Hong Kong: Shek O Beach
So who'd have thought (especially coming from Australia) that there were nice beaches in Hong Kong! Yes, we have been quite spoiled by our last home country, but we were quite pleasantly surprised by Shek O Beach.
In fact, we've been here over a year without actually visiting one of the beaches...yes, again...snob mentality. But a friend recently put a picture up on Facebook of her boys at Shek O Beach and I thought, well that looks pretty nice. AND seeing as how much the boys absolutely LOVE and ADORE the beach, we thought we would take a journey out there.
We are in Tai Po, so we are a good 45 minutes away, but I will say once we got close (about 15 minutes away) the drive alone is worth it. You have to travel up the mountain before you go back down again to the beach area and the view is absolutely breathtaking. Mind you it's a slim road and a bit crazy with bikers, hikers and buses, but gorgeous views of Hong Kong.
It was funny when we actually got there the boys said they didn't feel like they were in Hong Kong anymore....and anyone that has lived in China knows it's nice to "get away" sometimes. HERE is a link from the tourism board- even though it's not much information.
We did arrive early (about 10 a.m.) so we managed to get a parking. And if you have kids- it's fantastic because the walk from the parking lot to the beach is just a short walk (few minutes tops). But you do have to arrive early because by the time we left at 3 it was pure madness in the parking lot.
SO here is the beach:
In fact, we've been here over a year without actually visiting one of the beaches...yes, again...snob mentality. But a friend recently put a picture up on Facebook of her boys at Shek O Beach and I thought, well that looks pretty nice. AND seeing as how much the boys absolutely LOVE and ADORE the beach, we thought we would take a journey out there.
We are in Tai Po, so we are a good 45 minutes away, but I will say once we got close (about 15 minutes away) the drive alone is worth it. You have to travel up the mountain before you go back down again to the beach area and the view is absolutely breathtaking. Mind you it's a slim road and a bit crazy with bikers, hikers and buses, but gorgeous views of Hong Kong.
It was funny when we actually got there the boys said they didn't feel like they were in Hong Kong anymore....and anyone that has lived in China knows it's nice to "get away" sometimes. HERE is a link from the tourism board- even though it's not much information.
We did arrive early (about 10 a.m.) so we managed to get a parking. And if you have kids- it's fantastic because the walk from the parking lot to the beach is just a short walk (few minutes tops). But you do have to arrive early because by the time we left at 3 it was pure madness in the parking lot.
SO here is the beach:
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| This is on one side of the beach- it's not a huge beach but plenty big for a fun day |
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| On one side of the beach there were a few restaurants (we didn't try any) but they were packed with birthday parties and all sorts of people- and some of them did smell amazing! |
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| View from the water- you can see the pavilion in the background- complete with changing rooms and First Aid room /Life Guard Headquarters |
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| View of the other side of the beach- the rocks are fun for the kids to play in (they waves aren't too big)- don't those houses have one amazing view! :)
We arrived and were quickly chastised (yes bugged!) by a little Chinese women that wanted to know if we wanted to rent an umbrella and chairs. Jason was so funny- he just wanted to pick a spot and look around but she kept following us around. (We were pretty early and there weren't many people there yet, so maybe that was why). However, we did get them- I think it was about $120 HK for an umbrella and two chairs, and even though they looked as if they might fall apart, they were surprisingly comfortable and I was so happy we had them...because it got HOT!
The boys, of course, jumped right in the water- they were quickly called out because they didn't have sunscreen on yet....boys. We had a fantastic time though- the water was still a bit cool but felt wonderfully refreshing after sitting in the sun for a bit. And there were tons of families around so the boys quickly found little "mates" to play with.
We packed a picnic lunch so had lunch on the beach (one of our favorite things to do), but there is tons of food options around if you don't have any. Jason and Jan also quickly found alcoholic drinks from the nearby restaurants to sip on- (I stayed with water!).
I told a friend that if you just showed up in Shek O, you could absolutely be fine with not bringing a single item. Out by the parking lots there are LOADS of little shops that sell everything from bathing suits, swim toys, flip flops, sunscreen, food items, etc., ...anything you would need to spend a day at the beach. And most of them spoke excellent English so it was great.
Lil' Henry playing in the water- at first his lips were a bit purple- but he didn't care one bit!
 Then there are the floating docks - a bit far for me to swim at the moment- that you can go out too- there's my man taking in the scenery!  
This one cracks me up- like father like son is all you can say- and a look at our comfy chairs (okay I actually dozed off in one for about 20 minutes when everyone went exploring!)
We will definitely be going back- especially now that we know how to get there- and I would encourage it as a must do if you are a beach goer and come to Hong Kong. :)
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