Macau 7-Day Itinerary: Old Town, Coloane and Hong Kong

What is the best 7-day itinerary for Macau?

Spend five days in Macau at walking pace: the northern Historic Centre, the Inner Harbour and Barra, Guia and the Outer Harbour, Taipa with Cotai, and a full day in Coloane’s parks and village. Then take the ferry to Hong Kong for two days, flying home from Hong Kong International Airport.

The Macau 3-day itinerary squeezes the Historic Centre into two days and Taipa and Coloane into one. This plan slows all of that down, gives each district its own day and adds what a short trip skips: the Inner Harbour’s trading streets, the Outer Harbour’s waterfront, Coloane’s country parks and a Hong Kong finale.

Macao is 60 kilometres from Hong Kong, according to the Macao Yearbook 2021, and ferries take about an hour, so ending in Hong Kong usually gives a wider choice of flights home. If you would rather keep the whole week in Macau, use days six and seven for a Hong Kong day trip and a rest day.

Base yourself on the peninsula for days one to three and consider moving to Taipa or Cotai for days four and five; where to stay in Macau compares the areas.

What does the week look like at a glance?

Each Macau day keeps to one district, so you walk more than you ride. The table lists official opening hours and closed days, what to book and a swap for heavy rain or a typhoon signal. Adjust the order so day one avoids a Monday, day two a Wednesday and day three a Tuesday.

Hours and closed days come from the Macao Government Tourism Office, Ngong Ping 360 and M+ pages linked in each day below. Most Historic Centre sites need no booking; the Macao Museum charges adults MOP 15 and is free on Tuesdays and on the 15th of each month.

Keep day five flexible. Coloane is the most exposed part of the plan in bad weather, so swap it with day four if rain is forecast, and hold your Hong Kong hotel on a refundable rate in summer.

How should you spend day one in the northern Historic Centre?

Arrive, drop bags and walk from Senado Square up past Lou Kau Mansion to the Ruins of St Paul’s, which open until 18:00. If you land in the morning, add Mount Fortress and the Macao Museum, closed on Mondays. Keep the evening for the lanes around Senado Square rather than a second sight.

The Ruins of St Paul’s are open 09:00–18:00 with last admission at 17:30, and the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt behind the façade keeps the same hours except on Tuesdays, when it closes at 14:00. Lou Kau Mansion, a grey-brick courtyard house on Travessa da Sé, opens 10:00–18:00 and closes on Mondays except public holidays.

The Macao Museum, opened in 1998 inside the Jesuit-built Mount Fortress, opens 10:00–18:00. On a seven-day plan there is no need to rush it: if you arrive late, move it to the morning of day two and start the Inner Harbour after lunch.

Near Senado Square, the Macao Government Tourism Office points to Rua dos Ervanários and Pátio de Chôn Sau, once known for antique shops and now home to small eateries, for an unhurried first evening.

What should day two cover around the Inner Harbour and Barra?

Start at A-Ma Temple when it opens at 08:00, look for the murals at Largo do Pagode da Barra, then walk north to the Mandarin’s House, closed on Wednesdays. After lunch, follow the Inner Harbour’s old streets, including Rua de Cinco de Outubro, to Praça de Ponte e Horta for the late-afternoon light.

A-Ma Temple, open 08:00–18:00, existed before the city of Macao itself; treat it as an active place of worship. The murals at Largo do Pagode da Barra, by Vitorino Vong and Jing Daan Wai, show the Inner Harbour and the temple, according to the Macao Government Tourism Office.

The Mandarin’s House, the family compound of writer Zheng Guanying built before 1869, is free and opens 10:00–18:00. The Inner Harbour has a 3,500-metre waterfront, and Praça de Ponte e Horta, now a recreational plaza, once served as a pier; Rua de Cinco de Outubro is named after the Portuguese revolution of 5 October 1910.

This is the day the 3-day plan rushes. Here, the afternoon has no fixed sight, so you can sit down for a long lunch, browse the side streets and head back only when the light goes.

How should you spend day three at Guia and the Outer Harbour?

Climb Guia Fortress in the cool of the morning for the chapel and the peninsula’s highest viewpoint, then visit the Grand Prix Museum, closed on Tuesdays. In the afternoon, walk the Outer Harbour waterfront past Fisherman’s Wharf to the Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre, and finish at the 338-metre Macau Tower for sunset.

Guia Fortress opens 09:00–18:00 and its chapel 10:00–17:00, with no photography inside; the lighthouse itself is not open to the public. Guia Hill, at 90 metres, is the highest point on the peninsula (Macao Yearbook 2021).

The Macao Grand Prix Museum opens 10:00–18:00 and closes on Tuesdays. On the waterfront, the Macao Government Tourism Office describes Fisherman’s Wharf as a 133,000-square-metre themed park, the Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre as sitting on an artificial island reached by a 60-metre causeway, and Macau Tower, opened on 19 December 2001, as a 338-metre viewpoint over the Pearl River Delta.

