Itinerary | Winter Sabbatical to Macau

📅 2024.01&2025.01 

a. Background

Bom dia e boa tarde e boa noite.

Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) in the southern tip of China. It was colonized by Portugal for centuries and was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999. Macau is so small that international corporations often consider it part of Hong Kong, or just pretend it don't exist. But on the good side, Google AdSense don't operate there, so there will be no Ads streaming YouTube. The legacy of Portuguese rule has endowed Macau with a vibrant lifestyle as well as unparalleled architectural charm. There are not many places in the world where you can see continental-looking churches standing shoulder to traditional Chinese temples.

b. Main Attractions

Macau Peninsula:

(Central Cluster)

• Ruins of St. Paul

• Mount Fortress

• Senado Square

(Barra Cluster)

• A-Ma Temple (Barra)

• Penha Garden

• Church of Our Lady of Penha

• St. Augustine's Square

(N.A.P.E. Cluster)

• Guia Fortress and Lighthouse & Flora Park

• San Francisco Garden

• Dr. Carlos d'Assumpção Square & Commander Ho Yin Garcden & Garden of the Arts

• Kun Iam Statue & Recreational Zone

(North Cluster)

• Mong Ha Fortress

• Kun Iam Temple

Taipa/Cotai:

• Taipa Grande Viewing Platform

• Various Casinos/Hotels/Shopping Malls (Galaxy, Studio City, the Venetian, the Londoner)

• Seac Pai Van Country Park

• Coloane Park Trail

• Seac Min Pun Ancient Trail

Coloane:

• Vila de Coloane

• Ká Hó Village

• Hac Sá Beach

• Hac Sá Long Chao Kok Coastal Trail

c. Ways to Get Around

Macau's public transport system consists of regular buses, LRT, and casino shuttles.

• Macau buses accept T-Union IC Card, Macau Pass, various e-wallets (e.g. WeChat Pay and Alipay) and cash. The bus fare is 6 MOP, if it's paid by IC card or macau e-wallets, there is a transfer discount for eligible bus rides. However there will be severe traffic during AM and PM peaks, so if you are traveling to a place relatively far away, it's advised to take an express route. For example, if you just finished the tour in Coloane Village and wants to get to Border Gate, it would save you significant time walking/taking a bus to Concordia Roundabout and transferring to route 59 than taking route 25 all the way to its terminal.

• LRT is a light version of metro, as of now it majorly travels in Taipa and Cotai, thus it won't come in handy for visiting attractions in the historic downtown.

• Casino shuttles aim to move people from/to major border checkpoints/ferry terminals/the airport to/from casinos (e.g. Grand Lisboa, the Venetian, the Londoner), it can be treated as an expressway to bypass the heavy traffic and directly get to somewhere near your itinerary. But be aware that there may be a long queue for such shuttles and the operator may ask passengers to show a proof of residency/membership.

• There are mainly 2 ways to travel from Macau to Hong Kong, high-speed ferry or Golden Bus via HZM Bridge. The bus is much cheaper, but the Hong Kong port of HZMB is near the Airport, which is far from the downtown, so the money you saved is in exchange for more time spent.

d. Accommodation

Hotels are quite expensive in Macau, especially during summer holidays and near Chinese New Year. Hotel booking sites (Trip.com, Booking etc.) may recommend you to stay at Zhuhai, the neighboring city in Chinese Mainland, where the price is much cheaper. But be aware that most foreigners are required to have a VISA to enter China, and the visa-free policy is available via selected ports. Moreover the process of exiting and entering busy border checkpoints can be exhausting and daunting, so think twice before booking a room in Zhuhai unless you know fairly well about the Mainland.