Best Time to Visit New Territories

Cool and dry: November to February

This is the sweet spot. Days are mild, mornings are crisp, and rain is rare. December is the driest month, with just 4 rainy days. It's the best time for the hiking the New Territories is known for. Try the MacLehose Trail through Sai Kung Country Park, or the Lantau-free but still lovely Tai Mo Shan climb, Hong Kong's highest peak.

Winter evenings can feel properly cool, especially up in the hills. A light jacket is fine for a night at Tai O or a walk around Sai Kung's seafront. Hotels fill up around Christmas and Chinese New Year, which usually lands in late January or February. Walled villages and temples get busy then, and the flower markets are a treat.

Spring and autumn: March, April, October

October is the other great month. It's warm, fairly dry, and the sunniest of the year at 5.4 hours a day. Beaches around Sai Kung, like Tai Long Wan, are still pleasant for a swim. Hot pot and roast goose in Yuen Long taste better when the air has cooled a bit.

March is still rated Excellent, but it's greyer and muggier, with rain on 10 days. April tips into Fair, with 13 rainy days. Expect mist on the hilltops and damp afternoons. Ching Ming, the tomb-sweeping festival in early April, brings families to hillside graves, so roads and trains can be slow.

Hot and wet: May to September

Be honest with yourself here. It's hot, sticky and wet. June is the wettest month at 290 mm, with rain on 24 days. Lows of 25 to 26°C mean nights don't cool off much. Trails get slippery, and views often vanish into cloud.

Typhoon season also runs through this stretch. If a signal 8 is raised, transport shuts down and you stay put, so keep your plans loose. The upside is fewer tourists and lower hotel rates, though local school holidays in July and August fill family spots like Ocean Park and the Wetland Park in Tin Shui Wai.

Don't mind the weather? Go for a cheap city-style break around Sha Tin, with its malls and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. Come in June for Dragon Boat races, including the Tuen Mun and Sha Tin ones. September is still rated Poor, but it's the sunniest of the wet months, and the Mid-Autumn lantern displays are worth seeing.