Macau/Cotai

Cotai, also known as the Cotai Strip, (路氹 - Lou Tam in Cantonese, Lùdàng in Mandarin) is advertised as the "Las Vegas Strip of the East", and not without reason: it houses huge hotels and casinos, upscale shopping, sports facilities, golf courses and more. If you've been to Las Vegas it will seem very familiar, a playground for visitors from China and all over the world.

Cotai is built on reclaimed land between what used to be Taipa and Coloane islands in China's Special Administrative Region of Macau; it makes them one larger island. The strip's unimaginative name comes from the initial letters of Coloane and Taipa. The term "Cotai Strip" is a registered trademark of Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

By ferry
See the Macau guide for ferry services to Macau. The Taipa Ferry Terminal is close to Cotai, and there is a shuttle to the Venetian and light rail service. Cotai Water Jet runs HK-Macau ferries to the Taipa Ferry Terminal.

By light rail
The Macau LRT runs in a U-shape through Cotai, linking it with the airport and Taipa Ferry Terminal in Taipa and the southwest tip of Macau Peninsula at Barra. You'll still want to take a bus for direct access to the historic city centre.

By bus
Public buses are available, of course. Line 26A connects the Cotai Strip to Coloane, Taipa, and various locations on the Macau Peninsula.

The AP1 bus from Macau airport stops a short distance from the Venetian a couple of stops after leaving the airport. Also services the Taipa Ferry Terminal.

By shuttle
Some hotel/casinos provide free shuttle buses, which you can take even if you're not a guest. For instance, the Venetian has free shuttles that run to the ferry wharf and the border gate frequently from early until late. Hotels with a Peninsula property and a Cotai property may provide shuttle buses between the two locations.

Get around
Some of the casinos are connected by convenient indoor walkways, full of upscale shops.

Walking around outside may take longer than you expect. Just like in Las Vegas, the casinos are large and tend to look closer than they are.

See
The spectacular, especially after dark when their signs and screens are more visible.

Do
The main attraction is gambling, but all the casinos also have restaurants and bars, and many also include hotel/resort facilities. Anyone with money can have a fine time in the casinos without gambling.

Budget travellers should spend most of their Macau time either downtown or on Coloane, but even they might enjoy a look at some of the casino architecture or shows and there is reasonably priced food in some of the food courts; see.

Go Karting

 * The go-kart track on the southern end of Cotai. You can reach it by bus from Macau and Taipa on route 21, 21A, 25, 26 and 26A, and from Taipa on route 15. Casual rates (as of Jan 2007) 100/180MOP for 10/20 min. You can also book the track for a private event but they require 7 days notice.  The track itself is quite good taking about a minute to navigate, at a leisurely pace.

Buy
The casino and entertainment complexes feature a lot of upscale shops. Lots of jewelry and other accessories.

Eat
Each of the hotels and casinos offer several restaurants and bars. A few worth looking for include: