HONG KONG & MACAO
Basic Info - Hong Kong
As a special administrative region of China, there’s a lot to see and do in the bustling city of Hong Kong. For starters English is spoken here which makes it a whole lot easier for foreigners to travel here. To get to Hong Kong, we took the ferry from Macao. The ferry takes approximately 2 hours and is a great option if you are one who likes boat rides and a view of the sea. If you are flying in, there are many airlines that fly directly into Hong Kong, which is home to a wonderful airport. Outside of the international arrivals, is a traditional Chinese/Cantonese restaurant that was awarded the best airport restaurant by CNN Traveler.
Basic Info - Macao
Macao formally known as Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China is an autonomous territory. Even though it is officially part of China, it has its own currency & immigration policy separate from that of mainland China or Hong Kong.
Getting there: Macao has its own airport but since its close to Hong Kong I would suggest that you do both cities. We flew into Hong Kong so here’s the way we did it. By air you can fly into Hong Kong and take bus #4 from the airport which takes you to the bus terminal. Be sure to have exact change for the bus because they do not take cards or give out change. Once you reach the bus terminal you will have to go through customs once again and then buy the tickets to take the bus which goes over the longest sea bridge in the world to Macao. Once you get off at Macao you can take a taxi to your hotel. Word of caution: most people do not speak English so be warned. Macao feels just like Las Vegas with its casinos and big hotels. Most of the hotels are located on the Cotai strip.
Hong Kong Stay
The Royal Park Hotel is ideally situated being the epicenter of Hong Kong’s shopping and business district. Most hotels in Hong Kong are situated by the harbor, so finding a nice place is not difficult.
Macao Stay
We stayed at The Parisian which is part of the Las Vegas Sands company. Many of the hotels located on the Cotai strip belong to the Sands including the Venetian which is right next to the Parisian. The Parisian is home to a huge mall full of designer brands that are extremely expensive. Many of these stores are duty free, meaning customers don’t have to pay tax. The majority of the hotels on the Cotai contain a mall and are interconnected to one another. One doesn’t even have to walk outside, because every hotel has a walkway that leads to the next.