The 3-day Hong Kong & Macau itinerary gives two nights in Hong Kong — Victoria Harbour, the Peak, and street food — plus a day trip or overnight in Macau for the Ruins of St Paul and the old Portuguese core. Budget HK$1,100 / US$140 a night in Tsim Sha Tsui and MOP$700 / US$87 in Macau’s Senado area; both take foreign cards without fuss.
Quick Answer
Three days, two Special Administrative Regions, three nights (two in HK, one in Macau or a long day-trip). The beauty here is that Hong Kong and Macau run on their own systems — the mainland hotel passport-scan and police registration largely don’t apply, and foreign cards are accepted almost everywhere. The TurboJET ferry between them takes an hour, so you can even skip the Macau hotel and return to HK the same night.
- Day 1 — Hong Kong: Victoria Harbour, Star Ferry, the Peak.
- Day 2 — Hong Kong: Mong Kok markets, then ferry to Macau.
- Day 3 — Macau: Ruins of St Paul, Senado, casinos, return.
- Bases — Tsim Sha Tsui (HK) and Senado/Cotai (Macau).
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Hong Kong: Harbour, Star Ferry & the Peak
Check in on Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon side, facing the harbour). Walk the Avenue of Stars and take the Star Ferry to Central — the HK$3 ride has the best harbour view in the world for the price. Afternoon on Victoria Peak (Peak Tram or bus 15); the skyline from above at dusk is the postcard. The where to stay near Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong) guide maps the Kowloon vs Hong Island trade-off.
WHERE TO STAY TONIGHT: Tsim Sha Tsui or Central. Keep it two nights; the where to stay near Hong Kong Disneyland guide is only relevant if you add a theme-park day, which this tight plan skips.
Day 2 — Hong Kong: Mong Kok, Then Ferry to Macau
Morning in Mong Kok — Ladies’ Market, the goldfish stalls, and the best dai pai dong (street diners) in town. Afternoon TurboJET from the Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal (Sheung Wan) to Macau (1 hr, ~HK$250 / US$32). The Sheung Wan pier is a 5-minute walk from the MTR; build 45 minutes for immigration and the walk down to the gate. Settle near the Senado Square and walk the lit lanes to the Ruins of St Paul at night when the crowds thin.
WHERE TO STAY TONIGHT: Macau — Senado (old town) for charm or Cotai for the mega-casino resorts. One night; if you’d rather, the last ferry back to HK runs late, so a day-trip is possible.
Day 3 — Macau: Ruins, Senado & the Cotai Strip
Morning properly at the Ruins of St Paul and Senado Square (Portuguese pavements, egg-tart bakeries — Lord Stow’s is the benchmark). Afternoon on the Cotai Strip for the Venetian and a look at Asia’s casino capital, then ferry back to Hong Kong or on to your next flight (Macau airport has direct regional links). The Cotai casinos are free to enter and a world away from the old town’s tiled squares — worth an hour even if you don’t gamble. I usually ferry back to HK for the international connection at Chek Lap Kok.
WHERE TO STAY TONIGHT: Return to Hong Kong or fly out of Macau; no third-night hotel if you day-trip.
Where to Stay
| Base area | Region | Nightly (HK$/MOP$ / US$) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tsim Sha Tsui | Hong Kong | HK$1,100 / US$140 | Harbour view, MTR |
| Central / Sheung Wan | Hong Kong | HK$1,300 / US$166 | Near ferry pier |
| Senado (old town) | Macau | MOP$700 / US$87 | Walkable sights |
| Cotai | Macau | MOP$900 / US$112 | Resort casinos |
Unlike the mainland, HK and Macau hotels take Visa/Mastercard at the desk without drama, and there’s no police registration scan of your passport for lodging. The can foreigners book hotels in China rules are a mainland thing — here the bottleneck is price, not paperwork. Book via book on Trip.com or check Agoda; both show HK/Macau inventory in English.
Getting Between Cities
The TurboJET ferry is the link: Hong Kong (Sheung Wan or airport SkyPier) to Macau (Outer Harbour or Taipa) in about an hour. Book on Trip.com or at the terminal; bring your passport — it’s an international-style border even though both are Chinese territory. Macau’s Outer Harbour terminal puts you a 10-minute taxi from Senado; the Taipa terminal is closer to the Cotai resorts — pick your pier by where you’re sleeping. The MTR in HK is fast and bilingual; the Hong Kong MTR map is easy to read. Honest caveat: Macau’s hotels often place a sizeable deposit hold (MOP$1,000–2,000) on your card. It’s released on checkout, but know your card’s limit. The China hotel deposit & foreign credit cards guide explains holds even if the mainland specifics differ.
Foreigner Check-in & Payment Tips on the Road
Two regions, two check-ins, but none of the mainland friction. HK and Macau take foreign cards almost everywhere; I’ve never been refused a Visa at either. You will show your passport at check-in (it’s a border region), but there’s no secondary police filing. ATMs take foreign cards and dispense HKD/MOP directly.
For booking, the how to use Trip.com as a foreigner walkthrough still applies, and the Trip.com vs Booking vs Agoda comparison is useful because all three carry deep HK/Macau stock. When I checked into a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel last winter, the desk took my US Amex, no deposit question, key in hand in three minutes — the polar opposite of a tier-3 mainland guesthouse.
When to Go & What It Costs
October–December and March–April are best: cool, dry, and clear for harbour views. Summer (June–Aug) is hot, humid, and typhoon-prone; avoid it if you can. Lunar New Year is festive but pricey and crowded. Harbour-view rooms in Tsim Sha Tsui sell out fastest in autumn, so reserve two months ahead if the skyline is your priority.
| Season | Hong Kong | Macau | Feel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 22°C, humid | 22°C, mild | Pleasant |
| Summer | 30°C, stormy | 30°C, wet | Avoid |
| Autumn | 25°C, clear | 25°C, dry | Best overall |
| Winter | 17°C, cool | 16°C, cool | Clear, busy |
Mid-range daily budget per person: hotels HK$1,100–1,300 / MOP$700–900, ferry HK$250, food HK$200–350, entry fees minimal. Around US$160–220 a day.
