Macau (MFM): the free hotel shuttles stop at 21:00 and the last train out is 23:16
Two free ways into town both stop early. The casino and hotel shuttles run only 11:00 to 21:00, and the light rail station at the terminal north exit sends its last train to the peninsula at 23:16 Monday to Thursday.
- The light rail station is at the terminal. The airport says LRT Airport Station on Avenida Wai Long connects to the passenger terminal building north exit.
- Last train towards Barra, on the Macau peninsula, is 23:16 Monday to Thursday. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays it is midnight.
- Last train the other way, towards Taipa Ferry Terminal, is 23:40 Monday to Thursday and 00:24 at weekends.
- First train is 06:31 towards Barra and 06:34 towards the ferry terminal, every day.
- Trains run every 5 to 10.5 minutes and the whole Taipa Line takes about 28 minutes end to end.
- A single-journey token to Barra is 12 patacas, the top fare band. A Macau Pass or LRT card halves it to 6.
- The free hotel and casino shuttles leave from the car park beyond the north exit.
- They run only between 11:00 and 21:00, every 15 to 20 minutes. Land at 22:00 and there are none.
- Ticket machines take patacas only. LRT customer service counters take MOP, HKD and RMB at 1 to 1, and give change in patacas only.
- The Airport station is second from the end of the Taipa Line, between MUST and Taipa Ferry Terminal.
- The light rail does not run overnight. From about 23:30 the only options are a bus or a taxi.
There is a railway station at the north exit
- Macau International Airport confirms it on its own public transport page: "The LRT Airport Station located on Avenida Wai Long, connects to the Macao International Airport Passenger Terminal Building North Exit." The airport is on Taipa, and the Taipa Line runs across the bridge to Barra on the Macau peninsula.
- Airport station is the second from the end, between MUST and Taipa Ferry Terminal. Trains every 5 to 10.5 minutes, whole line about 28 minutes.
- A single-journey token from the airport to Barra is 12 patacas, the top of the four fare bands. Tap a Macau Pass or an LRT card and it is 6. Ticket vending machines take patacas only; the staffed counters take MOP, HKD and RMB at 1 to 1 but give change in patacas only, and refuse coins and notes under 10 RMB.
The two times that catch people out
- The last train towards Barra leaves the airport at 23:16 from Monday to Thursday. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays it is 00:00. In the other direction, towards Taipa Ferry Terminal, the last is 23:40 midweek and 00:24 at weekends. First trains are 06:31 and 06:34 every day.
- The free hotel and casino shuttle buses run only from 11:00 to 21:00. The airport tells you to walk out of the north exit into the car park, where they wait and depart every 15 to 20 minutes. Outside that window there are none, and this is the single most common way a late arrival ends up paying for a taxi it did not budget for.
If you land after the trains stop
- Route AP1 runs to 01:20 and MT4 to 01:00, and N2 covers 00:00 to 06:00. Buses are the overnight answer at Macau, not the railway.
- A taxi is the other option, and it carries an 8 pataca surcharge simply for boarding at the airport rank before the meter distance is counted.
Macau (MFM): every bus is 6 patacas in exact coins, and the taxi surcharge is for boarding, not for crossing
Eight bus routes serve the airport and all charge a flat 6 patacas with no change given. The taxi surcharge people expect for leaving Taipa does not exist; the 8 pataca charge is for boarding at the airport rank. Uber came back on 3 February 2026 but only books metered taxis.
- Eight bus routes call at the airport and every one costs 6.00 patacas, flat, whatever the distance.
- Bus drivers give no change. The government tells visitors to carry enough coins.
- A Macau Pass works on all public transport and saves you the coin problem entirely.
- Route AP1 runs 06:00 to 01:20 and is the direct one to the Barrier Gate.
- Route N2 is the night bus, 00:00 to 06:00.
- Route 51B does not run on Sundays or public holidays, and only 06:00 to 10:00 and 15:00 to 20:00 on the days it does.
- Taxi flagfall is 21.00 patacas for the first 1,600 metres, then 2.00 per 220 metres.
- Waiting is 2.00 patacas per 55 seconds and each bag in the boot is 3.00 patacas.
- Boarding at the airport rank adds a flat 8.00 patacas. The same applies at Taipa Ferry Terminal, Hengqin Port and the bridge island.
- There is no surcharge from the islands to Macau. The government says so explicitly, so the airport to the peninsula carries only the 8 pataca boarding charge.
- Uber relaunched in Macau on 3 February 2026, but it only books licensed metered taxis at the official meter fare, paid in the app.
- Macau law still forbids a taxi charging anything above the meter, so no app can add a booking fee.
Buses: one price, exact coins
- Eight routes serve the airport and all of them charge a flat 6.00 patacas: 26, 36, 51A, 51B, AP1, MT1, MT4 and N2. Distance makes no difference.
- Drivers give no change. The Macao Government Tourism Office states it plainly and tells visitors to prepare enough coins. A Macau Pass removes the problem and works on every public transport service in Macao.
- Spans worth knowing: AP1 06:00 to 01:20 to the Barrier Gate, MT4 06:00 to 01:00, 51A and MT1 to midnight, 26 to 23:30, 36 to 23:50, and N2 from 00:00 to 06:00 as the night service. 51B does not run on Sundays or public holidays and is limited to 06:00 to 10:00 and 15:00 to 20:00 otherwise.
