Currently (1st Quarter 2009), there is only one Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to Macau which is on 7:30-9:30pm. This would be my first flight from NAIA Terminal 3 (after it opened last August 2008).
Our plane will land on Taipa Island in Macau which is just near the sea waters and which is nearby the famous Venetian. On the airport, there is no direct connection from the plane going to the building proper, thus, we need to walk on the runway grounds to reach the building. It’s like the airports here in the provinces which passengers should walk on the runway grounds to reach the building.
Not sure why, but they really have slow services on the Immigration, even if it is in ferry or in the airport - they have same long lines which are slowly moving. After we got our luggage, we exchange a few bucks for HKD money. I think it is better to exchange for HKD, because you can use it in both Macau and HK. But Pataccas can only be used in Macau and is not accepted in HK.
We booked in a hostel which is near San Ma Lo (Senado Square), from the airport you have the option to take a cab (74HKD to San Ma Lo) or take a bus. For buses, this will take a while, there is no bus from Airport going to San Ma Lo directly, you can take a free bus from Airport to Ferry Terminal, then transfer to Bus 3 (other bus number are available) going to San Ma Lo - fee is almost 4.20ish HKD each person and each luggage. We choose to take a cab because we lost almost an hour waiting for a bus.
We have a booking with San Va Hostel (http://www.sanvahotel.com/rooms.html) for only around 1000Php per night. The owner already send a notice that the Hostel is a cheap type of hostel, simple and should not expect of something extravagant from them. I even got to see the negative reviews from the internet - but still decided to go with this one. If you are looking for cheap hotels or budget hostels in Macau, that will be affordable for backpackers, make sure to read reviews in agoda.com or tripadvisor.com. We were able to find it, but when I saw the room, check on the ceiling - I’m sure there is a better place I could stay in the area. We decided to move out (thanks to the Chinese girl who helped me talking to the Hostel owner) and found Hotel Man Va.
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Hotel Man Va Lobby
I already know that this will be more expensive than what we planned. Since it is still New Year season, lodgings are more expensive. We got 450HKD for the first night since we are walked-in visitors, 400HKD for the second night and 350HKD on the third. What is good about their payment system is that we pay every night and not in a full payment either upon check-in nor check-out.
The room is very clean and simple and has a huge bathroom. The hostel is a nice place to stay and has very accommodating aunties and uncles. Too bad, forgot to take bathroom photos.
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For those who are interested to book into this hotel, please check their contact info below, as they don't have a website. Out of the 3 uncles they have on the reception, one 1 speaks fluent english. But no worries all our conversation ends well. :-)
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