St Paul's Church Ruins Macau
I like Macau for its beautiful blend of east and west culture as much as coffee aficionados would enjoy their mix of coffee and cream. I would have wanted Manila to be something like this city, or close. Despite the old marble streets and the aging walls, its taints and stains paints a pattern of rich history between two worlds, especially from the Chinese and Portuguese. For such a small island, it’s just a joy to roam around its streets. Here’s the summary of our 4-day trip in Macau.
Budget: This familiarization trip, taken last May 6-9, 2010, was by invitation of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Philippines so I couldn’t give a real budget here since they covered most all the expenses. But I could fairly say there are options both for backpackers and luxury travels here. There are also a lot of Free Attractions (even food) in Macau you can enjoy.
Check out the 287 photos at Flickr
Itinerary: The itinerary can help how you can plan your Macau trip since it shows what can be done in a day. This one is a bit rushed and packed a number of places per day but you can adjust accordingly to your own pace and interest of places.
Day 1
Day 2
- Threading the Streets of the Old Town
- Senado Square and St Dominic’s Church in Mono
- The Ruins of St Paul’s Church and the Macau Museum
- Fun and Wonder at Macau Science Center
- Luxe Dining at Horizons Macau
- Dragon’s Treasure Show at the City of Dreams
- Night Walk at the Central
- Taipa Evening Stroll
- Portuguese Night at Miramar
Day 3
- The Camoes Garden and the Old Protestant Cemetery
- Shopping at the Red Market with Antonio Coelho
- The Guia Fortress and the Grand Prix Museum
- Macanese at Ristorante Litoral
- A-Ma Temple Festival and the Chinese Opera
- The Venetian Glitz and the Cirque du Soleil Zaia
- A Culinary Performance at Antonio Restaurante
Day 4
- The Lilau Square and the Eclectic Mandarin House
- Penha Hill, Maritime Museum and Dinner at Macau Tower
- Fly back to Manila
Recommendations: I’d definitely explore the old town and heritages sites of Macau more since I’m not much into Casinos. Most of the food we had are really good but for value and authentic street side Macau Food, I enjoyed Little Turtle. For Free stuff, try the Dragon Treasure Show which I thought was spectacular among the free shows in Macau. Oh if you ever get hungry, pass by the food street going to St Paul’s Church Ruins and sample the food there like cookies, peanut bars and beef jerky for free.
Hi there! I just loved Macau, how I wish makabalik ulit ako doon. Too bad di ko na try yung sample food for free-hehe! masarap bah?
“I would have wanted Manila to be something like this city, or close.” —-can you expound on this?
Did you like Macau enough to see yourself living there?
@Photo Cache: I would NEVER trade Macau for Manilla:-0
The main attractions in Macau are casinos…casinos and casinos
Macau is only nice for a few days…
Hi Cidy! They’re pretty good especially the cookies and beef jerky
Hi Photo Cache! I meant the old city structures and cobblestone walkways where were preserved. Unlike in Manila where it was bombed down by the Americans to the ground during the 2nd world war
There is more to Macau than the Casinos Sidney! As you can see from the above posts. I like their Old heritage sites a lot.
Macau prides itself as the Las Vegas of Asia… I guess that’s what people generally expect of it
Macau has changed a lot. I went there 1995 and stayed for 2 mos with alwin (hubby). It is indeed a great place… good food, well-preserved old structures. Its really amazing…so beautiful and romantic (i mean if you’re with someone to share the experience with). I wish we stayed longer… grrr I miss lutong macau! Thanks Ferdz for sharing
HAppy Birthday!
hi, love your blog. i’ve been following it for quite some time. and thanks for posting your macau itinerary..really helpful. walking tours ba lahat yan per day? we might be in macau next month and we’re thinking of copying your itinerary
more power to you!
[...] this year, I had the pleasure to finally visit Macau with an invitation from MGTO. I liked the old quarters and its heritage sites. It’s what I [...]
thanks so much for you blog, really helpful in planning for my trip to Macau!
I did think of macau as a great place to live. haha ganda!