Hong Kong and Macau Tour – My first trip abroad
On the steps to St. Paul Cathedral Ruins
Last month, the day after attending the Philippine Blog Awards, me and my siblings (four of us) travelled to Hong Kong and Macau for 3 days and 2 nights. It was our first trip abroad and it took months of planning because we wanted to personalize our itinerary and did not want to be part of a constrictive tour group. Planning for the trip was quite easy because there are a lot of information available online about Hong Kong and Macau but we just wanted it to be flawless and cram as much sights during our short visit. We actually flew in to Hong Kong and stayed there for two days, visited Macau on the third day, and then flew back to Manila via Macau later that day.
We originally just planned to visit Hong Kong for our trip but Macau was too tempting to pass off. It’s just one hour away by ferry … much like crossing the strait from Iloilo to Bacolod, *heh*. I was the one who convinced them to include Macau in the trip given that I was responsible for planning the Macau leg of our itinerary.
Photo-op at fountains in Tung Chung town center
The Hong Kong and Macau threads on Pinoy Exchange were actually the most helpful resource I found since the forumers have posted just about everything you need to know about the place and the tips are more targeted to (Filipino) backpackerish travelers … like us 
We ended up not religiously following our original itinerary since we didn’t expect that we would be so tired during the trip. We managed to visit all the major destinations that we planned but I just personally wanted to experience more of the off-the-beaten path attractions, especially in Macau.
For the benefit to those who are also planning to travel to Hong Kong and Macau, here’s the summary of our actual Hong Kong and Macau itinerary during our recent visit:
3 days and 2 nights Hong Kong and Macau itinerary summary
- Day 1 (Hong Kong)
- Manila to Hong Kong Flight via Cebu Pacific Airlines (Things to Bring)
- Arrival at Hong Kong International Airport
- Check-in at Wing Sing Hotel in Yau Ma Tei
- Lantau Island Tour
- Ngong Ping 360
- Ngong Ping Village
- Giant Buddga
- Hong Kong Disneyland
- Temple Street Night Market
- Manila to Hong Kong Flight via Cebu Pacific Airlines (Things to Bring)
- Day 2 (Hong Kong)
- Star ferry ride to Hong Kong Island
- Victoria Peak Tour
- Sky Terrace
- Madame Tussauds
- Ocean Park
- Symphony of Lights
- Ladies Night Market in Mongkok
- Day 3 (Macau)
- Check-out at the hotel
- Turbojet Ferry ride to Macau
- Leave baggage at the The Venetian (Casino and Hotel) Macau concierge
- The Venetian Macau Sightseeing
- Macau Heritage Walking Tour
- Almeida Ribiero
- Senate/Senado Square (Largo do Senado)
- Ruins of St. Paul Cathedral
- Fortress Hill
- Camoes Garden
- Fisherman’s Village
- Fountain Show at Wynn Casino
- Return to The Venetian to claim baggage
- Departure at Macau International Airport
3 days and 2 nights Hong Kong and Macau Expenses
- Total Expenses – HK$ 3463.4 or Php 21,126.74 per person
- Expenses (excluding Airfare) – HK$ 2288.5 or Php 13,959.8 per person
*computed at currency exchange rate of 1 HK$ = Php 6.1
For those who want to know if we hired a travel agent … we didn’t take one. We made the itinerary, paid for everything (most of it online), and toured HK and Macau ourselves.
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chymera00
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November 6, 2009 ;
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Tags: , Abroad, Backpacking, Hong Kong, Itinerary, Macau, My Travels
6 November 2009 at 3:00 pm #
Cool! We also visited HK-Macau last month. Also my first trip abroad.
6 November 2009 at 11:27 pm #
Hay mayo kay daw buta gid ya itinerary niyo … next time bilin ko lang kids ko para ma enjoy ko gid ang lakwatsa
7 November 2009 at 5:10 am #
@Dex: nice nice, hehe. Pareho pla tayu
@Babsy: Huo, mayu man kung gamay lang bilitbitun para mas damo ma cover nga places.
8 November 2009 at 8:20 pm #
Are you sure you’re a travel blogger and not just a travel buff? You failed to describe the places you’ve been, your impression of those places, how to get there, expenses etc. I think they’re worth mentioning. People would stumble upon your blog to find tips. They should be helpful.
9 November 2009 at 2:16 am #
hey “Really?”, as I said, I would post more about my trip to Hong Kong and Macau in future posts (by sections). I will surely include those suggestions you mentioned … If you (or other visitors) have any specific questions for me, I will try my best to answer them based on what I have experienced during my trip.
