Walking Tours
Walking tours of central Hong Kong usually involve elbowing one's way through crowds of shoppers. But the Hong Kong Tourism Board (tel: 2807 6543; website: www.discoverhongkong.com), does have a couple of itineraries, with ‘Heritage and Architectural Walks' in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and varied other theme walks/hikes for the outlying islands. Guides and an audio commentary system are available. The walks take from two to four hours. The HKTB Visitor Hotline (tel: 2508 1234) or any tourist office provides details. Other operators such as Gray Line Tours (tel: 2368 7111; website: www.grayline.com.hk) or Splendid Tours and Travel (tel: 2316 2151; website: www.splendidtours.com) also run HKTB-approved tours. Details of these are available on the Hong Kong tourism board's website, categorised by theme.

Walkers wishing to range further afield have plenty of well-trodden routes for penetrating the rural New Territories and backwoods of Hong Kong Island, such as the 100km (60-mile) MacLehose Trail, the 50km (30-mile) Hong Kong Trail or the 3.5km (2.2-mile) Peak Trail. Bottles of water are essential for any trekker attempting these routes during the summer.

Bus Tours
Numerous themed bus tours are listed on the Hong Kong Tourism Board website (see above), including Hong Kong by night, touring Hong Kong's outlying islands and culture and heritage tours. Tours vary in duration, departure point and cost - for details, visitors should contact the HKTB's Visitor Hotline (tel: 2508 1234) or the Tour Reservation Hotline (tel: 2368 7112) or visit www.discoverhongkong.com. Gray Line Tours (tel: 2368 7111; website: www.grayline.com.hk), Splendid Tours and Travel (tel: 2316 2151; website: www.splendidtours.com) and Sky Bird Travel Agency (tel: 2736 2282; website: www.skybird.com.hk) all offer similar bus tours of the city.

Boat Tours
Boat tours of Hong Kong's waters are provided by several companies. Hong Kong Watertours (tel: 2155 2088; website: www.chinaetravel.com) provides a variety of harbour and island tours, while Star Ferry (tel: 2118 6241; website: www.starferry.com.hk) provides daytime and evening ferry tours. Harbour tours take around two to three hours. Hong Kong Watertours has pick-up points throughout Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, although the tours sail from Queen's Pier on Hong Kong side or the Kowloon Public Pier on Kowloon Side. The Star Ferry tours sail from the Star Ferry terminals on either side of the harbour. For a nostalgic sailing on a converted junk boat, the Aqua Luna (tel: 2116 8821; website: www.aqualuna.com.hk) offers a semblance of Hong Kong past.

Other Tours
Helicopter trips are available for those wanting to discover the city skyline from above. Contact Heli Hong Kong (tel: 2108 9898; website: www.helihongkong.com) for further information.