Going to Macau for the first time...
 

I flew into HK rencently and am thinking about making a short trip to Macau to check it out.

I did some searches online and there seems to be a lot of choices...packages with ferry tickets included, meals, etc...and straight rooms.

Any recommendations on where to stay and what to do? Are there any good packages out there?

Thanks!!

Hotels are cheaper on weekdays
You can get hotel packages with the travel agents at the pier in Sheung Wan.

Do you gamble? Are you going there alone?
There is a lot of old/interesting architecture in Macau.

Macau can be done on a day trip.

Thanks for the quick reply! I gamble but not seriously, I'll play a few games here and there...I'm going with a friend who hasn't been there either (not a big gambler as well). We were thinking about going to a show? do you know what's a good hotel to stay at? Would it be cheaper to book online directly with the hotel?

There are so many hotels in Macau, you choice are limitless, including top ones like the Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and the Banyan Tree. But if your main goal is to see the historic center, then one solid choice is the Sofitel. It has a small casino there, but is not one of the major gambling venues in Macau.

The rates on their website is pretty reasonable and probably not much more than going through an agent at the ferry pier.

I'm looking at the Hotel Okura deluxe room on ctrip.com.hk right now...from Sunday to Tuesday. There is a getaway package that includes breakfast, 2 ferry tickets from macau to hk (one way only it seems)...for $1469/night...(pay at hotel)...

Hotel Okura is at the City of Dreams along with Banyan Tree, Galaxy, Grand Hyatt and Hard Rock,
I would describe it as the newly developed area of Macau.

Most of the historical attractions are on the other island, which is a 10-15 min taxi ride without traffic. Should cost around US$5 per trip on taxi.

I personally think as a newbie to Macau, I would stay on the Macau island instead, such as MGM, Wynn, Sofitel Ponte16.

Please explain your interpretation of island.

Hotel Okura is not at the City of Dreams; it's part of the Galaxy.

Banyan Tree is also separate from CoD.

I think these are important distinctions, since the CoD has a better location on the Cotai Strip than Galaxy and Banyan Tree, IMO.

You really can do macau as a long day trip (even to 3AM...). No need to pre-book just go to the ferries.

Macau island

The old and main part of Macau has been a peninsula with land connection to the mainland at least since when the Portugese arrived in the 16thC.

+1

There are automated booths where you can just buy your ticket for the sailing you want. Watch out for the touts who sell return tix for cheaper. The return portion is "space available" and, depending on the day and time, could make for a very long wait.

I had fallen into that trap but luckily sprang for 1st class tix. Didn't have to wait for space on the return portion but there was a huge line-up for the regular pax.

That is history. At least from HK-China City. Now that so many Mainland groups travel, more often than not they have very long (>100) standby queues. I do the trip on a weekly basis and it is getting worse by the week.

Things are different at the two ferry piers. Kowloon side, it's every 30 minutes and mostly cater to tour groups. Was like that during NWFF days, and no difference now. Just more tour groups.

Over at Shun Tak, if the ferries are really full, Turbojet will run extra sailings, on top of the 15-minute interval. And there is also Cotaijet. On a non-holiday weekday, one should be able to walk up to counter and get a ticket for a sailing within an hour of purchase time. One can go get something to eat, or go in and waitlist, OR, just go to one of the travel agents in Shun Tak, and pay a little more for a ticket for immediate departure. It's really not an issue.

Things are really different. I went to buy a ticket today for tomorrow morning 11am. The first ferry with available seats for tomorrow is 11:30. I am lucky I don't need to go 9 am. The problem I have with Shun Tak is that I would even need to carry heavy luggage over the stairs after crossing the harbour. In HK China City you have lifts to the ferry level.

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.

The suites aren't all they're cracked up to be. You have to manually turn off all the lights. It's big but aging poorly and there's mass tour groups always crowding up the place. The Four Seasons is probably the best on the Cotai strip.

Don't know about the others, but I have stayed at a Banyan Tree villa and a suite. There aren't that many rooms, so the only place I run into mainlanders was the Saffron restaurant at breakfast time when I was staying at the suite.

And even the Galaxy's casino seem very quiet and not crowded.

I live in HK, and seriously even if someone give me a free night at the Venetian, I won't bother going.

There are probably no bad hotels, but The Venetian is huge and it takes you ages to walk from your room to anywhere. It feels impersonal and the rooms are nice, if a little too gold. If you are looking for a luxury option and its in your budget, The Four Seasons is great - it is in the Venetian complex, but has its own pool, restaurants and casino. I haven't stayed at The Banyan Tree, so can't judge. A suite at the Wynn (as opposed to the rooms) are very nice - huge and very luxurious. I like the Wynn as you can walk to MGM or Lisboa and also to the local restaurants.

I think the MGM has very competitive pricing for their suites.

This will be my first time to Macau. I have 10 hours transit in HK, arriving in HK at about 2pm and my flight leave at 12:30am. Will I have enough time to visit Macau? Just need to quickly check the city and then leaves. Thanks.

Entirely doable if you know what you are doing. (Am assuming that you have already been to Hong Kong and realise that Macau is not the same as Las Vegas)

http://www.turbojet.com.hk/en/routin...ule-fares.aspx
There is a 3.15pm sailing from HKIA. It may take you up to an hour to go through immigration in Macau (depending on the day you go). Free bus to the casino (Lisboa?). Get a taxi to Venetian (HKD required). Then bus back to ferry terminal for 8.15pm sailing direct to HKIA. Alternatively you could ferry back from Macau via Hong Kong and that might give you another hour in Macau.

Thanks, guys, this is very helpful. To be honest I didn't realise that so many new hotels were built in the last couple of year. I did a bit more research and it appears that the Conrad is treating Hilton Diamond members really well to a nice suite upgrade, so this now has gone to the top of my list. Unless there is anything I should know about the Conrad in terms of tour groups or other negative issues to consider.

I won't even bother with the free casino bus. Just get some cash from an ATM and take taxi to the Monte Fortress and start from there down to Senado Sq, via St. Paul's and other historical sites. Might be a bit late to visit the Macau Museum at the fortress, as it closes at 6 and last ticket sold at 5:30.

I don't think there should be anything wrong with the Conrad, but personally, if you're visiting Macau to see the historical sites and city center, it's just better to stay on the Macau Peninsula. Personally, I'd choose the Sofitel.

We just spent two nights at the Conrad and the suite we got was huge and beautifully decorated. Diamonds are treated very well. No lounge, but afternoon tea (try both the English and Spanish) is great, even though no bubbly. Evening cocktails are house pour, but sufficient. It's actually interesting in terms of people watching to sit in the lobby lounge for tea/cocktails.

To rkkwan's point, the Conrad is away from the city center, but taxis are fairly cheap. We didn't find the location a significant downside, particularly given how we were treated.

BTW, we had a great meal at the Tasting Room, easy walk from the Conrad. Others have commented in the Conrad Macao thread in the Hilton forum about it and I'd recommend it. Very nice space and the food was superb.

Thats pretty much I wanted to do... I have a carry on bag, is there a left luggage at the ferry terminal? Thanks!


Which ferry terminal in Macau is the boat arrived ?