While officially part of China, Macao is very much its own thing and well worth a trip. So, how to visit Macao in 2024 and what should you do when you are there?
Well the good news is that visiting is pretty simple, particularly from China, or Hong Kong?
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How to visit Macao by ferry?
The most popular and convenient way to visit Macao is usually by ferry. There are regular crossings from Hong Kong via Shueng Wan station. They run until late, but not all night. They cost about 20 USD. In the interests of this article consider $ and USD as one and the same.
The next most regular place is Shekou in Shenzhen again with ferries all day and every half hour or so. These cost around $30 one way. You can also take the ferry to Shenzhen airport, which is very convenient. It should be noted this does not clear immigration.
This is in contrast to ferry to Hong Kong International Airport from both Shenzhen and Macao where you clear immigration first. These are also about the same price.
Crossing overland to Macao
The next most popular option is to cross overland from China. This is done at the border port of Zhuhai. Thankfully you can take the train literally to the border, from where there is a decent amount of Street Food.
Other than that Zhuhai is a bit lacking from a nightlife point of view. Once you cross the border though you can get a free bus to pretty much anywhere in Macao. We personally went for the Grand Lisboa, which also meant a wonderful lunch at Vivian Westwood Cafe.
How to visit Macao by flight
The airport in Macao is not exactly huge, but there are regular flights throughout China and beyond, including Manila and in the old days even Angeles City.
There is also a helicopter from Shenzhen, as well as Hong Kong. These are though $600-700, so alas I have yet to try this, but it is very much on my to do list.
Visiting the Casinos of Macao
Have you heard the saying that Macao is the Las Vegas of China? Well it has many similarities, but is also very very different. Similarity wise are he names of the casinos with all the big cats like MGM and the like here.
Said casinos are like their own little cities and are full of shops, restaurants, bars and high high end shops. They are also have casinos. Like Vegas prices vary particularly at weekends. You will though be unlikely to get much change from $100 for a basic room, with high end ones going for as much as 10k, or more for penthouses.
There are some really cool layouts though, with the reproductions of London and Paris being particularly good.
What is different? Chinese casinos have no entertainment as they ALL about the gambling.
To read about the Macanese casino in North Korea click here.
Hanging out in Taipa
When visiting Macao many gamblers will skip the capital of Taipan which is a real sin. In the main “capital” new town part there is tussle and bussle, bars, restaurants, street food and Overseas Foreign Workers that go crazy on a Sunday. This is a bit similar to Wan Chai Sunday.
There are some casinos here, but this is more “real” than other parts of the city state. And then there is “Old Taipa” this is where you will find some of the best street food (more on that later).
Hanging out at Fishermans Wharf
Right next to the outer island terminal, with the wharf just ten minutes walk away. Most of the action here is all about the casinos but there is more to here as well. What I particularly liked was the mock up of the Colosseum where it looks like they might have music.
Theres also a kind of plastic mall that has lots of street food stalls, some nightclubs., Chinese restaurants and even a nice little Thai affair.
Eating and drinking in Macao
Again Macau is not Vegas and this is evident within the nightlife. There are though enough expats and indeed stag parties to mean there are “pubs”, as well as strip clubs and “freelancing” Africans.
Yet while the bar scene is not all that, the food scene is. Firstly there are really good Chinese restaurants of the Guangdong variety, but also food from pretty much everywhere in the world, particularly in the casinos.
The main culinary drag, or at least one of them is Portuguese food, which is pretty everywhere, as well as good Chinese-Portuguese fusion cuisine. This is particularly apt for the many seafood restaurants of the country.
When you visit Macao in 2024 though the best thing you can do is embrace Macao Street Food, definitively one of the best street food cities in the world.
And that is how you visit Macao in 2024!