Frequently Asked Questions

The “Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival” (the Arts Festival) is a three-year arts project organised by the Tourism Commission, supported by the Hong Kong Geopark and curated by One Bite Design Studio. To leverage the successful integration of arts with the island under the first edition of the Yim Tin Tsai Arts Festival, the new edition of the Arts Festival will extend to the vast Sai Kung Hoi, with Yim Tin Tsai as the centre and reaching out to Sharp Island, Kau Sai Chau and High Island. Through art, the Festival offers visitors an opportunity to appreciate the rich natural resources and the long and deep history as well as culture of the four isles in Sai Kung Hoi. Through the Arts Festival, themed as “Joy Again, Isle”, visitors can meet, connect, experience the healing power of arts and nature through visits to the isles; and enjoy the fun of art tour through island hopping.

The third year of the Arts Festival will be held from 13 November 2024 to 12 January 2025.

Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival 2024 is being held on four islands in Sai Kung, including Yim Tin Tsai, Sharp Island, Kau Sai Chau and High Island, together with artworks and programmes in Sai Kung town.

All artworks, programmes and guided tours of Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival are open for visitors to attend without any charge. Visitors will need to buy their own kaito tickets to visit the islands and participate in the registered activities.

Apart from specific programmes and performances, most programmes of the Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival require online registration. Online registration for regular guided tours is only applicable for those being held on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. If you wish to join the regular guided tour on Tuesdays to Fridays, you may register on-site at the Arts Festival Information Kiosk on the day on a first-come-first-served basis.

Click here to learn more about programmes and guided tours

Online registration will be launched in phases. Online registration will start from 6 Nov (Wed) and update every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., for programmes to be held on the following Tuesday to Sunday. The registration schedule is as follows:

Click here to learn more about programmes and guided tours

Notes:

1. Online registration for programmes and guided tours does not include kaito tickets. Visitors are required to arrange their own transport to the islands (click here for more information on transportation guide)
2. Before registering for programmes and guided tours, please check the kaito and programmes/ guided tours schedules to plan ahead (including the travelling time), or refer to the “suggested kaito schedules” on the programme’s page for reference. If you wish to register for more than one programmes on the same day, please take into consideration the transportation and travelling time to ensure that you will be able to participate in both events before registration
3. Online registration for the programmes and guided tours is on a first-come-first-served basis while quotas last
4. In case a participant is unable to attend the event after registration, the participant should cancel the registration via the online registration platform. Otherwise, the participant may be forbidden to participate in any other future events organised by the organiser
   
5. If there are spare quotas on the day of the event, visitors may sign up for the event on site at the Information Kiosk

Free Regular Guided Tours (Prior Group Booking)

Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival allows groups to make priority booking for regular guided tours. Online booking for regular guided tours for four islands from 19 November 2024 to 12 January 2025 will be available from 15 October 2024 (Fri) to 31 October 2024 (Thu) at 6:00 p.m. Interested groups can select the language, date, time and theme of the regular guided tours and submit their applications via the online form during the booking period. We will reply within 7-10 working days upon receipt of the application.

The organiser reserves the right to accept or reject any application, and may review the group visit guidelines subject to the festival’s operations. Visiting groups who are unsuccessful in registering for the regular guided tours via group prior booking are welcome to purchase island hopping kaito tickets from our website and visit the Festival on their own.

Click here to learn more about regular guided tours

Notes: 

1. This group booking does not include kaito tickets. Registered groups will need to arrange their own transportation to the islands to join the regular guided tours
2. Registered groups shall arrive at the meet-up point at least 15 minutes earlier to ensure timely start of the regular guided tour. The organiser reserves the right to reject late comers to join the registered regular guided tour and will make suitable arrangements based on the condition on site
   

Group Visits

Apart from the regular guided tours, other programmes and island-hopping tours are not available for public group registration. Interested groups may make their own arrangements by referring to the suggested routes on the website. During the Festival, Festival Ambassadors will be on duty at the artwork locations to assist visitors in viewing the artworks and make other introductions. For larger groups, you may consider hiring other Sai Kung kaito, which may be more flexible in terms of time and itinerary.

Most of the programmes of Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival have no age limitation. Visitors are recommended to learn more details before making online registration and choose the suitable programmes based on their physical condition.

To cancel the booking, you can select “Ticketing” from the e-ticket in the programme confirmation email and click “Cancel Ticket” at least 3 days prior to the programme, or notify the organiser via email to make changes. Please email to info@skhartsfestival.hk to cancel your booking.

In case the email containing the registration confirmation QR code is accidentally deleted, please provide your email address and other related information to the Festival Ambassadors for checking.

