My partner and I arrive in Hong Kong on Thursday 24th April and plan to visit Macau on the Friday. He has to be back at the Miramar Hotel in Kowloon by about 5pm for work. Can anyone advise a suitable itinerary? I am particularly interested in seeing the casinos, but would be good to see as much of Macau as we can in the limited time we have. Do we need to book anything in advance? Many thanks.
One day trip from Kowloon to Macau
Hi Cinogirl, I%26#39;ve PM%26#39;d you with some of the details you wanted.
You won%26#39;t have much time in Macau if you need to be back in HK for 5pm! In order to allow for immigration, running a bit late, and getting back to the Miramar, you wouldn%26#39;t want to catch any ferry later than 3pm - would suggest First Ferry, as it actually docks in Tsim Sha Tsui on arrival back in HK.
I understand the earliest ferry to the Venetian%26#39;s pier (Cotai) is at 7am (this runs from Macau Ferry Terminal on HK island). This would get you to the Venetian by 8:30 or so. This place is absolutely humungous - I don%26#39;t know if you just want to look at the casino itself, or around the whole complex - the latter could take you your whole time in Macau! Depending how much time you have left, you could take a taxi to Senado Square, have a quick browse around this heritage area including the walk up to St Paul%26#39;s ruins (10 minutes non-stop comfortable walk one way, but you could take as long as you like) then catch another taxi or a bus to Sands, or you could catch one of the Venetian%26#39;s suttle buses directly there.
IMO, the casinos are about the least interesting things in Macau, but to each his or her own, and if you%26#39;ve only got 6 hours ...
getting back to the main ferry pier by 2:30pm will give you plenty of time to buy a ticket and get through immigration for the 3pm ferry. Remember to go to the First Ferry ticket offices, which are on the left as you come into the departures level. They have lairy orange and purple livery.
One day trip from Kowloon to Macau
Yes, it will be a little rushed, but can be done. You will kind of have the speed-readers version of Macau.
I would get to the Venetian, do that (yes, it is huge!), then get the bus to the Sands (or Taxi). Have a look at that. Then Taxi to the ruins/fort (if you are in to that), then walk down through the streets, through the square (food, etc), then to Grand Lisboa, Wynn and end at the MGM Grand (which I heard is nice). Catch the MGM bus back to the ferry terminal. It is not everyones idea of a day in Macau, but that would give you a good feel for the main casinos (there are many more!) and a bit of the local Macau tourism sites/feel.
Book your tickets the day before if you can.
Enjoy!
I%26#39;d pick up the heritage walks brochure from information at the ferry terminal; get a taxi from the ferry to St Pauls %26amp; walk downhill to Senado Square. You may miss the museum this way as it may not open in time, however the shops should be opening as you stroll down the pedestrian precinct. Perhaps walk or bus down to the Lisboa, via Margaret%26#39;s for an egg tart; then free shuttle from Sands to Venetian and lunch. Free shuttle Venetian back to port in time for 3pm ferry.
Thank you all, that%26#39;s been really helpful, and on the basis of your information, we%26#39;ve decided now to go straight to Macau when we arrive on the Thursday night and stay there overnight, so we%26#39;ll have the night and the next day (at least til about 3pm).
Hi, since you are planning to head straight to Macau upon arrival in HK on Thursday night,as you have not specify your time flight arrival, there is a turbojet ferry service departing at 1910hrs and 2200hrs from the airport pier direct to Macau ferry terminal in Macau peninsula. One way fare on the economy class is HKD180 for adults.
If the departure times are not suitable,then you need to go through HK immigration and customs,then either head to China Ferry terminal in Kowloon (TST) or HK Macau ferry terminal in Shun Tak Centre(Hk Central) for ferry to Macau. Frequency of departure on Turbojet is higher than first ferry,and first ferry last departure from Kowloon to Macau is 2100hrs for weekday night sailing;so,if this is not convenient,advise to head to Shun Tak Centre to take turbojet (here is the website showing the schedules and fares for your convenience:-
www.turbojet.com.hk/eng/schedule/prd.html
Thank you, I didn%26#39;t know that either. We arrive at 1750 so that ferry will probably be perfect for us. Any recommendations on a hotel in the heart of things?
A lot depends on your budget. The good news is that as you would be in Macau on a Thursday night it will be significantly cheaper than HK, like for like :-)
For 5* in the centre of things, I%26#39;d stay at the Wynn, for 3* the Sintra. If you don%26#39;t mind sharing your nighbourhood with ladies of the night, Lisboa, Beverly Plaza, Metropark, Holiday Inn or Emperor are also right downtown. Places closest to the main ferry terminal are The Rocks, Mandarin Oriental %26amp; Casa Real - these are about 5 minutes by taxi from downtown, within 30 minutes walk. The Waldo and Golden Dragon are also in this area, but only recommended if you want the hard core (matress) Chinese gambler experience.
The Royal and Guia are in a quieter neighbourhood, but still within 20 minutes walk of downtown.
Hi cinogirl,as previous thread,mentioned,a place to stay in Macau peninsula,in the heart of things,will be dependent on your budget that you wish to allocate for your accommodation,which is actually for only ,say 2030hrs to noon(the next day)-i.e. about 15hours,but since you will be tired from your flight,and require the energy for evening and next day,venture into Macau sights,best to choose a hotel that promises a good night sleep,with less distractions and noises,and yet providing convenience ,i.e heart of things-on this basis, I will advise to look at Sintra or Guia.
If budget allows for more on accommodation,a very new hotel in Macau is Sofitel Ponte 16-French grandeuar at its best.I provide herein the website,and it gives the pointer on taking the airport ferry at HKIA to Macau :-
accorhotels.com/accorhotels/fichehotel/gb/so…
Hi, oops,forgotten that you will be arriving into Macau in April,disregard advise for Sofitel Ponte 16,as it is still not opened yet,but its website,giving advice on transit transfer at HKIA for turbojet airport ferry is worthwhile noting.
OK I%26#39;m tossing up between the Sintra, the Lisboa and the Beverly Plaza. Any advice on how to choose? Do all of these provide a shuttle bus service from the ferry? We will probably arrive about 8pm, go somewhere for dinner, then hopefully see the water show (not sure where that is?) or a light show or something (any suggestions?), get some sleep then sightsee the next day til we get the ferry to Hong Kong at about 3pm.
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