Riding the NLB Buses From Tung Chung
Nobody drives themselves across South Lantau, and that’s not a complaint, it’s the whole reason these bus rides feel like an event instead of a commute. Tung Chung Road and South Lantau Road are restricted closed roads: standard private cars and unlicensed rental vehicles need a special Transport Department permit to use them, so New Lantau Buses and licensed Lantau blue taxis carry essentially everyone who isn’t walking or cycling.
Bus 11 and Bus 23: the scenic climb
Both routes leave from the NLB terminus at Tung Chung MTR and climb immediately out of town on Tung Chung Road, switching back through sub-tropical forest before cresting at Pak Kung Au, the pass between Lantau’s two highest peaks. Bus 23 continues to Ngong Ping for the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery in about 45 to 50 minutes; Bus 11 drops down the other side toward Tai O, about 50 minutes total, with coastal views of Cheung Sha Beach and Tong Fuk opening up as the road descends. Either ride delivers more scenery per dollar than almost anything else in Hong Kong.
The Lantau Pass
A single day ticket, sometimes called the Lantau Pass, covers unlimited rides on nearly every New Lantau Bus route (the 1R is the one exception), which makes it the obvious choice for a day that touches Ngong Ping, Tai O, and Mui Wo without buying separate tickets for each leg. At a few Hong Kong dollars per ride otherwise, the pass pays for itself fast once you’re hopping between three or four stops.
The Golden Bus across the bridge
For something completely different, Bus B6 runs 24 hours a day from Tung Chung to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge port in 10 to 15 minutes for about HK$8.30. From the port, the cross-border shuttle, nicknamed the Golden Bus, covers the full 55-kilometre sea crossing to Macau or Zhuhai on viaducts and an undersea tunnel, immigration included. It turns a bridge most people only see from a plane window into an actual, ridable route.
Combine the coastal NLB ride with a same-day Ngong Ping stop and you’ve covered more of Lantau’s landscape in half a day than most rental car itineraries manage. For how those Ngong Ping tickets and timing actually work once you step off the bus, see attraction tours in Tung Chung .
Load an Octopus card with more than you expect before a day of hopping buses, since ticket machines thin out once you’re away from the main MTR terminus.