Macau Transportation - Getting There

Convenient and well developed transport links make Macau a popular and easily accessible destination in Southeast Asia. Located on the western shore of the Pearl River Delta, Macau is the gateway to mainland China from the South China Sea. Connections with Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and other centers in southern China as well as countries on the Pacific Rim are provided by numerous domestic and international flights, ferries and buses. However, it should be remembered that the city's status as a free port means that there are immigration procedures to be observed prior to entry to the mainland of China.
 

Air

In the Airport
Waiting in the Airport

Located on the east side of the outlying island of Taipa, Macau International Airport (MFM) has convenient transfers between the air and ferry services in the region. Its runway is on a narrow strip of reclaimed land and is connected to Taipa by two bridges.

Flights leaving this airport take passengers directly to most destinations in this region and there are scheduled airlines between it and cities in mainland China including Beijing, Shanghai, Haikou, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and Chengdu and Taibei and Gaoxiong in Taiwan as well as Seoul and Inchon in Korean, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Travelers can also catch connecting flights to other parts of Asia, Europe and America.

The airport is a fifteen-minute drive from the city's Ferry Terminal and a twenty-minute drive from the Barrier Gate. It is quite easy for travelers to either catch a ferry service to Hong Kong or take a land trip by bus to Guangzhou. For travelers who wish to enter Shenzhen, a five minute car drive from the airport via the Lotus Bridge will reach the border of Guangdong Province.

Departure Tax
Passengers aged two years and over are required to pay 90 MOP (about 12 USD) airport departure tax. Those passengers who are passing through on connecting flights for other destinations are charged only 40 MOP (about 5USD).

Airport Transport
 Express Bus - Two customs, one checkpoint
Express Bus is a new a time saving service which provides a quick Land-to-Air or Air-to-Land transport service between Macau International Airport and the ferry terminal by freeing Express Bus passengers from immigration and custom procedures and luggage handling.

 For Air to Ferry Travelers
Passengers on their arrival at the airport should follow the sign board for the Express Bus Service and purchase tickets at the counters where a blue-tag will be provided to label check-in luggage. Then travelers go direct to the Air-to-Land transfer to Macau Ferry Terminal and take ferry service to their final destination thus avoiding immigration and custom procedures. Then it only remains for them to collect their luggage with blue tags at the terminal at their destination city.

 For Ferry to Air Travelers
Passengers taking the ferry service from Hong Kong or Shenzhen, on arrival in Macau Ferry Terminal, can follow the signs to the terminal counters in order to buy tickets for the Express Bus Service. A blue-tag will be provided to label check-in luggage. Then travelers can board the Land-to-Air transfer to be taken to Macau International Airport and on to their final destination without any immigration and custom procedures. Then it only remains for them to collect their luggage with blue tags at the terminal at their destination city.

 City Bus
Outside the Airport Entry Building, Airport Bus Nos API, 26 and 21 take passengers to the Barrier Gate or the outlying island of Coloane. There are also Cross-Boundary Bus services outside the Arrivals Building. There are tourist buses to take passengers directly to major cities in Guangdong Provinces.

 Taxi
Taxis can also be found outside the airport building. A single trip to the city center is about 40 MOP$. For more information on taxi fares, please visit our Getting Around section.

 Helicopter
Helicopters run by East Asian Airlines and Hong Kong Helicopter company, ply between helipads on the Macau and Hong Kong ferry terminals. The short trip takes only sixteen minutes and the flights from Macau to Hong Kong operate between 9:00 to 22:30 and those from Hong Kong are available from 9:30 to 10:59 at an interval of 30 minutes.

Moreover, helicopters leave from Macau Ferry terminal to Shenzhen Bao'an Airport at 9:45, 13:15, 14:45, 16:45 and the trip takes around 20 minutes. Helicopter services back from Shenzhen are available at 11:45, 14:15, 15:45, 17:15 and 20:30.
 

Train

Macau does not have a railway station or rail lines. But it is not far from Zhuhai Railway Station, which is just across Gongbei Port. Passengers from Mainland China can arrive there, pass the border to reach the city. The railway station has been connected with many cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, and Guilin.
 See Guangzhou-Macau Train, Beijing - Macau Train, Shanghai - Macau Train
 

Ship

to Macau by ferry
Ferry to Macau
There are three ferry terminals providing schedule ferry serivices to Shenzhen (Shekou Port, Fu Yong Ferry Terminal in Shenzhen Airport) and Hong Kong (Tsim Sha Tsui, Sheung Wan, HK Airport). 

Macau Marine Ferry terminal, also knwn as Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal, New Macau Ferry Terminal and Terminal Marítimo do Porto Exterior in Portuguese, is located in Porto Exterior, east coast of Macau Peninsula, near the reservoir on Avenida da Amizade. It is the principle ferry terminal of the city. Many hotels have free shuttle buses waiting at the bus terminus outside the ferry terminal. It can be reached by city bus API, 10, 10A, 10B and 12 from Barrer Gare to Gongbei Custom, Macau Airport, Macau Tower and other places in the city.

