Macau is a huge city with several district articles containing sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife and accommodation listings — consider printing them all.
Macau (also spelled Macao, 澳門, Ou3 Mun4 in Cantonese, Àomén in Mandarin) is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. Located across the Pearl River estuary from Hong Kong, until 1999 Macau was an overseas territory of Portugal. The world's most densely populated country, Macau is best known as Asia's largest destination for gambling taking in even more revenue than Las Vegas.
Besides the city itself, Macau includes the islands of Taipa and Coloane, which are connected to Macau by bridges and to each other by a causeway, now built up into the Cotai Strip. The Chinese city of Zhuhai borders Macau to the north, and the border crossing carries heavy two-way vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The Zhuhai Special Economic Zone extends south to Hengqin Island, an area west of Taipa, Cotai and Coloane; the Lotus Bridge from Cotai connects to that area. There is significant movement by the local population of both Zhuhai and Macau across the border, making the two feel like twin cities.
Macau is subtropical with hot summers and mild winters. Visitors should note that typhoons often strike from mid-summer to Autumn which could stop many activities there. Although winter is generally mild, there are occasional cold fronts which could make temperatures drop 10°C (20°F) in a day.
GET IN
For many years, the usual way to get to Macau was to fly into Hong Kong and take a ferry across to Macau. Today, Macau is becoming a low-cost airline hub, and some are now arriving at Macau to later go to Hong Kong.
ENTRY REQUIREMENT
Macau has a separate immigration regime from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. All travellers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and foreign countries have to go through immigration and customs checks on arrival in Macau. Therefore, if you want to re-enter the Mainland from Macau, you'll have to apply for another Chinese visa unless your earlier one is a multiple entry visa.
Holders of a Hong Kong permanent identity card or a re-entry permit can enter Macau visa-free for up to 1 year without having to present their passport. Holders of a Hong Kong non-permanent identity card can enter Macau visa-free for up to 30 days and must present their passport.
Foreign nationals of the following countries/territories can enter Macau visa-free:
For up to 180 days: United Kingdom
For up to 90 days: All European Union member states, plus Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cape Verde, Croatia, Dominica, Egypt, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland and Tanzania
For up to 30 days: Australia, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Malaysia, Monaco, Namibia, New Zealand, Philippines, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United States and Uruguay, In addition, all foreign visitors who intend to enter Macau for less than 48 hours for the purpose of travelling onwards to another destination via Macau International Airport are exempt from obtaining a visa.
If you require a visa, it can either be obtained from a Chinese embassy or consulate or on arrival in Macau (Macau visas are separate from visas valid for travel to Mainland China). A visa on arrival costs MOP100 (individual), MOP50 (children under 12; per person for groups of 10 or more travellers with a collective travel document) or MOP200 (family passport). A visa issued on arrival is valid for multiple entries within 30 days of the issuing date. However, Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Nigerian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Vietnamese citizens cannot use the visa on arrival facility and must apply for a Macau visa at a Chinese embassy in advance or at the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong if they live there.
BY BOAT
This is still the main way in which most visitors get to Macau. The main ferry terminal in Macau is the Macau Ferry Terminal (Terminal Maritimo) at the Outer Harbour (Porto Exterior). This is a busy terminal handling most of the sea traffic between Macau and Hong Kong as well as the Chinese ports of Shekou and Shenzhen International Airport. Getting there/away: Buses 1A, 3, 3A, 10, 10A, 10B, 12, 28A, 28B, 28BX, 32 and AP1 run from the ferry terminal. The bus stop is on the main road to the right as you walk out of the building. Pick up a free bus schedule in the tourist information centre in the building. If you are heading straight to a casino or hotel, most of these establishments provide free shuttle buses. They gather to the left of the terminal building; step out of the arrival-level of the building and turn left.
There is a lesser known ferry terminal in Macau, located at Pier No. 11 at the Inner Harbour. This is a new ferry terminal building after its former Pier 14 site was given to developers by the Macau Government. It is very near to the Macau city centre and can be easily reached on foot. This terminal mostly services boats to Shenzhen, Jiangmen and Wanzai across the Inner Harbour in Zhuhai.
A third temporary ferry service serves Taipa, Cotai and Coloane connecting to Hong Kong and Shekou. The Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal is adjacent the Ponte da Amizade Friendship Bridge on Estrada de Pac On, and is served by bus AP1 from the city to the airport, but not the other way around (unless you go around the entire loop). There are also free shuttle buses to the Venetian, the Wynn, COD. A larger permanent ferry terminal is being constructed between the temporary terminal and the Macau International Airport, scheduled for completion in 2011.
