Macau traveller reviews
Negative reviews
Mr. SAFEER AHMED
this was the worst experience of my life. Other than that macau is an excellent place but always remember u need to carry a minimum of 800 USD or around 9000HDK to enter macau. From macau, you can get to hong kong by ferry which has visa on arrival for a period of 7 days . But you must have a confirmed return ferry ticket and a hotel booking in hong kong to get the visa or they deport you back to macao.
If ur planning a budget trip DO NOT COME TO MACAU. everything is expensive. Starting 2star hotel in macau is 650MOP (5200Rs) for one night. A starting taxi fare for first KM is 17MOP(136Rs) and for every 1 km its 6 MOP (40RS). Buses are cheap but the bus fare for one stop or the last stop is the same amount 6MOP (36Rs) by the way the MFM airport is in TAIPA.
It takes 20 - 25 mins in a taxi to go to the macau (depends where ur going) the Biggst hotel is the GALAXY hotel. But you need to show your above 21 to get in. Once you get into GALAXY hotel, you need at lest 1 full day to take a full tour. There is a smoking and a non smoking casino. If you are lucky, you might even win big or you might lose all you have. I put in 500HDK and cashed out 700. But my friend put in 1500HKD and cashed out only 100 back. So its just luck. Try the slots too. It just 10HKD for a spin. You win and you get from around 50 to 50000.
THE MAJOR PROBLEM HERE IS THE LANGUAGE. Not a single person on the street or a shop or even a cop understands a single word of ENGLISH. So to communicate, it the worst. You need to carry a map to visit places here or need to navigate on the maps on the phone. You can buy sim prepaid cards on the street anywhere without proof for 50 or 100 HKD/MOP with the same talktime of the amount. The sim card is only valid for 30days from the day of purchase. Here for 1GB of 3G data its 100 HKD (800Rupees) . To call india, you need to dial 0091 and the mobile number or 009144 for landline. the call rates for india are 10MOP/HKD per minute (80Rs.). The rest in the streets you have lovely and variety of food, mostly portugese and cantonese. If you are a vegetarian, then you need to starve until you find a mc donals or a 7-11.
Please be careful of pickpoketers in macau. Keep ur money in your pockets and not ur wallets. My friends wallet got stolen on the streets. They act so cool. They follow you and steal so quick and then they run. You wont know even for a second why the person is running unless you check your pockets. If you are a smoker or a drinker, then the price for a pack of cigg is 55 HKD and a pint of beer is 60HKD.
Sorry for such a long post, but this was my experience in just 1 week. I spent around 80k for this trip. And yes, one more thing, please dont forget to carry your passport with the visa (visa is like a paper from the atm, it gets cleared and its without a photo and no stamps are on the passport) because the when the cops see foreigners, they harass you a lot and check what is on you. Please be safe if ur coming to macau.
Mrs. NATALLIA
On 13 of December 2014 I had a fly from Guangzhou to Moscow. When I checked-in a stuff at the Baiyunairport said that i have an over weigh (29 kg, it was allowed 23 kg), he cherged me 100 euro. I was sure that my baggage is not so haevy, but I couldn't prove that, coz the airport has no control weigh, so i paid. Once I arrived to Moscow, I've got an opportunety to weigh my baggage, it was 26 kg. So I'm very angry and dissaponted about the airport service. The stuff there has the right to cheat people and charge them, they set up their weigh and get our money. People be careful, don't let Chinese cheat us. One more thing, guys, securety at the airport has the right to open your baggage without your permission and take anything from your baggage and doesn't return it to you. At Moscow I've got my baggage uncovered and without charger for Iphone, now they don't want to return that. So, Don't cover your baggage, coz you will lose 50 Yuan. And don't accept to pay for over weigh, fight for yourself and truth.
