Why book this day trip
Why book this day trip
Two cities on one ticket
The day is built around a genuine contrast: a Portuguese trading post that has stood on this peninsula since the 1550s, and a casino strip built on land reclaimed from the sea in the last two decades. Most first-time visitors have heard of one half of Macau or the other, rarely both — this itinerary puts them on the same afternoon.
The crossing is part of the day, not just transport
Both legs of the ferry are included in the booking, and the hour each way across the Pearl River Delta is doing real work — carrying you from a British-era harbour on Hong Kong Island to a Portuguese-era one in Macau. It is not padding around the day; it is the day's own geography.
A guide who walks you through the old town, not past it
The Ruins of St Paul's, Senado Square and A-Ma Temple are covered on foot with an English-speaking guide, rather than left as a list of stops to find yourself. For a first visit to a UNESCO-listed old town this dense, having someone explain what you are looking at while you are looking at it is worth more than it sounds.
The casino stop is a look, not a session
The tour's brief stop at a casino is exactly that — your guide waits outside while you go in for around half an hour to see the scale of the place. Nobody is expected to gamble, and nobody is left to find their own way back afterward.
The signature contrast
Two Macaus
The device on this page is the split itself: a Portuguese-Chinese old town on one side, the Cotai casino resorts on the other, and one ferry crossing that puts both of them into a single day.
The old town
Ruins of St Paul's
The stone facade and grand staircase of a Jesuit church built 1602–1640, all that survived a fire in 1835. It is the single image most people picture when they picture Macau, and the guide walks you right up to it.
Senado Square
Wave-patterned Portuguese calcada paving underfoot, the pastel-coloured Leal Senado building and arcades around it — the civic heart of the old town, and usually the busiest stretch of the walk.
A-Ma Temple
A temple to the sea goddess Mazu whose first pavilion dates to 1488, on Barra Hill overlooking the harbour — older than the Portuguese arrival itself, and the likely source of the name Macau.
Macau Tower, from the street
The 338-metre tower is visited or viewed as part of the day; the listing does not say whether the group goes up it or sees it from below, so this page treats it as a landmark you pass, not a confirmed observation-deck visit.
Cotai
The scale of the resorts
Cotai is reclaimed land given over almost entirely to mega-resorts, The Venetian Macao among them — canals, gondolas and casino floors built at a size that has no real equivalent in the old town twenty minutes away.
A brief stop, guide outside
Around half an hour inside one resort, with your guide waiting for you rather than joining you — enough to register the scale of the place, not a night on the tables.
What this day trip isn't
The neon-at-night version of Cotai — the one on postcards — belongs to an evening most day trips don't reach. This stop is a daylight look at the architecture and the crowds, not the after-dark spectacle.
The listing does not name which casino gets the brief stop — the point of the page is the contrast between the two halves of the city, not a single named resort.
The crossing, and getting there
The crossing, and getting there
The day runs on two ferry legs (or one ferry and one bridge crossing on the way back) with a fixed pickup window on the Hong Kong side.
Where you're picked up
Hotel pickup is included for a fixed list of Hong Kong Island addresses, confirmed after booking. Travellers staying elsewhere, or already near Sheung Wan, can meet the group at the ferry terminal instead.
The ferry out
TurboJet from the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal at Shun Tak Centre, Sheung Wan, to Macau's Taipa Ferry Terminal — about an hour, with tickets provided at the pier.
Two ways back
Return is either the same ferry route (about an hour) or the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge shuttle bus, a roughly 70-minute crossing over the 55-kilometre bridge that opened in 2018 — the longer sea-crossing bridge, taken by road instead of water.
Passports, not local ID
Hong Kong and Macau are separate immigration jurisdictions, each with its own checkpoint, so a passport is needed for the crossing both ways. Visa requirements vary by nationality and are the traveller's own responsibility to confirm before the day, per the listing.
The day, in pictures
The day, in pictures
The old town and the Cotai skyline, and a Chinese temple interior representative of the kind of stop the day includes — not photographs of this specific booking's own guide or group.
Ways to take this day
Ways to take this day
| Option | What it includes | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Ferry out, ferry back | English-speaking guide, both TurboJet crossings, buffet lunch, hotel pickup and drop-off | The listing this site is built around — the same crossing there and back |
| Ferry out, bridge back | The same day, returning over the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge instead of by boat | A road crossing of roughly 70 minutes instead of the return ferry — ask at booking which leg suits you |
| Meet at the ferry terminal | The same tour, without hotel pickup | Worth it mainly if you're already near Sheung Wan on the morning of the trip |
| Pair it with more of Hong Kong | Booked as a separate GetYourGuide experience | This is a full ten-hour day on its own — give the rest of a Hong Kong stay a different date |
Ways to book the day
Find a date for your crossing
Every option below is booked through GetYourGuide, with live availability and the final price in your own currency.
