Jun 03 2009
A day tour in Macau
On our first visit to Hong Kong, we went to Shenzhen, China for a day tour. This time, it will be Macau, China. Macau is an hour away from Hong Kong and can be reached by ferry or “catamarans”. From HK Taisan Guesthouse, we walked along Haiphong Road to get to the China Ferry Terminal in TST where the First Ferry is located. The First Ferry runs from 7 am until midnight and ticket prices range from HKD 150-180 depending on the days (weekdays and holiday prices vary) and time. If you’re coming from Hong Kong island, you can ride the Turbojet from the Shun Tak in Sheung Wan. No visa is required when travelling to Macau. Hong Kong dollars are widely accepted in Macau, in fact, it has an almost 1:1 ratio. Macau casinos only accept Hong Kong dollars while shops and transportation systems like buses and taxis accept Pataca or Hong Kong dollars.
Macau Tower
Upon arriving the ferry terminal in Macau a little past 8 am, a Filipina approached me and asked if I plan to tour Macau and I said yes. She offered to accompany us in Macau and be our free tour guide for the day. So what’s the catch? Well, the only request she wants is for us to avail of a free membership in Wynn Macau and Star World casino, and she’ll get whatever winnings in the two casinos. After making sure that she’ll be our tour guide for free, we agreed as we are completely clueless about Macau and we don’t want to waste our precious time getting lost in Macau.
ferry terminal in Macau, China
Surprisingly, just near the ferry terminal are various hotel shuttle buses that takes you to different casinos for free. You can go casino-hopping without spending a dime just by riding those shuttle buses. But we walked past the shuttle buses to head to the Fisherman’s Wharf first, just a good 5-minute walk from the ferry terminal. Sands casino is also nearby.
Roman Colloseum in Fisherman's Wharf
free shuttle buses at the ferry terminal
We walked back to the ferry terminal to ride the shuttle bus going to Wynn Macau. Aside from gaming, Wynn Macau also provides entertainment for guests with the Tree of Prosperity and the Golden Dragon.
Golden Dragon show at Wynn Macau
Golden Dragon (Wynn Macau)
Tree of Prosperity at Wynn Macau
Just across the Wynn Macau is the Star World Casino, but after claiming the free coupon at the reception area, we headed to the nearest bus stop going to Senado Square. This is the only time we spent for transportation since there’s no shuttle bus going directly to Senado Square. Senado Square or Largo de Senado is a cobblestoned street teeming with tourists and locals alike. Portuguese-inspired building were preserved which added to the old-world charm of the place. Don’t forget to appreciate the Portuguese Pavement at the Senado Square, I never paid attention on it until I googled it after. Senado Square reminds me of Calle Crisologo in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Senado Square / Largo de Senado
Portuguese Pavement
We walked towards the north part of the square leading us to Rua de Felicidade or Happiness Street or the food street. It is a very narrow street surrounded by old buildings, but this is one of the happiest part of the tour because of lots of food tastings along the way. Sample every food you want at Pastelaria Koi Kei, Macau’s largest bakery, from dried meats, candies, cookies and egg tarts. Rua da Felicidade is the best place to buy pasalubongs, I recommend their Almond Cookies, beef jerky and Portuguese egg tarts. You will finish treading this street with a full stomach because in Macau, you get to have a free lunch, haha…
Pastelaria Koi Kei
yummy Portuguese egg tarts
At the end of the narrow street, you’ll find the Ruins of St. Paul. What’s left of the St. Paul Cathedral or SaoPaulo Cathedral is its ornate facade after being destroyed by fire in 1835.
Ruins of St. Paul
From Senado Square, we walked towards the Grand Lisboa to catch the shuttle bus back to the ferry terminal. From here, we transferred to the Venetian Macau shuttle and head to Cotai Strip. The Venetian Macau is a tourist attraction on its own. With its Venetian-inspired structure and canals and Renaissance-inspired paintings, one will be left in awe with the beauty of the place.