FROM HONG KONG
Ferries to Macau operate from several points in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong International Airport where you can bypass Hong Kong Immigration and transfer directly into a ferry to Macau.
Macau-Hong Kong Island: Ferries from Hong Kong's Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island operate 24 hours a day at frequencies of every 15-30 minutes by day and hourly at night. In Macau, they dock at the Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal. The cheapest one-way ticket from Hong Kong is HK$142 (HK$20 extra per bag for luggage) and the trip takes one hour. You can buy tickets online in advance to ensure you secure the sailing you want at busy times. Weekend fares are more expensive. Ferries are operated by TurboJet(Tel: +853-7907039 in Macau, +852-28593333 in Hong Kong). Another frequent ferry service is operated by Cotai Jet directly to Taipa from Hong Kong, and there are free shuttle buses to The Venetian from the Ferry Terminal, for quick and easy access to Taipa and Coloane.
Macau-Kowloon: You can also get ferries from the China (HK) Ferry Terminal on Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Ferries are less frequent compared with services from Hong Kong Island, running every half-hour from 7AM-10:30PM. Fares start at HK$133 and the trip takes about 90 minutes. The ferry operator is New World First Ferries (Tel: +852-21318181).
Macau-Hong Kong International Airport: There are also ferries from Hong Kong International Airport to Macau. These are less frequent but they allow you to bypass Hong Kong immigration and customs by transferring directly to the ferry in the airport's transfers hall. If purchasing a ticket online in advance, your airline may be able to check your luggage all the way to Macau for you. You board the ferry at the airport SkyPier. Fares start at HK$180 and services are operated by TurboJet Sea Express.
The price of ferry tickets differ based on the time and day of the week of the ride. Ferry departures at night (between 6PM and 6AM) and on weekends are more expensive.
Especially at the HK Macau Ferry Terminal, keep an eye out for ticket touts. Some offices here resell legit bulk tickets at a small discount, but an altogether slimier species sells unused tickets for ferries that are about to leave — you may catch them if you run, but will be out of luck (and money) if you don't. A few touts even pose as "inspectors" and, with practiced sleight of hand, swap your ticket. Don't let anybody not in uniform take your ticket!
BY PLANE
Macau International Airport (MFM) is off the shore of Taipa Island. It has basic facilities and a couple of aerobridges, but it is possible that you will park on the tarmac and take a bus to the terminal.
Macau's home carriers is Air Macau. While nowhere nearly as well served as Hong Kong, the airport is popular among low-cost airlines thanks to its low landing fees. AirAsia flies to Macau from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Penang and Bangkok while Tiger and Jetstar Serve Singapore, Cebu Pacific and Philippines Airlines serve Manila and Clark, Thai AirAsia flies to Bangkok.
Bus AP1 plies a route between the airport and the Barrier Gate. Its route passes through several points on Taipa Island, and it stops at the ferry terminal on the peninsula on the way. It costs $4.20 per passenger, $3 per bag. It has limited provision for baggage, and can be very crowded (you may not even get the first bus to arrive). Change at the ferry terminal for other destinations, the frequent number 3 bus runs from the ferry terminal and passes the Lisboa, Landmark Hotel, and Holiday Inn, or catch one of the hotel/casino shuttles which go the ferry terminal. The buses do not give change, but there is a currency exchange just inside the terminal that will change foreign currency into low denomination MOP.
Alternatively, take a metered taxi straight to your destination, but there's a $5 airport surcharge plus $2 for the bridge and $3 per bag. Fares to the city center are around $40-50, the trip taking 15-20 minutes.
If you are bound for Hong Kong, Zhuhai or Shenzhen, you can use the airport's Express Link special bus service to connect directly to the ferry or the Zhuhai border without passing through Macau immigration. However, the bus schedule is limited (11AM-6PM only), which limits the utility somewhat; depending on your flight, if you don't need a visa for Macau, it may well be faster to go through immigration twice. If you have a same-day ticket, you can also use this service in the return direction to transfer directly to the airport.
Connections to mainland China are no longer limited, with services to many cities (as at 2011). Air Macau flies daily to Beijing, Nanjing, Ningbo and Shanghai. They also fly several times a week to Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Nanning, Wuhan and Xiamen. Xiamen Airlines flies to Fuzhou, Hangzhou and Xiamen. Other airlines include AirAsia, Cebu Pacific, EVA Air and Spring Airlines (among others). It is usually cheaper to fly to Zhuhai and cross the border by land as flights between Macau and the mainland are considered to be international flights.
