Two Routes Through Lantau's 3 Days
There is a version of three days on Lantau that ends at Disneyland, and a version that ends in a tent at 700 meters with nothing but wind and stars for company. Both start exactly the same way, on a cable car gliding over Tung Chung Bay.
Day one, whichever route you pick
Take the MTR to Tung Chung, ride Ngong Ping 360 up to the plateau, and spend the morning at the Big Buddha, Po Lin Monastery and the Wisdom Path. In the afternoon, bus onward to Tai O for a pink dolphin boat trip and dinner, staying overnight at the Tai O Heritage Hotel or a seaside guesthouse.
Route A: peaks, beaches and a theme park finish
Day two starts with an early bus to Pak Kung Au to hike across Sunset Peak through the silvergrass down into Mui Wo, with lunch at Silvermine Bay before transferring to Cheung Sha Beach for an afternoon of watersports and sunset dining, overnighting at a beachside guesthouse or a spot like Long Coast Seasports. Day three stays easy: watch the water buffalo at Pui O Beach in the morning, then either ride to Hong Kong Disneyland at Sunny Bay or take the ferry across to Discovery Bay for open-air plaza dining before heading back to Central.
Route B: the 70 kilometer full Lantau Trail
Skip the hotel-hopping entirely and hike all 12 sections of the circular Lantau Trail over three to four days, sleeping at designated country park campgrounds at Nam Shan, Ngong Ping and Kau Ling Chung with a self-carried lightweight tent. This is a different trip in kind, not just in distance: no restaurant bookings, no ferry timetables to hit, just the trail and whatever you are carrying.
Picking a route
Route A suits a couple or a family who wants variety and a bed every night; Route B suits an experienced hiker who wants distance and does not mind carrying camping gear over exposed ridgeline for days at a stretch. Trying to blend the two rarely works, since a rented tent and a hotel reservation on the same three days pull your schedule in opposite directions.
Book the Tai O Heritage Hotel weeks ahead if it is part of your plan; it is a nine-room property with essentially no weekend walk-in availability.
For the bus routes that connect every stop on Route A, see bus tours on Lantau Island .