JezzaN1
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/6xvofw/can_you_give_me_recommendations_about_macau/
Unless you have a huge affinity for casinos and gambling, I'd suggest perhaps doing a day trip instead. I found Hong Kong to be a lot better in almost every aspect, and asides from a couple of things to see there isn't a huge amount to do in Macau if you don't plan on gambling. If I were to go back to Hong Kong I personally wouldn't go back to Macau.
crackanape
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1bh51u/planning_a_trip_to_macau/
Unless you like the idea of grim, tawdry gambling houses plastered over with the thinnest possible layer of cheap formulaic glitz, I believe you could think of a hundred better places to spend your time.
Outside of the casinos, Macau is a grumpy, run-down version of Hong Kong. Inside the casinos, it's a depressing view into how easily people are separated from their money when a bit of behavioral science is applied to the task. Think Las Vegas, only with more gold paint and less humanity.
Neutral reviews
Mr. SIMON
Scooter, being the primary mode of transport for locals, is a wonderful way to see the sites of Macau. Renting a scooter in Macau can provide the convenience and freedom to see some of the more beautiful and less crowded spots, such as the Coloane Village, Cheoc Van Beach or the Portuguese fort in just one day.
It is a good idea to just ride around geting lost in the narrow streets in the old town area, where there are so many hidden places to discover. You can stumble by an unique Chinese antique shop, cheap local eatery serving Macau specialities, hidden art or jade gallery, a mysterious, old Taoist temple or some lively street market. You can stop almost anywhere, take a stroll, shot a few photos grab a bite and jump back on the scooter to discover more.
You could stop by in small, picturesque parks to listen to Chinese opera musicians rehearsing in the afternoons, stop for a photo with locals playing Mahjong in their shops or join locals in their early morning Tai Chi routine in many of the parks. Some of the old town (the Peninsula part) as well as Coloane island are quite hilly and picturesque, and riding those hills on a motorbike is much more fun than walking them.
Macau is very small in size and it is very easy to navigate around, but it is good to have a phone with Google Maps app in your pocket.
Hiring a scooter is highly recommended for anyone willing to experience Macau with its culture, history, local life, beyond the usual casinos.
Depending on your nationality, you only need a standard car driving license to hire a motorbike (most Western countries), but for some Asian licenses, you also need an international one.
canadiangrlskick
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/6xvofw/can_you_give_me_recommendations_about_macau/
I went in 2014. Used my HK travel sim in Macau with no issue.
English was widely understood. No problems there. Don't know about Portuguese.
For lodging, I didn't stay as it was Grad Prix and sooo expensive. I stayed in HK, took an early morning jet boat toured all day, gambled all night, took the last jet boat back to HK around 3am.
My biggest recommendation is to do tourist stuff (ruins of Saint Paul, the fort, senado square, etc) in the morning. Crowds were very thick by noon and took some of the enjoyment out of it (might have been because of the Grand Prix though)
moderatelyremarkable
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/6xvofw/can_you_give_me_recommendations_about_macau/
Don't miss the Grand Prix Museum, I thought that was pretty cool. The Macau Tower has good views from above, and the area around the St. Paul ruins was nice. There's a Portuguese flavor to things in Macau (i.e. street signs, some food), which is interesting, but I don't think speaking Portuguese helps a lot. Other than that, gambling is the main thing there, so you can check out the huge casinos and try your hand at a game of roulette. Language is a non-issue, though: you'll do just fine with a a bit of English and using your hands to signal what you want.
Don't spend too many days in Macau, though, you'll check it out faster than you think. Hong Kong, which is a short ferry ride away, is more interesting.
anonymous
Something exciting is brewing at the Zhuhai - Macau border.
Indigenous ladies, in their 40s to 50s, are lugging trolley loads of boxed food items from Macau to Zhuhai China. Items such as Kellogg’s cornflakes, Red Bull and Quaker Oats are popular picks. It looks as if they had just raided a convenience store in Macau and are making their way back to the mainland.
After much probing, I found out that these transporters are Macanese ladies who are largely homemakers with time on their hands. Besides playing Mahjong, they earn spare cash by buying and selling goods between the two regions.
