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Family Travel Blogger inspiring and encouraging families of color to travel the world with their children.
June 5, 2019 • 9 min read
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Quick summary
Macau offers a variety of family-friendly attractions beyond its well-known casinos, blending Portuguese and Chinese influences.
Highlights for children include Hac Sa Beach, the Parisian Light Show, Warner Bros. Fun Zone, The Qube indoor play area and the Macau Science Center.
Cultural and historical sites such as the Ruins of St. Paul and Guia Fortress provide educational experiences and scenic views.
Street food at Rua Do Cunha and additional attractions like the House of Dancing Water Show and Macau Giant Panda Pavilion round out the options for families.
What to consider
Admission fees apply to several attractions, with some offering reduced rates for children or families.
Certain sites, like the Ruins of St. Paul, may be challenging for strollers due to cobblestone streets and hills.
Some offers and ticketing options mentioned in the article may no longer be available.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed guide to planning a family-focused Macau itinerary, including practical tips for maximizing your visit with kids.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Macau, also known as Macao, is a Special Administrative Region of China with its own currency and flag. It is a city with a mix of Portuguese and Chinese influences. It is considered the Las Vegas of Asia because of it casinos and nightly adult entertainment. But guess what? There are also lots of things to do with kids in Macau, aside from gambling.
Photo courtesy of The Mom Trotter
When I was planning our trip to Macau with my 6-year-old, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had not done any prior research on Macau, but I hoped that it would be as family-friendly as the few articles I read on the internet said it would be. We were in Guangzhou, China, at the time and wanted to visit someplace nearby that didn't require a flight. So, we took the high-speed train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, spent a few days there and then took the ferry from Hong Kong to Macau.
We had such a blast in Macau. Here are a few of the kid-friendly activities we tried, and you should too.
Macau is on the sea so, of course, you can visit the beach. Hac Sa Beach, translated as Black Sand Beach, is the most popular and the largest natural beach in Macau. It is in Coloane in the south, where the water is cold, but if your kids are anything like mine, that doesn't matter one bit. Make sure you pack enough towels so you can wrap up your kids when they are done playing.
Hac Sa Beach (Photo courtesy of The Mom Trotter)
Watch the Parisian Light Show
Macau is almost a replica of Las Vegas, so it also has a half-scale Eiffel Tower on the main strip just like in Las Vegas. You can enjoy its nightly light show with vibrant and colorful dancing lights. Kids love the spectacle and, best of all, it happens every 15 minutes from 6:15pm until midnight. You can watch the light show for free but there is an admission fee (about $14 for adults; $11 for kids 12 and under, or $39 for two adults and two kids) if you want to go into the Eiffel Tower. You can visit the tower from 11am to 11pm, weather permitting.
Photo by Paul Yeung/Bloomberg / Getty Images
Check Out the Warner Bros. Fun Zone
This indoor play area has plenty of fun and exciting activities for kids. The activities are themed around the characters from DC Comics, Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera cartoons. It is a perfect place to keep kids busy all day. It has a jumping area, car racing, climbing and sliding. It also has many interactive games. Admission is about $13, whether you're an adult or child, but kids under age 2 are free. You can also purchase Warner Bros. Fun Zone tickets through the Ultimate Rewards portal. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, tickets are as low as 765 points, or 1,148 points with a standard Ultimate Rewards account. The Fun Zone is open from 10:30am to 7pm daily.
Warner Bros. Fun Zone (Photo courtesy of The Mom Trotter)
Jump Around at The Qube
The Qube is a 9,000-square-foot indoor play area inside the Venetian Hotel. A similar Qube is at the Parisian Macau. It is perfectly suitable for younger and older kids. It has free-fall slides, a V-Net bridge, over and under barriers, rainbow slides and the zigzag net climbers. Older kids can play video games or air hockey. Bring a pair of socks for your kids or you'll have to buy them. The play areas are open from 9:30am to 9:30pm. There is an admission fee of $16 for two hours of playtime.
Learn at the Macau Science Center
The Macau Science Center is one of the best science centers we've visited, with its three areas: a planetarium, convention center and exhibition center. The exhibition center is shaped like a cone and has 14 galleries, so you start at No. 14 and work your way down to No. 1. When you watch a movie in the planetarium, it makes you feel like you're in outer space. Go early and plan to spend the whole day there because there is so much to do and see. The Science Center is open daily, except Thursdays, from 10am to 6pm. Admission is about $3 for adults and $2 for kids, with a surcharge for the planetarium movies.
Macau Science Center (Photo courtesy of The Mom Trotter)
Marvel at the Ruins of St. Paul
The Ruins of St. Paul date back to the 17th century. This church was built by the Portuguese in honor of Saint Paul the Apostle. You can see what's left of it after a fire burned it down several years ago. The Ruins of St. Paul is the most visited tourist attraction in Macau, so expect lots of crowds. There are several vendors selling food and drink and there are plenty of restaurants too. TIP: The climb up is a bit hilly and the streets are cobblestone, so strollers may not be advisable.
Ruins of St. Paul (Photo courtesy of The Mom Trotter)
Ride in the Sky for a Quarter
The Guia Fortress, built in the 17th century, is one of the most popular sites in Macau, but my favorite part of the fortress visit was the Guia Cable Car we took to get there. The eighty-second gondola ride equals any you would find at a theme park and for 25 cents a ride (and even less for kids) you could just go around and around all day marveling at the views.
Image via Wikicommons
Try All the Food at Rua Do Cunha
Rua Do Cunha in Macau's Taipai Village is well-known for its street food stalls and boasts some of the best cuisine in the city. The best time to visit is in the evening when all the vendors have set up. There may be a wait for some of the popular foods, but it is worth it. The food was one of the things we enjoyed most in Macau. So, if you have adventurous kids who are willing to try new foods, they will love eating out in Macau. (Here are some tips to make your kids adventurous eaters.) Make sure you try Portuguese fried rice, Portuguese eggs tarts from Lord Stow's Bakery, a pork chop bun at Tai Lei Loi Kei, and some bubble milk tea.
The yummiest pork chop bun at Rua Do Cunha (Photo courtesy of The Mom Trotter)
We initially planned to spend three nights in Macau but ended up extending our trip. After spending almost a week there, my 6-year-old was not ready to leave. Macau is very kid-friendly, and we had something to keep us busy every single day of our trip. Just remember to bring along credit card with no foreign transaction fees and other benefits when traveling.
If you are visiting China or Hong Kong, make time for a stop in Macau. Your kids will thank you, and you will have just as much fun as they do.
If you're planning a trip to Asia on miles and points, here are a few tips:
Karen is a mom, wife and writer at The MOM Trotter where she inspires and encourages families to travel the world. She is also the founder of Black Kids Do Travel, which is an organization created to bring about diversity in travel and bridge the gap. On her blog, she writes about her mission to raise global citizens as well as tips on budget travel, homeschooling and parenting. You can follow along on Instagram and Facebook.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
