Hac Sa Park: Travel Guide (4.2★)

Shade first, sea second

The beach is only a few steps away. Hac Sa Park is the green strip on the landward side of Hac Sa Beach, on Coloane’s southeastern shore, and it works as the beach’s shady back garden. Rows of trees screen the lawns from the sun, paths run between them, and through the trunks you can see the dark sand and the open water of the Pearl River estuary.

“Hac Sa” is Cantonese for “black sand”. The sand here really is darker than on most beaches in the region, and it gives the shoreline a greyish, almost volcanic look. It’s a long way from the casino towers of Cotai, even though the trip only takes a short bus ride.

What you’ll find on the grounds

Expect a municipal park, not a landscaped showpiece. It’s built for families spending a whole day out, so the appeal is space and shade. The pleasures are modest and practical:

• Open lawns under the trees, big enough to spread out a picnic
• A children’s playground area
• Walking paths that lead straight down to the sand
• A public swimming pool complex, which runs seasonally, so confirm it’s open before you pack swimwear for it

Because it’s not a big-ticket sight, Hac Sa Park stays quieter than most of Macau’s attractions. Most visitors head for the sand, and plenty of them never wander back into the trees. That leaves the park free for anyone who wants to read, nap or let the kids run without a crowd around them.

Getting out to Coloane

Public buses do the job. Several routes run from the Macau Peninsula and Taipa down through Cotai to Coloane and stop at Hac Sa Beach. Route 25 and route 26A are the long-standing options, and you can check current routes on the Macau transport bureau’s (DSAT) site before you set out.

From the stop, the park and the beach are right in front of you. A taxi from Cotai is quick too. Getting one back from Hac Sa can mean a wait, though, so many people simply ride the bus home. The address to show a driver is Estrada Nova de Hac Sa.

Spending the day like the families do

The park is a place for long, slow days, so plan for one. Here’s how a day out usually goes:

• Pay for the bus with a Macau Pass or a mobile wallet. Buses take cash, but drivers don’t give change, so carry exact coins if you have no card.
• Bring your own food and water. Picnicking under the trees is the whole point, and there isn’t much on the lawns to buy.
• Take your rubbish with you. Macau’s parks are kept tidy, and leaving litter behind on a public lawn is frowned on.
• Swim only where the flags say so. Lifeguards watch the beach in summer. The water is shallow but murky, as it is everywhere around the estuary.
• Weekdays are calmer. It’s reasonable to expect more people on summer weekends and public holidays, when families from across Macau come out to the coast.

The park is listed as open around the clock, but nobody needs it at midnight. Daylight is what you’re here for, and the pool and other facilities keep their own shorter hours.

When the weather is on your side

The calendar matters more here than the clock. Macau’s summers are hot, humid and stormy, and typhoon signals can shut beaches at short notice. October to December is usually the most comfortable stretch, with drier air and clearer skies. That makes it a good time for picnics, though not ideal for swimming.

In summer, use the trees the way they were meant to be used. Spend the hottest part of the day in the shade, then go down to the water in the later afternoon. If the No. 8 typhoon signal or higher is raised, stay in the city. Buses stop and the coast is no place to be.

Pairing it with the rest of Coloane

Hac Sa makes a good anchor for a day on Coloane. At the far end of the beach is Fernando’s, a long-running Portuguese restaurant famous for its clams and grilled chicken. It’s popular, so arrive early if you’d like a table.

To the west, along the coast road, is Cheoc Van Beach, a smaller cove. Beyond it is Coloane Village, with the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier and the original Lord Stow’s Bakery, the one that made Macau’s egg tarts famous. Walkers can follow trails into the Coloane hills behind the beach. Bus hops between all of these are short, so you can link two or three in a single afternoon.