How do i go from Hong Kong to Macau? I would like to have a day trip to Macau. Any recommendations?

Turbojet from the Macau Ferry terminal in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island (just west of Central). Every 15 minutes or more frequent. Takes 55-60 minutes.

New World First Ferry from the China Ferry Terminal on Canton Road in Kowloon (just north of the Harbour City shopping center). Every 30 minutes, takes about 60-70 minutes.

Turbojet uses the jetfoil, catamaran or the foilcat. First Ferry uses catamarans only.

Both cost about HK$150 one-way.

You need to take your passports.

How's the Venetian Macao? What are the attractions at Cotai Strip? I hope to visit Macau with my family in December.

I would avoid the Venetian for a while, they are having major problems with getting their staff trained, as over a 1/3 of them quit just before opening. The hotel has 1,500 rooms and so just try to imagine running that size of hotel will brand new staff who are poorly trained. People checking in the first few days were literally waiting hours to get a room. Give it a year to iron out the problems and maybe not even then. These are hotels for gambling, not for enjoying a vacation. They are also not hotels aimed at well-traveled peopled who are used to good service. The Macau casino hotels are targeting PRC tourists who have not travelled much, and are there to gamble heavily and spend money in the shops, they really are not interested in you at all, just bear that in mind. I know someone who stayed there about 10 days ago and beyond the poor service levels, the main problems he had were very poor English levels and very bad signage; for example, his room was in one tower but he went all the way up in another and all the way to the end of the corridor only to find that his room number, which was the next in the series, was in the other tower, but the signage at the lifts never indicated that...He also said it was so bright with marble and 18 carat gold that it actually hurt his eyes, but design and interior decor is all of matter of one's taste, so take that for what it is worth.

IMO there are NO attractions on the Cotai strip. It is a busy road with one high-rise casino hotel after another, and not even that yet, as the majority of them are still under construction. It is about 5 open hotels and about 20 under construction. Lots of cranes and dust and noise (not sure if they stop at night, my guess is that they do not). The Cotai strip is not located near to the old colonial areas of Macau, it's about a 15-20 minute drive from that area. If you want to see Macau, IMO, the Cotai strip is not the place to stay to see it. If this were my trip and I were staying overnight, I would stay either down in Coloane at the Westin or in Macau at the Mandarin. The Posada de Sao Tiago just reopened, I have not seen it, but it has a very nice outdoor pool area (and a great restaurant) and is quite atmospheric being built into the fortress, so if the redo is finished and was done well, I think it would be a good choice, take a look at http://www.saotiago.com.mo/. While not in the historic core proper, it is in an interesting area and has some nice sea views. The one drawback is that it is just a bit out of the core area and you will end up taking taxis so IMO you might just stay out at the Westin which is on a nice quiet beach and you can go to the lovely sleepy villages on Coloane, and then go into Macau old town for an afternoon. If you MUST stay in a true casino hotel (the Mandarin has a casino but it is actually a very good hotel run by an actual hotel operator as opposed to a casino which has a hotel attached), then try the Wynn which is at least walkable (or a very short bus or taxi ride) to the colonial bits, but don't expect a lot of good service, or even plush surroundings. Sorry, it just breaks my heart to see what has happened to that otherwise very lovely sleepy little place.

A day trip to Macau is perfectly feasible, start early if you can, and make a reservation for a return ferry, most especially if you are planning a trip on a weekend or a public holiday. On a weekday a ferry reservation is not as important, but I would not go on a Sunday without one, and would prefer to have one on a Saturday as well. You can see the historic core of Macau in 2-3 hours very easily and if you want to do further exploring in the historic area, that is possible too, especially in the cooler weather (a lot of the old town is built on steep hills and involves a good bit of walking). Also include a trip down to Coloane to see what Macau actually used to be like, very very few tourists go there and you will be able to enjoy this area at a much slower pace, with some good restaurants and shopping. There are beaches all along the southern coast, from Hac Sa to the village of Coloane. There is the Westin hotel which is quite nice for a stop for lunch or tea, the little town near Hac Sa is cute and has some shopping and the famous Fernando’s restaurant. The village of Coloane itself has a Tin Hau temple and the famous and fantastic egg tarts at Lord Stow Bakery. You can take the #25 bus down to Coloane from Senado Square in about 30 minutes, it costs MOP$4. A taxi from the same area will cost about MOP$75 (just under US$10). There are other buses which will take you to Hac Sa beach and the Westin area, check the bus stops or a guidebook. You can stay for dinner and then take the return ferry back in the evening.

For the ferries, get first class tickets, there will be more available and it’s less crowded. Try the websites now at http://www.turbojet.com.hk or http://www.nwff.com.hk/ (these latter ferries depart from the Kowloon side of the harbour). The other thing that you will find is that once you get off the ferry in Macau and come out of the terminal building is that there will be a huge taxi line, just skip by that and go right to buses (which usually have no or a very short line), take the #3 or #3A bus which will take you to the centre of town for MOP$2.50. (There is an ATM machine inside the ferry terminal, before the glass exit doors, look for signs.) You can also hire a taxi for a few hours to give you a tour around, this will be around US$20, these guys will be waiting when you come out the glass doors into the taxi/bus area and will approach you, so don’t worry about finding one.

Cicerone

Thanks, your reply is very informative.

Yes, there are basically two Macaus - the new and the old. I usually only visit the old, which is still very charming. Actually, since the mid-90's, the local government - under both Portugese and Chinese rule - has done a marvelous job in restoring the historical center. And they earned the UNESCO World Heritage site listing in 2006.

Cicerone is absolutely right that the Venetian is mainly built for Chinese gamblers. I don't think most of us will enjoy it.

The Cotai strip is land that's reclaimed from the ocean. Right now, the main attraction is Venetian itself. There is also a go-kart track. Not sure what else. But if you take a bus to Coloane, you'll pass by it.

Just returned from Hong Kong & did a day trip to Macau on the "turbojet". Within 60 minutes, a very pleasant ride on the super class (upstairs). Definitely it was worth the day trip & visiting the Venetian Macau. The casino was extremely crowded, not properly organized, no free drinks & definitely catered to chinese gamblers. The hotel & its site is indeed very similar to LV, very pretty with the Canal Shops (with tons of stores) having a bigger lake for the gondola ride. Free shuttle bus from the ferry terminal to all the hotels. It was nice that we get to see it but will not stay there. Saw a few older hotel's like the Lisboa & the Sands but by far my favorite was the WYNN hotel. It is beautifully decorated, the casino tables were neatly organized & has a No Smoking section. The water fountain show at the front of the hotel runs every 15 minutes. Try the italian restaurant on the second floor overlooking the fountain. The food, ambiance & service were top notch.

Can I use HKD for the bus rides in Macau or do I have do get some MOP?

You can use HKD for anything and everything in Macau, including bus fares.

[You just cannot demand to get change in HKD, though most vendors will try to give you back HKD in change. Not an issue with buses.

On the casino floors, HKD is the "official currency".]

I do want to point out that the MOP is about 3% lower than HKD. So, when you use HKD in Macau, you're losing some for the convenience.

I know some Fodorites can get really upset when their credit card charge them 3% for the convenience of using them abroad, so they may want to know about this difference in exchange rate.

Thanks Raymond. I don't think the difference would amount to a whole lot for the few days I'll be there.