Renaissance paintings inside the Venetian Macau
The Venetian Macau has a food court that offers affordable meals for its visitors. Dine at the food court and experience eating al fresco because of its faux Venetian sky.
food court in Venetian Macau
The canals in Venice were also mimicked in the Venetian Macau along with its singing gondoliers.
Venetian canals
After touring the whole Venetian Macau, you can also watch Zaia by Cirque de Soleil, a one-hour show but we skipped this due to a hefty ticket price.
Zaia by Cirque de Soleil
At 6 pm, with our aching feet, we rode the shuttle bus from the Venetian Macau to get to the ferry terminal and catch the First Ferry going back to Hong Kong.
Hi.. i am wondering if I can for your help. I am planning a trip for my friend’s family.. I just have few questions to ask because the itinerary will be HK, Singapore, Macau. I heard that Macau is a great place to visit!
Thanks..
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hi ,thanks sa pag tour sa amin…tru pix ^_^
nice places and ang gaganda ng pics!
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Whoow! Waa badets ang saya naman, gusto ko din jan! Whhaa
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awesome pictures.. looks like you saw a lot of beautiful things on your trip !
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Wow sis you really made the most out of this trip. Good job. Macau is so colorful…it looks like a wonderful place to be at.
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Oh by the way, thanks for adding my two blogs ha. I’ll add you too, is this your only blog? Let me know;) Ohhh can you add my other blogs too sweetie ( doing the beautiful eyes) ?
Jade’s last blog post..A dilemma: Massage or a Facial?
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macau o macau, how much am i going to prepare if i want to get there for a tour
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nice pic.
hmm.. think some day can go there..
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OMG! hahaha your post made me feel like we were together when we visited macau! hahaha~ I WENT EXACTLY TO THE SAME PLACES and took the SAME pictures, but your pictures look much nicer! ah~ kinda miss macau now. and, i also bought my hippie band in H&M in HK! LOL! but after i lost it LA, i couldn’t find it in the H&M of LA……weird
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hi, may i know the name of the filipina who approached you? we have a scheduled trip to macau this comimg september and it will be our first time to visit the place. i’m planning to get in touch with the lady who accompanied you for free. is it a good idea to hire her? what do you think?
also, i don’t quite understand the catch of getting afree membership in exchange of the free tour, how does it work? hope you could enlighten me. thanks
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Sis, binalikan ko tong post mo kasi we will be going there in a few weeks.
So this filipina accompanied you the whole day sa Macau?
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Sis, where can i get in touched with your filipina guide. . me and my family will be going there first week of november. .help naman oh. .how can I find means of transportation to go around macau. .i searched for tours but very expensive. .thanks a lot
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[...] Macau. They even watched Zaia. I will definitely watch the episodes this week to reminisce my Macau Day Tour last May. Jan Di with her luggage at The Venetian [...]
hi were planing to go hong kong and macau this coming june, and this is our fisrt tme, so any body can help where to stay at affordable price and any tranportation tips going to those places. thanks
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Hi, may I know how much do we need to budget for a day tour in Macau? Tnx.
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Hi! Find your website very informative ..My mom and I scheduled 4N & 5D trip to HK including day tour in Macau this Sept., do you still have the contact details of the Filipina who approached you in Macau? This trip will gonna be a D-Y-I since we are in a tight budget..expensive kasi pag sa tour agency.
Thanks a lot =)
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actually when you arrived macao terminal, people will approach you and asked u if you want a guide. its for sure and 100% sure there will be pinoys. been there 2 weeks ago. since i want to be free and hold my own time , i didnt get their service and pushed thru with my plan to just hop in and out of free shuttle buses and taxis. make sure you have a map coz often time they dont understand english. just imagine ruins of st paul, they didnt even get unless you show the map showing its lang in chinese. just be prepared and plan it well if you decided to go on your own but im telling you its easy .
