Macau also known as the Las Vegas of the East is one of the most budget friendly destinations for travelers. Thanks for the free shuttle buses that most of the casinos offers.
This is a great opportunity for a “budgetarian” traveler like me. So, while planning our Hong Kong trip I included one whole day tour in Macau. Having in mind the plan to take advantage of those free transportation within the country.
Planning wasn’t easy because I had to check which casinos are near to the places we wanted to visit. A lot of questions that needs to be answered like - what places to visit? What are the things we need to prepare? How can we go to Macau from Hong Kong? How much is the ticket? What shuttle buses to ride?
Preparing is indeed needed.
This blog is to share with you how we enjoy a day tour in Macau without spending much aside from the foods and souvenirs we bought. Let’s start by answering some of the questions you’ll have before visiting the country.
WHAT ARE THE PLACES TO VISIT?
There are a lot of beautiful places in Macau. But since we only had one whole day, I had to choose which places we will visit. Here is the list.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Grand Lisboa Casino
Senado Square
St. Dominic Church
Ruins of St. Paul
Macau Museum
Monte Fortress
Venetian and Parisian Macau
Galaxy Macau
City of Dreams
Macau Tower
HOW TO GO TO MACAU (From Hong Kong)?
You can go to Macau through Ferry for about 40 to 60 minutes. There are two ferry terminals in Hong Kong that offers ferry rides going to Macau. You can choose which is nearer to your hotel.
China Ferry Terminal (Tsim Tsa Tsui) – 33 Canton Road, Tsim Tsa Tsui, Kowloon. Near Star Ferry Terminal. From Harbor City Mall just walk along canton road until you reach the terminal.
Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal (Central) – In Shun Tak Centre near IFC Tower. From Shueng Wan MTR Station, go to Exit D where it will lead you to Shun Tak Centre.
There are also two ferry terminals in Macau that offers routes to/from Hong Kong.
Macau Taipa Terminal – This terminal is close to the Casinos, some hotels and airport.
Macau Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal – This terminal is advisable to tourists who want a site-seeing tour because it is near the city center and the attractions.
Because our hotel is in Tsim Tsa Tsui, I chose a ferry from China Ferry Terminal to Macau Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal.
WHERE TO BUY FERRY TICKETS?
I purchased our tickets at the ticketing office at the terminal, though I have an option to purchase online. I bought one-way ticket to Macau for about HKD 171 – Turbo Jet. I didn’t purchase a round-trip ticket that time because I don’t know what time we will go back to Hong Kong. I bought our return ticket in Macau Outer Ferry Terminal after our day tour. Price is at HKD 160 – Turbo jet.
WHAT TO PREPARE?
Nothing much is needed to prepare if you are traveling form Hong Kong. You can still use your Hong Kong dollars in Macau, but you can’t use the currency of Macau in Hong Kong. They have the same value.
DAY TOUR:
After taking our early breakfast in Hong Kong, we took the 7:30 AM ferry ride going to Macau. We are very much excited for this trip, so we woke up very early that day.
After 40-60 minutes, we arrived in Macau. We had to go through the immigration first and present our passports before we finally can start our day tour.
Shuttle buses going to different casinos are in front of the terminal. But since, I am planning to take the shuttle bus of Grand Lisboa which will be available starting 10 AM, we head first to Fisherman’s wharf – which is just a walking distance from the terminal.
There is nothing much we can do here aside from having a picture. There are restaurants within the area, but prices are a bit expensive. No entrance free so we went to visit.
At 10:AM we went back to the terminal, to ride the shuttle bus of Grand Lisboa. Upon arriving the casino, we have the option to explore the place or gamble, but we head directly to the exit to start walking to our next attraction to visit.
From Grand Lisboa, we walked along the street going to Senado Square. We never got lost because there are a lot of street signage that are easy to follow. After 5 minutes to 10 minutes’ walk we reached our next stop.
I am amazed with the pastel-colored buildings of Senado Square. These is where we found lots of shopping centers. From here is a 15 minutes’ walk going to The Ruin’s of St. Paul. But before arriving at The Ruins we passed by this beautiful heritage – St. Dominic’s Church.
Along the way to The Ruins is this busy street that offers different stalls with lots of souvenir and variety of foods. I love the free jerky (dried meat), Portuguese egg tart and of course - ice cream. :)
Finally, we reached the famous – The Ruins of St. Paul.
After taking our pictures, we head to Macau Museum which is just beside The Ruins.
Also, inside the Museum is the Monte Fortress.
After the exploring the area, we head back to the street going to Senado Square where we took our lunch. After eating, we walked our way to Sintra Hotel (Grand Lisboa Direction) where we will ride the free shuttle bus going to COD – City of Dreams.
City of Dreams is just in front of The Venetian Hotel. These is where you can find the famous Grand Shoppers Canal.
Inside the Venetian is the Grand Shoppers Canal.
Venetian Hotel offers shuttle buses going back to Macau Outer Harboar Ferry Terminal. But because it is still early for us to go back to Hong Kong we visited its’ neighboring casinos like The Galaxy and the Parisian before going back to the terminal.
Macau Tower on our way back to the terminal.
You can also plan your trip, just visit the casinos websites, so you can check which shuttle buses to take near the attractions you wanted to visit.
SAMPLE ITINERARY:
07:30 AM - ETD China Ferry Terminal (Tsim Tsa Tsui, Kowloon)
08:30 AM – ETA Macau Outer Harboar Ferry Termnal
09:00 AM – Finished Immigration, Start of Tour
09:15 AM – From Terminal walked to Fisherman’s Wharf
10:00 AM – Walked back to the terminal to ride free shuttle bus of Grand Lisboa
10:15 AM – Arrival at Grand Lisboa
10:30 AM – From Grand Lisboa walk going to Senado Square
Explore Senado Square
St. Dominic Church
The Ruins of St. Paul
Macau Museum
Monte Fortress
12:00 AM – Lunch
01:00 PM – Go to Sintra Hotel for the Free shuttle Bus going to COD
01:15 PM – Arrival to City of Dreams
01:30 PM - In front of COS is The Venetian, go inside to visit Grand Shoppers Canal.
03:00 PM - Visit Neighboring Casinos – The Galaxy,
04:00 PM - The Parisian.
You can stay for The City of Dreams Dancing Water Show at 8 PM or go back to The Venetian Hotel for the free bus back to the terminal. Just bear in mind the last trip back to Hong Kong. I advise you to ask for the last trip schedule first thing when you arrive Macau Outer Harbor Terminal in the morning if you're planning to watch the show at night.
This is how we spent a day in Macau without costing us much – all based on my experience. I hope you will also enjoy your tour in Macau, same as how we enjoyed ours. :)
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