October 18, 2009

Hong Kong to Macau by ferry

Do you know that you can go to Macau or Shenzhen by ferry direct from Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)?

I didn't know about that until I read a friend's blog.

From HK, Macau is only 1 hour by ferry while Shenzhen is around 45 minutes by train. Considering the nearness of these 2 places, I decided to include them into my itinerary. So I decided to go straight to Macau right after I landed in HKIA to maximize my day.

My flight to HK was scheduled to arrive at 8.35pm. But knowing AirAsia, with frequent delayed flight, made me quite worried whether I could make it to Macau that very night as the last ferry was scheduled to depart at 10pm.


Luckily, I arrived on time and straight away headed to the ferry ticketing counter. It's situated at Level 5 Passenger Terminal Building. No need to clear customs and immigration, just look for the 'Ferries to Mainland/Macau' signboard once you're out of your craft.


Managed to get the ticket for the last ferry.



Make sure you still keep your flight ticket or boarding pass as they need to check your flight detail and to arrange the transfer of your previous checked-in luggage to the ferry. So basically later, you just board the ferry with your hand carry bags.

It was already 9 something after I settled everything. No time to check out the airport, so I went to the Transit Hall to ride shuttle bus to SkyPier. As I mentioned before, you don't have to go to the immigrations in HKIA. At this cross boundary pier, passengers can transit from HKIA to piers in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China, or vice-versa, without immigration and customs clearance through Hong Kong.


The journey from the terminal to the SkyPier is only around 5 minutes. The bus will go through a small road next to the airport runway to the pier.



Be prepared for the journey. Most likely, you will get dizzy from the strong waves along the ride. Before this, I thought I could handle it. I mean, this is not my first time riding a ferry. I've been to Langkawi, Tioman and Penang and I was okay with the journey. So I thought this would be like my other ferry rides. Turned out that it wasn't! Seriously pening gila naik Turbojet ni.

Anyway, you can check the website for the route, fare and schedule--> TurboJET.   

I arrived at Macau Ferry Pier around 11pm. Cleared customs and immigrations, and picked up my bag.


Hello Macau!

No comments: