The area in the middle of Taipa Island, created by an artificial connection with the neighbouring island of Coloane at the turn of the millennium, is now the world's number one destination for casino and gambling enthusiasts.
The name "Cotai" is a combination of the names of the former Coloane and Taipa islands, which were brought together by the casino area.
Show rates for hotels with casinos in Macau
The famous Cotai Strip, with its huge hotels and casinos, has long surpassed Las Vegas in terms of visitors.
Inspiration from Las Vegas
Macau's Cotai Strip doesn't deny its inspiration from Las Vegas. The long, wide boulevard is lined with huge hotel resorts and public casinos, which are among the largest in the world.
Many of the casinos and hotels on the Cotai Strip are operated by the same companies that operate on the Las Vegas Strip, so the look of the hotels or casino names is ubiquitous.
However, the Cotai Strip has an advantage over Las Vegas in its compactness, where casinos are located close together and movement between them is easy by foot through covered and air-conditioned shopping arcades, automated monorails and buses.
What casinos can I find on the Cotai Strip?
The Cotai Strip refers to the central part of Taipa Island.
The central boulevard Estr. to Istmo is lined with Macau's most famous casinos with hotel resorts and shopping malls. Click on the hotel name to see availability and rates.
The Venetian, Parisian and Londoner resorts are Cotai Strip landmarks with replicas of the most famous landmarks of the cities they are named after.
As you stroll along the central part of the Cotai Strip, you'll come across replicas of Venice's St. Mark's Bell Tower, Paris' Eiffel Tower and London's Big Ben.
The eastern part of the Cotai Strip hosts Macau's most expensive and largest casinos.
The western part of the Cotai Strip is mainly occupied by classic large luxury hotels with their own casinos, but they cannot match the size of, for example, The Venetian.
Entrance to casinos and shopping malls
Entry to most casinos on the Cotai Strip is limited to 21 years of age only. Otherwise, there are no direct entry fees even if you are not staying at the hotel.
The large casinos are connected by long covered corridors that are filled with upscale fashion boutiques, jewelry, luggage and other accessory shops.
Entrance to all shopping arcades is free to the general public.
Transportation on the Cotai Strip
In addition to taxis, the Cotai Strip is quite easy to get to by public transportation.
An automated monorail runs between the casinos and Macau MFM Airport, but bus lines are a more convenient and significantly more frequent service.
The following buses run along the main boulevard between the Venetian, Parisian, Londoner and Studio City casinos:
- Praca de Ferreira do Amaral - lines 21A, 25, 25AX, 26A
- Historic Centre (stop Ponte 16) - lines 26, 26A, MT4
- Portas do Cerco (border crossing to Chinese Zhuhai) - lines 25, 25AX, 51X, MT4
- Airport - lines 26, 51X, MT4
- Taipa Port - lines 26, MT4
- Macau Port - line 56
- Hac Sa Beach - lines 15, 21A, 26A
- Coloane - lines 15, 21A, 25, 26
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