Nearby is The Olympian, where you can stay in a rambling Harbour View room on its Family Fun package, from HK$2,326. There’s no pool but the rate includes breakfast and free snacks and drinks from the lounge. Or let The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong pitch a tent in your sea view room, 100 storeys up, for the Ritz Kids Night Safari (from HK$3,600, including breakfast and lounge access).

Back to nature

At the Po Leung Kuk Jockey Club Pak Tam Chung Holiday Camp, next to the Sai Kung Country Park gate, you can book a two-bedroom accommodation unit from HK$536 mid­week, rising to HK$1,552 for an eight-bed unit on a Saturday night. If you take the grandparents, you’ll get a discount of 50 per cent (fill out the elderly information form before you pay). Beside a river, the accommodation is basic but has air conditioning – and Wi-fi for a small fee. It’s bundles of fun: activities include archery, swimming, orienteering and evening barbecues with toasted marshmallows.

For something a little fancier in Sai Kung, stay at sunny boutique hotel The Pier, on the Pak Sha Wan waterfront. Ithas a rooftop swimming pool and offers a Family Staycation package in an Ocean View room from HK$2,200, including breakfast, toys and kaito ferry tickets to Trio Beach. Also in the New Territories, Kadoorie Farm and Hong Kong Forest Adventures are both guaranteed to exhaust the most energetic youngsters.

Feel the magic

It’s a whole new socially distanced world at Hong Kong Disneyland, which reopened on June 18. There may never have been a better time to visit. Visitor numbers have been radically restricted; Disneyland Hong Kong won’t say by how much but the Shanghai park has capped its capacity at 30 per cent, which means virtually no queues and plenty of space. The catch? You need to buy your tickets first and then reserve a date on the Disneyland website. You won’t be able to hug the characters, as meet and greets are off.

The good news? There’s still ticket availability over the school holidays and all three Disney hotels are open. There are great promotions, too, such as the Summer Staycation package at the cheerful Explorer’s Lodge, which costs HK$1,378, with breakfast for two – about HK$1,000 less than usual. Additional children’s breakfasts can be purchased at the restaurant for about HK$150. This offer is valid until the end of September but do keep an eye on the website as Disneyland’s room rates and packages vary constantly.

Pack your pooch

Some of the city’s smartest hotels are now welcoming our four-legged friends. While there isn’t much in the way of nearby green spaces, the Rosewood, in Tsim Sha Tsui, greets dogs – and cats – with sumptuous leather-trimmed beds and gourmet menus designed by the head chef (Essential Staycation, HK$4,050, including dinner, bed and breakfast; dogs free).

The Murray, in Central, offers more in the way of walkies – hike the Tramway Path up to The Peak or Bowen Road onto the little-known Dutch Lane. The Murray Staycation deal costs HK$2,750 and comes with breakfast and enticing freebies. Furry friends can bunk for free and you can book the Paws for Tea afternoon tea (HK$380 per dog and owner).

On the south side, the Ovolo combines funky family rooms with a VIPooch package (from HK$1,485, room only), and some top walking. Take the 3.5km, two-hour Nam Long Shan (Brick Hill) trail for sweeping views of Deep Water Bay and Ocean Park.

Adventurous Cheung Chau

Pirate hideaway, geological marvel, Olympic training ground, there’s more to Cheung Chau than the annual Bun Festival. Outdoor adventures abound on this little dumbbell-shaped island. Spend your days scrambling over Cheung Chau’s weird rock formations; the humps of Reclining Rock are especially silly and are right next to Cheung Po Tsai cave, where a Qing-era Jack Sparrow used to stash his loot. Or take to the waters with family windsurfing classes at the Cheung Chau Windsurfing Centre (HK$1,800 per person), where Olympic gold medallist Lee Lai-shan once trained.

Demand is bound to be high over the summer holidays but the island has a decent number of Airbnbs and some great little boarding houses – try B&B Cheung Chau (doubles from HK$550) or Lychee Sunset (doubles from HK$575) – as well as Saiyuen Camping Adventure Park, where you can choose from teepees with four rollaway mattresses (HK$800), stargazing bubble domes with two double beds (HK$2,480) and rambling six-person safari tents with air conditioning and private showers (from HK$2,780).

Two wheels good

Or saddle up in Sha Tin, home to some of Hong Kong’s prettiest cycling trails. The Suite Staycation package at the Hyatt Regency Sha Tin is HK$1,680 per room and includes a late checkout, dining credit and two hours of complimentary bicycle use – or you could just hire bikes from one of the shops on Yuen Wo Road.

From here, you can cycle along the Shing Mun River to the Tai Po Waterfront Park. Other routes head towards Ma On Shan, Wu Kai Sha beach and Plover Cove Reservoir. The Railway Museum, in Tai Po, and the Heritage Museum, in Sha Tin, are on hand for rainy days.

Zen out

Who says spa breaks are only for grown-ups? Asaya at Rosewood includes a range of thought­ful wellness practices for children in its new two- or seven-night Camp Rosewood programmes, running over the school holidays. The two-night package starts at HK$10,670, which includes breakfast for all the family and a full-on itinerary of kid-friendly fitness and wellness activities, from sunrise family yoga to art jamming to learning ball skills with a Rugby Sevens player. There’s also HK$780 hotel credit per day, which parents can cash in at the spa.

Less pricey is the Kiddy Spacation at Cordis, Mong Kok, at HK$2,000 for a family room, including back­packs and toys, ice lollies by the pool, and family time in the spa learning to do at-home facials using everyday ingredients (parents also get a HK$300 spa credit). It’s not on the website but it’s worth paying the extra HK$770 per room for Cordis’ generous Club Lounge access, which includes breakfast, afternoon tea, evening snacks, cocktails and all-day booze.

Cook up a storm

The scones, cakes and chocolates at The Peninsula, in Tsim Sha Tsui, are some of the most coveted in the city. Book the hotel’s Eight Loves staycation deal and the whole family can learn to ice cupcakes with the hotel’s top chefs, as part of a one-hour cookery class (there’s also a savoury class making dim sum and spring rolls). It’s one of eight activities that families can choose from; others include a costume photo­graphy session and a classic movie night. At HK$6,400 it’s a splurge but that is for two nights (or two rooms) and includes breakfast for two, a one-way Rolls-Royce transfer, and HK$1,000 in hotel credit and gift certificates.

Or try the Staycation by M.O. at the Mandarin Oriental, in Central, which costs HK$2,980, including breakfast, a room upgrade and HK$888 of hotel credit. There is a host of complimentary experiences to try, including a sticky-fingered chocolate master class for the kids, and wine appreciation and mixology workshops for mums and dads.