- Bus enquiries: Transmac (+853) 2827 1122, TCM (+853) 2885 0060.
Taxis: the surcharge is not what you think
- 21.00 patacas for the first 1,600 metres, then 2.00 per 220 metres. Waiting 2.00 per 55 seconds. 3.00 per piece of luggage in the boot.
- Boarding at the airport taxi rank costs a flat 8.00 patacas extra, and the same applies at the Taipa Ferry Terminal rank, the Macao port zone at Hengqin and the Zhuhai-Macao artificial island of the bridge.
- The surcharge people expect for leaving the islands does not exist. The tourism office states that there is no surcharge from Macao to Taipa or from the islands to Macao. The zone surcharges that do exist are Taipa to Coloane 2.00 and Macao to Coloane 5.00. So the airport to a hotel on the peninsula is the meter plus 8 patacas plus any luggage, and nothing else.
- Radio taxi (+853) 2828 3283. A separate special radio taxi service, blue or red cars, is on (+853) 288 12345, also metered, with a 5.00 pataca booking fee if the car arrives within ten minutes of the booked time.
Uber exists again, and it is a taxi app
- Uber relaunched in Macau on 3 February 2026 after leaving in 2017. What it does there now is narrow: it books licensed Macau taxis at the official meter fare, paid in the app, plus cross-border limousine trips to and from Hong Kong that must be booked at least 24 hours ahead and are operated by Kwoon Chung Bus Holdings.
- It is not a cheaper alternative to a taxi, because it is a taxi. Macau's taxi law still requires the meter and forbids extra service fees, so no platform can charge a dispatch premium. The mainland map app Gaode added a comparable function for participating black taxis in 2025.
Macau (MFM): the ferry terminal next door has four sailings a day, not 150
The airport tells you the ferry terminal is a ten minute drive and runs over 150 daily departures to Hong Kong. That describes the Outer Harbour terminal on the peninsula. The Taipa terminal beside the airport has four sailings a day each way.
- Taipa Ferry Terminal is the one next to the airport, one light rail stop away.
- TurboJET runs four sailings a day each way between Hong Kong and Taipa: to Taipa 10:30, 11:30, 15:00 and 19:00; from Taipa 13:30, 17:30, 20:30 and 21:30.
- The busy terminal is Outer Harbour, on the peninsula, with 15 day sailings and 5 night sailings each way.
- The airport's own page says the ferry terminal is about a 10 minute drive with over 150 daily departures. That figure is not the Taipa terminal.
- Crossing time is about 60 minutes on TurboJET's own schedule.
- Economy fare is HK$194 on weekdays, HK$212 at weekends, HK$242 on night sailings, Hong Kong departure tax included.
- Macau residents, over-65s and under-12s get HK$18 off, except in the premium cabins.
- Cross-border coaches leave the arrivals hall for Gongbei Border Gate, 10:00 to 19:00, every 30 minutes.
- That coach is RMB 35 or MOP 42 one way, RMB 60 or MOP 74 return.
- A second coach runs to Hengqin Border, 10:00 to 18:00, every 30 minutes.
- The airport's Express Link page still carries a coronavirus suspension notice. Treat everything on it as needing a phone call: (+853) 2888 1228.
- Check ferry times with TurboJET, not with the airport.
Two ferry terminals, and the near one is quiet
- Macau has two. Taipa Ferry Terminal is the one beside the airport, one stop on the light rail. Macau Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal is on the peninsula, about a ten minute drive away.
- On TurboJET's current schedule, Hong Kong to Taipa has four sailings a day: 10:30, 11:30, 15:00, 19:00, returning 13:30, 17:30, 20:30, 21:30. Outer Harbour has fifteen day sailings and five night sailings each way.
- The airport's transport page tells you the ferry terminal is "about a 10-minute drive" and runs "over 150 departures to Hong Kong every day" with a 55 minute crossing. That description belongs to Outer Harbour, and TurboJET puts the crossing at about 60 minutes. If you are timing a connection, read TurboJET's schedule, not the airport's paragraph.
- Fares: HK$194 economy on a weekday day sailing, HK$212 at weekends and on holidays, HK$242 on night sailings, all including Hong Kong departure tax. Macau residents, people aged 65 or over and children under 12 get HK$18 off outside the premium cabins.
Cross-border coaches from the arrivals hall
- Coach agencies have offices in the arrivals hall. The scheduled service most arrivals want is the airport to Gongbei Border Gate run: 10:00 to 19:00, every 30 minutes, RMB 35 or MOP 42 one way, RMB 60 or MOP 74 return.
- A second runs airport to Hengqin Border, 10:00 to 18:00, every 30 minutes. Enquiries and booking on (+853) 2888 1228.
- Longer-distance coaches serve Guangzhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhaoqing and other Guangdong cities.
Read the Express Link page sceptically
- The airport's Express Link page covers the check-in centre at the Macau frontier post of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which lets group tourists and booked passengers check in and ride a sealed bus into the restricted area, 10:00 to 18:00, every 30 minutes.
- The same page still carries a notice saying the service is temporarily unavailable because of the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to resume at the end of August or early September. That notice has outlived the pandemic by years. Phone (+853) 2886 1111 or (+853) 2888 1228 before relying on anything there.
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