offwegooo.com
Travel guide
Penang
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: December to March
offwegooo.comPrint it, fold it, take it with you
Welcome
Penang, in a few days
Founded as a trading post by the British East India Company in 1786, George Town has a historic centre listed by UNESCO in 2008. People eat char kway teow and assam laksa standing at hawker stalls, between Chinese temples, Indian Muslim mosques and clan jetties on stilts.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · George Town and its shophouses free · about 2 hStreets laid out from 1786, with around 1,700 protected buildings, mostly shophouses: a shop downstairs, a home above, narrow fronts and inner courtyards for air.
- Afternoon · George Town street art free · half a dayIt began with murals by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic for the 2012 George Town Festival, including two children on a real bicycle on Armenian Street.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Campbell House€110 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion · about 45 minThe Blue Mansion, with 38 rooms, five courtyards and 220 windows, built in the late 19th century by one of Southeast Asia's richest merchants.
- Afternoon · The clan jetties free · about 45 minStilt villages founded in the late 19th century by Chinese families from Fujian, one clan per jetty, with wooden houses along a walkway.
🛏️ Where to sleep · 23 Love Lane€95 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Gurney Drive hawker centre free · about 1 h 30Around a hundred seafront stalls around shared tables: order from several, sit anywhere, and try char kway teow, assam laksa, rojak and cendol.
- Afternoon · Penang Hill · about 1 h 30An 833-metre ridge where the British came to escape the heat, reached by a steep funicular first opened in 1923 and rebuilt in 2011.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Ren i Tang Heritage Inn€65 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Kek Lok Si Temple free · about 1 h 30Malaysia's largest Buddhist temple complex, begun in 1891, its seven-tier pagoda Chinese at the base, Thai in the middle and Burmese on top.
- Afternoon · Penang National Park free · 2 to 3 hOne of the world's smallest national parks, with trails to Monkey Beach and the 1883 Muka Head lighthouse, or to Kerachut's meromictic lake.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Muntri Mews€90 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Nasi lemak: rice cooked in coconut milk, with sambal, anchovies, peanuts and egg. The national breakfast.
- Laksa: spicy noodle soup, creamy with coconut curry, or sour with tamarind in Penang.
- Char kway teow: flat rice noodles stir-fried over a fierce flame, a Penang speciality.
- Roti canai: flaky flatbread, torn by hand and dipped in curry.
- Satay, and durian for the brave: a fruit so pungent that many hotels ban it.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Cover shoulders and legs in mosques. The larger ones lend robes at the door.
- Book rides through Grab rather than hailing taxis in the street.
- Drink bottled water, and more of it than you think.
- Eat and pass things with your right hand, and take your shoes off before entering a home.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Malay
| English | Malay |
|---|---|
| Hello | Selamat pagi / Helo |
| Thank you | Terima kasih |
| Please | Tolong |
| Yes | Ya |
| No | Tidak |
| Excuse me | Maaf |
| Goodbye | Selamat tinggal |
| Do you speak English? | Boleh cakap Bahasa Inggeris? |
| I don't understand | Saya tidak faham |
| How much is it? | Berapa harganya? |
| Where are the toilets? | Di mana tandas? |
| The bill, please | Bil, tolong |
| Help! | Tolong! |
| Cheers! | Minum! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyMalaysian ringgit (MYR)
BudgetAbout €60 a day, mid-range
Best seasonDecember to March
PlugG (prise UK) · 240V
Tap waterBottled or filtered
TippingNot expected, a service charge is often on the bill
Emergency999 / 994
EntryNo visa needed for up to 90 days for UK, US, Canadian, Australian and most EU passports, which must be valid six months. Fill in the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card online in the three days before you land, and expect a second passport check when you fly on to Sabah.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. Malaria is present in some rural areas, Borneo included, so ask about prophylaxis for your route. Dengue is present too: use repellent.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/penang
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.