My headline reads that it was my first time traveling abroad, having said that, I really don’t think that qualifies me to be even considered as a travel buff, I am far from it …One of the reasons why I blog is because I want to learn and share my experiences with other people.
[...] chymera00: hey “Rea lly?” ;, as I said, I would post more… [...]
15 November 2009 at 11:28 am #
hi! i had this trip just this sem break… HK and Macau are amazing places to visit…
did you have an agency or not?
thanks…
15 November 2009 at 2:14 pm #
cool …. we didn’t get an agency, we made the itinerary and toured HK and Macau ourselves
15 November 2009 at 10:22 pm #
hi, me & my bf are planning 2 visit hk and macau dis dec.9-13… i would to know how much is the fee for turbojet going to macau? pls indicate if hk $ or $… tnx i hope u can post all your experiences in both places. im really interested… thank you!
15 November 2009 at 10:58 pm #
Hong Kong to Macau Turbojet is HD$146, we bought our ticket online. Yeah, I’ll start posting the journals next week
18 November 2009 at 9:42 am #
hi, marc. Wow, congrats! I haven’t been out of the country yet… and Macau is definitely an interesting place to go to. Ganda ng St. Paul’s Ruins
18 November 2009 at 11:39 am #
It’s definitely a great experience gene. Macau was the best part of the trip. Aside from St. Paul’s there so many nice places to go.
18 November 2009 at 6:25 pm #
HI Marcos!
Can you also post the costs for each activities you do on HK and Macau (hotel booking, transpo,tours,meals,etc). Any suggestion as to what is the cheapest will be very helpful!
Thanks much!
18 November 2009 at 7:19 pm #
Hey Mak,
I posted some of the costs here: http://www.ambot-ah.com/2009/11/10/hong-kong-and-macau-3-days-and-2-nights-itinerary/
Most of our expenses are already posted there. I didn’t include expenses in food because I actually lost track of how much we spent. Though, we didn’t spend a lot on food because we mostly ate in McDonalds or bought stuff from 7/11 stores.
I’ll try to post a summary of our expenses in future posts.
[...] chymera00: Hey Mak, I posted some of the costs here: http://www .ambot… [...]
18 November 2009 at 8:52 pm #
Mak: I posted a summary of our expenses during the trip here: http://www.ambot-ah.com/2009/11/19/travelling-to-hong-kong-and-macau-trip-on-a-budget-summary-of-expenses/
[...] chymera00: Mak: I posted a summary of our expenses during the trip here:… [...]
21 November 2009 at 1:47 pm #
hi, is visa needed in macau and hk? just want to make sure…tnx
21 November 2009 at 2:18 pm #
If you’re a Philippine resident, you don’t need visa for Hong Kong and Macau … you only need your passport.
24 November 2009 at 9:46 am #
tnx mark! =b
24 November 2009 at 9:58 am #
mark, d pics are great! is that ur shots? tnx again…godbless
26 November 2009 at 4:14 am #
hi there! stumbled on your blog while looking for a travel agency for hk- macau travel package.. anyway.. your blog entry helped me a lot in things to consider while looking for the best and great deal for a tour.. thanks a lot! btw, did you go through a travel agent? ^_^
26 November 2009 at 5:16 am #
hmmm… you’re welcome joanne … i’ve already answered that question here, I should probably put a note on my post now, hehe. We didn’t get a travel agent.
26 November 2009 at 7:24 am #
ooh.. sorry about that.. hehe.. thanks again! ^_^
26 November 2009 at 11:44 pm #
that’s okay Joanne. We really wanted to go in our own pace for our trip and I had a lot of time to spare planning for the trip. Online testimonials and tips posted in forums and other blogs really helped us out a lot too. If you have anymore questions just ask …
30 December 2009 at 3:04 pm #
hi,did u check in sa venetian?kc sbi mo u left ur luggage sa concierge… wer going to macau dis jan1 and hk dis jan 4… pde mgiwan ng gmit khit hnd nkcheck-in sa hotel?
31 December 2009 at 10:03 am #
you can leave your baggage at the concierge of The Venetian even if you’re not a guest of the hotel
2 January 2010 at 4:27 pm #
hi,wer hir @ macau since yertrday.we will reverse ur 3p.=b
2days macau-3days hk… tnx again… we already visited venetian last nyt. we will visit st.paul l8r @ 5pm,so tired walking @ senado square.tnx again,hapi new yir!
5 January 2010 at 5:15 pm #
cool. Grabe, 5 days … Inggit ako, hehe. Happy Tripping!
