ijgordon

I would just be careful if you are there in summer. It can be very hot and humid. I was there early September, and after about 15 minutes walking around outside I was dripping and ready to pass out!

parioli

Thank you very much.

CX_First

I think you can only like collect miles if you're going to like travel Super Class or VIP Cabin (both essentially First Class, only that VIP Cabin is sold on either a 4 or 6 person basis) on those Hydrofoil services.

christep

Then you think wrong. You can collect on all classes. Details are readily found here: http://www.asiamiles.com/en/earn/tra...134930,00.html

jbfield

I'd advise NOT TO USE the "Ferry Transfer" service from Hong Kong airport.


I arrived at HKG yesterday at midday. I had a very depressing experience and it took over 4 hours to reach Macau.

After queueing at the transfer desk for "Macau" for 15 - 20 minutes to purchase a ticket I was told ferries to Macau were at a different desk. Had to re-queue for another 15 minutes!
Then they told me that they would sort out the luggage transfer for me. I stated that I had fragile items in one box (which was clearer label as such).

After then waiting an hour for the bus to take me to the pier - kept being told that "luggage not ready" I saw the horror of how the luggage was being moved about. A mass of bags piled (literally piled) ontop of each other and then stuffed into plastic crates and manoeuvred by crane.

I got to Macau and after passing through immigration, the baggage reclaim was no more than a window you'd expect to find at a lost items desk. There are NO conveyor belts just a crowd of people each trying to get their bags back from a few guys in a small booth. Each time someone presents their bag ID sticker, the staff have to check each bag tag to see if it matches!

In the end, I got my two bags but unfortunately one (the fragile one) clearer hadn't been treated properly and was broken. A lot of wine had ruined my books and I can only wonder what happened to other passengers bags when it broke.
Although labelled fragile it was well packed and had survived 3 previous flights without problem and given what I saw once I was in the transfer process, I have little doubt the bag was handled was badly handled.
Of course although I got a damaged item report, I was told that it was for reporting and they won't be doing anything else because it was a fragile item.

What was going to be an afternoon and evening explore in Macau turned out to be a few hours in the evening. I later returned to HK that night instead of staying at the hotel I'd just paid for because of the mood I was then in.

It may be a transfer service at HKG airport but it is far short of what you would expect - it's basically a third world situation when you get out of HKG airport terminal! Don't use it if you have bags - you only find out what you've let yourself in for when you can't turn back!

I figured out it would have been far far quicker to head into HK on my arrivals, drop off my bags at a hotel and make a return afternoon/evening trip to Macau rather than using the transfer service.

Seat1A

sounds like a bad day, and it definitely sounds like the arrival side isn't nearly as convenient as the departure side. it took every bit as long to go MAC->HKG->out, but the logjams are in much nicer places. you must arrive at the macau ferry terminal 30-60 minutes before departure, but that's not too bad. i did get seat 1A on the ferry.

luggage transfer was automatic, so no need to spend time at the "baggage claim" at the HKIA ferry pier. the "baggage claim" for those who did need to claim looked exactly like what you described in macau. we did not receive priority tags at checkin in macau, but the next time i saw the bags at NRT, they were CX priority-tagged, so CX apparently deals correctly there.

after arrival at the ferry pier, we checked in with CX. biz and first share a line, and it moved pretty slowly. it took about 15 minutes to get checked in. security was a breeze, and was followed by the HKIA departure tax refund, which was also a breeze. we waited a few minutes for a bus to the terminal. the bus was crowded, and we didn't get to sit.

arrival at the main terminal was airside, at gate 9 or 10, i think. the minimum connecting time should allow 90+ minutes airside before departure. we had 3 hours plus, but as a oneworld emerald, there are worse places to be stuck for 3+ hours than airside at HKG. :-)

so, 9:45am ferry, 3:00pm flight, more or less as i remember it:

