Aberdeen, Hong Kong

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Aberdeen is a busy fishing port on the south side of HK Island. Catch a ferry from Lamma Island as you'll get a fantastic view coming into the harbour - much more picturesque than getting there by bus. Stroll along the waterfront and watch old ladies peeling prawns and then drying them in the sun. Walk over the flyover to Aberdeen Plaza - this is where the locals all go to shop! It's very crowded at the weekends. Walk along the back streets and look at the fruit and vegetables - great variety! You can see Chinese shop assistants making up prescriptions in traditional Chinese medicine shops. Grab a bowl of snake soup in winter - it actually doesn't taste that bad.
You can then catch a bus and go on to Repulse Bay or Stanley or go back to Central. The bus services in Hong Kong are regular, safe and quite cheap.

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Aberdeen, a harbour resort, is located on the South of Hong Kong island. As you step off the bus, straight away you can see the lively harbour with traditional sampan boats, which makes quite a dramatic scene, set against the high rise buildings in the backdrop. A must do activity here is to negotiate a price to ride a sampan from one of the persistant touts (best not to go for the first one that comes to you as the prices tend to get cheaper the further you walk). They will take you on about a 30 minute ride of the harbour, including a close up view of the jumbo restaurant. We were lucky in that we arrived at about 9.30am on a Thursday when there were no other tourists around and had a sampan boat ride to ourselves – I guess that at busy times, you may have to share your boat ride with other tourists?
Please look at my photos for this tip that show a boat house that we saw during our sampan ride as well as the jumbo restaurant.

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We boarded a Chinese Junk at Queens pier next to the Star Ferry terminal in Central and sailed around Victoria Harbour to watch the sun gradually setting on the horizon with unlimited free drinks. Next stop was Aberdeen for a multi-course dinner at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant.

Lastly, we stopped at Stubbs Road in the Mid-Levels for photos. The Mid-levels is a residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. Located halfway up Victoria Peak, directly above Central, it is one of the most popular high-class residential areas for both locals and expats.

Our guide Roger, was informative. We felt it was a good tour to do on our first evening in Hong Kong as it was a good way to relax and get acquainted with Hong Kong.

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Jumbo Kingdom is always included in the itinerary of the tour packages offered by travel agencies. It's a touristy place with plenty of visitors from other countries. Boat rides are being provided for a fee to tour the harbour. You will be able to see local folks in their boats when you tour around the area.
Jumbo Kingdom is now a modern complex of dining, sightseeing and cultural attractions - a required stop in any tour of Hong Kong. Centred on the Jumbo and Tai Pak Floating Restaurants in Aberdeen Harbour, it is an internationally renowned tourist attraction. It is a Hong Kong icon and a premier tourism and fine-dining establishment.

The name says it all: It's huuuuuuuge!
Centred on the Jumbo and Tai Pak Floating Restaurants in Aberdeen Harbour, it is a Hong Kong icon and a premier tourism and fine-dining establishment.

If you've always wanted to eat in a floating restaurant, simply take the bus to Aberdeen and then board one of the Jumbo Kingdom's own free shuttle boats with departures every few minutes. The restaurant specializes in fresh seafood, but also offers roasted goose, Peking duck, changing seasonal dishes and (my favourite) Dim sum.

In operation for more than a quarter of a century and claiming to be the largest floating restaurant in the world, it has been refurbished and renovated over the past few year and has now become a modern complex of dining, shopping, sightseeing and cultural attractions - and it's also a great place for unique photo opportunities...
it's simply a MUST when you are in Hong Kong!

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Aberdeen Harbour is noted for being a traditional fishing village. We were told that due to the rising prices of fuel and living costs, the local fisherman are taking tourists out in their fishing boats to show them Aberdeen harbour to supplement their income...It was at a cost of HK$55, which I may add was paid before they would bring you back to the boarding place. You will see how the villagers live on their boats, and see them at their work for the day..It was a very interesting 30 minutes and one that shows yet another side to Hong kong!

The largest floating restaurant in the world although no longer floating as it now has a concrete base.

My colleague, who lives in Hong Kong, suggested we may like to visit the place, which to get to, requires a free boat ride from Shum Wan Pier. It was recommended, however, that we do not eat there, as in comparison to many fine restaurants in Hong Kong, the Jumbo is very touristy and overpriced.

Aberdeen is, perhaps, an amalgamation of the old and the new. It boasts a marina, where sleek shiny white yachts are moored, and a habour, where many fishing folks live in junks.

Stroll the Aberdeen promenade in the evening and you will see folks making a meal of food that is cook on junks, while nearby, tall residential blocks tower over the habour in splashes of twinkling lights.

Tourist may wish to go for a sampan ride around the habour for a closer look at the fishing junks, or even have a meal on a "floating restaurant" in the habour.

Aberdeen is a 40 minutes bus ride from Causeway Bay.