Everything You Need to Know About Junk Trips in Hong Kong
Junk season is here again, and everyone you know is disappearing into the big blue each weekend. Maybe you just can’t get enough aquatic adventuring, or maybe your friends are too useless to organize one. Our exhaustive guide to junk trips will turn you from a junk zero to a junk hero, in a few pages flat.
Any journey begins with a destination. Except for junk trips. Time to charter your vessel.
Panaoceans
The Junks: Wooden junks. The Details: Costs are $3,200 for weekdays and $5,400 for weekends. Speedboats, wakeboarding, and banana boats also available. Pick up: Central, Tsim Sha Tsui. 2815-8235, www.panaoceans.com.
Jumbo Charters
The Junks: Cruisers and junks. The Details: Between $2,800 to $6,000, depending on dates. There is an ice fee if you bring your own drinks. Speedboat rental is $2,600 to $3,500. Pick up: Most piers. 2873-0345, [email protected].
Vikings Charters
The Junks: Deluxe cruisers, wooden and white junks. The Details: Deluxe cruisers start at $7,000 for weekdays, while other junks start at $2,500 for weekdays ($4,000 on Sundays). There’s also a weekday package that gets you a 30-person junk plus speedboat, banana boat, water skiing and wakeboarding for $5,000. Time to book that day off. Pick up: Victoria Harbour, Aberdeen. 2814-9899, www.vikingscharters.com.hk.
Jubilee International Tour Centre
The Junks: Cruisers, junks and ferries. The Details: Junks cost $3,800 on weekdays and $8,000 on weekends. Cruisers cost $4,000 on weekdays and $8,500 on weekends. Karaoke, cooking utensils, pet facilities and mahjong are available, as are speedboats, banana boats, and wakeboarding. Pick up: Any public pier. 3555-5666, www.jubilee.com.hk.
Laissez Faire
The Junks: Wooden junks. The Details: $3,400 on weekdays, $6,000 on weekends. Speedboat, banana boat, and water-skiing available. Pick up: Any public pier. 2770-8066, www.yp.com.hk/laissezfaire.
Unusual boats
These boats bring a little more to the high seas.
Duk Ling
The Junk: A red-sailed Chinese junk, built in Macau more than 50 years ago. The Details: From $9,000 for two hours to $18,000 for eight hours. Surcharge applies on Sundays or for early and late hours. Catered menus available from $170 per person, and drinks packages start at $180 per hour. Pick up: Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Wan Chai public piers. 2851-9601, www.dukling.com.hk.
Aqua Luna
The Junk: Red-sailed Chinese junk. The Details: Aqua Luna has 1,500 square feet of space, split across two wooden decks, with a full bar and cocktail lounge for up to 80 people. $3,800 per hour before 5pm and $5,000 per hour thereafter. Food and drinks packages range from $488-$818 per person, and are catered by Aqua or Hutong. Minimum cost $30,000. Pick up: Any public pier along Victoria Harbour. 2854-1813, www.aqua.com.hk.
Angus Yacht Club
The Junks: The Angel boat (max 20) and the four-level Angus boat (max 58). Both have water slides that are built into the sides. How cool is that? The Details: You get wakeboarding, banana boats, diving boards, mahjong, karaoke, disco and movie rooms. The Angel boat starts at $8,000 for weekdays and the Angus starts at $14,000. Prices include speedboat, barbeque and drinks. Pick up: Sai Kung new public pier. 9090-1660, angusyachtclub.com.
Hong Kong Yachting
The Junks: Wooden junks, cruisers, racing and luxury sailing yachts—including a converted Australian crayfishing boat, and a 64ft Volvo Ocean 60 racing yacht. The Details: Junks start at $8,000 and cruisers at $12,000. A speedboat with banana boat and wakeboard is available for $3,500. The sea-going yacht is yours for $800 per person for three hours (including drinks) or $1,250 per person for six hours (including lunch). Minimum 12 people. Pick up: Every pier except Sai Kung.
2526-0151, www.hongkongyachting.com.
Catered Cruises
Incredibly lazy? These packages do it all for you.
Island Junks
The Junks: Wooden junks. The Details: Island Junks operates year-round and is dog- and child-friendly: there are boxes of toys on board each junk, a full range of lifejackets for children, and they regularly host children’s birthday parties. Packages include Thai, western, picnic or premium menus (from $670-820) and drinks packages (from $400). A recent team-up with bakery Maison Kayser and deli Il Bel Paese provides classier dining too. A waitress service and on-board masseuses can be provided. Prices start at $300 per person, $3,900 minimum weekday spend. Pick up: Aberdeen, Stanley, Lamma, Lantau, Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay. Extras: Later this year, why not take a pre-Christmas cruise with carols, mince pies and mulled wine? 2877-5222, www.islandjunks.com.hk.
