How To Get In Macau

For many years, the usual way to get to Macau was to fly into Hong Kong and take the ferry across to Macau. Today, Macau is becoming a low-cost airline hub, so one might fly to Macau to reach Hong Kong.
Visa

For many passports including those of most Western countries, a Macau visa in advance is not needed. Depending on your nationality, a 30 or 90 day entry permit is usually issued for free on entry. See the Macau Tourism Office web-site for the details. For those requiring a visa, they have to be obtained from a Chinese embassy or consulate, and applied for separately from the mainland Chinese one.

Please note that Macau has a separate immigration regime from mainland China and anyone going to Macau from the mainland would be deemed as leaving China. If you want to re-enter China from Macau, you'll have to apply for another Chinese visa unless your earlier one is a multiple entry visa.
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. 14 at the Inner Harbour just south of where Av Almeida Ribeiro intersects with Rua das Lorchas. It is very near to Macau city centre and can be easily walked. This terminal mostly services boats to Shenzhen and Wanzai across the Inner Harbour in Zhuhai, China.
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 every hour at night. In Macau, they dock at the Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal. The cheapest one-way ticket from Hong Kong is HK$134 and the trip takes one hour. Weekend fares are more expensive. Ferries are operated by TurboJet (Tel: +853-7907039 in Macau, +852-28593333 in Hong Kong). Another ferry service is run by Cotai Jet [www.cotaijet.com.mo], 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 & 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 from Hong Kong Island. Fares start at HK$133 and the trip takes about 90 minutes. The ferry operator is New World First Ferries
* 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 the ferry tickets differ based on the time and day of the week of the ride. Ferry departs after 6pm and before 6am and on weekends are more expensive. Although the ordinary/ economy seats are pretty comfortable, it is worth paying about HK$100 more for a deluxe/ super seat that provides wider seats, priority boarding/ unboarding, refreshments and less crowd.
[edit] From mainland China

Several ferry companies run to Macau from Chinese mainland ports including, Shekou (in Shenzhen) and Fu Yong Ferry Terminal (next to Shenzhen Airport).

* Macau-Fu Yong (Shenzhen Airport): TurboJet (Tel: +853-7907039 in Macau, +86-755-27776818 in Shenzhen) runs several ferries daily between the Macau Ferry Terminal (Outer Harbour) and the Fu Yong Ferry Terminal. Journey time about one hour. Fares start at MOP$171. There are shuttle buses connecting the Fu Yong Ferry Terminal with Shenzhen Airport.

* Macau-Shekou (Shenzhen): Yuet Tung Shipping Co (Tel: +853-28574478) runs a ferry service departing from the Macau Inner Harbour Terminal at Pier 14 on Rua das Lorchas (near intersection with Av Almeida Ribeiro) at 10:00, 14:00, 17:30 and 20:15. Tickets cost MOP$129 for adults and MOP$78 for children. From Shekou, boats leave at 08:15, 11:45, 15:45 and 18:30. Journey takes about one hour and twenty minutes.

* Macau-Wanzai (Zhuhai): Yuet Tung Shipping Co runs boats between the Macau Inner Harbour Terminal at Pier 14 on Rua das Lorchas, and the Wanzai Customs Port in Wanzai, Zhuhai. Journey time is about 30 minutes and the fare is MOP$12.50. Boats start a 08:00 and end at about 16:00. You can catch connecting buses to Gongbei and other places in Zhuhai from Wanzai.

A more frequent and cheaper option is to catch a ferry to/from Zhuhai's Jiuzhou Port, which is only a few kilometers from the Macau-Zhuhai border. Take a short taxi ride (10 RMB) or a No. 4 bus from the border crossing to the ferry terminal. The bus ride should be included in your ferry ticket. Ferries from Shenzhen Shekou port to Zhuhai run every 30 minutes and cost 80 RMB.
By air
By plane

Macau International Airport (MFM) is off the shore of Taipa Island. Because of its low fees, it has been able to attract several low-cost airlines to serve Macau. Currently available are:

* AirAsia: has multiple flights daily from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Kota Kinabalu, as well as three weekly flights from Kuching beginning Nov 15, 2007.
* Bangkok Airways: has flights from Bangkok.
* Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines: have daily flights from Manila.
* Tiger Airways: has daily flights from Singapore and Manila (Clark).
* Jetstar Asia: has daily flights from Singapore.
* Viva Macau: has flights from Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Tokyo, Busan and Sydney

Other airlines such as Air Macau and Shanghai Air also have flights to Macau.

