Infinity Pool

I was so excited to go to Tai O village and hike to the famed infinity pool. UPDATE: you cannot actually go in the water due to new restrictions by the local Tai O council (this is actually a reservoir for the town of Tai O). While disappointing (there are guards on watch to make sure you don’t go in) the hike itself is a nice one and the view from the top is quite impressive.

I think I was the last one in Hong Kong to hear about this infinity pool. I’d hear tourist talking about an infinity pool in Tai O on the Mui Wo ferry and I’d think, you’ve got it wrong, the Four Seasons is in Central! I got it wrong.
I may be a little harsh with my rating of the pool mainly because I’ve seen some awesome waterfalls around the world (not trying to boast). For Hong Kong this place is amazing, were it not for the huge influx of visitors it’d be the first place on my list to bring friends visiting HK.
The hike to the pool is not so bad. It would be better were it not for the fact I got lost and added another 30 minutes to it. 30 additional minutes of dodging spiders the size of my face is not fun, trust me. Be sure to google the directions first! The only challenging part being the stairs. It’s great though (think positive!) because after feeling exhausted and on the brink of heat stroke there’s a cold, freshwater pool waiting for you to collapse into.
The pool itself is a decent size with enough rocks nearby to have a little picnic, soak up the sun and dangle your legs in the water. It also has a gorgeous view overlooking mountains and the sea. Behind the pool is a mini rock-​pools under a giant waterfall, which is just as much an attraction as the infinity pool in my opinion. I spent much of my time getting a free massage from the cascading water. The hike back was much easier, and being later in the afternoon most of the spiders were gone.
All in all I would highly recommend the place to any one. If you can avoid going on a weekend then do so and save it for a weekday. I went on a Monday and it was too full for my liking so I can’t imagine what it would be like on a day off!

This spot has to be one of the best oasis in Hong Kong… I had planned to go to Tai Long Wan with a friend who was visiting me but we made a last minute change of plans and decided to go to the pool. We still needed to pack food and water and wake up early anyway. We started our trip in Wan Chai and took the MTR to Tung Chung and then bus 11 to Tai O. That was all pretty smooth and as we got to Tai O village, we strolled around for a few minutes and got on our way quickly after buying some water.
The hike to the pool is moderate difficulty wise but the humidity made it a little harder than expected (and the view of the infinite… flight of stairs) but it’s enjoyable: the views are pretty amazing and it’s peaceful. When the level of sweatness was reaching its peak (or an hour into our hike) we could hear the waterfall!!! And finally, the pool!
We spent a good four hours there, swimming, chatting, meeting new people, climbing. We also had our lunch sitting on the rocks and overlooking the landscape. It couldn’t get any better! Be warned that there’s no food or water available once you leave Tai O, so make sure you bring enough of those.
As we were leaving, the sun, who had left us for a few minutes, came back! So we had yet another bath. This was around 5pm and although some people had already left, the pool was still busy. A note on that: the earlier you get there, the better, as the ground is all made of rocks and it’s uneven and you may want to find a nice spot to eat and rest.
It’s a really cool place to go on a sunny day. Easy to reach but far away enough so that it’s not overcrowded. I hope it stays that way. Now next stop Tai Long Wan!

I’m pretty sure not a lot of people know about the Infinity Pool in Tai O a year ago but now, it becomes insanely popular. Not only do frequent hikers know about this «hidden gem» but local people, exchange students or even tourists are crazy about it.
It’s no surprise that people love the pool. It really is a perfect getaway for all busy Hong-​kongers. The infinity pool is located in the far-​from-​the-​city Lantau Island, which showcases a completely different side of Hong Kong to city dwellers. You can’t find any high-​rise buildings or shopping malls in Tai O but only a fish village and mountains.
To get there, you can either take bus11 from Tung Chung or bus 1 from Mui Wo, then when you get off the bus, cross the long stone bridge and walk along the hiking trail to Man Cheung Po for about an hour. When you see a blue house, keep going for around 15 more minutes and then you can finally embrace the mind-​blowing natural beauty and take a lot of pictures of the great Infinity Pool.
There are 9 pools in total in the mountains but the main one located at the top is the best among all, fed by a huge natural waterfall overlooking Tai O. You might also want to stay there for a little longer to catch the sunset.
I hate to mention this but people are technically not supposed to be or swim there… So, make you choice people!