A transporter starts her day at a convenience shop at the Macau border. She purchases the items to be brought across. The goods now belong to her. She then exits Macau with the goods.
Just before crossing the Zhuhai customs, the transporters unpack the goods from the cartons and repack them into generic nameless boxes, thereby avoiding the duty taxes. Once they enter Zhuhai, they repack the goods into their original cartons and off they go.
The transporters then find their way to a local market 400m from the border and sell the items at a higher price to the convenience shops in the market. I was told that some of these shops in the market are operated by the same owners than run the convenience shop in Macau.
If bought from the proper channel of distributors in Zhuhai, the goods could cost as a much as twenty percent more as compared to if they were bought in Macau, even with the commission paid to the transporters.
A typical transporter starts her day at 8am and reaches home in Macau at 10pm. With the fluctuating crowd at the border crossing, she makes an average of five return trips per day.
One transporter revealed “I earn 10RMB per carton. That works out to 20 – 50 RMB per trip.” “Its hard work, especially with the sun on our backs”, commented another transporter, “but we do it to earn some cash. Moreover, it’s a better form of exercise compared to playing Mahjong all day”.
anonymous
Known as the 'Vegas of China', Macau is indeed an epicentre of gambling and glitz. While luxury entertainment here is world-class, the city has much more to offer than that. Macau was a Portuguese colony for 300 years, a heritage marked by a wonderful cultural hybridity that manifests itself in all aspects of life: Chinese temples stand on maritime-themed Portuguese tiles; the sound of Cantonese permeates streets with Portuguese names; and when you're hungry, it could be Chinese dim sum, pastéis de nata (Portuguese egg tarts) or Macanese minchi (ground meat stir-fried with potatoes) that come to the rescue.
Positive reviews
Ms. ANGEL
A second trip to the wonderful land of Macau, steeped in history & a truly cosmopolitan island. Arriving by boat I was fortunate to stay with my now wife! Macau is diverse, full of interesting buildings, a mish-mash of colonial Portuguese & modern Chinese as well as USA influenced casinos. Casino's are in abundance, go to The Venetian, inside an entire replica of Venice inc. Gondola trips! Or visit one of the more traditional Chinese casino's such as the Lisboa & watch bemused at the Chinese game of FanTan.
Food is in abundance, many street stalls, all worth trying alongside more traditional restaurants serving Dim Sum ideal for Yumcha. Try fresh Sushi & Portugese influenced food.
Simply stroll through the streets to see, hear & smell the diversity of this tiny country. Buses are many & cheap, taxis also, trouble free, sometimes shady but mainly always happy. Shopping is unbelievable from cheap through to ridiculously expensice, a haven for watch buyers and gold. If you are visitng Hong Kong, go to Macau & enjoy every minute of it!
anonymous
https://www.viator.com/tours/Southern-China/Macau-Day-Trip-from-Hong-Kong/d4443-3675MFDT
Our tour guide was very good. He gave us many facts about Macau. I especially enjoyed seeing all the places to gamble and hear how the city has grown. Tour went by fast / not boring. comfortable tour bus. I would recommend.
anonymous
https://www.viator.com/tours/Southern-China/Macau-Day-Trip-from-Hong-Kong/d4443-3675MFDT
A full day touring exotic Macau. The tour moved at a perfect pace for my family of four. Consideration for short breaks was given throughout the day and yet we were able to cover a lot of ground. I highly recommend this tour!
bortkasta
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/65pwnq/sights_from_my_24_hours_in_macau/
As part of my stay in Hong Kong, I decided to take the ferry over to Macau and was pleasantly surprised by this quirky little city state. Nowhere else will you find this mixture of Vegas, China and old Portugese colonial history and architecture. You shouldn't miss it if you're in the area. Also, flights to/from Macau can be cheaper than HKG. Also a much smaller and less stressful airport. All pictures taken with a Fujifilm X100T and later processed in Lightroom. Ask me anything and I'll try to answer.
