jason8612

We (parents, brother, and I) will be traveling via HKG twice. Our first time, we arrive around 7PM from the USA and have a overnight (flight out to BKK is around 8PM). On the return, we arrive into HKG around 8PM and have a flight out at noon 2 days later.
I was wondering, for the first connection, would it be worth while to go to Macau and overnight, or should we just stay and visit Hong Kong?

lazard

not worth it for an overnight, imho.

bcrdukes

Not worth it.

889

Yes, not worth it.

rkkwan

Worth it, if you want to visit Macau during your two transits.

Hotels are cheaper in Macau than HK (which would likely cover your ferry tickets), and with your noon time departure from HKG on your second stay, you can take ferry direct from Macau to HKG and then onto your US bound flight.

So, stay in HK for the first transit. On your second transit, stay in HK for first night, then go to Macau during the next day.

jason8612

Thanks for the advice.
The only time that Macau would fit would be during the first transit and it seems that it's not worth it.
I'll just do hong kong.

EmailKid

Interesting that you guys don't think it's worth.

I was toying around with going to Macau on my Hong Kong layover, but it's going to be only a few hours long each time, so maybe next time.

lazard

I guess it depends on what you plan on doing in Macau. I've had colleagues go to Macau to gamble during their layovers.

rkkwan

You can go to Macau during your first transit, by taking the 930p ferry from HKG. But that means not checking in to a hotel until 1100p the earliest, a good 4 hour after arrival to HKG. After a long flight, you'd be much better off going to a hotel in HK, clean up and then wander around HK for a late supper instead.

EmailKid

Gambling isn't my thing, architecture and food are.

Ya, that's what I've done 2 or 3 times in the past. Will probably do this again, and leave a couple of days for layover with visit to Macau next time.

TravelLawyer

Interesting. I tend to go visit Macau anytime I'm in Hong Kong. I enjoy the food and hospitality there a lot. Maybe because it emulates Vegas, it provides for more "service-oriented" hospitality than Hong Kong does - which tends to be hit or miss, even within the same establishments.

BuildingMyBento

Macao was my first taste of Portuguese-influenced architecture - mind you this was back in 2003 - so in that sense, I liked it. There were barely any crowds near Largo do Senado (the main square)...but that could've been due to the SARS epidemic all the same. Egg tarts did it well too.

But now it's just an unpleasant, even more crowded place to visit. Not to mention, I have ZERO interest in casinos/casino "entertainment"/shopping. Egg tarts though, they still do it well.

number_6

Macau (old town) and Cotai (new casinos) are very different. Cotai is across the bridge and used to be swampland, now it is acres of interconnected casinos, hotels and shops selling USD 100k watches and USD 1 million gold statues of winnie the pooh (I kid you not!). On some days hotels would cost 20% of the HKG price but can be expensive on weekends, and have some nice resort facilities (I stayed at a huge suite in the Sheraton which doesn't even exist in the Kowloon Sheraton and cost less than a room would). Service was comparable to Hong Kong standards (quite good). It's worth visiting to see why it makes 700% more money than Las Vegas (even now), but not the kind of tourist attraction that Hong Kong offers.

Jay71

In researching Macau hotels for a potential visit during stopovers each way in HKG last year, we found the hotels in Macau to be pretty expensive on the weekends. Not that Hong Kong is way cheaper either but we decided to just daytrip over during our return leg just to save the effort of hauling luggage over. We had a similar itinerary as the OP where it was just an overnight in HKG on the way to Vietnam and two days in HKG on the way back.

It was my second time to Macau (last time over a decade ago) and my wife's first time and I'm pretty happy we visited Macau to see the sights together. We had enough daylight to see the main sights old town and taste local food while staying long enough to see the lights of nearby casinos at night. We didn't have enough time to head over to the newer casinos around Cotai though.

iluvcruising2

If you want to gamble, yes. Otherwise, no. More worthwhile to spend your time in Hong Kong.

But in case you really want to go to Macau, the following videos may help you.

We stayed at Holiday Inn Cotai Strip when we made a short visit to Macau earlier this year. This is the ferry ride.

This was Holiday Inn Cotai Strip.

And we walk from Holiday Inn to the Venetian.