Hong Kong to Macau by Ferry: Terminals, Operators, and How to Choose

The Hong Kong–Macau crossing is the single busiest thing most visitors to Macau will do, and it is the part they plan last. Most of what is written about it describes a four-terminal route map that no longer exists.

The terminals that are actually in service

On the Hong Kong side there is one: the Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal, built into the Shun Tak Centre at Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island and sitting directly over an MTR station. The China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, which carried the Kowloon-side Macau service for decades, does not sail to Macau any more — the Hong Kong government’s cross-boundary ferry listing names only Sheung Wan and the airport as Macao departure points, and the cross-boundary sailings still leaving Tsim Sha Tsui run to mainland ports. Plan on Sheung Wan and cross the harbour first if you are staying in Kowloon.

The airport pier, SkyPier, is a special case: it is airside, restricted to transiting air passengers who never formally enter Hong Kong, and its Macau service is not running on a scheduled basis. TurboJET lists the airport–Macau route as charter only, and Hong Kong International Airport’s own transfer page shows the ferry as unavailable. If you are connecting through HKIA, plan on the bridge shuttle.

On the Macau side, two are in service: the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal on the Peninsula, walking distance from the NAPE casino cluster and a short ride from Senado Square; and the Taipa Ferry Terminal at Pac On, opened in 2017 and built at a scale the traffic has not always matched, immediately beside Macau International Airport and the Cotai resorts. If you are staying on Cotai, Taipa saves you a crossing of the territory at both ends of the trip.

The two operators

Compare Hong Kong–Macau ferry times and fares on 12Go

TurboJET has run out of Shun Tak for decades and is the Outer Harbour operator. On the timetable effective 1 September 2026, departures from Sheung Wan run from 07:30 to 17:30 at roughly half-hourly to hourly intervals, then five night sailings at 18:30, 19:30, 20:30, 21:30 and 22:30. Coming back, the last boat off the Outer Harbour is 23:00. Crossing time is about 60 minutes. TurboJET also runs a thin Sheung Wan–Taipa service — four sailings a day, at 10:30, 11:30, 15:00 and 19:00 — which is a fallback rather than a plan.

Cotai Water Jet, the Sands-affiliated service, was built around the Cotai resorts and runs Sheung Wan to Taipa. First departure 07:30, last departure 22:30, roughly half-hourly through the day with a handful of sailings the operator marks as optional. Same class of high-speed catamaran, same hour on the water.

Service patterns on this corridor changed materially after 2020 and have been restored unevenly since. Published timetables have moved more than once, and both operators reserve the right to add peak sailings and drop optional ones. Check the operator’s own schedule page for the date you are travelling.

What the crossing costs

One way, per passenger, as published in August 2026:

• TurboJET — Economy HK$194 on weekdays, HK$212 at weekends and on public holidays, HK$242 on night sailings. Super Class runs HK$406, HK$436 and HK$460 on the same three bands. TurboJET counts anything departing at or after 18:30 as a night sailing.
• Cotai Water Jet — Cotai Class HK$192 on weekdays, HK$209 at weekends and on public holidays, HK$242 on night sailings. Cotai First runs HK$330, HK$348 and HK$380. The night threshold here moves with the season: from 18:00 between April and August, from 17:40 in February, March and September, and from 17:10 from October to January.

In economy the two operators sit within a couple of Hong Kong dollars of each other. Choose on which Macau terminal you want to land at, not on fare.

How to choose

• Staying on Cotai: aim for the Taipa Ferry Terminal — Cotai Water Jet all day, TurboJET on four sailings. The resort shuttles meet it, and you skip the Peninsula entirely.
• Staying on the Peninsula or walking the Historic Centre: aim for the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, which is TurboJET’s route and the denser timetable of the two.
• Staying in Kowloon: budget the harbour crossing to Sheung Wan into your departure time. There is no longer a Macau boat from Tsim Sha Tsui.
• Flying in or out of Hong Kong International Airport: take the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge shuttle, which lands at the HZMB Macau Port. The airport ferry is not a scheduled option at present, and the bridge port is on the airport side of the territory.
• Travelling in typhoon season: cross a day early. A Signal No. 8 does not delay the ferry, it cancels it.

On arrival

Both Macau terminals are served by the free integrated-resort shuttle fleets, which run to the Venetian, the Londoner, Galaxy, Wynn, MGM and the rest, and which nobody checks your booking for. Chaining two shuttles will move you across the territory for nothing. The LRT Taipa line also serves the Taipa terminal and the airport, and since the Barra extension it reaches the Peninsula.

One money note before you buy the return leg: fares here are quoted and payable in Hong Kong dollars, and Macau patacas — which you will accumulate as change — do not spend in Hong Kong. Clear them before you board.

Check today’s Hong Kong–Macau ferry schedule on 12Go

Once you have landed: where to stay by zone, the nine Cotai resorts compared, and the terminals and border crossings in full.