Macau
Sep 13th, 2006, 06:08 PM
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Macau
Hi
We will be in HK in Oct and wanted to do a day trip to Macau. So I have a couple of questions please.
We will be staying at the YMCA Sailsbury and it looks like we can get a ferry from "First Ferry" to Macau from Tsim Sha Tsui terminal? I am thinking that would be the best option for us????
Do you have to buy tickets in advance to travel on a Monday or can you get them on the day or day before?
I would assume that the customs/imigration process is pretty slick but how long do you have to allow for this? How long before departure do you have to be at the terminal?
Thank you all in advance for your help.
Happy & safe travels
J
We will be in HK in Oct and wanted to do a day trip to Macau. So I have a couple of questions please.
We will be staying at the YMCA Sailsbury and it looks like we can get a ferry from "First Ferry" to Macau from Tsim Sha Tsui terminal? I am thinking that would be the best option for us????
Do you have to buy tickets in advance to travel on a Monday or can you get them on the day or day before?
I would assume that the customs/imigration process is pretty slick but how long do you have to allow for this? How long before departure do you have to be at the terminal?
Thank you all in advance for your help.
Happy & safe travels
J
Sep 13th, 2006, 06:15 PM
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jules we did it a few years ago and took the hydrofoil to save time...immigration may not be in effect now as it is all china?? but it was very quick when we went...
we had to go over to hong kong island for the boat....it is just to the right of star ferry as i remember...a short walk...
we had to go over to hong kong island for the boat....it is just to the right of star ferry as i remember...a short walk...
Sep 13th, 2006, 06:24 PM
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Thanks for the reply. From what I can gather on the Macau gov web site you still have to do immigration. I too did the trip many years ago and do not remember which can only mean it was not a hassle then so I can only assume it would be even smoother now!
The trip with First Ferry seems to take only 15-20 mins more (total 60-75mins) than the fastest trip from the island so it must be some type of hydrofoil also. I was thinking since we are staying on that side of the harbour the travel time would even out??
J
The trip with First Ferry seems to take only 15-20 mins more (total 60-75mins) than the fastest trip from the island so it must be some type of hydrofoil also. I was thinking since we are staying on that side of the harbour the travel time would even out??
J
Sep 13th, 2006, 06:45 PM
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jules, we also went across to Hong Kong and took the Hydrofoil from there. I asked about the boat from "First Ferry" but I remember they recommended the other, though I can't remember why (maybe not as frequebt boats?). The immigration is very quick and efficient in Macau and whe you come back to Hong Kong.
You can buy tickets same day easily. The hydrofoils we were on were not full.
Do eat at Fernando's! it was the most memorable meal of the trip for us.
You can buy tickets same day easily. The hydrofoils we were on were not full.
Do eat at Fernando's! it was the most memorable meal of the trip for us.
Sep 13th, 2006, 06:57 PM
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Kathie thanks for your input. I have looked up the first ferry schedule and it seems frequent enough..... Also for the Fernandos rec. Now tell me what made the meals so great? Will I be able to find the resaurant easily?
Thanks again
J
Thanks again
J
Sep 13th, 2006, 07:18 PM
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jules, I'm going to have to look up the info on Fernandos for you. It's on one of the outer islands, next to a black sand beach. It's (of course) Portuguese. Johnny Apple of the NYT wrote a great review of it a few months before we went. He highly recommended ordering the roast suckling pig. When we got there, we were seated and given menus - which were, of course, in Portuguese. I asked the waitress whether they had any menus i English and she said no. So we set the menus down and said, "What shoud we order?" We told her we wanted the suckling pig, and she suggested the rest. Everthing is served family style, so we shared everything. We started with a salad with these fabulous tomatoes. Then she brought us a big bowl of prawns cooked in their shells, and finally, the slice of pork. Oh, and we had a bottle of wine. We asked about a wine list, and she led Cheryl to teh kitchen where she could choose from several shelves of wine. It was a fun meal, excellent food, and the cheapest meal we had during our stay in Hong Kong!
Sep 13th, 2006, 07:23 PM
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There are two ferry services you may use to Macau. Both cost basically the same.
First Ferry departs from Kowloon. The pier is on Canton Road, north of the Harbour City shopping center. A little walk up there (about 750 yards). First Ferry departs every 30 minutes, and they use catamarans exclusively that takes about 60 minutes to get to Macau.
Turbojet departs from HK Island, so you need to go take the Star Ferry across the harbor and then walk over. The walk will be a little longer (~1,000 yards). They depart every 15 minutes, and about 70% of the time they use jetfoils or foilcats that are more stable as the vessels are out of the water. Other sailings they use catamarans. All of their vessels have slightly higher speed and take about 55 minutes.
I generally prefer Turbojet's service, but since you're in Tsimshatsui already, I will agree that First Ferry is probably the better choice. You don't need to purchase tickets in advance except during major holidays.
In general 20 minutes will be enough for immigration. But I won't even worry about that. Whatever time you arrive at the terminal, go to the ticket counter, and they will sell you tickets to the next sailing that you can make. Basically, they decide for you.
