Macau Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

Macau is an easy gateway into China. Simply take bus 3, 5 or 9 to the Border Gate (Portas de Cerco; 7am-midnight) and walk across. A second, less busy crossing is the Cotai Frontier Post (9am to 8pm), on the causeway linking Taipa and Coloane, which allows visitors to cross over the Lotus Bridge by shuttle bus (HK$4) to the Zhūhǎi Special Economic Zone. Buses 15, 21 and 26 will drop you off at the crossing.

For buses further afield, the Kee Kwan Motor Road Co (933 888) operates from the modest bus station on Rua das Lorchas, 100m southwest of the end of Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro. Buses for Guǎngzhōu (MOP$70, four hours) depart every half-hour and for Zhōngshān (MOP$25, 70 minutes) every 20 minutes between about 8am and 6.30pm. There are buses to Guǎngzhōu (MOP$75) and Dōngguǎn (MOP$80) from Macau International Airport.

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Boat

China

A daily ferry run by the Yuet Tung Shipping Co (574 478; adult/child MOP$124/70) connects Macau with the port of Shékǒu in Shēnzhèn. The boat leaves at 10am, 2pm and 6.30pm and takes 80 minutes; it returns from Shékǒu at 8.15am, 11.45am and 4.45pm. Tickets can be bought up to three days in advance from the point of departure, which is pier 14, just off Rua das Lorchas and 100m southwest of the end of Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.

Sampans and ferries sail across the Inner Harbour to Wānzái (MOP$12.50) on the mainland from a small pier near where Rua das Lorchas meets Rua do Dr Lourenço Pereira Marques. They depart hourly between 8am and 4pm, returning a half-hour later. A departure tax of MOP$20 is charged.

Hong Kong

Two ferry companies operate services to/from Hong Kong virtually 24 hours a day.

TurboJet (790 7039, in Hong Kong 2859 3333 information, 2921 6688 bookings; www.turbojet.com.hk; economy/superclass Mon-Fri MOP$142/244, Sat & Sun MOP$154/260, night crossing MOP$176/275) runs three types of vessels that take between 55 and 65 minutes. From Hong Kong Island, departures are from the Macau ferry pier at the Shun Tak Centre (2859 3359; 200 Connaught Rd, Sheung Wan), and in Macau from the Macau ferry terminal (790 7240).

New World First Ferry (727 676, in Hong Kong 2131 8181; www.nwff.com.hk) operates high-speed catamarans from the Macau ferry terminal every half-hour or so between 7am and 8.30pm. In Hong Kong they leave the China ferry terminal (Canton Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui) on the half-hour from 7am to 9pm or 10pm. The trip takes 60 to 75 minutes and tickets cost HK$140/175 on weekdays/nights (ie from 6pm to 9pm or 10pm from Hong Kong and 6.30pm to 8.30pm from Macau), and HK$155/175 on weekends and public holidays. Deluxe class is HK$245/275 on weekdays/nights and HK$260/275 on weekends and public holidays.

Macau is also linked directly to Hong Kong International Airport by the new TurboJet Sea Express (in Hong Kong 2859 3333; www.turbojetseaexpress.com.hk), leaving at 9.45am, 1pm, 3pm, 4.30pm and 8pm. It costs MOP$200/155/110 per adult/child/infant and takes 45 minutes.

A pier at Macau International Airport is due for completion by the time you read this and will probably be serviced by TurboJet. Apart from direct trips between the airport and Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and some cities in China, passengers should be able to transit straight through to Hong Kong without passing immigration in Macau.

Tickets can be booked up to 28 days in advance and are available at ferry terminals, CTS branches and travel agents. There is also a stand-by queue before each sailing. On weekends and public holidays, book your return ticket in advance.

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Air

One and possibly two new low-cost airlines based in Macau are set to make the ultramodern Macau International Airport (861 111; www.macau-airport.gov.mo), on the east coast of Taipa, much busier. For the details of who’s flying where check the airport’s comprehensive website.

For now, Air Macau (NX; 396 5555; www.airmacau.com.mo; Ground fl, 398 Alameda Doutor Carlos d’Assumpção) has the lion’s share of that traffic. International destinations include Bangkok, Busan, Manila, Seoul and dozens of flights a week to Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan. Together with Shanghai Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, both found at the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC; 788 034; fax 788 036; Iat Teng Hou Bldg, Avenida de Dom João IV) office, Air Macau has at least one flight a day to mainland cities including Běijīng, Fúzhōu, Guìlín, Hángzhōu, Kūnmíng, Nánjīng, Shànghǎi, Shēnzhèn and Xiàmén.

New long-haul budget airline Viva Macau (www.vivamacau.com) started operating in September 2006 and is expected to service destinations including Milan, Moscow, Mumbai, Delhi, Jakarta, Manila and Abu Dhabi by late 2007. The website www.gomacau.com is a good place to look for cheap fares.

Other airlines with flights from Macau to destinations in the region:

AirAsia (FD; in Hong Kong 3167 2299; www.airasia.com)

EVA Airways (BR; 726 848; www.evaair.com)

Tiger Airways (TR; www.tigerairways.com) Trans Asia Airways (GE; 701 556; www.tna.com.tw)

East Asia Airlines/Heli Hong Kong (727 288, in Hong Kong 2108 9898; www.helihongkong.com) runs a 16-minute helicopter shuttle between Macau and Hong Kong (HK$1700 Monday to Thursday, HK$1800 Friday to Sunday) up to 27 times a day from 9am to 10.30pm (9.30am to 11pm from Hong Kong).

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