The Macau International Airport is located in Taipa Island 氹仔 of Macau. And Taipa 氹仔 is very near to Cotai Strip 氹仔 which look similar to the Strip in Las Vegas with major hotels and casinos.
There are several ways to enter Macau:
1. By flight and use Macau International Airport
2. By ferry from Hong Kong using Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal (Macau Peninsula or Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal at Taipa)
3. By bus crossing Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
Arrival Hall Review
We choose to land in Macau Airport from Singapore then take a ferry to Hong Kong and depart from Hong Kong International Airport, so my review is only on the arrival part of Macau International Airport. As usual, once the plane landed, you need to go through the custom and baggage claim and finally security check. Then you will proceed to get your bus or taxi to your destination. The line was not long and it was pretty fast to clear and check out from the airport.
The airport is not that big, it only has several duty-free shopping. It is quite clean including the toilets, both squat and seat toilets are available.
Do not expect the immigration officer has a smiling face, most do not smile. This applies to all immigration officers worldwide. I even heard an immigration officer scolding an old lady tourist from mainland China, which she did not even do anything wrong as she was just standing outside the toilet waiting for her daughter.
Prepaid International Sim Card
Once you come out from the arrival hall, there is a row of counters selling for the prepaid international sim card for mobile phones.
There are 4 network operators in Macau: CTM, Three (3), SmarTone and China Mobile (CDMA-only)
SIM cards can be purchased without registration. On the airport, there are even vending machines for prepaid SIM Cards.
Travel by Free Shuttle Bus to explore Macau!
There are free shuttle services to major big hotels so do not bother to take a taxi at all. I know there are free shuttle buses to Grand Lisboa & Venetian and many more. Each Casino has its own branded buses – which will shuttle between airport, ferry terminals, border gates, and other casinos. They are a great way to get about but only take you between Casinos, and only on their schedules. Don’t worry, it is about 10-15 mins wait.
If you want to explore the historical side of Macau, you can take the Grand Lisboa free shuttle bus and walk over to the ruins of St Paul and Senado Square, it is only 10-15 mins walk from Grand Lisboa Casino Hotel. If you want to visit Cotai Strip, (just like the Strip in Vegas), then take the Venetian free shuttle bus.
Departure Hall
The departure hall is located at one level down of the arrival hall. Not very big either but there are enough seats for travelers. Passengers traveling with the Air Macau and Xiamen airlines can enjoy our check-in kiosk facilities.
18 comments
The free shuttle bus is CLUTCH; I don’t know many cities that offer that! I cannot wait to visit Macau one day!
I agree, take advantage of the free shuttle bus and save money for your transport in Macau.
The airport doesn’t seem crowded I never been to airport where it wasn’t crowded. I love that Macau airport gives free shuttles to the major big hotels that could definitely save someone some money on taxi fare!
There are many planes from the western world. Mainly from Asia, I guess the western world need to reach Macau through Hong Kong.
WOW SUCH A GREAT TRAVEL AIRPORT SEEMS CLEAN AND EASY TO GET THROUGH. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS POST ITS AWESOME.
The airport looks clean I agree but the immigration offices do not look friendly. LOL.
I like that you can get the pre-paid sim card easily.The airport seems so big and classy and wasn’t even super crowded which is amazing.
The airport is only small and only for planes from mostly Asia countries.
A free shuttle bus?! I have never been to a city that has one of those. That is awesome, I’ll def have to check that out
There are plenty of free shuttles services in Macau taking guests from the airport to their hotel-casinos and some hotel-casinos are very near to the historical sites, so do take advantage of that.
Great review of the Macau Airport. The free shuttle is a huge bonus as in other airports they can get expensive.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to an airport but it sounds like a great experience and service which makes all the difference when traveling!
Dear Catherine,
I have been a number of airports but Macau airport is really very average, it has the basic but nothing too fancy.
It is great that you can get a prepaid SIM so easily. It sounds like a great airport for travelling to and from
We haven’t been to Macau, but this airport looks so fantastic. We should plan a trip there.
Dear Twin,
I agree you should consider taking your family there, it would be a good experience for them, similar to Las Vegas but in Asian vibes. I have seen your ski trip and the food and resort look amazing, I love to do one ski trip too in my future plan.
I’m not able to travel a lot, but I love looking at different places. This looks like a cool airport.
Thanks for sharing a glimpse of this lovely looking airport. Some of the photos are amazing.