First Ferry departs from Kowloon. The pier is on Canton Road, north of the Harbour City shopping center. A little walk up there (about 750 yards). First Ferry departs every 30 minutes, and they use catamarans exclusively that takes about 60 minutes to get to Macau.
Turbojet departs from HK Island, so you need to go take the Star Ferry across the harbor and then walk over. The walk will be a little longer (~1,000 yards). They depart every 15 minutes, and about 70% of the time they use jetfoils or foilcats that are more stable as the vessels are out of the water. Other sailings they use catamarans. All of their vessels have slightly higher speed and take about 55 minutes.
I generally prefer Turbojet's service, but since you're in Tsimshatsui already, I will agree that First Ferry is probably the better choice. You don't need to purchase tickets in advance except during major holidays.
In general 20 minutes will be enough for immigration. But I won't even worry about that. Whatever time you arrive at the terminal, go to the ticket counter, and they will sell you tickets to the next sailing that you can make. Basically, they decide for you.
Sep 13th, 2006, 07:28 PM
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I find it pretty hilarious that the menu at Fernando has Portugese and Chinese on it, but no English. When I ate there, I saw their servers all busy explaining to visitors what's on the menu. They should have just put English on it!
Sep 13th, 2006, 07:37 PM
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rkkwan - so true!
Here's the Macau section from my April, 2004 trip report: Day 4: Day Trip to Macau. I hadn't been to Macau before, so this was a new experience. We took the MTR to the Sheung Wan ferry terminal (from Kowloon, it requires changing lines at Central). Tickets were HK$142 each way. A one-way is the same price as two single tickets. As we were going on a Wednesday, we didn't buy roundtrip tickets, as we didn't know when we'd want to come back (and you have to give them a saialing time for your return if you buy a roundtrip ticket). The trip is an hour each way and boats leave every 15 minutes. Seating was comfortable. You can buy first class tickets, but there is no difference in seating (I'm not sure what you get for your extra $$). We noted that the two hydrofoils we took were different, the second one was more comfortable, but you don't get a choice. Hong Kong money is readily accepted on par with Macau money. But as the same does not apply in Hong Kong, try to use up any of the Macau money you receive in change before going back to Hong Kong. We started by taking a taxi to the A Ma temple. I always enjoy these temple visits, but it's not for everyone. My traveling companion was turned off by the heavy smoke of the incense and the many people pushing by her. It was the most crowded (many people in a small area) place we visited in Macau. We then took a bus into the central part of the city, and wandered around on the narrow streets, window shopping and enjoying the ambiance. We visited the remains of Sao Paulo and the citadel before deciding it was time for lunch. We caught a taxi out to Coloane Island to have lunch at Fernando's. (There was an excellent write-up about Fernando's in the New York Times travel section a month or so ago.) The Fodor's book is rather disparaging about Fernando's, but the recommendation of people on this site and the NYT made us decide to go. It was delightful! The menu is in Portuguese, so we asked the server what she recommended. We knew we wanted to try the famous roast suckling pig, and she recommended the prawns as well. All the dishes came on large plates and we shared them. The "wine list" consists of going to the entrance of the kitchen and pointing to the bottle of wine you'd like with your meal. We had an excellent Portuguese red for HK$120 (what a contrast from the very expensive wine in Hong Kong!). We started with a salad of tomatoes (huge slabs of red, juicy tomatoes!) sweet onions and romaine with a simple vinagrette. The prawns arrived next - a pile of whole prawns cooked in their shells in a spicy sauce. The suckling pig arrived last, succulent, with a thin, crisp skin. The meal was superb, and the least expensive meal we had on our trip. By the way, Fernando?s does NOT take credit cards. After lunch we wandered over to the beach were Chinese tourists were taking off their shoes, rolling up their pant legs and wading into the waves even though it was raining lightly. They were having a great time and we enjoyed watching them. You can see the Westin hotel from the beach - it looks lovely. We caught a taxi back into town, and wandered around the old town for a while. We really didn't see any interesting shopping, perhaps we were in the wrong place. I liked all the winding walking streets, and enjoyed the atmosphere. We took a late afternoon ferry back to Hong Kong. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken a look at the duty free in Macau. Duty free in Hong Kong is more expensive than other large Asian cities. The only thing I ever buy in duty free is XO Cognac, and it was about US$20 a liter more in the Hong Kong airport than in Bangkok (still much less than I'd have to pay in Seattle). There is a duty free shop in the ferry terminal, and it looked to have wine and spirits, but I didn't stop to compare prices.
