Advice Needed - Advance Booking for Ferry on a Sunday

Hi,

I will be travelling to Macau/HK on the 22/03/09 till 26/03/09. Will arrive in Macau on a sunday at 0930hrs and will be going direct to HK via First Ferry, will be taking AP1 from airport, understand that I need to book my ferry ticket in advance on a Sunday but am worried about the ferry schedule, will I be able to make the 1030hrs ferry trip?

If I don%26#39;t make advance booking, can I still get a place on the ferry?

Will be returning to Macau on the 25th and staying one night at Sintra, will really appreciate if you kind people can advise on a one day itinery covering St Paul%26#39;s, Senado, Venetian , SandS, Fisherma Wharf, Macau Tower and some Casino...Will be returning to Macau form HK early and only leaving on the 1630hrs flight on the 26th

Also pls advise on direction to Ishan Steam Milk from my hotel.

Thank you very much for your advices.

Advice Needed - Advance Booking for Ferry on a Sunday

Last April we travelled to Macau and back from Hong Kong without any prior preparations, reservations or anything. But the only difference is that from the airport we first took the Airport Express to Hong Kong island and we took the ferry from there. As far as I remember, ferries were available every 15-30 minutes (more frequent at peak hours) and we had almost no problem getting on in less than 30 minutes. I hope this helps.

Advice Needed - Advance Booking for Ferry on a Sunday

Hi AP99, and welcome to the forums.

Travelling on AP1, you might not be able to make the 10:30 sailing, particularly if your plane does not arrive exactly on time. If you catch a taxi there should be no problem.

On a Sunday, there is really no hope of getting a ferry immediately on arrival at the ferry pier without an advance booking - you might have to wait 3 or 4 hours before there is a vacant seat.

On return to Macau, suggest taking the Sintra shuttle bus to your hotel first, and even if you are too early to check in you can leave your luggage at the desk before you start exploring. Senado Square and ST Paul%26#39;s are only about 10 minutes walk apart along a pedestrian zone, but there are other interesting places to look at on the way, including St Dominic%26#39;s Lou Kao mansion, and Monte Fortress. I Son (the Portuguese spelling for 義順)steamed milk is on Senado Square, close by San Ma Lo. Sands and Fishermen%26#39;s Wharf are right next to the ferry pier, and from Sands you can catch a Venetian shuttle bus, so it would be easy to do those three places as one ';set';. Macau Tower is about 20 minutes walk from the Sintra, but thr route is not so interesting, so maybe catch 18 or 32 bus.

Hi Oisaan and thomasbq,

Thanks for all the advices. So to say it is definitely better for me to make advance booking for my ferry, I don%26#39;t want to wait a few hours for a seat. I%26#39;m just afraid if my flight is delayed or I couldn%26#39;t arrive in time for the ferry schedule, is there any chance that I can use the ticket for any departure, in other words can the ferry time be amended?

Must I collect my ferry ticket half an hour before the departure? How much time do I need for immigration clearance and boarding? Can you please let me know the estimate time from airport to ferry terminal by taxi and by AP1? Do you think it is safer for me to book the 1100hrs schedule instead?

Once again, thank you so much for the advices.

I am a fairly cautious person ,so I would book the 11am ferry. The taxi ride from the airport to the main ferry pier is less than 10 minutes; AP1 usually takes 20 - 30 minutes but can take even 45 if the traffic is bad. Macau%26#39;s outward immigration is pretty quick: even on weekends 10 minutes is plenty to get through and get to your gate lounge. Normally you should collect your ferry ticket at least 30 minutes before departure, but if you are running late you should call the First Ferry ticket office before you leave the airport and let them know that you are still coming.

Unfortunately none of the ferry companies offers the option of catching a later boat if you miss the one you are ticketed for.

Hi Oisaan,

Thanks for all the info, might be changing my plan to go to HK directly from Macau, am seriously considering to zhuhai first and then from there to HK. Will be posting my other queries in the other thread I started. Thanks a lot. You are a gem :)