moondog

Would you approve of Lama Island? He could run the perimeter trail in less than an hour, and cap it off with lunch at the pigeon restaurant.

tinkicker

With 10 hours you can pretty much go anywhere in HK. However, assuming you want to stay reasonably close to the airport the question is how far do you want to run?

Before departure: download the CityBus app and on google maps download Lantau area into the offline memory. I'd also suggest the "all trails" app.
When you arrive go to the vending machine next to the airport express desk and get a octopus card with credit on it. (this will be about 20 USD payable on a card. 5 USD is a deposit and 15 usable. when you leave it is refundable from a service desk).
Buy water, lots of water. I met some Americans on Lions Rock trail the other week who had no water as they hadn't realised how hot it would be. I had to give them a couple of ltrs of mine. The rescue resources in HKG are fab but you really don't want to have to use them. Speaking of which: In the event of an emergency on a trail the local emergency number is 999. The air quality can be an issue.

Very close to the airport :
Get the bus (or jog) to the Fuel Tank Farm. Then run the perimeter road to the Aircraft Maintenance Area. It's a flat out and back following the coast and new bridge. It's soulless but if you like aeroplanes and busses you'll see plenty go past. Big advantage is it can be as short or long as you want (from under 5k to about 10 if you go the whole way) and you will meet plenty of staff doing the same run and can bail out onto a bus at pretty much any point should it be too hot. You can add in the steps to the airport lookout hill (the view is so-so).

Next step up Get the bus to the yat-tung estate then follow the coast to the village of Tai-O. It's coastal, so mainly flat but with some very short steep sections. It's about 16km ish one way and I tend to do it as a mixed walk / run. You can then get the ferry back to Tung Chung (can pay with octopus) and the bus back to the airport.

Next level again: follow the basic route as above but instead of going to Tai-o turn up the Nong-Ping 360 escape path. It's steep , mainly stairs and paved / boardwalk. It can be slippy in damp weather. The view is fab in decent visibility. About 7-8 Km (depending on exactly where you start) . Then at the top go see the Big Buddha, take tea, buy chintzy souvenirs and take either the cable car down (pricy) or the bus (cheap but longer).

Finally I'd start in Tung Chung and run / hike to Discovery Bay. it's about 6.5 km over a hill, quite steep in places but ends in the plaza of DB a slightly unusual community. If you're uber fit and not too sweaty you could then take the ferry from DB to Central HKG which will give a great view of the city and the express from central back to the airport. Allow about 5 hours for the whole thing.

If you're prepared to explore further then things like the Dragon's Back on HKG island become viable.

Enjoy, it's an amazing place.

brunos

Why would you go through the trouble of getting all the way to Lamma, while there are many wonderful trails in Lantau? Lantau is a hiker paradise. tinkicker provided some intersting options and there are many others

889

I take it this is the OP's first experience hiking in Hong Kong, so I'd strongly suggest he keep it simple, and take a well-used pretty flat trail, especially since he's looking to jog.

From Tung Chung, the trail to Tai O fits that description perfectly.

But as said, take plenty of water and have a trail map at hand.

moondog

I was looking at the pollution map, and figured that Lama Island would be as good as it gets in this category.

brunos

I get your point. But I doubt that Lamma has less pollution than Tai O or up the mountains in Lantau parks.
And don't forget the power plant on Lamma. Even if it has reduced its poluting emissions, it is still non-negligible depending on wind direction.

garykung

I believe this topic is moot...

OP has never come back since posting...

moondog

I didn't even notice, but that's definitely bad manners.

royng

Not as bad as OP of this thread LOL

Sex in Suites Double Bed? [serious question]

trinovant

Everyone - Firstly apologies for the delay in coming back to this - everything has been a touch hectic for a few weeks.
Some fantastic suggestions and it seems like change in the airport, clear immigration, leave bags with left luggage, run, grab bags, clear immigration, head to lounge for shower is the (only?) way to go. @tinkicker thank you for the tips on routes – and works of caution. I know HK relatively well from living there may years ago, but never did much exercise in those days, and it was before the new Airport!
Apologies again for the delay in responding. All the best and thanks for your help.

fairhsa

OK - I can actually give some insight into this. I live in HK and often go hiking before a flight. Typically I would leave my hand luggage in the lockers at the Tung Chung shopping centre (they are in the basement). Then I would do a hike (you could easily run, there is a good route from Tung Chung to Mui Wo along the Olympic Trail or to Tai O along the coast, take the bus back in both instances). Then I come back and shower in the Cathay lounge and catch my flight.

HOWEVER.

You may wish to bear in mind that the Great White Elephant to Zhuhai opened a few weeks ago. (Aka the bridge to Macau). So now, particularly on weekends, instead of a nice peaceful shopping centre in Tung Chung, there are hordes of mainlanders. Meaning I suspect all the lockers will be full. So you'd better leave your luggage in the airport. I tried to do that last time (I had 4 hours between flights) and the queue was really long for the left luggage so I took the bus to Tung Chung and left it there instead anyway.

So, if I were you, instead of trying to do something closer to the airport, I would catch the Airport Express Train to Tsing Yi or Kowloon and run (or sightsee or whatever) there. There are interesting hike/trail runs on Tsing Yi. If you go all the way to Central, actually you can walk up to Bowen Road which is a popular running area. In Kowloon there is an area of park-type land near Kowloon station which is also nice.

!0 hours is OOODLES of time. I managed a 1.5 hour hike up Lantau Peak in my 4 hours turnaround a few weeks back, including messing around finding somewhere for the luggage. Many shopping centres in HK have luggage lockers (Discovery Park in Tsuen Wan does, for example). Very cheap, always empty. You can then run along the waterfront which is not a bad area. Or up into the hills if you like trail running. Tsuen Wan is a short taxi from Tsing Yi station or take A32 bus direct to Discovery Park shopping centre (final stop).

It's not only a good idea, it's very easy. If you want to shower before you come back to the airport, just about every sports centre in HK has free showers. But you have to bring your own towel, so for the luxury experience the airport lounge is a better bet.

fairhsa

You consider a direct train to HK island which takes about 25 minutes "a real hassle"??? You can walk up to Bowen road in about 20 mins from the station. Use an app like "Maps with Me" and you don't even need a data connection on the phone. (or the old fashioned paper map variety).

DragonSoul

One thing, depending on the time, don't rely on getting a Lantau (blue) taxi quickly when you call. You've lived here before and know the taxis are "regional". There are a very limited number of Lantau taxi licences and, again depending on the time, you might have to wait at HKG for one and have a longer wait to get one back to HKG. I lived in Tung Chung for a few years and could never rely on the taxis; everyone would take the buses.

trinovant

Thanks for the tips. all good points!