Macau Grand Prix 2026: The 73rd Race, 19-22 November

The 73rd Macau Grand Prix takes over the Guia Circuit on 19-22 November 2026, closing public roads around Guia Hill for four days of practice, qualifying and races that include the FIA Formula Regional World Cup and the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix. If you're weighing a trip, the clock that matters most right now isn't the race clock — it's the hotel-booking one. Macau's hotel rooms sell out fast in race week, and flights into Hong Kong or direct into Macau International Airport climb in price the closer you get to late November.

What the 73rd edition actually is

Macau has run this race since 1954, making the Guia Circuit one of the oldest street circuits still in active use anywhere in the world. The 2026 edition is officially the 73rd Macau Grand Prix, and its headline event is the FIA Formula Regional World Cup, alongside the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, GT racing and touring-car support races. The circuit itself is a 6.12km around Guia Hill closed public-road track that threads through central Macau, close enough to the old town that spectators can walk from the Ruins of St. Paul's to a grandstand seat in minutes. That's unusual for a circuit of this stature — most street races (Monaco included) don't sit this close to a UNESCO World Heritage old town.

What tickets have cost, and when they typically go on sale

The Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee hasn't published 73rd-edition ticket prices yet as of this writing. What's known is the recent pattern: the 71st Macau Grand Prix (November 2024) sold grandstand seats for MOP100-1200 depending on grandstand, per the Macao Sports Bureau's own release, with tickets going on sale roughly four weeks ahead of race weekend, a 20-ticket cap per buyer, and sales running through 15 physical points across Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China plus online channels including the official macauticket.com and Trip.com. The following year's race (the 72nd edition) held a similar MOP150-1200 spread. If that pattern holds, expect 73rd-edition tickets to open around mid-to-late October 2026 — worth watching the Sports Bureau's site directly if you want a specific grandstand rather than whatever's left closer to race day.

Practice-day tickets (typically the Thursday) are consistently the cheapest way to watch cars on the Guia Circuit at speed — recent editions have priced the opening day well under the weekend rate for the same grandstands.

Do you need a visa?

Macau's entry rules are generous and depend on your passport, not on the race. Under the Macao SAR Government's official visa policy, most passport holders — including all EU and Schengen countries — can enter visa-free for 30 days if not covered by a longer exemption; a shorter list of nationalities gets up to 90 days (Japan, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and others), and British passport holders get up to six months. If your passport isn't on any exemption list, Macau still allows a visa-on-arrival: MOP200 for a single-entry permit, MOP300 for multiple entry, with reduced MOP100/MOP150 rates for children under 12 and group bookings of ten or more. There's no need to arrange anything before you fly for the vast majority of nationalities — just carry a passport valid well beyond your stay, since Macau's immigration officers can ask for proof of onward travel.

Getting to the circuit

Most international visitors fly into Hong Kong and cross by ferry or bridge rather than flying directly into Macau. TurboJET and Cotai Water Jet run ferries from Hong Kong's Macau Ferry Terminal and the airport's SkyPier to Macau's Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal about one hour by TurboJET, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge cuts that to roughly 40-50 minutes by cross-border coach. Either way, race weekend adds crowds and queueing time at immigration on both sides, so build in an extra hour beyond the normal crossing time if you're arriving or leaving on a race day itself. The circuit runs along Avenida da Amizade and around Guia Hill, a short walk or taxi ride from most of the hotels clustered around the Macau peninsula.

What to do between sessions

Race weekend isn't the only reason to be in Macau. The Ruins of St. Paul's — the 17th-century church façade that's Macau's most-photographed landmark — sits inside the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre of Macau, a short walk from Senado Square's wave-patterned mosaic paving and mix of Portuguese colonial and Chinese architecture. Both are free to visit and open every day, and both are close enough to the circuit that you can watch a morning practice session and walk the old town by afternoon. If you'd rather stay connected while you're doing that — checking live timing, translating a menu, or mapping the walk between the grandstand and Senado Square — an eSIM for Macau installs before you land and gets you onto Macau's local CTM or SmarTone networks without hunting for a physical SIM counter once you land.

Currency and paying for things

Macau's official currency is the pataca (MOP), pegged to the Hong Kong dollar at a fixed rate of MOP103.20 = HKD100.00, according to the Macao Government Tourism Office — in practice, Hong Kong dollar cash is treated as near-equivalent to patacas across most of the city, so you don't need to change money at the border if you're arriving from Hong Kong. Credit cards and mobile payment apps cover most hotels, restaurants and the ticket counters at the circuit, but street food stalls and smaller shops around Senado Square still lean cash, so carry some patacas or Hong Kong dollars for those.

Booking timeline if you're planning to go

With the race dates fixed at 19-22 November 2026, the realistic planning order is: book flights and accommodation now, since Macau hotel inventory during race week is genuinely limited on a small peninsula; watch for the 73rd edition's ticket on-sale announcement, expected around mid-October based on the last several editions' timing; and confirm your visa status against the Macao SAR Government's official exemption list well before you fly, since a passport that needs a visa-on-arrival is straightforward but still requires carrying the right documents and cash (MOP200) at the border.

Frequently Asked Questions

When exactly is the 2026 Macau Grand Prix?

The 73rd Macau Grand Prix runs 19-22 November 2026 on the Guia Circuit, with practice and qualifying earlier in the week building to the main races over the weekend.

How much do Macau Grand Prix tickets cost?

The 73rd edition's prices weren't published as of this writing. Recent editions sold grandstand tickets for MOP100-1200 depending on grandstand, with the cheapest seats on the practice day and the highest prices for weekend race-day seats in the best grandstands.

Do I need a visa to visit Macau for the Grand Prix?

It depends on your passport, not on the event. Most nationalities, including all EU and Schengen countries, get 30 days visa-free; some get up to 90 days or six months. If you're not on an exemption list, Macau issues a visa-on-arrival for MOP200 for a single-entry permit.

What's the easiest way to get to Macau from Hong Kong?

Ferry is the most common route — TurboJET and Cotai Water Jet connect Hong Kong's ferry terminals to Macau in about one hour by TurboJET, or you can cross the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge by coach in roughly 40-50 minutes.