Cotai in Macau is located in between Taipa and Coloane islands, which makes it an excellent and convenient way to start your trip these areas, especially if you're coming from the city center. For this trip, I stayed in Hotel Lisboa, which was a short walking distance to Star World. From here, you'll find the line for shuttle buses that can take you straight to Galaxy Macau. The buses are very comfortable, and more importantly, free for everyone!

When you arrive in the area, you'll find yourself surrounded by casinos and hotels once again. Most of them would also offer shuttle services back to the city, but as for me, I got down Galaxy Macau where I was instantly greeted with luxury stores and extravagant setup. I didn't spend much time inside since it was still early, and the place was almost deserted.

It is also in Cotai where one will find the famous Venetian Macau that offers shopping, dining, and gondola rides. This is where I spent some time as there were a lot of stores on sale for the holidays, and they had a food court that offered an inexpensive variation of dishes from different restaurants. It was also very confusing to navigate around the place, so after going around the same spots a couple of times, it didn't hurt to ask for directions on how to get out and get going.

A newer attraction would be the replica of the Eiffel Tower, which you will find at the Parisian Macau just nearby from the Venetian. It's not a one-is-to-one replica of course, merely a half scale of the real tower in Paris. Aside from that, the Parisian is also a great place to hang around for a while as it gives you a very European aura, with the interior making you feel like you're halfway across the world in France.

Back to reality, from the hotels and casinos in Cotai, it's an easy walk to Taipa and Coloane where you'll jump from modern to historic sceneries almost instantly. Check out what's in store for you in Taipa here.