Macau/Taipa

The houses of the Taipa Houses Museum.

Taipa (氹仔 - Tam Chai in Cantonese, Dàngzǎi in Mandarin) is the centremost of the three main islands of China's Special Administrative Region of Macau.

Taipa is situated between the Peninsula and Coloane island but is now joined with Coloane by Cotai, which was reclaimed from the sea. It is still separated from the Macau Peninsula by a branch of the Pearl River, although three bridges provide road links.

Taipa used to be rural but massive development towards the end of the 20th century has seen the island transformed into an alternative city to the Peninsula. It boasts many hotels, casinos, shopping malls and the Macau Jockey Club racecourse.

The Macau International Airport is built on reclaimed land off the north-eastern end of Taipa.

Get in

By bus

Buses connect Macau Peninsula with Taipa, mostly via the Macau-Taipa or Old Bridge.

Some useful buses include:

Between the Peninsula and Taipa:

• 11 - A-Ma Temple to Macau Jockey Club via Av de Almeida Ribeiro and Hotel Lisboa
• 22 - Iao Hon to Macau Jockey Club via Rua do Campo, Hotel Lisboa
• 28A - Ferry Terminal to Macau Jockey Club via ZAPE, Hotel Lisboa, New Century, Taipa Village, Macau Stadium, Four-faced Buddha
• 30 - Portas do Cerco to Macau Jockey Club and Hotel New Century via Iao Hon, Taipa City
• 33 - Fai Chi Kei to Macau Jockey Club via Canindrome, Hotel Lisboa, Taipa Village, Macau Stadium, Four-faced Buddha
• AP1 - Portas do Cerco (Border Gate) to Macau International Airport via Ferry Terminal.

Between the Peninsula and Coloane via Taipa:

• 21 - Ponte a Horta to Coloane Village via A-Ma Temple, Macau Tower, Taipa City, Macau International Airport
• 21A - A-Ma Temple to Coloane via Av de Almeida Ribeiro, Hotel Lisboa, Taipa City
• 25 - Portas do Cerco to Coloane (Hac Sa) via Rua do Campo, Hotel Lisboa, Taipa City
• 26 - Fai Chi Kei to Coloane via Ponte a Horta, A-Ma Temple, Sai Van Bridge, Macau Jockey Club, Macau International Airport
• 26A - Fai Chi Kei to Coloane via Red Market, Av de Almeida Ribeiro, Hotel Lisboa, Taipa City, Macau Stadium, Olympic Aquatic Centre

By car

Night view of the Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, looking toward Taipa on the other side

Taipa is connected with the Macau Peninsula by three bridges - the Ponte Governador Nobre de Carvalho or Macau-Taipa Bridge (also known as the Old bridge as it was the first of the three bridges), Ponte de Amizade (or Friendship Bridge) and the Ponte de Sai Van (Sai Van Bridge). The Macau-Taipa Bridge is the most direct link between Macau city center on the peninsula and the newly developed Taipa City, while the Friendship Bridge runs from near the Macau Ferry Terminal and the Macau International Airport. The Sai Van Bridge links the Barra area on the peninsula with the western tip of Taipa.

Between Taipa and Coloane, the only link used to be the Taipa-Coloane Isthmus Causeway. As the narrow straits between Taipa and Coloane has been reclaimed and developed into the Cotai area, the Isthmus Causeway (as it is still called) not only functions as the main highway between Taipa and Coloane but has also become the main drag for the Cotai Strip. There are now several other roads parallel to the Isthmus Causeway linking Taipa with Coloane.

By light rail

The Macau LRT links the airport and the Taipa ferry terminal to Cotai and the district of Barra at the southwestern tip of the Peninsula.

By boat

There are no domestic ferry services from Taipa to either Macau Peninsula or Coloane. A direct ferry service runs to/from Hong Kong from the new Taipa Ferry Terminal on the northeastern tip of Taipa adjacent to the airport. See Macau's Get In section for details.

See

• Pou Tai Un (Pou Tai Monastery). A Buddhist temple with a vegetarian Buddhist restaurant. 
• Four-Faced Buddha (四面佛) (near the Macau Jockey Club). A shrine from Thailand. 

Museums

• 1 Museum of Taipa and Coloane History, Rua Correia da Silva. Contains detailed and informative displays of the two islands. Entry is M$5 and is open 10am to 6pm every day except Monday. (updated Oct 2016)
• 2 Taipa Houses Museum, ☏ +853 8988 4000. Made up of a row of colonial houses from the early 20th century. They have been restored and preserved inside showing the style of living of the original owners. Free. (updated Jun 2020)

Do

Gambling

• 1 Altira Macau (formerly known as Crown Macau) (Intersection of Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen and Avenida de Kwong Tung), ☏ +853 8038000, fax: +853 28839800. (updated Jul 2019)
• 2 Macau Jockey Club, 142 Estrada Governador Albano de Oliveira, ☏ +853 28832265.  
• 3 Casino Taipa, 2 Estrada Almirante Marques Esparteiro (Regency Hotel), ☏ +853 28831537. 

Hiking/Cycling

The two Taipa Hills are suitable for hiking and cycling. The larger hill, on the east side of the island right next to the airport, has several unpaved hiking trails that can also be used for mountain-biking. The smaller hill, on the west side of the island, has a low-traffic paved road circling it which is suitable for cycling and running. For those without their own bicycles, there are (very mediocre, at best) bicycles for rent in Rua Governador Tamagnini Barbosa in Taipa village, just behind the bus stop.

Eat

• 1 Dumbo Restaurant, Taipa Village (Entrance of the Taipa Village), ☏ +853 827-888. Noon-11PM. Dumbo Restaurant serves Macau style Portuguese food that is famous in Macau. From curry crab, fried eel, steak grilled with onion, pork cutlet cooked in tomato sauce. less the US$10. 

Drink

• 1 Irish Bar, Av. De Kwong Tung no. 116C-D G/F, ☏ +853 28820708. 6PM-3AM. This is the place to head for a true Irish tavern experience – the bar is dark, service friendly, booths cozy, and it has one of Macau’s best ranges of draught beer. 

Sleep

Hotels in Taipa are all in the Splurge category:

• 1 Golden Crown China Hotel, ☏ +853 28851166, fax: +853 28851199, htlchina@macau.ctm.net. Taipa (opposite the Macau International Airport). 
• 2 Grandview Hotel, 142, Estrada Governador Albano de Oliveira, ☏ +853 28837788, fax: +853 28837736, info@grandview-hotel.com. The Grandview hotel is located in the heart of Taipa Island, seconds away from the Macau Jockey Club, Four-faced Buddha, and the Macau Stadium, and only five minutes from the Macau International Airport. Best rates on official website start at HK$380.  
• 3 Hotel Taipa Square, Rua de Chaves, ☏ +853 28839933, fax: +853 28839922, info@taipasquare.com.mo. 
• 4 Regency Hotel, 2 Estr. Alm. Marques Esparteiro, ☏ +853 831234, fax: +853 28830195, reservation@regencyhotel.com.mo. Estrada Almirante Marques Esparteiro, Taipa.