To what extent is the Octopus card practical in Macau? Are there add-value machines dotted around tourist sites/CoD as well?

Octopus is not used in Macau. They have a similar but separate stored value card system called "Macau Pass". Discount on buses, uses in convenient store, etc. Since few visitors use their bus system anyways, it's not as crucial as the Octopus for a visitor to Hong Kong.

Indeed, everyone (except me) is hopping on the free casino buses to get around, but a little sleuthing shows that it can be used:

http://www.octopus.com.hk/get-your-o.../en/index.html

At KFCs and the Sands Casino.

In Shenzhen, it would be much more utilitarian, particularly if it was finally combined with the Shenzhen transport card. I recall a few years ago, the Cafe de Coral by the Luo Hu border crossing accepted Octopus, but am not too sure nowadays to what extent Shenzhen establishments recognize it.

All the places at ShenZhen that accept Octapus are HK fast food chains and DFS. No question that it is process as part of the total sales from HK.

Rather, I was referring to the planned amalgamation of Shenzhen Tong and Octopus, which will (hopefully) allow seamless transfers between transit systems. Even though it would be a long trip by public transit, swiping on an A/E bus at HKG and then eventually at the metro exit of SZX would be nice.

What you said is not going to happen before 2047.

And even now, you can't transfer between Airport Express train and the rest of the MTR system without beeping your Octopus again.

The Shenzhen Tong card will be merged into the Lingnan Tong (of Guangzhou) later this year, and there's already cards that have both Octoups and Lingnan Tong on it, so those can be used in Shenzhen soon.

There's also a trial of Octopus/Shenzhen Tong card last year, but I've not heard of anybody using it.

Good that you mention it. I have bought an Octopus/Lingnan Tong card a while ago in HK and am still trying to work out where I can load the Lingnan Tong part (I is actually 2 cards in one, both have to be loaded and used separately. Tried in Zhuhai (That is where I plan to mainly use it) to no avail.

Right, that's why I wrote eventually...

Although this thread has now thoroughly been hijacked, what do you know of the light rail in Dongguan and Huizhou? Will that likely accept both SZ and GZ transport cards?

Jumping off the Macau Tower is kind of fun.

Don't forget to tie a bungee cord to your ankles to ensure the fun last!

Try a stay and play package. Macau has some great hotels, restaurants and casinos.

Wow, that's a great website. Has anyone experience with these guys? I just checked out their rates for the Venetian and it's around $150 cheaper than on the hotel website. But I want to make sure that I actually have a reservation when I arrive at the hotel.

By the way, I didn't see the Venetian mentioned anywhere in this thread. I love the one in Vegas, so thought I need to check this one out. Any reason it wasn't mentioned here before?

ctrip is reputable. Biggest online travel agent in China.

Nobody mentioned Venetian here because, first, it's old news. It's the first of the Cotai Strip hotels. We've moved on to newer properties. Second, it's the favorite of mainland Chinese, whether they're on a tour group or travel independently. Most of us favor hotels with as few mainland Chinese as possible.

Thank you for the warning. So, would the Wynn or Four Season's/Banyan Tree be a better luxury option? I guess I like the Venetian because of the suite size.

Ctrip is a NASDAQ listed company. Just Google and one is able to find the latest stock quote and financial results.