2 Days in Hong Kong: Day-Trip Base Itinerary
Two days here means exactly one Macau day trip and one full outlying-island day, nothing more. Day 1 crosses to Macau on the cheap HZMB bus for the old town and a Cotai casino look. Day 2 swaps to Cheung Chau for a car-free fishing village and a coastal hike. Only two days to spare? This is the sampler version. Extend to 3 days to add Disneyland, or go all the way to the 7-day version for the full gateway family.
Book these before you go
- Macau day trip: GetYourGuide bundles transport and a guided old-town walk if you’d rather not plan the bus yourself
- Outlying-islands tour: Viator if you want a guide on Cheung Chau rather than going solo
- Hong Kong base: check Tsim Sha Tsui or Central rates on Booking.com
| Day | Focus | Travel time from HK |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Macau: Ruins of St. Paul’s, Senado Square, Cotai casinos | 45 min HZMB bus each way |
| Day 2 | Cheung Chau: fishing village, Mini Great Wall hike, cycling | 35-55 min ferry each way |
Day 1: Macau
- Take the HZMB “Golden Bus” from the Hong Kong port at the bridge, HK$65 during regular hours or HK$70 overnight, about 45 minutes plus immigration on both ends
- Walk the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Senado Square, the core of Macau’s Portuguese-colonial old town, both free to wander
- Grab a Portuguese egg tart near Senado Square, the genuine local version worth comparing to Hong Kong’s own
- If the casinos are the draw, taxi down to the Cotai Strip for an hour or two before heading back
- Return on the same HZMB bus route, last buses run past midnight, check current schedules on hzmb.gov.hk or macaotourism.gov.mo for old-town opening hours before you commit to a late one
Do I need my passport for this day trip? Yes. Macau is a separate Special Administrative Region with its own immigration control, even though Hong Kong dollars spend freely there. Bring the same passport you used to enter Hong Kong and expect a real, if fast, border crossing on both legs of the bus ride.
Day 2: Cheung Chau Island
- Ferry from Central Pier 5, HK$16.70 weekday or HK$24.80 weekend on the ordinary boat, HK$32.90 or HK$47.60 on the faster one, 35 to 55 minutes depending on which you take
- Rent a bicycle near the pier, the island is car-free and small enough to circle in an afternoon, check current sailings on Sun Ferry
- Walk or bike the Mini Great Wall coastal trail and look in on Cheung Po Tsai Cave, named for a former pirate stronghold
- Lunch on fresh seafood at one of the harborfront restaurants, this is genuinely one of the better seafood stops near Hong Kong
- Catch an evening ferry back to Central in time for dinner in town if you’re not staying for a late one
Is 2 days actually enough for a Hong Kong gateway trip? It covers exactly one Macau day and one island day well, which is a legitimate sampler of what this family offers. It’s not enough for Disneyland, Ocean Park, or the Shenzhen crossing, all of which need their own dedicated day and show up starting on the 3-day and longer versions.
Book the HZMB bus for the exact day you’re traveling rather than days ahead, schedules release on a rolling basis and an early booking can lock you into a worse departure slot than one bought a day or two out. Our gateway guide and Macau place page cover both legs in more depth.