To reach Taiwan from mainland China, it is usual to fly via either Macau or Hong Kong, since the only direct flights only take place during weekends.

To and from the airport: Bus AP1 plies a route between the airport and the Barrier Gate. Its route passes through several points on Taipa Island, then passes Macau Tower, Hotel Lisboa, the Macau Art Museum, the Sands and the Ferry Terminal on the way. It costs MOP3.30.

If you are bound for Zhuhai, there is a special bus you can take from Macau airport direct to the border, without going through Macau Customs or Immigration. See the Zhuhai article for details.

For flights from mainland China, 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.

See also Discount airlines in Asia.
By helicopter

A helicopter service is available from the Terminal Maritimo to the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier in Hong Kong as well as Shenzhen airport. It is a lot faster than the ferry but it also costs a lot more.
By car

There are two vehicular entry points into Macau from China. They are the Portas do Cerco (Guan Chap in Cantonese, Guanzha in Mandarin) at the extreme north of Macau Peninsula which connects you to Gongbei in Zhuhai, and the Lotus Bridge (officially the Cotai Frontier Checkpoint) which links the Cotai Strip with the Wanzai district of Zhuhai.

You can only enter if your vehicle (cars only, no motorcycles) has both Macau and mainland China number plates and the driver carries both Macau and China driver's licenses. Note that you have to switch sides of the road; mainland China drives on the right, Macau on the left.

* Portas do Cerco: This is the usual entry point into Macau from Zhuhai and is very busy. It is open from 07:00 to 24:00. The crossing will bring you directly into Gongbei in Zhuhai. Getting there/away: The best way to approach the crossing from anywhere in Macau is to use Avenida Norte de Hipodromo which continues as Avenida da Ponte da Amizade, or Avenida Comendador Ho Yin from the western part of the peninsula. Please see Zhuhai section on details to get to the Chinese side of the border.

* Lotus Bridge: Much quieter than the Portas do Cerco, this crossing involves you driving over the Lotus Bridge over the narrow channel between Cotai and Hengqin Island in China. The crossing is open from 09:00 to 20:00. Getting there/away: The Cotai frontier checkpoint can be accessed via the Taipa-Coloane Istmus Road (still known as the Taipa-Coloane Causeway) and turn off at the Flor de Lotus roundabout about halfway between Taipa and Coloane.

By bus

You can take the coach from Guangzhou. The trip takes you about 2 hours and costs around RMB70.

There is a direct coach from Shenzhen airport and also Shenzhen long distance bus station. The journey time form Shenzhen is about 3 hours.

There is also a direct coach from DongGuan city (in GuangDong province) to Macau Airport. The trip is around RMB100 and 3 hours.

You can also get a bus from either place to Gongbei bus station in Zhuhai. That puts you right across the street from the border facilities so you can walk to Macau (see next section). This can save you a bit of money; the bus is about the same price either way, but food and hotels are cheaper in Zhuhai.

On foot

You can cross from mainland China to Macau on foot at the Portas do Cerco (Barrier Gate) crossings at the extreme north of Macau Peninsula. In fact, thousands of Macau and Chinese citizens do it daily, making it an horrendously busy crossing. Depending on the time and day of the week, expect long waits to get processed. The crossing on the Chinese side is called Gongbei in Zhuhai. Getting there/away: The massive underground Portas do Cerco bus terminal is beneath the pretty garden in front of the border checkpoint plaza. You'll be able to find buses to most parts of Macau, including Taipa, Coloane and the Cotai Strip from here. From downtown Macau by taxi, the border is about 10 minutes and MOP$30. See Zhuhai page for details to get to Gongbei crossing.

As most people crossing the Barrier Gate are China or Macau residents, you may get a short queue at the China customs if you hold passport of another country as there are separate custom counters for non-China and Macau residents. However, the Macau customs only divide their custom counters into Macau residents and all vistors, thus the queue is usually alot longer for passport holders of other countries as they will be queuing with large numbers of China residents.

There are money changers at the Barrier Gate that give very good rates so you can change your money into RMB before crossing the customs.

You are not allowed to walk on the Lotus Bridge between Wanzai in Zhuhai and Cotai. However, there are buses which shuttle between the two checkpoints

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