Macau/Cotai

Cotai, commonly called the Cotai Strip, (路氹 - Lou Tam in Cantonese, Lùdàng in Mandarin) is in the rather unimaginative name given to the reclaimed land between what used to be Taipa and Coloane islands in China's Special Administrative Region of Macau, coined out of the contraction of Coloane and Taipa.

The area is being developed into the Las Vegas Strip of the East and house huge hotels, sports facilities, golf courses and other facilities.

1 Travel to Cotai
2 Islam in Macau
- 2.1 Muslim Tourism in Macau
3 Mosques in Macau
4 How to get around in Cotai
5 What to see in Cotai
6 Top Muslim Travel Tips for Cotai
7 Muslim Friendly Shopping in Cotai
8 Halal Restaurants in Cotai
9 Muslim Friendly hotels in Cotai
10 News & References Macau
11 Explore more Halal friendly Destinations from Macau

Travel to Cotai

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. Cotai Water Jet runs HK-Macau ferries to the Taipa Ferry Terminal.

Travel on a Bus in Cotai

Public buses are available, of course. Line 26A connects the Cotai Strip to Coloane, Macau/Taipa|Taipa, and various locations on the Macau/Peninsula|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 provide free shuttle buses, which you can take even if you're not a guest. For instance and 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.

Islam in Macau

Islam in Macau is a minority religion in the region. Currently there are around more than 400 Muslims in Macau in which they call themselves as The Macau Islamic Society.[1 According to the Islamic Union of Hong Kong, together with all of the foreign Muslim workers combined (such as from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Pakistan), Muslims in Macau accounted for more than 10,000 people.

Muslim Tourism in Macau

To attract more Muslim tourists from Southeast Asia and the Macau Government Tourism Office has been engaging in several efforts to give a new perception that Macau is not only a gaming region. Over the past two years the government has been engaging in seminars on Muslim trainings during travel, encouraging more restaurants to get halal certification from Hong Kong and requesting hotels to reconstructing their lobby so that visitors do not have to go through casinos when going to restaurants or their rooms

Mosques in Macau

Macau currently has one mosque, which is the Macau Mosque, located at 4 Ramal Dos Moros in Our Lady of Fatima Parish. The mosque was built in the 1980s by the Muslim people from the second wave of generation during the Portuguese-ruled of Macau. This mosque is specially crowded during Sunday where most of the employees are having their work break days

It is believed that Macau Mosque was built by Muslims who arrived with the Portuguese army. Originally and these Muslims were recruited from South Asia by the army. Within the complex area and there are also Muslim cemetery with some of the tombs dated back for hundreds of years, indicating that Islam had arrived in Macau since hundreds of years ago.

In 1996 and the IAM submitted a redevelopment plan of the mosque to Portuguese Macau government but was not approved. To accommodate the increasing number of Muslims in Macau, in 2006 the IAM applied for government permission to build a new larger mosque in area adjacent to the current mosque building. In the late months of 2007, Macau Mosque underwent renovation.

In the future and the new mosque is planned to be double in size to be a more modern mosque for Macau with a total area of 1,881 m2, 50 meters high and can accommodate up to 600 worshipers. An Islamic center, cheap Halal restaurant, 30-room hostel and classroom and 127-meter high 38-story residential building will also be constructed.

How to get around in Cotai

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 and the casinos are large and tend to look closer than they are.

What to see in Cotai

The spectacular casino buildings along Cotai Strip, especially after dark when their signs and screens are more visible.

Top Muslim Travel Tips for Cotai

The major tourist attraction is gambling but anyone with money can obtain 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 #Eat.

Shows

The House of Dancing Water - A 90-minutes water-based performance of a love story with acrobatics and elaborate special effects.

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 2023) 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 which takes around a minutes to navigate, at a leisurely pace.

Bowling

Macau Dome - 澳門蛋 - Is a bowling centre of international standard, constructed in 2005 for the East Asian Games. There are 24 lanes and the first four of which may be used by children as these lanes are equipped with raisable borders. A lane costs MOP20 per person a game during the day, MOP30 in the evening. The Macau Dome can be visited from Macau and Taipa by bus 21, 21A, 25, 26, or 26A, or from Taipa by bus 15 (get off at Rotunda Flor de Lotus).

Muslim Friendly Shopping in Cotai

The Entertainment complexes feature a lot of upscale shops. Lots of jewelry and other accessories.

Halal Restaurants in Cotai

Macau is famous for some Halal restaurants with unique Halal cuisine from Indonesia, India and Pakistan.

Loulan Islam Restaurant - Address: R. do Teatro, Macao ☎ +853 2853 0264 - Loulan Islam Restaurant is located in the downtown and specializes in food from Xinjiang, a northern region in China with a large muslim community.

One of the very few halal restaurants in Macau. Located not too far from the Ruins of St. Paul, although small but easy to find. The ambience is very familiar like at home. The taste of the cuisine is suitable for the Indonesian tongue. Pretty much portion. The waitress is friendly. There is an air conditioner and toilet. Prices are a bit high because halal restaurants are very rare in Macau.

Anak Djakarta Indonesian Halal Restaurant - Address: 1 R. da Restauracao, Macao - ☎ +853 6527 0474 - It is very clean, and the level is not expensive. It is considered a very cost-effective place in Macau. The boss and the proprietress are very enthusiastic, and the food is served fairly quickly.

Lou Lang Islamic Restaurant - 5GWP+8QQ, Inner Harbour, Macao - Great location, and the food is good,, and we can ask the waitress if we want to pray for Muslim and they like to help.

Indian Spice - Vista Magnifica Court, 39 Alameda Dr. Carlos da Assumpção Macao - ☎ +853 2872 2784 - Indian Spice provides a taste-bud tickling range of North Indian recipes. Wednesday also cater to Jain and Gujarati food tastes, with a mouth-watering range of Vegetarian, non-vegetarian and tandoori dishes. Indian Spice can cater to meal requests from tourists, from different parts of India. Indian Spice, is strategically located near the ‘Kun Iam Statue’ in Macau, within walking distance from Wynn Macau, MGM Grand and Sands Macau.

Loly Indonesian Restaurant - 號A地下, 000000, 4O R. da Erva, Macao ☎ +853 2855 7318 - Many Vegetarian options here (not so easy to find them in Macao)!!! The service was fast and the food really good. Wednesday tried many things ad everything was fantastic. The menu offers many many dishes as many different kind of drinks. Pay attention if you are not used to spicy food. Very delicious and authentic Indonesian dishes! So far the best you could find in Macau

Muslim Friendly hotels in Cotai

News & References Macau

Explore more Halal friendly Destinations from Macau

Hong Kong is 40 minutes by HZMBus or 60 minutes by ferry.
Zhuhai is just across the Chinese border, though citizens of most nationalities must have a visa to enter China.
All cities of the Pearl River Delta are a few hours by train or bus away.