In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Tai O is a fishing village on Lantau’s west coast, known for its stilt houses and a 20-minute boat ride around its waterways. The classic day is the Ngong Ping 360 cable car (Standard Cabin HK$295 return, 25 minutes) to the Big Buddha in the morning, then New Lantao Bus 21 (about 20 minutes, HK$7.90) down to Tai O, and bus 11 to Tung Chung (HK$14; HK$23.30 on Sundays and public holidays) in the evening. The cable car runs 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 9:00 to 18:30 at weekends and on public holidays. Or book a tour: the Ngong Ping 360 official tour with Tai Oad (from HK$530, 4.7 stars from 764 reviews) gives priority cable car boarding, a guided Big Buddha visit and a Tai O boat ride in five hours. The day trips guide compares Lantau with the other excursions.
Getting to Tai O
| Route | How | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| Direct bus | MTR Tung Chung line to Tung Chung, then New Lantao Bus 11 to Tai O | MTR HK$24.30 by Octopus from Hong Kong station; bus HK$14 Monday to Saturday, HK$23.30 Sundays and public holidays |
| Cable car and bus | Cable car from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping, then New Lantao Bus 21 to Tai O | Cable car HK$295 return (Standard Cabin); bus HK$7.90, or HK$19.20 on Sundays and public holidays |
| Ferry and bus | Sun Ferry from Central Pier 6 to Mui Wo, then New Lantao Bus 1 to Tai O | Bus HK$12.70, or HK$21.40 on Sundays and public holidays; ferry fare on Sun Ferry |
Bus fares are New Lantao Bus’s published fares as listed in the government’s real-time transport data; MTR fare from MTR’s fare data. Route and timetable details are at New Lantao Bus. The cable car terminal is at Exit B of Tung Chung station, and the Ngong Ping bus terminus is about five minutes’ walk from Ngong Ping Village (Ngong Ping 360).
Stilt houses on the water at Tai O. Photo: Doggie82, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Ngong Ping and the Big Buddha
Ngong Ping 360’s cable car takes 25 minutes from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping. Fares are quoted by Ngong Ping 360: Standard Cabin return HK$295 for adults and HK$150 for children aged 3 to 11, Crystal Cabin return HK$365 and HK$220, and a one-way Crystal plus one-way Standard combination HK$330 and HK$185. It opens from 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and from 9:00 to 18:30 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays; the operator lists no scheduled maintenance day for 2026 (opening hours). The Ngong Ping 360 guide covers the tickets in full.
The Tian Tan Buddha is about a 10-minute walk from Ngong Ping Village. The bronze statue is 34 metres tall from its lotus throne and base, cast with 250 tonnes of bronze, and sits next to Po Lin Monastery, where construction began in 1906 (Ngong Ping 360).
The Tian Tan Buddha at Ngong Ping. Photo: Béria Lima de Rodríguez, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Tours and cable car packages
The independent route is cheaper than any tour. A tour makes sense for the priority boarding, the guide or the coach between Ngong Ping and Tai O, which saves waiting for bus 21.
Ngong Ping 360 cable car, Tai O and Big Buddha
From HK$530 · 4.7 stars from 764 reviews · 5 hours · official Ngong Ping 360 tour
Hong Kong: Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car, Tai O & Big Buddha Tourad includes priority cable car boarding, a guided visit to the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery, a Tai O boat excursion past the stilt houses and a private air-conditioned coach between the attractions.
Six-hour cable car, Big Buddha and fishing village tour
From HK$750 · 4.9 stars from 620 reviews · 6 hours
Hong Kong: 6-Hour Cable Car, Big Buddha & Fishing Village Tourad adds priority cable car boarding to a visit to the Big Buddha and Po Lin, a fishermen’s stilt house in Tai O and a second temple. It is billed as an unofficial tour.
Lantau VIP tour with lunch
From HK$790 · 4.3 stars from 441 reviews · 7 hours · pickup available
Hong Kong: Lantau VIP Priority Cable Car, Big Buddha & Tai Oad includes the round-trip cable car with priority boarding, a guided visit to Po Lin and the Big Buddha with a vegetarian lunch, a Tai O boat ride and round-trip transfers between downtown and Lantau. A private coach links Ngong Ping and Tai O.
