Travel China and Beyond

Traveling from Shenzhen to Taipei — avoid travel via Macao

If you need to travel from Shenzhen to Taipei, you may want to avoid air travel via Macao.  During a recent trip I discovered the inconveniences of traveling via Macao (on Macao Airlines).  First of all, when you leave Shenzhen you are departing on an international flight.  So once you pass the passport control you are in this small departure hall which has no services to speak of.  Just a small restaurant with limited selection for food and a vending machine.  Second of all, you wait for one hour to get on a plane for a flight that takes about 15-20 minutes….and then you need to change planes for the flight from Macao to Taipei.  A major hassle…..!

So, what can you do instead?  Easy — just take a ferry from Shenzhen to Hong Kong International airport.  The ferry leaves from Shekou, the ticket price is about 240RMB and the ferry takes about 30 minutes to reach the airport, then a 10 minute bus ride to the airport terminal / gate.