Hong Kong Wetland Park Review

Hong Kong Wetland Park is one of the world’s finest nature reserves. It combines the work of an organisation serious about preserving a fragile ecosystem with a tourist attraction that lets you easily explore the wildlife that calls the park home.

Set over 60 hectares in the New Territories on the unique Mai Po Marshes, the park’s primary mandate is to preserve the habitat of the flora and fauna that thrive in this rich environment. It’s an area of incredible biodiversity – from crabs and mudskippers to dancing dragonflies and a patchwork of butterflies. The park is, however, most famous for its birds and wildfowl. This is one of the most important locations in the world for migrating birds, with thousands using Hong Kong Wetland Park as a rest and refuelling pit stop on their way north or south. The park's most famous inhabitant is Pui Pui – Hong Kong’s favourite crocodile.

Apart from the actual wetlands themselves there is also a very decent, 10,000m2 visitor centre, which offers interactive, themed exhibits. While the static exhibitions are no atch for the real deal outside, they are a good introduction to where you are and the Swamp Adventure playground is ever popular with kids.

Ok, so there are lots of animals but what do I actually do at the park? Well you won’t need a tent and machete. The beauty of Hong Kong Wetland Park is the dedicated trails seamlessly carved through the park to help visitors explore.

The different walks are designed to take you through different habitats inhabited by different creatures and plants. For example the stream walk takes you through the flats, where you can spot river otters, kingfishers and other birds while the Mangrove boardwalk tours through the lush mangrove vegetation of the park. While it might not offer the impressive animals at Hong Kong Zoo or the spectacular creatures at Ocean Park, the attraction here is seeing the animals in their natural habitat.

How long you spend in the park is really up to you, but for the blockbuster bird hides and bird watching walks budget for around 2 to 3 hours of actual walking.

When is the best time to visit Hong Kong Wetland Park?

It depends what you want to see. The park really is a wildlife haven throughout the year but there are some seasonal highlights. The best bird watching is during the annual migrations, mostly in October and November and then again in March and April. During summer you’ll find the park lit up with butterflies.

It can also be worth checking when the tide will be out as it’s usually easier to spot birds and crabs in the mud flats.

Hong Kong Wetland Park is in the north east corner of Hong Kong, near the town of Yuen Long. There are a couple of options for visiting the park using either bus or train.

By Bus; The 967 bus from Admiralty station and the 269B minibus from Hung Hom station are the most useful bus routes to the park. Journey time is 40mins to an hour.

By Train; The train route is quicker but potentially trickier. You need to take the MTR to Tin Shui Wai Station and the change for the light railway, lines 705/706 for Wetland Park station. Octopus cards are valid on light rail.

There is only limited car parking at the park itself so travel by public transport is advised.

What to wear and mosquitoes at Hong Kong Wetland Park.

Yes, they’re a problem. With such as wide expanse of undisturbed water, Hong Kong Wetland Park is like a love hotel for mosquitoes. You should certainly wear long sleeves and trousers, even in hotter weather – and avoid sandals. It is also advisable to apply some sort of mosquito repellent. The Mosquoto population is most active in the days after heavy rainfall.

Entry price at Hong Kong Wetland Park

Tickets are fairly priced at $30 for adults and $15 for the under 18s. There’s no need to buy tickets in advance for the park.

Access and facilities

The park is well set up for disabled visitors; including extensive ramp acess for wheelchair users along the trails and induction loops and braille information. On site there is a basic cafe with sandwiches and hot meals.