Macau, was in my travel list for a long time. The first time I came to know of Macau was through a James Bond movie called The Man with The Golden Gun where Roger Moore was doing normal James Bond stuff with bad guys in narrow crowded alleys typical to Asian cities and charming his way through the casinos. Even though I had been to Hong Kong so many times, I never got a chance to visit this tiny island nation with Hong Kong keeping me occupied with its charm of its own. Until I did. Old Town Macau day Trip From Hong Kong is a thing for which you must dedicate a day in your next Hong Kong trip.
A Brief Introduction to Macau
Now there is no doubt that most of the people know Macau for the casinos. It truly can be called the Las Vegas of the East with almost all the major casinos like Venetian, Sands, MGM and more being there. Infact, even with 49 casinos, which is much lesser than Vegas’s 104, Macau posts almost 5 times the revenue of Vegas. And the game that rules this casino city is Baccarat. The Venetian in Macau is in fact much more magnificent that the Vegas counterpart with extravagant decor and shopping and more inside.
But Macau is so much more than just being an entertainment and gambling capital. At par with its glitz, Macau has a century old heritage and culture which cannot be overlooked. Like its big brother Hong Kong, Macau is a Special Administrative Region of China and an important trade port for centuries.
Even though people used to live there for thousands of years, Macau began to grow as a thriving settlement from the 16th century when the Portuguese arrived there. Macau remained a Portuguese colony right from the mid-16th century and came under Chinese administration as recently as 1999.
Hence, Macau is truly a unique place where two very contrasting cultures like the Chinese and the Portuguese have blended in a magnificent fusion culture. And this fusion can be seen in all aspects of Macanese life, from food to architecture. For its vivid history, the historic center of Macau was inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 2005.
–Quick Facts & Tips–
- Fun and Traditional way to reach Macau from Hong Kong is by ferry. Ferries are operated by two companies TurboJet and Cotai Water Jet and most convenient locations to avail them are the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal in the Shun Tak Centre and the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. In Macau there are two ferry terminals viz, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal near the old city and the Taipa Ferry Terminal close to the casinos. Ferries cost around 160-175 HKD one way.
- A cheaper option to reach Macau though is the bus route. The express bus route is operated by China Link and leaves from Prince Edward in Mong Kok or Kowloon Elements in Tsim Sha Tsui and costs around 120HKD one way. Even cheaper but little more complicated way is to take the public bus which can only be availed from the Lantau island. It costs around 70 HKD.
- Honk Kong currency is widely accepted in Macau, even in public buses. If you are taking public buses do keep in mind to keep changes as you wont get change back.
- Free Shuttle buses frequently run from almost all the Ferry and Bus terminals and borders checkpoints around Macau to give you a convenient ride to the casinos. There are no free buses to reach the old city though.
- Citizens of most countries enjoy either visa free entry or visa on arrival at Macau. You just need a passport to enter Macau.
So I finally planned to visit Macau as a day trip from Hong Kong and, being a history buff, I decided not to spend much time in the casinos and head towards the old town of Macau to peek into Macau’s heritage. Here is the story about Old Town Macau day Trip From Hong Kong and hope this will give you a quick peek into this historic city. We also have a separate post about a Complete Guide to Macau which you can check out.
Macau day Trip From Hong Kong
I started the day early, reached the Hong Kong Macau ferry terminal and took a Cotai water jet ferry to Macau. The journey was just about 1 hour and once I reached Macau I went through immigration there. The Cotai Water Jet runs to Macau Taipa Ferry terminal which is near where the casinos are.
If you want to skip the casinos altogether and go directly to the old town, then better take the Turbojet ferry from China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui to Macau outer harbor ferry terminal which is much closer to the old town. But I specifically took a Taipa ferry as I wanted to check out the much talked about casinos too even if just for an hour or so.
A Quick Visit to the Casino District
There was free shuttle bus service from the ferry terminal for all the major casinos. I took a bus for the Venetian casino as I heard this casino to be the grandest. And when I entered the Venetian, I was amazed.
Now I have been to the Venetian in Vegas too. But this was so much grander. Well the decor was exactly like the Vegas one but it was huge and so much more extravagant. And on top of the top notch casino, there was a fully functional mall with posh shopping and restaurants and all these with a Venice theme. A list of all the major casinos in Macau can be found here.
But this was not what I was in Macau for. So I resisted the temptation and left the casino to catch a public bus to the old Macau area. Public buses in Macau are convenient and frequent. Plus you can freely use Hong Kong currency in it. Just don’t expect to get change back so keep smaller denominations handy.
Old Town Macau
After a quick bus ride I was finally in old Macau. And it was unique beyond imagination. Well it looked like Chinese, but it looked European too. It was somewhere in between. Or it was both. A complete list of all the Old Macau attractions can be found here.
The streets were cobbled typical to European style, but the buildings and hoardings and decor were of Chinese touch.
The narrow cobbled alleys were also sometimes lined with pastel colored houses with beautiful decors.
My first stop was the much popular Ruins of St. Paul’s. Located just beside the Monte fort, this is unquestionably the most famous historical structure of Macau. Ruins of St. Paul’s is a surviving stone facade and the only remains of 16th century Cathedral of St. Paul which got burned down in 1835. Today it is one of Macau’s must-visit landmarks and also the most visited one. Even today we can realise how powerful the fire was with all the scars on the beautiful facade.
Then I decided to take a stroll up the Monte Fortress itself. Monte fort or Fortaleza do Monte is a crucial part of Macau’s history and is the historical military centre of Macau. Just when entering the fort, there is a beautiful sculpture of Mary and baby Jesus.
The walls of the fort were also lined with canons which can also be seen today. the fort also gave an amazing panoramic view of the whole city which in itself is a proper reason to visit this place.
My next stop was the St. Dominic’s Church. This beautiful yellow church right in the middle of the busy city is a prime example of how Macau is a unique hybrid of Chinese and Portuguese architecture. There is a museum inside it too which is full of Catholic art, sculptures, and tools used by its priests for ages.
A few blocks south from the St. Dominic’s church and I was there at the ever busy city square. This town center is called the Senado Square. The square was named after the Leal Senado building, a meeting place for the Chinese and Portuguese in the 16th to 18th centuries. This place was jam packed with tourists but if you can ignore that this place has a charm of its own.
Lined along by beautiful colonial style colorful buildings, this paved town square has a whole bunch of shops, restaurants and cafes to explore. I did some souvenir shopping and spent a little time checking out some Portuguese bakeries. Totally worth it I must say. At the end I quenched my hunger with a delicious bowl of hot fish and noodle soup.
The Journey Back
It was almost evening and I was done roaming around the beautiful old Macau. Hence I bade Macau goodbye to catch my ferry back to Hong Kong. This time I took the Ferry from Macau outer harbor which was close to the old town. It was a Turbojet ferry and I was back to Hong Kong in no time.
It was a tiring but amazing day indeed. Not only Macau is a place of great historical and economic importance but also it is stunningly beautiful and a dream destination for shutterbugs. Hope you include old town Macau day trip from Hong Kong in your travel bucket list and this story helps you with your trip.
If you liked our story about our Old Town Macau day Trip From Hong Kong, please Check our other Destinations.
