Choosing to leave on 10.30 am ferry I quickly had breakfast and headed to the reception. The free hotel shuttle was at 9.30 but not wanting to risk and arrive late I’ve opted in for a taxi which were plentiful outside the Sheraton where we stayed.
When the bus driver went towards airport I thought ok, I’m sure he knows that I’m going to Macau ferry terminal. There are actually a few ferry terminals, one on the same island going to Hong Kong airport and another one for departures to Kowloon.
Booking ferry online is not hard, I used turbo jet , their website seems to be user friendly.
There are two types of tickets, economy and super class.
Super class have separate waiting area with soft seats, better seats on the ferry and a snack. Economy class was more than adequate for me.
The ferries leave every hour or so but you can pick the departure time when you make online booking. Please note you will need your ticket PRINTED as you will have to exchange it for a real ferry ticket at the terminal.
The taxi did take me to the right place, the journey was very quick, maybe 10-12 minutes and cost me $73 Macau dollars which is about $10AUD.
At the ferry terminal all signs are in English (plus Chinese and Portuguese like everywhere else) so it was easy spotting Turbo Jet counter. I didn’t have to wait at all, got my ticket, then went through quick immigration check and got to check-in counter to get a little sticker on my ticket with my actual seat number.
I have picked economy class and would use it again, it was comfortable with soft airplane-like seats.
There was a large group of Russians checking in after me, maybe 20 people, not sure if they are a sporting group or just on organised tour.
I was well and truly early, about an hour before my boat even departed but these days I prefer to be early rather than rush at the last minute!
At 9.55 everyone started moving for a 10 am ferry and while I was booked on 10. 30 am I was told to board too.
The boarding was quick and after 5 minutes everyone was seated. The boat is quite large carrying 300 passengers but it was not full. Now we had to make 1 hr 15 mins journey to Hong Kong and I was just praying for seas not to be rough.
The sea was very calm but the boat still went through that moving motion that it just unsettling for me. Thank goodness I could still read my kindle without even looking up. Every time I looked up and around me for longer than 2 minutes I started feeling quesy.
Finally we got to Victoria harbour and after disembarking quite quickly were met with long immigration queues. It took maybe 20 mins so not as bad as I thought.
The ferry terminal brought me out in the middle of a large shopping complex. After a couple false attempts I’ve found an information counter and were not only given a map but detailed instruction of how to get to my hotel which turned out to be within 15 min walk and while it was very hot I didn’t mind the walk , it was my first glimpse of Hong Kong!
It is definitely an Asian city but with all street names in English it’s easy to get around.