Negative reviews
Mr. SAFEER AHMED
this was the worst experience of my life. Other than that macau is an excellent place but always remember u need to carry a minimum of 800 USD or around 9000HDK to enter macau. From macau, you can get to hong kong by ferry which has visa on arrival for a period of 7 days . But you must have a confirmed return ferry ticket and a hotel booking in hong kong to get the visa or they deport you back to macao.
If ur planning a budget trip DO NOT COME TO MACAU. everything is expensive. Starting 2star hotel in macau is 650MOP (5200Rs) for one night. A starting taxi fare for first KM is 17MOP(136Rs) and for every 1 km its 6 MOP (40RS). Buses are cheap but the bus fare for one stop or the last stop is the same amount 6MOP (36Rs) by the way the MFM airport is in TAIPA.
It takes 20 - 25 mins in a taxi to go to the macau (depends where ur going) the Biggst hotel is the GALAXY hotel. But you need to show your above 21 to get in. Once you get into GALAXY hotel, you need at lest 1 full day to take a full tour. There is a smoking and a non smoking casino. If you are lucky, you might even win big or you might lose all you have. I put in 500HDK and cashed out 700. But my friend put in 1500HKD and cashed out only 100 back. So its just luck. Try the slots too. It just 10HKD for a spin. You win and you get from around 50 to 50000.
THE MAJOR PROBLEM HERE IS THE LANGUAGE. Not a single person on the street or a shop or even a cop understands a single word of ENGLISH. So to communicate, it the worst. You need to carry a map to visit places here or need to navigate on the maps on the phone. You can buy sim prepaid cards on the street anywhere without proof for 50 or 100 HKD/MOP with the same talktime of the amount. The sim card is only valid for 30days from the day of purchase. Here for 1GB of 3G data its 100 HKD (800Rupees) . To call india, you need to dial 0091 and the mobile number or 009144 for landline. the call rates for india are 10MOP/HKD per minute (80Rs.). The rest in the streets you have lovely and variety of food, mostly portugese and cantonese. If you are a vegetarian, then you need to starve until you find a mc donals or a 7-11.
Please be careful of pickpoketers in macau. Keep ur money in your pockets and not ur wallets. My friends wallet got stolen on the streets. They act so cool. They follow you and steal so quick and then they run. You wont know even for a second why the person is running unless you check your pockets. If you are a smoker or a drinker, then the price for a pack of cigg is 55 HKD and a pint of beer is 60HKD.
Sorry for such a long post, but this was my experience in just 1 week. I spent around 80k for this trip. And yes, one more thing, please dont forget to carry your passport with the visa (visa is like a paper from the atm, it gets cleared and its without a photo and no stamps are on the passport) because the when the cops see foreigners, they harass you a lot and check what is on you. Please be safe if ur coming to macau.
Mrs. NATALLIA
On 13 of December 2014 I had a fly from Guangzhou to Moscow. When I checked-in a stuff at the Baiyunairport said that i have an over weigh (29 kg, it was allowed 23 kg), he cherged me 100 euro. I was sure that my baggage is not so haevy, but I couldn't prove that, coz the airport has no control weigh, so i paid. Once I arrived to Moscow, I've got an opportunety to weigh my baggage, it was 26 kg. So I'm very angry and dissaponted about the airport service. The stuff there has the right to cheat people and charge them, they set up their weigh and get our money. People be careful, don't let Chinese cheat us. One more thing, guys, securety at the airport has the right to open your baggage without your permission and take anything from your baggage and doesn't return it to you. At Moscow I've got my baggage uncovered and without charger for Iphone, now they don't want to return that. So, Don't cover your baggage, coz you will lose 50 Yuan. And don't accept to pay for over weigh, fight for yourself and truth.