Here's the Macau section from my April, 2004 trip report: Day 4: Day Trip to Macau. I hadn't been to Macau before, so this was a new experience. We took the MTR to the Sheung Wan ferry terminal (from Kowloon, it requires changing lines at Central). Tickets were HK$142 each way. A one-way is the same price as two single tickets. As we were going on a Wednesday, we didn't buy roundtrip tickets, as we didn't know when we'd want to come back (and you have to give them a saialing time for your return if you buy a roundtrip ticket). The trip is an hour each way and boats leave every 15 minutes. Seating was comfortable. You can buy first class tickets, but there is no difference in seating (I'm not sure what you get for your extra $$). We noted that the two hydrofoils we took were different, the second one was more comfortable, but you don't get a choice. Hong Kong money is readily accepted on par with Macau money. But as the same does not apply in Hong Kong, try to use up any of the Macau money you receive in change before going back to Hong Kong. We started by taking a taxi to the A Ma temple. I always enjoy these temple visits, but it's not for everyone. My traveling companion was turned off by the heavy smoke of the incense and the many people pushing by her. It was the most crowded (many people in a small area) place we visited in Macau. We then took a bus into the central part of the city, and wandered around on the narrow streets, window shopping and enjoying the ambiance. We visited the remains of Sao Paulo and the citadel before deciding it was time for lunch. We caught a taxi out to Coloane Island to have lunch at Fernando's. (There was an excellent write-up about Fernando's in the New York Times travel section a month or so ago.) The Fodor's book is rather disparaging about Fernando's, but the recommendation of people on this site and the NYT made us decide to go. It was delightful! The menu is in Portuguese, so we asked the server what she recommended. We knew we wanted to try the famous roast suckling pig, and she recommended the prawns as well. All the dishes came on large plates and we shared them. The "wine list" consists of going to the entrance of the kitchen and pointing to the bottle of wine you'd like with your meal. We had an excellent Portuguese red for HK$120 (what a contrast from the very expensive wine in Hong Kong!). We started with a salad of tomatoes (huge slabs of red, juicy tomatoes!) sweet onions and romaine with a simple vinagrette. The prawns arrived next - a pile of whole prawns cooked in their shells in a spicy sauce. The suckling pig arrived last, succulent, with a thin, crisp skin. The meal was superb, and the least expensive meal we had on our trip. By the way, Fernando?s does NOT take credit cards. After lunch we wandered over to the beach were Chinese tourists were taking off their shoes, rolling up their pant legs and wading into the waves even though it was raining lightly. They were having a great time and we enjoyed watching them. You can see the Westin hotel from the beach - it looks lovely. We caught a taxi back into town, and wandered around the old town for a while. We really didn't see any interesting shopping, perhaps we were in the wrong place. I liked all the winding walking streets, and enjoyed the atmosphere. We took a late afternoon ferry back to Hong Kong. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken a look at the duty free in Macau. Duty free in Hong Kong is more expensive than other large Asian cities. The only thing I ever buy in duty free is XO Cognac, and it was about US$20 a liter more in the Hong Kong airport than in Bangkok (still much less than I'd have to pay in Seattle). There is a duty free shop in the ferry terminal, and it looked to have wine and spirits, but I didn't stop to compare prices.
Sep 14th, 2006, 04:12 AM
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I would just add the following (i) don't go on a Sunday, and perhaps not a Saturday if you can avoid it, as ferries and immigration will be crowded, (ii) if your trip is Oct 2 - 7 note that Oct 2 is a public holiday here in Hong Kong so you might want to avoid going to Macau that day, and the rest of the week is a public holiday in the PRC so you might find ferries to Macau and immigration crowded as well, (3) check the closing day for Fernando's I think it is Monday.
Finally, there is a TON of construction going on in Macau as Steve Wynn and everyone else are building gigantic 1,000 room hotels and huge casinos to match. Once you get past the main strip where the construction is it is fine, and the old town near the cathedral face is still OK, but really the strip where they are building is quite a mess.
Fernando's
9 Hac Sa Beach
Hac Sa, Coloane
Phone: (853)-882-531)
Another very good restaurant is
Os Gatos
Pousada De Sao Tiago Hotel
Avenida da Republica
Phone: 853-378-111
Finally, there is a TON of construction going on in Macau as Steve Wynn and everyone else are building gigantic 1,000 room hotels and huge casinos to match. Once you get past the main strip where the construction is it is fine, and the old town near the cathedral face is still OK, but really the strip where they are building is quite a mess.
Fernando's
9 Hac Sa Beach
Hac Sa, Coloane
Phone: (853)-882-531)
Another very good restaurant is
Os Gatos
Pousada De Sao Tiago Hotel
Avenida da Republica
Phone: 853-378-111
Sep 14th, 2006, 09:08 AM
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Thank you all. Great information.
Cicerone we are probably going to be heading out there on a Monday Oct 16th so doesn't look like that will clash with any holidays.
I will check re Fernandos close date if I can find out. It sounds great from Kathies description I already had myself sitting there enjoying it all... but if it is closed maybe Os Gatos will get a try or somewhere else.
Thanks again
J
Cicerone we are probably going to be heading out there on a Monday Oct 16th so doesn't look like that will clash with any holidays.
I will check re Fernandos close date if I can find out. It sounds great from Kathies description I already had myself sitting there enjoying it all... but if it is closed maybe Os Gatos will get a try or somewhere else.
Thanks again
J
Sep 14th, 2006, 09:59 AM
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There are other popular Portugese restaurants in Macau. Many of them center on Rua da Cunha on Taipa (the island between Macau and Coloane).
Cozinha "Pinocchio" was the most famous one, but there are others there too.
Cozinha "Pinocchio" was the most famous one, but there are others there too.
Sep 14th, 2006, 01:10 PM
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