A 3-Day Fresh Trip to Macau's Black Sand Beach, Coloane, Ruins of St. Paul's & Guangzhou's Shamian Island, Sacred Heart Cathedral - Macau Part
With an extra day off for Christmas, I turned it into a 3-day mini break, starting from Guangzhou. Initially torn between Hong Kong and Macau, I even considered visiting both. But since I’d been to Hong Kong three times and never seen Macau, spending just one day felt too rushed, so I decided to give two days to Macau. I’d visited Guangzhou before but never explored it on my own, so half a day was left for it. This made the trip relaxed and not too tiring, as I had to return to work straight after. It turned out to be a wise decision.
DAY 1 Macau Taipa Island – Black Sand Beach, Coloane Market, Taipa Houses–Museum, Cunha Street, Venetian & Parisian Hotels
DAY 2 Macau Peninsula – Ruins of St. Paul’s, Macau Museum, Mount Fortress, and surroundings
DAY 3 Guangzhou – Sacred Heart Cathedral, Shamian Island
The night before, I took the high-speed train from Guangzhou South Station to Zhuhai, which took about an hour – very convenient. Zhuhai Station is almost at the Gongbei border gate, so I stayed overnight in Zhuhai for better value accommodation and easy border crossing the next morning.
The border opened at 6 AM; I arrived around 7 AM. There are automated gates for those with new card-type permits and registered fingerprints. Many gates, so waiting time was about 5 people, and I cleared in about 5 minutes. After exiting the gate, there’s a walkway to Macau, just follow the crowd. There are currency exchange counters; I exchanged some Macau patacas as needed for buses (flat fare 6 MOP, no change given, pay on boarding).
If you cross after 10 AM, you can queue for free hotel shuttle buses. Since I arrived early, I took public buses, which I actually prefer for getting familiar with stops and streets.
To get small change, I bought a pork chop bun and a pineapple bun at a corner bakery. The boss and family were very kind; they didn’t mind my 1000 MOP note, gave me change, and even provided coins for the bus. Wishing them prosperity!
Because there were many people crossing at that time, I ended up at the second stop, and the driver wouldn’t stop when the bus was too crowded. I was supposed to take route 3X directly to my hotel, but its frequency was low and crowded. So I took route 3 from the same stop – general direction same, just needed to walk a bit more. With long legs and strength, I got on.
Passing by San Ma Lo (New Street), if you get off there, you can visit attractions around the Ruins of St. Paul’s, plus many recommended snacks. After two more stops, I got off at Grand Lisboa Hotel – a big bus interchange with many routes. I spotted 26A heading to Black Sand Beach – perfect, that was my first destination. So, sometimes missing a bus is just preparation for the next good thing. If I had gone straight to the hotel, it would have been harder to find this connection.
The Grand Lisboa Hotel’s iconic sign looks like a big pineapple.
On the way, I saw two billboards that felt serendipitous. A friend was in Japan, and I’d mentioned buying Mikimoto pearl necklaces before departure; another friend was going to Nanjing that Sunday to see Aaron Kwok’s concert. Three places linked by people at this intersection – amazing.
After checking luggage at the hotel and getting more coins at the front desk, I headed happily to Black Sand Beach. Side note: everyone who heard I was going to Macau said, “You’re going to Macau?” I’d sheepishly reply, “I want to see the black sand beach and some architecture.” So when the front desk saw me arriving early and eager to leave, they asked where I was going. When I said Black Sand Beach, their reactions were mixed. One staff member said meaningfully, “Oh, the black sand is a bit black.” Haha, I later understood – it’s not that black, as I’d see.
From the Grand Lisboa area, the stop is called Estrada de São Francisco. Three buses go to Black Sand Beach: 21A, 25, 26A.
Here are some “black” angles – dreamy, right?
Actually not purely black, but with no crowds, just earlier dog paw prints – cute. Seems the dog was also interested in that branch on the sand.
The real black sand looks like this. Due to the season, the seaside path was under renovation, likely renewed by summer.
A family of four – warm and harmonious.
The vintage mosaic on the path is very photogenic; easy to get an Instagram-style shot.
There were also children’s facilities; I squeezed onto a swing for a moment.
Gave it a gentle try.
Another mosaic, lower than the previous backrest.
Exiting, I saw the park sign.
Going to Coloane Market, I took 26A. This bus even had charging ports – I tried it and it worked. Previous 21A was a minibus; 26A was more spacious, but on the way back I took 21A – if seated, it’s fine; standing in a minibus, I couldn’t see any view due to my height.
There’s a stop called Coloane Market; it’s a small square. The pink building is the Coloane Health Centre, looking closed. On the steps by the garden, a few elderly women were painting, having already started early before tourists arrived.
They say you must photograph the signposts – they’re distinctive. So I did.