8:30am: get in taxi at wynn
8:40am: get out of taxi at ferry terminal
8:45am: get in line to check in at ferry
8:50am: cut in line to get around group of 50 checking in for ferry
8:55am: boot laptop to convince checkin agent that we are in fact flying out of HKG today
9:00am: to passport control
9:02am: thru passport control
9:10am: at gate for ferry.
9:25am: delay announced.
9:50am: boarding.
10:10am: departure
10:55am: arrival at HKIA ferry pier. super class is allowed priority disembarkation
11:00am: in line at CX checkin
11:15am: checked in with CX
11:18am: thru security
11:20am: airport departure tax refund complete
11:30am: on bus to terminal
11:45am: in terminal
noon: lunch at The Wing.

christep

So that adds about an hour to the journey time via HK central and saves you carrying your bags from the Macau ferry terminal to the airport express in central?

neuro0

I have done the Macau - HK-Macau ferry terminal at ShungTak(sp?)-HKG by taxi hotel door to checkin counter in 2 hours few times. For my usual 12pm flight from HKG, I usually take the 9am ferry to compensate delay.

Meerkat

If you're prepared to do the hike from Shun Tak to the airport rather than go direct to HKG (and are travelling light), don't forget the chopper option. Not the cheapest, but very convenient.

rkkwan

The A11 Cityflyer stops at Vicwood Plaza, across Connaught Road from Shun Tak Center via elevated walkway. $40, every 20 minutes. Because it's the last stop before it gets into the Western Cross Harbour Tunnel and the highway, it can get to the airport in 30 minutes.

Shorter walk, less than half the cost, and as fast as the AE.

If going from airport to ferry, the stop is right at the ferry terminal. No walk.

CX_First

I meant by the TurboJet's mileage collection and their terms with Asia Miles. It's just that you can only redeem miles if you're planning to travel the VIP Cabin or First Class (Super Class).

lucky9876coins

Hey Folks,

I'll be in HKG towards the end of the month and was planning on a 24 hour (overnight) trip to Macau. This is the most relevant thread I could find, so I wanted to see if anyone could offer some advice.

- Is it necessary to buy tickets? We'll be there on a Wed. returning on Thu., and I'd prefer not to buy tickets in advance for added flexibility. Any thoughts?

- How long before the sailing should we get to the ferry building, both in Hong Kong and Macau?

- I'll be traveling with a 22" carry-on and a tote bag. It looks like I'll have to check one of them. How reliable is checking bags, and should I take out valuables? Could I get away with carrying on a rollaboar and a tote on top of it? Looks like they're pretty strict...

Also, do they even charge for the first checked bag? The website is a bit confusing, IMO...

Thanks so much for any insight!

christep

You don't need to buy tickets mid-week unless it's a public holiday in HK.

The ferries go every 15 mins or so, so no-one really aims for specific ferries - just turn up when you're ready and you'll get a ticket for one about 30 minutes later, but you can standby for any earlier ones if you clear immigration in time.

Note that you can save a bit of time (and a little money) by buying a roundtrip ticket. The return segment needs a specific sailing on it, but it is valid for any other sailing BEFORE that time. So you could pick the latest possible time and then just standby for the sailing at whatever time you turn up. In my experience ticketing queues at Macau can be worse than those in HK (generally none in HK).

Not sure about luggage. Do you really need all that stuff for one night in Macau? There are left luggage lockers in the HK Macau ferry terminal.

rkkwan

I have never checked bags on the Macau ferries. You can absolutely take your 22" and a tote bag with you, unless you can't manage them yourself.

Turbojet runs at least every 15 minutes during the day. Sometimes, they'll have additional sailings. So, really no need to buy in advance.

wilp888

You shouldn't have any problems with your bags as I've carried on a 24" rollaboard and a large computer bag without any problems so I'm sure a 22" is O.K. There are storage spaces onboard for your bags but not at your seat. They're a little more strict at the Macau terminal. I wouldn't check bags because they take a while to unload the bags and and I seem to recall that they do charge for the first checked bag. The Kowloon-Macau ferry doesn't care what you bring aboard but many of their ferries take 15 minutes longer.