Po Lin (Precious Lotus) Monastery
Po Lin (Precious Lotus) Monastery Reviews
We've found 46 Po Lin (Precious Lotus) Monastery reviews from Viator.com travelers and members: what they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved. It's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Review by Christine G, May 2013
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
This tour which is run by a local tour company, Lantau Tours, was really excellent. Ryan, our guide, is a Lantau native and has a real passion for his island. The narrative was both informative and, at times hilarious, Ryan really is entertaining and knowledgable. The tour starts with a relaxing ferry trip to one end of Lantau then a bus drive to a beachside pit stop then on to one of the few remaining traditional fishing villages. This stop included a short boat ride through the village, this was particularly poingnant as we passed some of the stilt houses that had burnt down only a couple of nights before. Back on the bus and a very scenic drive over the island to the Giant Buddha. Instead of walking up to the Buddha the bus dropped the group off at the top allowing for a more leisurely walk down to the Ning Ping Monastery for lunch (Ryan even organised for the bus to wait at the top car park to drive one passenger with a baby and another two with mobility problems back down after touring the Buddha, since he considered the walk down too difficult). The vegetarian lunch was delicious and very filling. The final highlight of the tour was the cable car ride down from the Giant Buddha site to North Lantau. This was fantastic, the ride is about 5 kms long up and down over peaks and valleys with a fantastic view of the new Hong Kong airport at the end. This is a great tour, Ryan is a wonderful guide and made the trip a highlight of my Hong Kong holiday.
Review by Glenis S, April 2013
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Great tour and very informative guide. Experienced coach driver. Lunch at the Monastery was fantastic.
Review by Alan J, March 2013
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
The organisation was excellent from picking us up from our hotel in the morning to dropping us back again at the end of the trip. Our guide Ryan was very knowledgeable and very proud of his island. We enjoyed the meal in the monastery and felt that the day was well balanced with free and guided time.
Review by hellie53, January 2013
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Perfect day, great guide, and what a spectacle Buddha was. Just breath-taking. The Monastery was wonderful, and full of atmosphere. A long day, that was full of tradition, information, and warm people. The traditional pole houses of Tai O were also interesting. Just a wonderful day. Thank you.
Review by Eben F, USA, October 2012
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
A visitor should take this tour to see how rural undeveloped Lantau Island exists next to the major city of Hong Kong. The visit to the fisherman's village is remarkable as is the stroll through the local fisherman's market. The Buddha is HUGE and the lunch at the monastery very nice (its a large operation with hundreds of people eating). The ride back on the cable car is awesome. It goes for miles with breathtaking views of the airport and Hong Kong along the way.
Review by Sarah, October 2012
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
We had a great day on the tour to Lantau. Ben was a good guide. He provided lots of information and helped us enjoy the day. Tai-O fishing village was fascinating. The Big Buddha exceeded expectations and provided some great photo opportunities. The monastery was also very interesting and the vegetarian lunch included was surprisingly good. I'm not a vegetarian fan but I was surprised at the quality and variety provided. The cable car ride down provided some grat views.
Review by Shanu V, October 2012
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Excellent tour - everything we expected and more. The vegetarian lunch at the Po Lin Monastery was delicious. We had just come off a Main Land China tour where we had a group of vegetarians with us and the food they were getting was pretty awful. The tour to the fishing village was very interesting as well. Highly recommended.
Review by Lien K L, August 2012
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
This is a definite must do if you have the time in HK. I had previously visited the Giant Buddha on a prior trip to HK but this is an extremely well packaged tour. Though the Giant Buddha is supposely the highlight of the tour, all other parts of the tour were worthwhile experiences. There was not one dull moment on this trip. The Tai Oi fishing village which includes a sampan ride is a much better experience than Aberdeen. The vegetarian lunch at the Monastery was excellent. I never thought vegetarian can taste so good. I strongly recommend this to everyone and it's definitely worth every penny!
Review by JYOTI K, August 2012
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Great trip. The guide spoke English fluently which really helped. They picked us up and dropped us off at the hotel which was incredibly convenient. The fishing village is OK. The visit to see the Buddha statue and the cable car ride back was totally awesome. The vegetarian lunch at the Monastery was so much more delicious than I had expected.
The only modification I would suggest is that the guide provide a bit more time for shopping at the Npong Ping village. I had really liked a couple of Chinese style tops which I would have purchased had I had some time to try them on. This last leg of the trip was rushed a bit much. I would suggest that they give everyone at least a half hour for shopping before riding the cable car back to Kowloon.
Overall, this trip is definitely a must do for anyone who is visiting Hong Kong for the first time.
Review by David D-H, United Kingdom, December 2011
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Superb trip, very well organised and a wonderful tour guide (Diane).The beach was possibly unnecessary, but the fishing village, Buddha, Monastery lunch and cable car were definitely well worth doing. I am going to do it again next year when I return.
Review by Carol A, October 2011
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Excellent day trip. We are very independent travellers usually but to put together the different modes of transport and timetables a little difficult, so relaxing to have them all put together for you. Ryan our guide very informative and he added a boat ride around the village of Tai O which was an unexpected extra. Having a coach ride back from the cable car to Hong Kong enabled us to see more of the sites. The meal at the monastery was excellent.
Review by David W, October 2011
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Everything was well planned. Picked up and dropped off at our hotel. Didn't feel the trip to the beach was really necessary, but really enjoyed fishing village, giant buddha, monastery lunch and cable car ride down the mountain. Guide was very good too. A great way to spend our one full day in Hong Kong.
Review by flip62, September 2011
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Great tour and good tour leaders, The Giant Buddha, tour of the Lantau island, and the lunch at the Monastery was exceptional. Whilst it was a group tour, you were made feel like the only people on the tour.
Would highly recommend this tour to everyone visiting Hong Kong.
Review by Glen F, March 2011
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
Excellent tour, Guide was very friendly and informative. Avoid the "Sticky Soup" at the start of lunch at the monastery, the rest of the food was fine.Cable car ride is brilliant. Overall the trip was good value for money.
Review by Joanne B, January 2011
Doing what: Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
When I phoned the local office to confirm my booking the staff were extremely helpful with regards to my pick up point as the hotel I was staying at was not on the list of pick ups. The trip itself was excellent - the guide was extremely informative and also entertaining. It was definitely worth the money - you would not have seen as much of Lantau Island, that the trip offered, if you had visited it independently as the island is so remote with only the 2 roads. The Buddha was incredible to see and the cable ride was fun. Also, even though the food offered at the monastery was vegetarian it was delicious. Well done for an excellent tour.