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We missed going to the ruins and the Wharf because we were constrained with time – one day lang. Your photos are soo pretty! It makes me want to go back there again <3
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Hi, Thanks for this blog. I am inspired to go to Macau. My family pplan to visit HK next year and we want to see Macau too. Thanks for you tips here and in the cheap accomodation in HK post too, very informative.
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nice shots….. what camera is that?
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Badet Reply:
February 7th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Thanks! We’re using Panasonic Lumix LX1 and Nikon D80.
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hello sis, how many minutes walk from Taisan to Ferry terminal. we have kids kasi with us and we’re thinking kung kaya nila. is it a long walk from the guesthouse? what are the options? TIA
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Badet Reply:
March 5th, 2011 at 10:46 am
Around 10 to 15 minutes. Kaya naman siguro ng mga kids. Pero pwede ding taxi, minimum lang naman siguro ang bayad since it’s very near.
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hello! are you a filipino? since you’ve been to shenzhen i would like to ask if does it need any visa to enter? because we’re planning to go to shenzhen after hongkong. need your reply pls. thanks
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Badet Reply:
May 3rd, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Yes, I’m a Filipino. You need to have a visa before going to Shenzhen. Get your visas here first.
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I thought we will just wait at the terminal for our visa to enter? What kind of visa did u get here?how many days processing?because the agency told me that they wil
Just provide the visa for us at shenzhen.. Did you travel with agency or with yourself only??need ur reply.. Thanks
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Kawai Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 12:36 am
hAI
i’ve Been Shenzhen Last week….. Madali lang kumuha ng visa 4 1 day Tour in China…may mga Tour Guide yung pagkukunan mo nang Visa 4 Shenzhen China.
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bren Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 8:19 am
Thanks for the reply! Let me ask another, How many hours did you spend in shenzhen? Like, what time did you arrive in SHenzhen and what time did you leave.. Thanks again!
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hi. how much do you think should be our budget for a day tour in macau? and, in the venetian canal, do they have boat ride? if yes, do you have an idea how much it costs? we plan to go to HK and Macau on november. hoping to hear from you the soonest. thanks!
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Badet Reply:
July 20th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
For day tour, just allot money for ferry rides (if you’re coming from HK) and money for food and to buy some stuff like pasalubong. Sa transpo kasi dun usually free na courtesy of the shuttle ng mga casinos. Some group kumukha ng Pinoy tour guides katulad namin, yung iba free tour provided ibibigay mo sa kanila yung vouchers sa casino, yung iba naman 100 HKD yung bayad sa tour guide.
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Aileen Reply:
July 21st, 2011 at 9:25 am
Thanks so much for the info. I super love the pics in your blog. Most likely, those will be the places that we will visit when we go there. God bless!
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Kawai Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 12:31 am
Hai!
Super lyk it Macau…. so Nice Place and Very amazing….. i’ve been last week a 1 day tour in Venetian Hotel…. i luv it cuz all buses Transportion its 4 free…. Except da Taxi. But it’s Cheaper dan u Expect.
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Ui now ko lang nabasa ulit ito… Ok naman pala kahit mag walk na lang going to the ferry terminal from the guest house. Kung sa mall nga nakakapag lakad naman tayo ng matagal diba? hehehe! anyway, do you suggest na kumuha na lang kami ng ticket ng ferry to macau sa terminal na or sa guest house na meron daw sila back and forth na discounted as per Ate Yolly’s claim when we talked on the fone. Kasi sabi mo ma’am yung price ng ferry is depende sa season kung peak or off peak season. Kami this September 8th and punta. Any idea how much ticket ng ferry that time? thanks! hope to keep in touch ma’am… God Bless!
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Hello. My friends and I are going to visit Macau this December.
May we ask where we can contact the Filipina woman who helped you around Macau? thank you. God bless.
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Badet Reply:
October 3rd, 2011 at 12:50 am
Hi Gil, I lost her contact number na. Pero maraming mga Pinoy na nag-ooffer ng ganung services sa ferry terminal pa lang sa Macau.
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