The Ferry Ride to Macau
After breakfast, my brother, my sister, and I stopped by the Concierge desk to ask about the best way to get to Macau. He immediately assumed we were going to shop for designer brands and started explaining the two ferry lines: the Red Line (TurboJet) and the Blue line (Cotai Water Jet). Both are high-speed ferries connecting Hong Kong and Macau.
After stopping by our rooms to get our passports, we took an Uber to the ferry terminal and boarded the ferry to Macau. The ride takes about an hour, with departures every 15-30 minutes, and the tickets cost around $23-$28 USD each way. After going through customs and passport control, we found our way through the crowded waiting area surrounded by travelers hauling luggage and advertisers promoting luxury resorts, celebrity chefs, and award-wining dining experiences.
The Las Vegas of Asia
I had always heard, from my parent’s friends, that Macau was the “Las Vegas of Asia,” so I expected neon lights, crowded casinos, and luxury resorts tightly packed next to each other. In reality, it felt stranger than I imagined. At one point, my brother looked around and said,
“This feels like the kind of city I would have built in Minecraft in elementary school.”
It was the perfect description.
From the ferry terminal, we hopped onto one of the free hotel shuttles. The first stop was The Londoner, so we decided to get off and start exploring. Immediately, our casual sightseeing turned into an impromptu photo shoot. Everywhere we looked, visitors were posing dramatically in front of marble staircases, chandeliers, and luxury brand storefronts. Some women even carried full outfit changes so they could take Instagram-worthy photos throughout the day.
Resort- Hopping Around Cotai
We crossed the street to The Venetian, complete with its painted blue and white clouded ceiling modeled after the Las Vegas property. My sister stopped by Pop Mart. There was no long lines to buy the little collectible monster figurines, unlike what I’m used to seeing back home. She stocked up on souvenirs for her friends before we headed to our personal favorite resort brand, Wynn.
When we visit Las Vegas, we stay at Encore, but Wynn and Encore are sister properties, so it felt familiar. Macau actually has two Wynn properties, Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace. Wynn Macau has the famous Tree of Prosperity attraction and the Performance Lake, while Wynn Palace (in Cotai) is known for the floral displays, luxury shopping, and gondola rides.
The best meal in Macau ended up being lunch at Xita Laotaitai inside Wynn. We scanned QR codes to order our meal from our phones. When our meal arrived, a server noticed that my sister was struggling to cook her portion of meat correctly. Instead of pretending not to notice us, he called someone over who took control over the grill and cooked everything himself. He chatted with us throughout our entire meal and somehow turned the lunch into something that felt very personal, like having a private chef whose passion for the ingredients took us through the culinary journey. Since the restaurant was nearly empty, the entire experience felt even more memorable. Before we left, he recommended that we go on the gondola ride at the resort.
Casino Rules
After lunch, we wandered through the casino. Security stopped by brother to check his ID since he had just turned 21 years old a few weeks ago. A few minutes later, I got stopped too after pulling my phone to make a video. Within seconds, hotel security approached me and asked me to delete any footage because filming is strictly prohibited inside the casino. I apologized and assured him I did not record. He checked my photo album and let me proceed.
Later, I learned that Macau’s gambling industry generates more revenue than Las Vegas and the entire state of Nevada combined- somewhere around $30-$40 billion annually which makes the strict security a lot of sense.
Hotel Shuttle Service
One of the best parts of the trip was using the complimentary hotel shuttle buses between the resorts. It made exploring very easy.
In college, my sister had done a project for her Chinese class on Macau, so she was excited to visit the Grand Lisboa after learning about its iconic architecture and impressive skyline. She was determined we see it in person
.
Almost Stranded
That evening, we headed back to the ferry terminal to return to our hotel in Hong Kong. The last ferry of the day was delayed, and staff warned us that it might be canceled. As we sat in the waiting area, staff began handing out bottled water to ticketed passengers in the waiting area. I started wondering if we were about to spend the night in Macau, without any luggage. Did this happen often? I had no idea. I just kept hoping we would make it back to our hotel in Hong Kong that night. While we waited for updates, we all agreed that one full day in Macau had been enough time to explore what we wanted to see. Little did we know, a few days later, we would end up returning to Macau again, because of unforeseen circumstances.