Planning your day
Planning your day
Bring a passport, not a local ID
The crossing is an international-style border check in both directions, even though the whole day fits inside greater China. Leave home ID behind and carry the passport you'd normally travel with.
Decide how you feel about the casino stop in advance
Around half an hour is set aside at one resort, guide waiting outside. If it isn't for you, treat it as thirty minutes to sit down, get a drink and look at the scale of the building rather than something to opt out of on the day.
Lunch is the one point reviewers flag
The buffet lunch is included and one recent review called it the weakest part of an otherwise well-liked day. Go in expecting a functional group buffet rather than a highlight, and the rest of the day tends to land better.
Choose ferry or bridge for the return before you go, if you can
Both return options exist on this booking. The ferry repeats the outbound crossing; the bridge gives a different, longer-by-road view of the return. Either works — deciding ahead saves a conversation with the guide at the end of a long day.
Planning a Macau day trip from Hong Kong
Planning a Macau day trip from Hong Kong
The Macau day trip, hour by hour
A ferry out, a guided walk through the old town, a brief look at Cotai, and a choice of how you come home — here is the shape of a ten-hour day, in order.
Read more →The old town, explainedThe UNESCO old town: Ruins of St Paul's, Senado Square and A-Ma Temple
Three landmarks, four centuries apart in age, inside a World Heritage-listed old town that this tour covers on foot in a single guided walk.
Read more →The other MacauCotai: the casino resorts and the spectacle, explained
Reclaimed land, resorts built at a scale the old town doesn't have room for, and a thirty-minute stop that this tour treats as a look rather than a night out.
Read more →The logisticsThe ferry and the border crossing, explained
Two international-style checkpoints in a single day, a TurboJet crossing each way, and a choice of how you come home — the practical mechanics of getting to Macau and back.
Read more →The history behind the dayPortuguese Macau: the food and the four centuries behind it
Why a Chinese peninsula has Portuguese street names, pastel churches and calcada paving — and what that history looks like on a plate.
Read more →Around Hong KongHong Kong beyond the Macau day trip
The crossing takes one day. Here's how it sits alongside the rest of a Hong Kong stay, and what's on the doorstep near Shun Tak Centre.
Read more →FAQ
Macau day trip questions
What's actually included in this Macau day trip from Hong Kong?
An English-speaking guide, both TurboJet ferry crossings, hotel pickup and drop-off for selected Hong Kong Island addresses, air-conditioned transfers in Macau, and a buffet lunch. The old-town walk (Ruins of St Paul's, Senado Square, A-Ma Temple) and a brief casino stop are part of the guided itinerary.
How do I get from Hong Kong to Macau on this tour?
By TurboJet ferry from the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal at Shun Tak Centre, Sheung Wan, to Macau's Taipa Ferry Terminal — about an hour each way. The outbound leg is always by ferry; the return can be the same ferry or the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge shuttle bus instead.
Do I need a visa or a passport to cross into Macau?
You need a passport for the crossing in both directions, since Hong Kong and Macau are separate immigration jurisdictions with their own checkpoints. Visa requirements depend on your nationality — the listing puts confirming these on the traveller, so check your own passport's requirements before the day.
What does the old-town part of the day actually cover?
A guided walk through the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre of Macao, taking in the Ruins of St Paul's facade, the wave-paved Senado Square and Leal Senado building, and A-Ma Temple, founded 1488 on Barra Hill. It's covered on foot with an English-speaking guide rather than left as a self-guided list.
What happens at the casino stop?
The group stops briefly at a casino — around half an hour — while the guide waits outside. Nobody is expected to gamble; it's included as a look at the scale of Macau's casino resorts, contrasted with the old town seen earlier in the day. The listing does not name which resort this stop visits.
Can I return a different way than I arrived?
Yes. The outbound leg is always the ferry, but the return can be the same ferry route or the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge shuttle bus, a roughly 70-minute road crossing over the bridge that opened in 2018. Both are part of this booking.
Is hotel pickup included for every hotel in Hong Kong?
Pickup is included only for a fixed list of Hong Kong Island addresses, confirmed after booking. If your hotel isn't on that list, or you're staying elsewhere in Hong Kong, you can meet the group directly at the ferry terminal instead.