Macau: Tickets, Hours and How to Visit
Macau is the single best day trip Hong Kong sits next to, a former Portuguese colony turned casino capital, reachable in about an hour by ferry or 45 minutes on the cheaper HZMB bridge bus. It’s not a Hong Kong neighborhood, it’s a separate Special Administrative Region with its own immigration control and its own currency, the pataca, though Hong Kong dollars spend freely there. Bring a passport, this is a real, if fast, border crossing.
Macau at a glance
| Travel time from Hong Kong | 1 hour by TurboJet or Cotai Water Jet ferry, or 45 min plus immigration on the HZMB “Golden Bus” |
| One-way cost | HK$65 bus (HK$70 overnight) versus HK$192-242 ferry depending on day and sailing |
| Time needed | A full day for the old town and a casino look; an overnight if Cotai’s resorts are the main draw |
| Booking lead | Ferry and bus tickets are usually fine same-day; book ahead only around the Bun Festival or a major holiday weekend |
The ferry runs from the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan, book a seat on TurboJet or check the HZMB bus on hzmb.gov.hk before you head to the terminal.
Is the ferry or the HZMB bus the better way to reach Macau? The ferry is more comfortable and a touch faster door-to-door on a smooth crossing, but it runs HK$192-242 depending on the day and sailing. The HZMB bus costs a third of that, HK$65 regular hours or HK$70 overnight, takes about 45 minutes plus immigration, and lets you see the bridge itself, one of the longest sea crossings in the world.
What to see
The Ruins of St. Paul’s, the facade of a 17th-century cathedral destroyed by fire, anchors the old town and is free to view any time of day. Senado Square, a few minutes’ walk away, is the pedestrian heart of the Portuguese-colonial district, mosaic paving and pastel facades included, also free and open around the clock. A Portuguese egg tart from one of the bakeries near the square is the standard local ritual, worth doing before you head anywhere else.
Do I need to visit the casinos to make a Macau day trip worthwhile? No. The old town alone justifies the trip for most first-time visitors, and the Ruins of St. Paul’s, Senado Square, and A-Ma Temple cover a full morning without setting foot in a casino. If the Cotai Strip’s resorts do interest you, a short taxi ride south adds an easy afternoon on top of the old town, no need to choose one or the other in advance.
Getting around once you’re there
Macau is compact enough that the old town works entirely on foot, and free shuttle buses run from the ferry terminal and the HZMB bus terminal to most of the major Cotai casino resorts, a genuine value-add that first-time visitors often miss. Taxis are cheap and plentiful for anything beyond walking distance.
Straight talk
A day trip covers the old town comfortably; an overnight only pays off if the casino nightlife or a slower pace through the old streets after the day-trippers leave is genuinely part of the appeal. If you’re staying over, compare current rates on Booking.com before committing to a hotel, and book the guided old-town walk plus transport on GetYourGuide if you’d rather not plan the ferry or bus yourself. Our Hong Kong gateway guide covers Macau alongside the outlying islands, Disneyland and the Shenzhen crossing, our standalone Macau guide goes deeper if you’re staying more than a day, and the 2-day gateway itinerary pairs this trip with a full day on Cheung Chau island.
Check the old town’s opening hours and any Bun Festival-adjacent dates on macaotourism.gov.mo before you lock in a date, weekends and festival periods genuinely change how crowded Senado Square gets.