For many visitors to Hong Kong, a day trip or a night or two spent in Macau is an interesting diversion. It’s nearly impossible to hear someone mention Macau and not use the phrase “The Las Vegas of the East.”
Who wouldn’t be tempted by that? We’re only an hour away from Vegas? Of course we should go check it out! Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the US and offers something for everyone, from shows to dining to the world’s best sports books. Unfortunately I didn’t find that to be the case in Macau.
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Taking the Ferry to Macau From Hong Kong
The Macau Ferry Terminal is on the Island side and easy to reach from the Sheung Wan station on the blue line or Hong Kong station on the orange and green. If you’re day tripping it’s worth it to wake up early to get there. The terminal is also a shopping mall and there’s ample choices for coffee and breakfast.
A few different companies run ferries and all of their ticket counters are in the same area. It really is as simple as just walking up and buying a ticket but at the same time a little confusing. It’s hard to tell which one is sending off the next boat. You can try the method of just finding the biggest line and standing in it. The locals know better than you do and they chose that line for a reason, right?
The catamaran ferries are wide and there’s a good chance you won’t get a seat with a view out the window. Even if you do it’s not a very scenic trip. There’s no WiFi on the boat so it’s pretty much 55 minutes of staring at the wall or draining your phone’s battery playing Candy Crush.
Part of the confusion in buying tickets is choosing between Macau Outer Harbor and Taipa. I’m not sure why but the Taipa terminal, much further from the city, receives more ferry traffic. When you arrive there are free buses running to each casino. It doesn’t matter which one you take, just hop on. Don’t forget your passport. This short trip from China to China counts as crossing an international border.
Macau’s Strange, Sterile Casino District
Aside from the brand names I didn’t find Macau similar to Las Vegas at all. It doesn’t have any of the things that make Vegas enjoyable. Where it does have pools, shows, buffets and shopping these things are at nowhere near the scale of Las Vegas. The casino hotels start around $300 a night and climb much higher than that. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if the Wynn has a great pool or not if it costs $600 a night to go swimming.
Macau doesn’t even have Vegas gambling. It’s got slots but a slot machine isn’t an attraction in and of itself. Macau casinos are 90% baccarat with either a $30 or $60 USD minimum. There are a few other Asian table games. I didn’t see any blackjack, roulette or craps. There aren’t any sports books or racing simulcasts either. Playing slots requires withdrawing Macanese Pataca from an ATM. At a value of 0.12 USD each it’s hard to know how much you’re even wagering per spin. It’s really more trouble than it’s worth.
There’s nothing very interesting outside the casinos. The city is designed for cars and often you’re compelled to walk through a tunnel rather than simply cross the street. There are a few Shanghai style restaurants with terrible service and several luxury watch dealers. The watches are the only thing even mildly interesting about Macau but you’re better off buying your watch in Hong Kong. Coming here just for watch shopping isn’t recommended.
The casino district feels less like a city and more like someone made a huge and intricate casino city in the Sims. The shops and restaurants are all just interchangeable background pieces. You wander pointlessly like a Sim without a job. It’s boring.
Stay In Hong Kong Instead
I was so underwhelmed by the casino area in Macau I didn’t even bother walking further into the city. I’m sure Seando Square and the Ruins of Saint Paul are nice but they’re bound to be crowded with tourists. Staring at an old wall is just not a high priority for me.
Hong Kong was a blast and I enjoyed every minute there. It’s one of the coolest cities in the world. I got back to the ferry terminal just about as quickly as I could and I regret every hour I spent in Macau. That’s time I could have spent seeing more of Hong Kong.
