I read a post regarding Guangzhou to Macau and the border crossing by bus sounds confusing. Can anyone shed some light on this. I was also considering taking the ferry from Macau to Hong Kong and then taking the train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou.

Generally you don't cross the border by bus. The bus drops you off on the Chinese side a matter of metres from the border and you simply walk accross the border. In the opposite direction the process is, well it's the opposite! It's really not confusing and is all very easy!

Your idea of getting the ferry from macau to Hong Kong and then the train to Guangzhou is great if you will be spending some time in Hong Kong or you've got a fetish for ferries/trains () but otherwise the easiest way is simply the bus.

It's very simple. Get to the border by taxi, bus, free casino bus, wherever. Leave Macau.

There are a bunch of shops between the Macanese and Chinese immigration. There's a ticket booth right there:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p371008151/e280443d9

Or you can wait until you clear Chinese immigration. You'll be at the entrance to a humongous underground mall:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p371008151/e31840f76

If you look carefully in this picture, there's another red-and-blue sign for Kee Kwan Motor Road on the left of the picture. Follow the arrows there and take the escalators down that way to the underground bus depot. You can also buy tickets there if you didn't pre-purchase at the booth.

Are the signs for the underground bus depot in English? How much is the bus ticket? Will it be easy for me to locate the correct bus once I have purchased my ticket? Which bus station does the bus arrive at in Guangzhou? How long is the bus ride?

Some of the signs are in Pinyin, not real English. But look at the photos again I've linked to. You go down the main steps, bear left, and you'll see the escalators going down. You won't miss it. Remember that logo of Kee Kwan Motor Road (歧關車路/歧关车路/Qi Guan Che Lu). [They may have changed the background color of the logo since I took that picture; but the blue "K" logo is the same.]

Down in the bus depot (check other photos in my album), there's a big electronic sign that I believe flashes between Chinese and English with boarding time and door number. If you're a westerner, I'm sure the workers will make sure you get on the right bus.

The timetable is here:

http://www.keekwan.com/new1.php?id=87

First box is the 32 departures from Gongbei to China Hotel in Guangzhou, with 3 intermediate stops. Second box is the 30 departures to Haizhu Square by the Pearl River, with 2 intermediate stops. Boxes 3 to 11 are other departures to other areas of Guangzhou, much less frequent.

Anyways, you should have the Chinese name and address of your hotel printed on a paper, and you should learn that Guangzhou is 广州.

It should take about 2.5 to 3 hours. Don't know the cost, but I'd think about 50-60 RMB.

I believ it is more like 70-90 RMB.
There is also a red bus (VIP, quite big footspace) going from the bus station at the clock tower, heading to Tian He bus station.