Coloane is small; a fast walkthrough takes less than an hour, but if you love photography, it’s hard to say – everywhere is photo-worthy.
Descending the steps, I saw Lord Stow’s Bakery – said to have Macau’s best egg tarts. You can look up the love story between Andrew and Margaret. I never got to try Margaret’s, so Lord Stow’s is definitely number one for me.
Arriving early meant no queues for buying; I took my time choosing pastries. With only one stomach, I had a dilemma. Finally bought cranberry yogurt, serradura (sawdust pudding), and of course egg tarts.
Delicious and stunningly beautiful.
Serradura was a trend I followed – also tasty.
Full, I started wandering.
Heading toward Estrada de 5 de Outubro, soon I found a colorful wall – just painted bright colors, but very photogenic. Near the green building below, turn in and you’ll see it.
Another shot at the intersection – pink is the health centre; the gray building behind is Lord Stow’s; across the street, by the gray building, is Lord Stow’s Café with seating.
Many small streets are photogenic; the red window area is beautiful. The alley beside it leads to Kun Iam Temple.
St. Francis Xavier Church is very photogenic.
I had planned to meet a friend here, but she overslept and would come later. So I followed my plan and had lunch at Chan Sun Kei next to the church. Someone nearby commented that today is Winter Solstice, maybe we should eat crab? I thought, we usually eat dumplings, but crab is interesting. Anyway, we should treat ourselves well, so I did.
When the razor clams arrived, I was surprised – they were longer than my camera.
Then the mantis shrimp came – I realized I’d never really known what mantis shrimp were. Now I know.
Close-up of the meat and roe – saliva-inducing, right? Half of it was almost as big as my palm.
And a claw of the mantis shrimp – just feel it. I definitely treated myself well.
After eating, my friend had crossed the border, and we agreed to meet at Taipa Houses–Museum. I brought two Lord Stow’s egg tarts and took bus 21A there.
The Tiffany-blue houses were beautiful – everyone was taking photos. Five standard Portuguese-style houses; one had an art exhibition, another preserved as a former residence for visitors. The staff seemed Portuguese, in somewhat serious uniforms like police, but with warm smiles.
Cunha Street nearby was crowded. I ate Moy Yee’s Musang King durian ice cream and Tai Lei Loi Kei’s pork chop bun.
Tai Lei Loi Kei had no seats, so I sat in the small square.
Buses here passed the Parisian Hotel, with its half-scale Eiffel Tower. The Venetian was nearby, so I walked with my friend back to start hotel visits.
Inside the Venetian, the gondolier was actually a woman – on closer look, the boat seemed electric.
Viewing the landmark tower from outside, it happened to be on the hour – lights danced to music, and it was dressed in Christmas lights.
Local features were also visited; humanity would be tested here. I gave up the test, just observing. My friend only had one day and would return tonight, so we parted at the hotel door.
This time I caught bus 25, got off, and found nearby Chan Kong Kei, famous for black pepper roast duck. I tried it – delicious.
Lucky – they had only a few portions left. I ordered a double combo; the roast duck beat my usual favorite char siu.
Back at the hotel, seeing the bed felt blissful.
The next day, I planned to visit all the peninsula’s landmarks, but forgot I hadn’t set an alarm on Sunday. Awakened by hallway noise, I tried to sleep more but couldn’t, then looked at the time – 9:30. So I focused on the Ruins of St. Paul’s, Macau Museum, and Mount Fortress.
The hotel’s brochure had a full list of peninsula landmarks. Except for A-Ma Temple, the landmarks near St. Paul’s are close and easy to walk around, but sometimes so close that you miss them. Go with the flow.
Near Grand Lisboa, there’s a pink building – I don’t know what it is, but it looked nice, so I photographed it.
Going around, there’s a garden – so lovely.
Interesting bus stop.
Senado Square – because of Christmas, lights were set up, but I felt they ruined the original beauty.
Cathedral – only photographed the interior.
Outside the Cathedral, contrast between old and new buildings, with life vibes.
Signposts like this are common and convenient, though the symbols are slightly blurry.
Michelin-rated Lemon Cello Gelato – I tried lemon and passion fruit flavors.
At the Ruins of St. Paul’s, there were many people. I took an angled side shot to avoid crowds.
Next to it, Macau Museum – exhibits are few but fine, covering both Eastern and Western history – felt fresh.
Later I had Yee Shun Milk Company, then Chan Kong Kei again. Across from Yee Shun was the old pawnshop “Tek Seng On,” so I visited and got a pawn ticket-like paper stamped as a souvenir. More in the Guangzhou part.
Travel diary contents: 1. Macau & Guangzhou can be fresh and light; 2. 3-day itinerary; 3. Day 1 Macau Taipa Island; 4. Day 2 Macau Peninsula
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