Things to Do in Hong Kong in August

August is the one stretch of the year when Hong Kong's beaches come into their own, with sea temperatures around 84°F (29°C) and lifeguarded swimming zones in full operation. Shek O on the island's southeast tip has a laid-back, surf-village feel, while Cheung Sha on Lantau gives you nearly two miles (3 km) of sand that rarely fills up. Mornings before 11am are calmest, both for crowds and for the heat, and you get clear water before afternoon storms stir up the sediment.

Hong Kong's food scene shrugs off the weather because so much of it happens indoors or under cover. A morning dim sum crawl through Central and Sheung Wan, where steamer baskets of har gow and the snap of a freshly fried cheung fun rice roll arrive faster than you can order, suits August well. Pair it with a walk through the covered Graham Street wet market, the oldest continuously running street market in the city, where the smell of dried scallops and roast goose hangs in the humid air. Food is the rare Hong Kong activity that rain improves.

The Peak gives you the city's defining view, and August evenings are the smart time to take it. Going up around 6pm lets the worst heat break, and on a clear post-storm night the harbour and the wall of Kowloon skyscrapers glitter below you. The restored Peak Tram, with its steep funicular climb, is the classic approach. August haze can flatten the view on humid afternoons, so aim for the hour after rain when the air scrubs clean.

A day on Lantau works well in August because the Ngong Ping 360 cable car is enclosed and air-conditioned, carrying you over green hills to the Tian Tan Buddha, the bronze giant seated above the Po Lin Monastery. The vegetarian lunch served by the monastery is one of the city's quiet pleasures, and the nearby fishing village of Tai O, with its stilt houses over tidal channels and the sharp tang of shrimp paste drying in the sun, gives the trip a second act. Storms can suspend the cable car, so go on a settled-looking morning.

The cheapest great experience in Hong Kong is the Star Ferry crossing between Tsim Sha Tsui and Central, a ten-minute green-and-white ferry ride that has run since 1888. In August, the breeze off the water is the only natural air-conditioning you'll get, and the evening crossing lines you up well for the 8pm Symphony of Lights. Longer evening harbour cruises add a slower, fuller sweep of the skyline. Wet weather rarely stops the ferries unless a typhoon signal is hoisted.

August in Kowloon gives you sun and sudden rain in equal doses. The compact, walkable temple circuit shrugs off showers. Duck under awnings when the sky cracks open. Wong Tai Sin Temple billows incense so thick it stings the eyes. Fortune tellers rattle bamboo kau cim sticks in long covered arcades. Nearby, the Chi Lin Nunnery rises in Tang-dynasty timber, built without a single nail. Its adjoining Nan Lian Garden offers cool shade and quiet water. Start early. Beat the midday furnace.