JezzaN1
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/6xvofw/can_you_give_me_recommendations_about_macau/
Unless you have a huge affinity for casinos and gambling, I'd suggest perhaps doing a day trip instead. I found Hong Kong to be a lot better in almost every aspect, and asides from a couple of things to see there isn't a huge amount to do in Macau if you don't plan on gambling. If I were to go back to Hong Kong I personally wouldn't go back to Macau.
crackanape
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1bh51u/planning_a_trip_to_macau/
Unless you like the idea of grim, tawdry gambling houses plastered over with the thinnest possible layer of cheap formulaic glitz, I believe you could think of a hundred better places to spend your time.
Outside of the casinos, Macau is a grumpy, run-down version of Hong Kong. Inside the casinos, it's a depressing view into how easily people are separated from their money when a bit of behavioral science is applied to the task. Think Las Vegas, only with more gold paint and less humanity.
Neutral reviews
Mr. SIMON
Scooter, being the primary mode of transport for locals, is a wonderful way to see the sites of Macau. Renting a scooter in Macau can provide the convenience and freedom to see some of the more beautiful and less crowded spots, such as the Coloane Village, Cheoc Van Beach or the Portuguese fort in just one day.
It is a good idea to just ride around geting lost in the narrow streets in the old town area, where there are so many hidden places to discover. You can stumble by an unique Chinese antique shop, cheap local eatery serving Macau specialities, hidden art or jade gallery, a mysterious, old Taoist temple or some lively street market. You can stop almost anywhere, take a stroll, shot a few photos grab a bite and jump back on the scooter to discover more.
You could stop by in small, picturesque parks to listen to Chinese opera musicians rehearsing in the afternoons, stop for a photo with locals playing Mahjong in their shops or join locals in their early morning Tai Chi routine in many of the parks. Some of the old town (the Peninsula part) as well as Coloane island are quite hilly and picturesque, and riding those hills on a motorbike is much more fun than walking them.
Macau is very small in size and it is very easy to navigate around, but it is good to have a phone with Google Maps app in your pocket.
Hiring a scooter is highly recommended for anyone willing to experience Macau with its culture, history, local life, beyond the usual casinos.
Depending on your nationality, you only need a standard car driving license to hire a motorbike (most Western countries), but for some Asian licenses, you also need an international one.
canadiangrlskick
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/6xvofw/can_you_give_me_recommendations_about_macau/
I went in 2014. Used my HK travel sim in Macau with no issue.
English was widely understood. No problems there. Don't know about Portuguese.
For lodging, I didn't stay as it was Grad Prix and sooo expensive. I stayed in HK, took an early morning jet boat toured all day, gambled all night, took the last jet boat back to HK around 3am.
My biggest recommendation is to do tourist stuff (ruins of Saint Paul, the fort, senado square, etc) in the morning. Crowds were very thick by noon and took some of the enjoyment out of it (might have been because of the Grand Prix though)
moderatelyremarkable
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/6xvofw/can_you_give_me_recommendations_about_macau/
Don't miss the Grand Prix Museum, I thought that was pretty cool. The Macau Tower has good views from above, and the area around the St. Paul ruins was nice. There's a Portuguese flavor to things in Macau (i.e. street signs, some food), which is interesting, but I don't think speaking Portuguese helps a lot. Other than that, gambling is the main thing there, so you can check out the huge casinos and try your hand at a game of roulette. Language is a non-issue, though: you'll do just fine with a a bit of English and using your hands to signal what you want.
Don't spend too many days in Macau, though, you'll check it out faster than you think. Hong Kong, which is a short ferry ride away, is more interesting.
anonymous
Something exciting is brewing at the Zhuhai - Macau border.
Indigenous ladies, in their 40s to 50s, are lugging trolley loads of boxed food items from Macau to Zhuhai China. Items such as Kellogg’s cornflakes, Red Bull and Quaker Oats are popular picks. It looks as if they had just raided a convenience store in Macau and are making their way back to the mainland.
After much probing, I found out that these transporters are Macanese ladies who are largely homemakers with time on their hands. Besides playing Mahjong, they earn spare cash by buying and selling goods between the two regions.
