BH62

Would appreciate recommendations regarding a "good" day trip to Macau from Hong Kong. Per Google there are various tours, but no idea who's good or who to stay away from. BTW, this would be on a Sunday in mid-April.

rkkwan

"Good" day trip and "tour" do not go in the same sentence. Just go to Macau by yourself. Visit St Paul's ruin, Monte Fortress and the Museu de Macau (inside the fortress) first, then one or two of the old churches near Senado Square.

If you have time left, go to A-Ma Temple, and dinner at one of the Portuguese/Macanese restaurants just north of it, before coming back.

I would call that a very good day trip.

christep

I agree with rkkwan. No need for an organized "tour". Just hit the sights that he suggests. Macao (at least the old town where all the non-casino sights are) is all very walkable.

number_6

Fascinating contrast between Macau and Hong Kong ... the difference between Portugese and British colonialism is profound. Both started the same size and same opportunity, British did 100x the development and investment in infrastructure that Portugal did and it shows in the city sights in Macau. You can see all that's worth seeing in a couple of hours Kind of telling when the most famous tourist attraction is a ruin. As for the more modern development, it is capitalism at its finest (and run amuck). Conspicuous consumption everywhere; personally I like the $1 million pooh bear statues displayed in the jewelry stores (solid gold). They tell me they sell a lot.

466SHH

I got a map and just did a walking tour myself. The main sights are extremely well marked with signs. Once or twice I had to look closely for the next sign, but never for more than 90 seconds. There is a Maritime museum next to the A-Ma Temple, interesting if you like that sort of thing.

I started at A Ma mid to late morning and worked my way up to St. Paul's ruin, on the recommendation of the hotel concierge. Had I not gone to the museum, or started earlier, or not seen every inch of the Mandarin's House -- I really did dawdle along the way -- I would have had time to get further than St. Paul's before dark.

I think I agree with rkkwan about doing St. Paul's first and working down to A-Ma. Easily done in a day and no tour guide needed.

thegrailer

Question re day trip. What is the travel time to/from Macau? Is it an up at daybreak, home a midnight trip or is it a ferry, a walk about, and then another ferry in a few (8?) hours? I'll be staying at the HR in Kowloon. This is my second HKG trip in the past 2 months and I am thinking of exploring a bit of the surroundings too this time

Thanks

Cheers

fanger

Every 15 min from Sheung Wan

https://www.turbojet.com.hk/en/routi...ule-fares.aspx

I spent 8+ hours there and thought that was a decent amount of time- if I was interested in casinos I might have spent the night- I walked around a lot to the ruins and around the old town and fort but didn't go into the museum. I did have a couple of Macau bites along the way. Try a pork chop sandwich, and/or some of the old Portuguese-style dishes (Stews, etc).

rkkwan

Ferry is every 15 minutes, takes an hour. Arrive pier 15-20 minutes prior to be safe. Immigration line after arrival depends. Same for coming back. So, those take up up to 4 hours already. MTR from Hyatt to Sheung Wan about 20 minutes with the walks.

CrazyInteg

This is perfect advice. Just to add on, make sure you get to the ferry terminal early! I would say that ideally you want to be on a boat that leaves by/before 9am (which means get there before 9am to get your ticket).

eponymous_coward

The Portuguese got their original cession in Macau almost 300 years before the British got theirs in Hong Kong. This is a really big difference in history that explains a lot of how things went; by the time the British were in control of Hong Kong they really were the world's first worldwide empire (since industrialization had proceeded considerably further by the 1800s), and they had a lot more pull during the time of the Unequal Treaties than Portugal did (by that point Portugal was a backwater in Europe compared to where they were in the 1600s).

Macao is also considerably smaller than Hong Kong: 30 sq km as opposed to 426 sq km... that has a considerable effect on infrastructure capabilities (mass transit and population).

Oh, and Hong Kong ended up British because the British wanted to import opium to China, and took it over when the Chinese objected to this.

TeamCarryOn

Adding here that you should by your return ticket on the ferry in advance; as the return ferries sell out, and you may have to wait several hours for the next boat back to Hong Kong. Planning 8 hours to tour Macau is enough time.

rkkwan

While getting the return ticket in advance makes sense, keep in mind one can always standby on earlier sailings. There's no occasion where I had to wait for hours to get back to HK. Lining in the standby line by the gate for 15 minutes is all I had to do. Of course I never chose big holiday to visit Macau to start with.

IncaTrails

Perhaps in Summer days. I was in Hong Kong/Macau 2 weeks ago..did not even cross my mind to buy ticket in advance, but rather bought return ticket when back at the terminal. I was seated on window seat, with empty seat next to me. In fact, there were plenty open seats.

JordanWalker

What