Macau Inner Harbor Ferry Terminal in the west coast of Macau Peninsula near A Ma Temple, is an old dock area mainy dealing with cargo, fishing and inland waterway shipping. Now it has ferry to Wan Zai Pier of Zhuhai every half a hour from 8:30 - 11:30, 13:30 - 16:30. 

Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal, Terminal Marítimo Provisório da Taipa in Portuguese, is currently solely served by Cotai jet, located on the north side of Taipa island, a short distance from the Macau Airport. The Venetain has free shuttle bus to this terminal and it can also be reached from Colpane by city bus 21, 26, Praça de Ferreira do Amaral by MT1 and MT2, from Border Gate of Gongbei by AP1. Most of the buses are available at Macau Ferry Terminal too. Ferry to Shenzhen and Hong Kong are both available here.

 Shenzhen - Macau Ferry

Shekou to Macau
Shenzhen Shekou Port has ferry services to Macau Ferry Terminal and Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal. It takes about one hour.
From Shekou (Turbo-Jet): 8:15, 8:45, 10:30, 11:30, 13:30, 14:30, 15:30, 16:45, 18:30, 19:30
Back hours 9:45, 10:15, 12:00, 13:15, 15:00, 16::00, 17:00, 18:00, 20:00, 20:45
Tickets (per person): CNY 270 (first class), CNY 170 (tourist class), CNY 100 (first class children), CNY75 (children)
From Shekou to Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal: 9:30, 12:15, 17:30
Back hours: 11:00, 14:00, 19:00
Tickets (per person): CNY170 (tourist class), CNY75 (children)

Fu Yong Ferry Terminal (Shenzhen Airport) - Macau Ferry Terminal (Turbo-Jet)
From Fu Yong: 8:45, 10:30, 12:30, 14:00, 16:30, 17:30
From Macau: 10:45, 12:15,  14:30, 15:45, 18:30, 19:30
Tickets: CNY 296 (first class), CNY196 (tourist class)


 Hong Kong - Macau Ferry
At present, there are two ferry companies offering ferry services at different terminals.

Ferry Company Hotline Terminal in Hong Kong Terminal in Macau
Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management Limited (Turbo-Jet) 28593333 HK-Macau Ferry Terminal, Sheung Wan
Sky Pier - Hong Kong Intel. Airport
Marine Ferry Terminal
Cotai Chu Kong Shipping Manamement Services Company Limited 28591588 HK-Macau Ferry Terminal, Sheung Wan Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal

Locations of Hong Kong ferry terminals:
Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal - 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal - Shun Tak Centre, 200 Connaaight Road, Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Sky Pier - Hong Kong International Airport, Tung Chung, Lantau, Hong Kong

 Turbo-Jet

Turbo-Jet Sea Express is a new time saving project initiated to provide tourist quick ferry transport between Hong Kong International Airport, Macau International Airport and Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. Passengers from Macau and Shenzhen who take flights at Hong Kong International Airport can avoid Hong Kong Immigration and Customs formalities and their luggage will be delivered to their destination ferry terminal.

Routes approx Sailing Time Service Hours
Macau ↔ Hong Kong 55 mins 24 hours/day
Hong Kong ↔ Shenzhen 55 mins 7:30-20:30 daily
Macau ↔ Shenzhen 1 hour 10:30-18:45 daily


Embarkation / Disembarkation Terminals

Hong Kong Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal, Sheung Wan
Kowloon China (HK) Ferry Terminal, Tsimshatsui
Macau New Macau Ferry Terminal
Shenzhen Fu Yong Ferry Terminal ( Shenzhen Airport )


 Cotai Jet
Cotai Chu Kong Shipping Manamement Services Company, headquatered in Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal provides ferry service connecting Taipa to HK-Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan and fewer ships to China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsuim, Hong Kong. 
Service hours: 7:00-1:00 from Sheung Wan, 7:00-5:00 from Taipa
8:00, 9:30. 11:00 from Tsim Sha Tsui, 9:30, 15:00, 17:30 from Taipa
Sailing time: about one hour
Where to Buy ticket:
Concierge Desk, Hotel Lobby, Level 1, The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel
Customer service counter located at Di Moda Street at The Grand Canal Shoppes 
Guest Services Counter, Ground Level, Sands, Macau
G/F, Seaview Commercial Building, 24 Connaught Road, Sheung Wan, HK
Shop 305n, Shun Tak Centre, 200 Connaught Road, Sheung Wan, HK
Shop 1 -5 A, 1/F China Ferry Terminal, 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
G/F, 3 Shanghai Street, Jordan, Kowloon

Suggestion:
Reservation: Travelers can reserve tickets 28 days in advance. We suggest travelers to book roundtrip tickets in advance during holidays. Embarkation Tax
Every travelers will be charged of 19 HK$ by Hong Kong and 20 MOP$ by Macau included into ferry ticket fee.
Macau-Hong Kong Ferry Terminal and Macau Ferry Terminal have special standby channel for passengers who wish to get on board ahead of schedule.
 Passengers from Macau and Shenzhen arriving in Hong Kong International Airport can choose jetfoils, which take passenger directly to Macau.
 