Visitors can pre-purchase Island Hopping kaito Experience tickets online, or go to Sai Kung pier to take the kaito to Yim Tin Tsai, Sharp Island, Kau Sai Chau and High Island. Click here to learn more about Island Hopping kaito Experience tickets.

Visitors can also find out the suggested routes according to the islands they want to visit, so that they can know how to get to each island. Click here to learn more about suggest routes.

Visitors may reserve tickets for the Island Hopping Kaito Experience at the Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival official website. Route A’s tickets (to Yim Tin Tsai & Sharp Island) are Arts Festival exclusive services, the price is HKD100; while route B’s tickets (to Kau Sai Village & High Island) are sold at discounted price at HKD160 for getting on the public kaito services operated by Tsui Wah Ferry Service (original price is HKD195).

Island Hopping kaito tickets are available from the sales open date until 18:00 of the day before the departure date. Quotas are limited and served on a first-come-first-served basis. Click to to buy Island Hopping kaito tickets.  

On-site tickets sales are available for route A if seats are remaining. However, discounted tickets for route B are not available for sales on site. Passengers may pay the fare by Octopus Card or cash (no change) when getting on board. The fare is HKD65 single trip (elderly and other eligible persons may enjoy the $2 discount).

The price for the Island Hopping Kaito Experience between Sai Kung, Yim Tin Tsai and Sharp Island (route A) is HKD100 each; and the price for the Island Hopping Kaito Experience between Sai Kung, Kau Sai Chau and High Island (route B) is HKD195 each at the original price, and the discounted price for pre-purchase of the kaito tickets online is HKD160 each.

Except under inclement weather that the Festival is closed or kaito services are suspended, tickets for the Island Hopping Kaito Experience are non-changeable or non-refundable. Click here for inclement weather arrangement

Apart from the Island Hopping Kaito Experience, visitors may buy other kaito tickets to get to Yim Tin Tsai and Sharp Island at Sai Kung Pier. Please note that the kaito services provided by other service providers may not offer island hopping arrangements. Visitors should check with individual kaito operators for more details. For travelling to Kau Sai Chau and High Island, visitors can pay by their Octopus Cards to board the kaito at HKD65 single trip (elderly and other eligible persons may enjoy the $2 discount).

The public kaito services from Sai Kung, Kau Sau Chau and High Island offer the concessionary transport fares. Elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities can travel on the public kaito at a concessionary fare of $2 per trip, no need to purchase Island Hopping Kaito Experience tickets in advance. Hong Kong residents aged 60 or above must use a JoyYou Card to benefit from the $2 Scheme. Eligible persons with disabilities must use valid Personalised Octopus with “Persons with Disabilities Status” to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare.

The tombolo at Sharp Island is only accessible when the tidal level is lower than 1.4 meter. Don’t forget to check on the day tidal levels before crossing the tombolo, observe the safety guidelines and pay attention to the return time. Learn more about the predicted tides on Hong Kong Observatory website.

The Arts Festival Ambassadors will be on duty during Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival on the four islands and near Sai Kung New Public Pier (except Mondays at Kau Sai Village and High Island). Please approach our Arts Festival Ambassadors on duty if you have any questions or need assistance.

Visiting the Islands

Visitors may click here to learn more on the suggested routes for each island.

Visitors may consider visiting all or part of the artworks/attractions based on their own needs and interests and plan ahead.

Joining Programmes and Guided Tours

Visitors can visit the islands on the dates and times of the programmes and guided tours. Click here to learn more for details of programmes and guided tours.

Participants of programmes and guided tours at Yim Tin Tsai and Sharp Island should arrive Sai Kung Pier to buy kaito tickets and queue for boarding at least 1 hour before the registered programmes/ guided tours start to ensure that they can arrive the gathering point on the two islands on time. And as the kaito journey to Kau Sai Chau and High Island is longer, it is suggested that visitors should arrive Sai Kung Pier to buy kaito tickets and queue for boarding at least 2 hours before the registered programmes/ guided tours start.

Other Points to Note

Visitors will need to decide the departing time from Sai Kung to the islands. The travel time on kaito from Sai Kung Pier to Yim Tin Tsai or Sharp Island takes around 20 minutes; island hopping between the two islands will take around 15 minutes. From Sai Kung Pier to Kau Sai Chau or High Island takes around 30 and 45 minutes respectively; island hopping between the two islands will take around 30 minutes. Visitors should pay attention to the last kaito departing from both islands.

If visitors wish to taste the island hopping kaito, they are required to pre-book the Island Hopping Kaito Experience tickets online and plan their trip according to their selected time starting the journey.

Visitors should plan their visits according to their own physical condition. The visiting time and routes are for reference only.

For enquiry, please contact us by email at info@skhartsfestival.hk or via the Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival social media platforms:

Facebook
Instagram