How to go from Hong Kong with the free visa

Selina, currently the only way how you can do your planned visits is to take a direct plane from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and at the end of you stay in Guangdong province to travel to Macau by ferry from Shekou port in Shenzhen by taking a direct ferry to Macau. This is the travel under 144 hour visa free transit.

So, the only way would be to take a direct (nonstop) flight from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and then to exit toward Macau by ferry. Exits toward Macau and Hong Kong are more liberal as you can see. There are some news, but nothing confirmed that even trains from Hong Kong will be eligible, but so far this is not yet institutionalized.

In order to be completely in line with the rules, you will have to buy an online ferry ticket through TurboJet website from Shekou port in Shenzhen to Macau even before your departure from Hong Kong because you will be asked to provide a proof of your transit through Guangdong province to a third country or better to say, in this case an eligible territory because you will be heading to Macau. Also, you will need to print out that ferry ticket and to have it wit you at hand. Please, do not forget that you will have to take exactly that ferry you have bought your ticket for.

After you reach Macau you can proceed to Hong Kong immediately.

Another alternative is to obtain a usual/ordinary single entry Chinese visa at Luohu (Lo Wu) border crossing for 971 CNY for US citizens, based on reciprocity between China and US. You can just appear at that border crossing in the morning hours with some tentative itinerary and a hotel booking confirmation in order to obtain this regular visa. It will take some time, but you will be free with your time and also with the mode how will you reach Guangzhou and how and when will you return back to Hong Kong.Basically, this is it.

It seems to me that it should be possible to have the following itinerary: (1) Buy a ferry ticket departing from Hong Kong headed to Shenzhen port, and (2) have a return ferry ticket from Guangzhou or Shenzhen headed for Macau. Is that not correct?

This is not correct because currently the only way how to enter Guangdong province under 144 hour visa free transit is to take a plane. Exits are more liberal, but entries just by plane, at least at the time being.

There are rumors and also some news online about the possibility that some ferries could become eligible for 144 hour visa free transit scheme, but so far none has appeared in Timatic that clearly shows that only the entries by air are eligible. I would stick to the information provided by Timatic because this is the tool everybody consults as far as this subject is concerned.