Long-distance Bus

There are two gateways to the Guangdong Province from Macau. One is Barrier Gate on the borders on Zhuhai and other is the COTAI Frontier Post at the end of the Lotus Bridge on the island of Taipa.

Barrier Gate, located at the northern end of the Macau is the main entry gate to Zhuhai in Guangdong Province. It is the gate by which travelers enter mainland China. Actually all bus services operating between Macau and Guangzhou pass through this gate. All travelers are required to have the same travel documents (for example your valid passport and Chinese visa ) which are required when entering China via other cities such as Beijing, Shanghai or others. Its operating hours is from 7:00 to 24:00.

Gongbei Border, nine kilometers away from Zhuhai city's government center, is a Chinese border immigration checkpoint. It connects Macau to the south and several hundred meters from its counterpart, the Barrier Gate. The operating hours is from 7:00 to 24:00.

There are air-conditioned buses operating between Macau and Guangzhou, which should pass the Barrier Gate and Gongbei Border. The place to board these buses is the Kee Kwan's Company bus stop, close to Master Hotel in Macau. However, the bus company is not responsible for Chinese tourist visa which travelers have to hold in order to cross the border from Macau to Zhuhai. Make sure to get all your documents well prepared for border crossing. For travelers who have not yet applied for their Chinese visa, the alternative is to firstly exit Macau from the Barrier Gate and take immigration formalities at Gongbei Border, and then catch the buses at Gongbei to Guangzhou.

In addition to the Barrier Gate, COTAI Frontier Post at the end of the Lotus Bridge in Cotai on the causeway between the islands Taipa and Coloane is the second entry to China's mainland. Their working hours is from 9:00 to 20:00.

Moreover, plenty of long-distance buses are shuttling along Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, serving passengers travelling between Macau and Hong Kong.

 Further reading:
How to Travel between Guangzhou and Macau

How to Travel between Shenzhen and Macau

How to Get from Macau to Zhuhai

Shenzhen - Macau Ferry

- Last updated on Nov. 05, 2023 -
Questions & Answers on Getting to Macau
Asked by GS CHUA from SINGAPORE | Nov. 02, 2023 00:43Reply
From HK airport to Macau
Hello, please advise the transportation mode from HK mode to macau city? Thankyou.
Answers (2)
Answered by Andrew | Nov. 02, 2023 18:23
00Reply


You can take Bus Line B4 from the HK airport to Macau Port of HZMB Bridge and then take a shuttle bus to Macau directly.
Answered by GS | Nov. 05, 2023 21:23
00Reply


Thank you very much Andrew. Cheers
Asked by shirley tan from SINGAPORE | Aug. 29, 2023 22:18Reply
hi, how do i get to holiday inn macau, an IHG hotel from macau airport ?
Answers (1)
Answered by Fiona | Aug. 30, 2023 00:44
00Reply


You may take bus no. MT1 from the airport to President Hotel and then walk for about 260 meters to Holiday Inn.
Asked by Eileen from SINGAPORE | Nov. 03, 2019 18:53Reply
Famous Black Pepper Roast Goose - How to go there?
I am staying at Grand Hyatt at City of Dream and wanted to go and eat the famour Black Pepper roast goose. May I know how do yu suggest going. There are 6 of us... is there rab service to pick 6 of us?
g
Answers (1)
Answered by Lisa from THAILAND | Nov. 06, 2019 17:29
00Reply


I assume you will go to Jade Dragon restaurant. Then it is only 100m away from your hotel. You can walk toward northwest.
Asked by Rutger from NETHERLANDS | Sep. 29, 2019 23:14Reply
Hi. Is it possible to get a ferry around 8am in Sunday to go from Macau directly to HK int airport?
Answers (1)
Answered by Moria from USA | Oct. 08, 2019 02:02
00Reply


Yes, you can take ferry from Taipa ferry terminal to HK airport directly. It departs at 7:25, 13:55 and 15:55.
Asked by Mandy from ENGLAND | Sep. 21, 2019 05:22Reply
Visiting road racing in Macao in November from England . Do I need a visa thank you
Need clarification as we will land Hong Kong and then transfer to Macao
Answers (1)
Answered by Adam from CANADA | Sep. 23, 2019 18:53
00Reply


If you hold the UK passport, then you don't need to apply for a visa. You can enjoy visa exemption and stay for 90 days separately in HK and Macao.
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