The tower is a taxi ride from the Outer Harbour. If clouds are low, skip it and spend the evening at the Macao Cultural Centre instead, which hosts international performances.

How should you spend day four in Taipa and Cotai?

Take the LRT or a bus to Taipa, see the Taipa Houses, closed on Mondays, and have a long lunch on Rua do Cunha. In the afternoon, ride the inclined lift up Taipa Grande for the views and passing planes, then spend the evening at a Cotai resort show or dinner.

The Taipa Houses on Avenida da Praia are free and open 10:00–19:00, with last entry at 18:30. Rua do Cunha, the narrow pedestrian street at the heart of Taipa village, and the colourful murals of Calçada do Quartel are both described by the Macao Government Tourism Office, which also notes the Taipa Grande viewing platform and its inclined lift.

Taipa Grande Nature Park is known for sunrise and sunset views and for watching planes take off and land, according to the Macao Yearbook 2021. If you are moving hotels, today is the day to switch to Taipa or Cotai, which puts Coloane a short ride away tomorrow.

How should you spend day five in Coloane?

Spend the whole day in Coloane, home to three of Macao’s four country parks. Start at Seac Pai Van Park and the Giant Panda Pavilion, reached by the LRT’s short Seac Pai Van Line, then visit the Lai Chi Vun Shipyards and end in Coloane village by the 1873 pier. Skip the trails if a typhoon signal is up.

The Macao Yearbook 2021 describes Seac Pai Van, Macao’s first country park since 1984, at around 198,000 square metres, with the Giant Panda Pavilion set into its hillside, and lists Hac Sa Reservoir Country Park on Coloane’s south-eastern slopes. Alto de Coloane, at 170.6 metres, is the highest point in Macao. Check the pavilion’s opening days before you go.

The Macao Government Tourism Office describes the Lai Chi Vun Shipyards as a revitalised cultural space of over 3,000 square metres, and Coloane village as a former fishing settlement turned into a creative hub with cafés, art spaces and murals. The two-station Seac Pai Van Line links to the Taipa Line at Union Hospital.

How should you spend the last two days in Hong Kong?

On day six, take TurboJET from the Outer Harbour to Sheung Wan, about an hour, check in and ride the Star Ferry across the harbour at dusk. On day seven, use in-town check-in at Hong Kong station if your airline offers it, spend the day bag-free at M+ or Ngong Ping 360, then take the Airport Express.

TurboJET sails between the Outer Harbour and Sheung Wan in about 60 minutes, from 07:30 until a last sailing at 23:00 in each direction; the round-the-clock bridge shuttle bus is the alternative. Both can stop for typhoon signals. The FCDO says UK nationals can visit Hong Kong for up to six months without a visa.

MTR’s in-town check-in at Hong Kong station serves airlines including Cathay Pacific, from 24 hours to 90 minutes before departure, and the Airport Express reaches the airport in as little as 24 minutes. M+ is closed on Mondays; Ngong Ping 360 runs 10:00–18:00 on weekdays and 09:00–18:30 at weekends.

For a longer stay, the Hong Kong 7-day itinerary plans Lantau, Lamma and the city in more depth.

How do you get around, and what if the weather turns?

Walk the peninsula and use the LRT for Taipa, Cotai and Coloane: single fares run from MOP 6 to MOP 12. Use licensed taxis or buses for the rest, since Uber is illegal. Typhoon season runs from May to October, so keep one day of the week flexible and swap outdoor days for museums when signals go up.

The Taipa Line runs from Barra to Taipa Ferry Terminal via Cotai and the airport, every 5 to 10.5 minutes, from 06:30 until 23:15 Monday to Thursday and until 23:59 from Friday to Sunday and on public holidays. Tokens cost MOP 6 for up to three stations and MOP 12 for twelve (Macao LRT fares).

The FCDO says Uber is illegal in Macao, gives the typhoon season as May to November and says public offices close at Signal No. 8. On 25 July 2026, the bridge bus stopped at 22:30 after Hong Kong raised its No. 8 signal (HZMB notice), so in summer leave a buffer day before your flight. See the best time to visit Macau for month-by-month risks.

What should you book before a week in Macau?

Book your two hotels, any Cotai show and the Ngong Ping 360 cable car if you plan to ride it at a weekend. The Historic Centre needs no advance tickets. Around Grand Prix week, 19–22 November 2026, or Lunar New Year, 6–8 February 2027, book rooms and the ferry crossing early.

Ngong Ping 360 recommends booking online to save time queuing for tickets, especially on weekends and public holidays (Ngong Ping 360 FAQ). Event dates come from the Macao Government Tourism Office calendar and holidays from Macao’s 2027 public-holiday list.

Compare guided walks, food tours and transfers across platforms with GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook, and see things to do in Macau for ideas to swap in.