7 January 2010 at 11:39 pm #
hi…my family & I are planning to go to HK nxt month…Initially we wanted to go through an agent thinking it would make make things easier but upon reading ur blog I thought we might as well tour it ourselves also…hehe…Is it true that its easy to get around HK?…Ilonggo ka ryt?…d mn xa katalalng?…
9 January 2010 at 1:56 am #
huo ..Ilonggo ^_^ Travelling in Hong Kong is fairly easy … the only hard part we encountered was finding the the peak tram lower terminus in Central Hong Kong from the Star Ferry Pier.
12 January 2010 at 2:23 pm #
hi, we really enjoyed our 5days trip 2 macau-hk, bitin p nga eh… umaten kc kmi ng ksal sa hk kya nsyang 1 arw n pasyal. cguro blik nlng kmi ulit. me delikadong part sa hk, mongkok ata un. 6 cases n dw n meron ngtatapon sa mga tao ng chemicals prng acids ata. so better be extra careful. tnx again… san country nxt 3p mo? ipost mo ulit ha… =b more power!
12 January 2010 at 6:05 pm #
nice nice… I’m glad I was a part of your successful trip, naks. Time-out ako muna sa abroad trips, gusto ko muna mag ikot dito lang sa bansa, hehe.
25 January 2010 at 9:50 am #
wala bang pahinga ung pag travel nyo? we been to HK-Macau-shenzhen china last year for a 5N/6D trip free from our company pero we haven’t toured as extensively as u did. palaging pagud na pag balik sa hotel. di ko na rin pinalampas ung double-cab nila, wala atang ganon dito sa atin. di ko nagustuhan ung st. paul ruins. ung mga temple na pinuntahan namin, pa picture picture nalang kasi di ko naman alam kung sino ung mga dyos nila.
u should have visited shenzhen china. napakaganda nung windows of the world nila. pati na rin ung China Village ata yon. u do need a visa to enter china via train. sayang di na kasali sa itinerary nyo.
ang pinaka ayaw ko sa lahat e yong jewelry factory na must sa tour na kinuhaha namin. duon ko na intindihan bakit galit ung bossing namin pag pasok pa lang sa venue. hehe.. chinese people can be quite persuasive on selling their products. nasisira ung budgeting namin.
btw, we’re planning of going to Thailand anytime soon. i’ll be needing more blogs tungkol doon.. backpackers are most welcome. pls helllpp.. thanks!
26 January 2010 at 8:35 pm #
medyo walang pahinga … tight kasi yung schedule kasi 3 days lng kami. Haven’t been to Thailand yet (no budget, hehe) so I don’t think I can help you with that. I’m sure there are lots of blogs about backpacking in Thailand.
3 February 2010 at 11:29 pm #
Hello, this is from Macau, I will go Manila FEB 11-14. Next time will go to Bacolod again. Just stay Macao 1 day? You not yet go to Macau the other 2 island. Taipa and Colowan.
6 February 2010 at 7:11 pm #
Hello Sandra,
Thanks for visiting my blog. Yes, we only stayed in Macau for one day so we didn’t get to explore much of Taipa and Coloane. I’ve read that the beaches and natural scenery there are great, so unfortunate that we didn’t have time to visit them.
That Thailand trip is just an idea, I hope I can save enough money so I can go there, hehe.
Iloilo (and the whole of Panay Island) has no active (or even dormant) volcano. Negros Island on the otherhand, where Bacolod is located, has a volcano named Mt. Kanlaon. You shouldn’t have to worry though, since the island is not in any danger right now. Iloilo experienced a great flood last year but it doesn’t happen frequently … and not all of Iloilo experiences floods … there are many safe places to stay.
If you’re finding a place outside of Manila, I suggest you try cities in the Visayas group of Islands like Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Cebu.
Have a safe trip Sandra.
3 February 2010 at 11:32 pm #
Are you talking about will go Thailand? Most of the Thai people don’t understand English. Is very hard there to ask people anything. But 2 times have a chinese Thai people auto come to me for help.
3 February 2010 at 11:59 pm #
I saw one of your photo Iloilo has a active volcano. Do you know Bacolod has volcano or not?
I am finding the place no volcano no flood. Cause I am thinking go there find a place to help same poor people, Manila so expensive everything, that is why need a save place and convience. Philippines is so big, I feel so tired alone to search everything!!
4 February 2010 at 12:02 am #
If you want send me email, pls. make a title Marcos from net. Cause so many rubbish email send to my box like a boom.
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