A transporter starts her day at a convenience shop at the Macau border. She purchases the items to be brought across. The goods now belong to her. She then exits Macau with the goods.
Just before crossing the Zhuhai customs, the transporters unpack the goods from the cartons and repack them into generic nameless boxes, thereby avoiding the duty taxes. Once they enter Zhuhai, they repack the goods into their original cartons and off they go.
The transporters then find their way to a local market 400m from the border and sell the items at a higher price to the convenience shops in the market. I was told that some of these shops in the market are operated by the same owners than run the convenience shop in Macau.
If bought from the proper channel of distributors in Zhuhai, the goods could cost as a much as twenty percent more as compared to if they were bought in Macau, even with the commission paid to the transporters.
A typical transporter starts her day at 8am and reaches home in Macau at 10pm. With the fluctuating crowd at the border crossing, she makes an average of five return trips per day.
One transporter revealed “I earn 10RMB per carton. That works out to 20 – 50 RMB per trip.” “Its hard work, especially with the sun on our backs”, commented another transporter, “but we do it to earn some cash. Moreover, it’s a better form of exercise compared to playing Mahjong all day”.
anonymous
Known as the 'Vegas of China', Macau is indeed an epicentre of gambling and glitz. While luxury entertainment here is world-class, the city has much more to offer than that. Macau was a Portuguese colony for 300 years, a heritage marked by a wonderful cultural hybridity that manifests itself in all aspects of life: Chinese temples stand on maritime-themed Portuguese tiles; the sound of Cantonese permeates streets with Portuguese names; and when you're hungry, it could be Chinese dim sum, pastéis de nata (Portuguese egg tarts) or Macanese minchi (ground meat stir-fried with potatoes) that come to the rescue.
Positive reviews
Ms. ANGEL
A second trip to the wonderful land of Macau, steeped in history & a truly cosmopolitan island. Arriving by boat I was fortunate to stay with my now wife! Macau is diverse, full of interesting buildings, a mish-mash of colonial Portuguese & modern Chinese as well as USA influenced casinos. Casino's are in abundance, go to The Venetian, inside an entire replica of Venice inc. Gondola trips! Or visit one of the more traditional Chinese casino's such as the Lisboa & watch bemused at the Chinese game of FanTan.
Food is in abundance, many street stalls, all worth trying alongside more traditional restaurants serving Dim Sum ideal for Yumcha. Try fresh Sushi & Portugese influenced food.
Simply stroll through the streets to see, hear & smell the diversity of this tiny country. Buses are many & cheap, taxis also, trouble free, sometimes shady but mainly always happy. Shopping is unbelievable from cheap through to ridiculously expensice, a haven for watch buyers and gold. If you are visitng Hong Kong, go to Macau & enjoy every minute of it!
anonymous
https://www.viator.com/tours/Southern-China/Macau-Day-Trip-from-Hong-Kong/d4443-3675MFDT
Our tour guide was very good. He gave us many facts about Macau. I especially enjoyed seeing all the places to gamble and hear how the city has grown. Tour went by fast / not boring. comfortable tour bus. I would recommend.
anonymous
https://www.viator.com/tours/Southern-China/Macau-Day-Trip-from-Hong-Kong/d4443-3675MFDT
A full day touring exotic Macau. The tour moved at a perfect pace for my family of four. Consideration for short breaks was given throughout the day and yet we were able to cover a lot of ground. I highly recommend this tour!
bortkasta
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/65pwnq/sights_from_my_24_hours_in_macau/
As part of my stay in Hong Kong, I decided to take the ferry over to Macau and was pleasantly surprised by this quirky little city state. Nowhere else will you find this mixture of Vegas, China and old Portugese colonial history and architecture. You shouldn't miss it if you're in the area. Also, flights to/from Macau can be cheaper than HKG. Also a much smaller and less stressful airport. All pictures taken with a Fujifilm X100T and later processed in Lightroom. Ask me anything and I'll try to answer.