Hong Kong Junks
The Junks: Wooden and white junks. The Details: $650 per person gets you a seven-hour trip from 11am-6pm. The all-inclusive deal includes breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and free-flow drinks. $900 each bumps it up to a premium deal including bloody marys, mojitos and bubbles. Banana boating and wakeboarding also available. Pick up: Aberdeen. Mini buses can be arranged from Central. Extras: Hong Kong Junks is currently selling tickets for the Recovery Sessions (Jul 21), complete with barbeque and live music. Feeling alone? The Beauty and the Geek Singles Junk is on July 26. The name says it all. Both junks are $550 per person. 2840-1588, www.hongkongjunks.com.hk.
Jaspa’s Junks
The Junks: Wooden junks. The Details: Aquatic debauchery. $650 per head for the standard package; a seven-hour day trip including food and free-flow drinks. Minimum charge: $9,100. Pick up: Noonday Gun or Sai Kung’s Pak Sha Wan public pier. A 40-seater pick up/drop off bus service is an extra $1,800. Extras: The sound system always seems louder than most. Or is that just us? 2792-6001, www.casteloconcepts.com.
Koh Thai
The Junks: Wooden junks. The Details: Thai, Western, vegetarian and dessert options. Drinks packages range from $2,000-4,000. All-inclusive trips last eight hours and include food, substantial alcohol, and boat hire for $580 per person. Alternatively, boat hire starts at $6,800 with $180 food or $140 per person drinks packages. Minimum spend is $11,600 on weekends and $8,700 on weekdays. Pick up: Anywhere. Extras: Pets are welcome. An online booking system makes picking food and drinks easy. 6014-8460, www.kohthai.com.hk.
Lazy Days
The Junks: Cruiser yachts. The Details: Drinks, breakfast, lunch, dessert and a whole round of brie for $850 per person, or $1,000 with free-flow champagne. Also available are a six-person inflatable lounge; wakeboarding and banana boating; and on-board masseuse. Pick up: Causeway Bay and Central Piers. Also, most public piers. Extras: At the moment, Lazy Days is offering a “Spa on the Sea” package on weekdays and evenings: that’s a four-hour trip, lunch or dinner, free-flow drinks and a 50 minute spa treatment, all afloat. It’s $1,200 each, minimum 12 people. 3488-1534, lazydays.com.hk.
Saffron Cruises
The Junks: Saffron runs one of the biggest fleets in Hong Kong, with everything from luxury boats to cruisers, speedboats, sailing yachts and even a ferry.
On offer: A waiter service costs $600 per waiter per evening trip or $1,200 per waiter per day trip. Food options include buffet dinners, hampers, or outlying island seafood feasts. Junk hire starts at $6,000, sailing yachts at $4,500, while luxury boats are between $16,800-60,000. And the ferry is by consultation. Pick up: Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, Aberdeen, Wan Chai, Stanley, Discovery Bay. Extras: Ask about weekday discounts during the summer months. 2857-1311, www.saffron-cruises.com.
The Luxe Option
Because sometimes, 45 feet just isn’t enough.
Riviera Orientale
The Junks: This is no mom ‘n’ pop boat charter. These luxury vessels are the yachts of Monaco, not the junks of our typhoon shelters. The Details: Hire categories include per day; by the weekend; for receptions; for international cruises around Southeast Asia; and “Exceptional”: boats for state functions or VIP visits, complete with jet skis, security and a helipad. Day trips start at $15,000. International excursions are in the $25-50,000 range, and “Exceptional” hire is about $150,000 per day. Pick up: Central, Aberdeen. Extras: What, an international sea-going helipad-equipped luxury yacht isn’t enough for you? 9763-9100, www.rivieraorientale.com.
Michelangelo
The Junk: An 80-footer crafted from tropical hardwoods, brass and copper. Its 4,000 square feet will accommodate 59 people. The Details: One-day charters start at $23,000, while a buffet menu with drinks starts at $550 per person. Pick up: Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Aberdeen, Hebe Haven. Extras: Overnight charters are also available for up to nine sleepers. You could go to sleep in Sai Kung and wake up at Middle Island. Price on application. 6621-1691, www.luxurysuperjunk.com.
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Step Two: Junk Drinks
Copious alcohol is vital to any junk trip. But this isn’t the time for complicated creations. These super-simple cocktails will have everyone lining up for more
Bloody Mary
The ultimate ride-out drink. Bring the basics, and let everyone customize their own.
The Basics:
6 parts
tomato juice
1 part lemon juice
3 parts vodka
Healthy dash of Tabasco
Celery salt
Healthy dash of Worcestershire sauce
Cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 celery stick per glass
