Travel Itinerary for Lantau Island - This One Article is Enough
If you are going to Lantau Island, you should definitely visit Tai O. After all, the cost-effectiveness of Tai O Fishing Village is very high. For fifty dollars, you can go out to sea for an hour, and if you're lucky, you might see dolphins.
My experience was:
1. Take the cable car up to Lantau Island,
2. First visit Po Lin Monastery, watch the documentary about the construction of the Big Buddha, eat Po Lin Monastery's desserts, and take countless photos of lotus flowers,
3. Then climb the Big Buddha and visit the facilities inside the Big Buddha.
Walk to the Heart Sutra Stele,
4. Then return to the foot of the Big Buddha, take bus No. 21 to Tai O, stroll around the fishing village, and take a speedboat to try your luck at seeing dolphins.
5. After that, take bus No. 21 back to the foot of the Big Buddha, and then take the Ngong Ping cable car down the mountain.
Special Note: There is a free tourist office at Ngong Ping Station that takes visitors to see the local plants of Hong Kong Island and the Heart Sutra Stele. The guides there organize walking tours to the Heart Sutra Stele every one or two hours. The 2 PM tour is in English, and the other tours are in Cantonese. I originally wanted to join the 2 PM English tour. However, the guide was worried that if I returned at 3 PM, I wouldn't be able to make it back to take the cable car (because the bus from Tai O to Ngong Ping ends early), so they suggested I join an earlier Cantonese tour. This made my later schedule a bit rushed. So, I suggest you arrive at Ngong Ping earlier.
The bus schedule from Ngong Ping to Tai O and back is clearly shown in the photos I took. Refer to the times in the photos for your planning! Important things need to be said three times! This schedule is accurate! I personally asked the bus driver. Don't doubt it! Previously, whether I asked the guide at the Heart Sutra Stele or the entire tourist service center at Ngong Ping Station, none of the staff knew the accurate information, and they even gave me the wrong time for the last bus from Tai O to Ngong Ping. Don't trust them! Just look at the photos I took.
Of course, at that time, because I bought a round-trip cable car ticket, I felt it would be a pity not to take the cable car down the mountain. After all, the scenery along the way is super amazing, but the weather on Hong Kong Island often changes suddenly in summer. When I returned, there was strong wind and heavy rain, and I almost had to take the bus down the mountain. Even after the rain stopped, the windows of the cable car fogged up, and I couldn't see anything outside.
So, I think it's better to buy a one-way cable car ticket up the mountain. Then, after having fun in Tai O, take the bus directly back to Hong Kong Island from Tai O.