from around HK $50 per person.

Cheung Chau

Cheung Chau is a vibrant island with pirate caves, scenic beaches and family-friendly walking trails. It has become a hub for new-starter boutique businesses.  These include arts and crafts, cafes and gift stores.  They are all located in the traditional shop-house buildings.

We love to go and stay overnight with our family in one of the many Bed and Breakfast accommodations, or you can book yourself into the number one hotel on the Island.  Well, it’s the only hotel! It’s called The Warwick and it does a great dim sum menu.

To summarise, Cheung Chau is a great place to enjoy the scenery, food and water activities. Ferries leave every 30 minutes from Central Pier 5.  Alternatively you can catch the Inter-Island ferry from Mui Wo, Peng Chau or Chi Ma Wan.

Tai O, Lantau Island

Technically Tai O is part of the largest island in Hong Kong, Lantau.  However, this tiny enclave has a fishing history centuries long and is a world away from the rest of the island. It was in a key position to take advantage of the economic activity in the Pearl river delta prior to the signing of the lease for the New Territories in 1898, and was only reachable by road in the 1970’s.

There is a huge sense of community spirit and everyone is friendly and welcoming to visitors. We were lucky enough to make some great acquaintances there last summer when running our in depth group tours of the village.

The residents of this unique village have worked hard to retain its unique identity, despite many a plan from the government to redevelop the wooden stilted fishermen’s houses along the creek. It has a great street food scene too.

This place may not be around in thirty years, so it is definitely a must-see if you are visiting Lantau. Ferries leave from Tung Chung New Development Pier every 2 hours.  Alternatively, take bus 11 from Tung Chung Town Centre.

It is advisable to purchase your return ferry tickets upon arrival, especially at weekends.  This is because there is limited space and it is a very limited service. They will run extra services on Sundays. Allow around 2 hours of travel from Hong Kong Island.

Further Island Information

Find out more about Hong Kong’s islands in a recent article we were featured in for Hong Kong Business publication, part of the Hong Kong Development Council:  Settle Down into Island Time

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Preparation

Cantonese duck is much easier to prepare.  The Peking version requires pre-ordering a few days ahead from a specialist restaurant.  Our newest infographic below highlights some differences between the two delicious dishes and where to eat them.  We also recommend delicious ‘must-try’ roasted meat restaurants for your Hong Kong visit.

Cha-Sui

If you enjoy Cantonese roast duck, then you should also try ‘charcoal furnace roast goose in plum sauce’.  In Cantonese it is called ‘cha-siu’ which is seasoned boneless barbecued pork. The best place to try is: Yat Lok Barbecue Restaurant, Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong.

Having Beijing roast duck is one of the two ‘must dos’ when in Beijing: climb the Great Wall and eat Peking duck. The Huffington Post declares it as the number 1 dish in the world to try before you die! In Hong Kong, find it at Sha Tin 18 at the Regency Hyatt Hotel, Shatin, New Territories.

Book Your Hong Kong Private Food Tour Instantly Below

We use a third party system to provide a one-click booking service to you.  Book a food tour with us today by visiting our food tour page, or by using the booking link at the bottom of the page.

If you’re not a meat lover, we now also offer a vegetarian food tour.

If your date is available on the calendar, you can book immediately.  We just need to know how many people and the length of the tour your require.  Alternatively, get in touch with us to find out more about our various walking and car tours of Hong Kong and Macau.

Discover the difference between Hong Kong egg tarts and Macau egg tarts?

How do you finger count in Hong Kong?

Visit Hong Kong

Hong Kong Greeters offer private walking tours, groups tours, virtual tours and self-guided Hong Kong Quests. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to see how we can help you enjoy our city.

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Yuen Po Bird Garden, also knows as the Bird Market

This friendly cockatoo came to say “hello” to Michelle on our tour of the Yuen Po bird garden Hong Kong today. The garden and market is located between Boundary Street to the north and the Flower Market to the south.  It has many bird species and bird paraphernalia to purchase, including anti-depressant bird feed for when your bird is not in full song!

Even if you’re not looking to buy a bird, the bamboo cages are quite striking and could be repurposed to make unusual lighting features for example.  If you are particularly interested in birds, do read our post about bird watching in Hong Kong.

The Flower Market

This consists of approximately two blocks of flower shops. A fragrant riot of colour will meet you.  If you want to enjoy this in peace, drop by in the morning.  It gets busier as the day goes on and is busier yet at weekends.  In the days leading up to Chinese New Year when it feels as if the entire population of Hong Kong comes to this small area to shop for plants and flowers for their homes.  So depending on your point of view this can be the best or worst time to visit.

The Ladies Market

This doesn’t really get going until around midday.  Mongkok’s Ladies Market is your one stop shopping street for cheap and cheerful souvenirs.  It’s a bit of a misnomer as it certainly not ladies-only.

From magnets, to t-shirts, chopsticks to tea sets and all sorts of quirky items, you can surely find a little something suitable for your nieces and nephews or your parent and friends.  Be sure to check the quality of glue, stitching etc as once bought you’ll struggle to find where you bought it.  Friendly haggling is encouraged, especially if you are the first customer of the day.

The Goldfish Market

Whether you just want a run of the mill goldfish or something more exotic, this is the place to come.  Even if you’re not in the market for a fish, terrapin or crab, it’s a interesting sight.  Small shops display their wares in clear water filled bags.  There are also tanks, fish food and all manner of decorations (from plastic castles to small water plants) to customise your fishy friends’ home.

Boundary Street

Okay, so this isn’t a market, but we thought it was worth a mention.  It’s a ruler straight street just beyond Mongkok’s bird market, delineating the boundary of land ceded to the British 1860.  South of the street was ceded in 1860 under British Colonial Rule, and land leases exist for up to 999 years. North of Boundary Street (what was termed New Kowloon and the New Territories), they will all expire on July 1, 2047, when the Basic Law’s “one country, two systems” arrangement is set to end. This seems to present a bit of a land crisis as this date draws nearer!!

So as you can see Mongkok’s markets offer a wide range of goods and all are family friendly. 

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Book here for Chinese New Year, 29th January 2017 – the Year of the Rooster

Thank you to all our valued guests who joined us for this wonderful evening of fun, food and music. We had a blast!

On the menu we had a full Chinese buffet, including a whole roasted pig (see picture above), Year of the Sheep inspired cake-pops and free-flow hospitality. The captain of our luxury yacht also managed to get us a ring-side spot for the astounding 24 minute firework display – the best display of the year and certainly the best position for the evening given the low cloud.

If you would like to join for the cruise next year, please email info@hkgreeters.com or book here #CNY2017. We look forward to welcoming you on board!

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