Lantau tour by private coach
From HK$360 · 4.8 stars from 82 reviews · 5 hours
Hong Kong: Lantau Tour Big Buddha, Tai O & Private Coachad covers the Big Buddha, Po Lin Monastery and a Tai O boat ride in five hours by coach, which skips the public bus queues. It does not include the cable car.
Official fares or tour: the prices side by side
| Option | Operator’s price | Tour or package price | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself: MTR return, Standard Cabin return and buses 21 and 11 | About HK$365.50 on a weekday (HK$48.60 MTR, HK$295 cable car, HK$7.90 and HK$14 buses) before the boat fare | n/a | Your own timings; queues at the cable car and bus 21 |
| Ngong Ping 360 official tour | n/a | From HK$530 | Priority boarding, guide, boat ride, coach |
| Cable car tickets on GetYourGuide | HK$295 Standard Cabin return | From HK$240 | The cable car only |
| Sky-Land-Sea pass | n/a | Lantau Sky, Land and Sea Pass on Klookad{rel=“sponsored nofollow noopener”} | Cable car, bus and a Tai O boat trip in one ticket |
Doing it yourself is the cheapest option: about HK$366 for the transport, before the boat fare, against HK$530 for the tour. The tour buys priority boarding, a guide and the coach.
Tai O
Tai O is a Tanka fishing community whose pang uk stilt houses stand above the tidal creek, linked by boardwalks. Most of the village is a few streets of food stalls and dried-seafood shops, and the main street ends at an iron footbridge that was renovated from the former ferry raft.
Dried seafood at a Tai O stall. Photo: Michal Osmenda, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
- The boat ride. Boats wait under the footbridge for a 20-minute ride around the waterways, past the stilt houses, General’s Rock and the Tai O Heritage Hotel, the former police station (Ngong Ping 360). Operators sell the ride at the pier for about HK$50 a person (Tai O Village Tour). Operators advertise Chinese white dolphin (“pink dolphin”) sightings, which are wild and not guaranteed.
- What to eat. Dried and salted fish, fish maw and dried scallops are the village’s trade, and the stalls sell shrimp paste, egg waffles and fried doughnuts.
- Getting back. Bus 11 runs from Tai O to Tung Chung Station bus terminus (HK$14 Monday to Saturday, HK$23.30 on Sundays and public holidays). If you are returning by cable car, remember that it closes at 18:00 on weekdays and 18:30 at weekends.
The village is quietest on weekday mornings and fills at weekends. Lantau is also home to Hong Kong Disneyland, on the Disneyland Resort Line from Sunny Bay. For the other islands, see Cheung Chau and Lamma, and for the other mainland-side excursions, Sai Kung and the Geopark.
Common questions
How do you get to Tai O from central Hong Kong?
Take the MTR Tung Chung line to Tung Chung (HK$24.30 by Octopus from Hong Kong station), then New Lantao Bus 11 from the Tung Chung Station bus terminus to Tai O. The fare is HK$14 Monday to Saturday and HK$23.30 on Sundays and public holidays. Alternatively ride the Ngong Ping 360 cable car to Ngong Ping and take bus 21 to Tai O, about 20 minutes for HK$7.90 (HK$19.20 on Sundays and public holidays).
How much is the Ngong Ping 360 cable car?
A round trip in a Standard Cabin is HK$295 for adults and HK$150 for children aged 3 to 11. A Crystal Cabin round trip is HK$365 for adults and HK$220 for children, according to Ngong Ping 360. The ride takes 25 minutes. The cable car opens from 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 9:00 to 18:30 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
Can you see pink dolphins from Tai O?
Boat trips from Tai O's iron footbridge run for about 20 minutes around the village's waterways and out to the bay, and operators advertise Chinese white dolphin sightings. Sightings are wild and not guaranteed.
Can you combine the Big Buddha and Tai O in one day?
Yes. Ride the cable car to Ngong Ping in the morning, walk about 10 minutes to the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery, then take New Lantao Bus 21 from the Ngong Ping bus terminus down to Tai O for the afternoon, and bus 11 back to Tung Chung.
