Macau Transportation

Getting There

By Air
Macau International 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. The airport runway is on a narrow strip of reclaimed land and is connected to Taipa by two bridges.
 
Flights leaving Macau International Airport take passengers directly to most destinations in this region and there are scheduled airlines between Macau and cities in mainland China including Beijing, Shanghai, Haikou, Diamond, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and Hindu 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 Macau 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.

Enquiry: 86-853-861111 or for more information please visit www.macau-airport.com

A full range of facilities including shops, restaurants, enquiry counters, banks and postal services are available in the Airport Building. Taxis and the special airport line API provide passengers with a convenient means of transfer to city hotels, the Macau Ferry Terminal, the Barrier Gate and other venues.

Ticket Reservation
For ticket reservations, please dial 86-853-3965555. Air Macau counters are located on the 2nd floor of Airport Building (Departure) and No. 398 Alameda Dr. Carlos d'Assumpção, R/C in the city area.

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 Macau Ferry Terminal by freeing Express Bus passengers from immigration and custom procedures and luggage handling.

For Air to Ferry Travelers
Travelers on their arrival at Macau International Airport should follow the sign board for the Express Bus Service and purchase tickets at the airport 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
Travelers 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.

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. For more information on taxi fares, please visit our Getting Around section.
 
Helicopter (Hong Kong – Macau)
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 to Macau 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 from Shenzhen to Macau are available at 11:45, 14:15, 15:45, 17:15 and 20:30.
Booking& Enquiry: 86-853-727288 (Macau), 86-852-21089898 (Hong Kong).

By Sea
There are many scheduled ferry services between Macau and Hong Kong providing travelers convenient transport between these two island regions. Quite a number of jetfoils and Catamarans are available, which differ in speed, comfort and price.

From Hong Kong to Macau
There are two ferry terminals in Hong Kong providing ferry services to Macau. One is Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal, located in Shun Tak Centre, on the waterfront west of Central District on Hong Kong Island. The terminal has its own passenger wharfs, helipad and bus and minibus terminus close by. Many hotel and travel agents' reservation offices can be found in the terminal. The Turbo-jet Sea Express project initiated by Macau-Hong Kong Ferry Terminal makes the ferry trips between Hong Kong and Macau somewhat easier.

Another choice is the China Ferry Terminal, located on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront alongside Harbor City, on the Kowloon side of the harbour. They have Catamaran sailings to and from Macau. The trip takes about 70 minutes.
Travelers can either take ferry service at Macau-Hong Kong Ferry Terminal or China Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong to Macau.

There several transport choices from Hong Kong International Airport to Macau-Hong Kong Ferry Terminal. You can take the Airport Express to Hong Kong Central Station. The bus leaves at ten minute intervals from 5:50 to 0:48 (next day). From Shenzhen to Macau.

Shipping Co. Ltd has ferry services running between Shenzhen and Macau daily and the single trip takes around one and half an hours. The boarding address in Shenzhen is Fu Yong Ferry Terminal (Shenzhen Airport) and the boarding address in Macau is at the end of Av. Almeida Ribeiro, Rua das Lorchas, near the Master Hotel, pier 14. A more popular choice would be the Turbo-Jet Sea Express departing from Shenzhen She Kou Ferry Terminal to Macau, which takes about one hour.

From Macau to Hong Kong
Macau Ferry Terminal is located in the Outer Harbor at the east end of the city, close to the New Yaohan Department Store. Travelers going to Hong Kong from Macau can take ferry or heliport service at the terminal. The trip by Turbo-Jet takes about one hour. Passengers can buy Turbo-Jet tickets either at the ferry counters or at counters in Macau International Airport. Passengers are advised to be at the terminal at least one hour before the scheduled departure time, in order to complete immigration formalities.

Getting there: Buses API, 10, 10A, 10B and 12 operated by TCG can reach the ferry terminal

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.

By road
There are two gateways to the China's 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.

From Macau to Guangzhou
Firstly, here is more information about the two border gateways:

Barrier Gate
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 from Macau 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
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 of Macau. 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.
However, from September 17, 2005, this gate will be closed for one year for maintenance.
 
Getting Around

Road Conditions
Visitors to Macau are frequently surprised by the orderly way that traffic moves in this small city. On average some 130,000 vehicles each day take to the narrow and winding roads in an area of under 30 square kilometers, so a well ordered traffic plan has proved vital. Some 80% of the roads are one-way and this ensures that outside the morning and evening peak periods there is little congestion. A plentiful supply of taxis at the airport and ferry terminals together with an excellent public bus service helps with the movement of people at all times. An important feature of which the visitor should be aware is that the traffic in Macau moves on the left hand side of the road!

Public Buses
TRANSMAC and TCM are the two bus companies operating all public buses and mini buses in the city. Bus lines cover almost all the attractions and hotels on the Macau Peninsular and the main tourist spots on the outlying islands of Taipa and Coloane. The bus routes operate on a one-way circuit around the city. This means you would not necessarily have the same stops on a return trip. Ask the bus drivers for details. Most public buses are air-conditioned middle-sized vehicles capable of carrying more than 20 people. There are no conductors so it is necessary for you to have the appropriate change in coins before getting on a bus. Several bus lines going further to the islands of Taipa and Coloane charge three to five Macanese dollars. The operating hours of most buses are from 6:00 to 24:00.

Bus Nos. 21, 21A, 25, 26 and 26A run between the Macau Peninsular and islands of Taipa and Coloane
Bus Nos. 11, 22, 28A, 33 and 34 run between the Macau Peninsular and island of Taipa.

API is a special line plying between the Macau International Airport on the island of Taipa and the Macau Peninsular

Tip: We suggest travelers try to avoid the peak morning and evening traffic periods when people crowd onto buses to go to work or return home. All bus stop signs have bus route descriptions in both Chinese and Portuguese. English versions of the local map can be obtained from the counters of the Macau Tourist Bureau on Senado Square in the downtown area of the city.

Taxi
At present, there are over 700 taxi cars in Macau and they are a convenient way of transportation in the city. Taxis in Macau are in two colors, black and yellow. The black cars have a pale yellow top on each and the services of the yellow cars can be arranged through telephone booking without extra cost. The phone is (853) 519519

A taxi trip from the Macau Peninsular to the outlying islands of Taipa and Coloane costs extra five Pataca, in addition to the meter and for the taxi trip from Taipa to Coloane, two Pataca is surcharged. However, no surcharge is made for any return trips from outlying islands of either Taipa or Coloane to the Macau Peninsular.

Local maps with information in Chinese, Portuguese and English are supplied to taxi drivers by the Macau Tourism Administration Bureau so that they can communicate with visitors about the places and routes in the city.

Sightseeing Vehicle
Macau is a small city that enables tourists to enjoy their visit by means of special tourist vehicles that include pedicabs and a replica of an old-style 1920s English bus.

Outlying Islands
Taxis inside the island areas charge the same as those on the Macau Peninsular. No extra fee is charged for the transit from the islands to the Peninsular.

Hotels on the island of Taipa have special buses leaving for the Macau Ferry Terminal.

In the Municipal Garden in the Taipa Village, there are some bicycle rental shops that provide for cycling tourists.