We headed to Malaysia in late May 2026 and Penang was recommended to us by a good friend. We followed their advice and had a great few days. As with all of my blogs, below are the things I couldn’t find or wish I’d known about in advance!
How to get there
We took the train to Butterworth where you can walk directly into the ferry terminal to get a 10 minute ferry over to Georgetown. Depending where you’re coming from you can either:
– Pre-book a train (recommend if you’re going for more than an hour)
– Get the commuter train – book the train at the ticket booth at the station just before you want to travel. The trains can be busy so you may not get a seat if it’s busy.
It’s about a five minute walk from the train to the ferry, all undercover.
The ferry costs 2RMD one way and if you have a contactless card you can tap on at the gate like you do with public transport in London or Sydney.
Another option is a bus which you can get direct from KL to Penang. This looks quite long but is cheaper than a pre-booked by train.
Travelling around Penang
The buses around Penang are cheap and efficient. We took a few and Google maps was accurate on timings and stops. At the time of writing, fares start at 1.40RMD for a trip up to 7km. We paid between 1.40 and 2RMD.
What to do
There’s heaps of blogs on this topic so I’m just throwing a few suggestions down. We like hiking and exploring. And are typically more active.
Penang Botanic Gardens – we spent around an hour to 90 minutes wondering around. Beautiful and interesting plants, wildlife and lots of trails. It was very wet when we went bu if its nice you can hike around from Pennant Hill I believe, as well as there being various other tracks. Worth it for the gardens alone though.
Funicular & hiking around Pennant Hills – a very obvious one but worth it. We did around two hours of walks once up at the top and it was lovely. Barely anyone was waking so we had the trails to ourselves.
The jettys – look out for the otters!
The clan house – I missed this (as I was embarrasingle napping) but my husband loved it. It’s hidden away in the center of
Georgetown and looks stunning. Mack said it’s definitely worth a visit
Fort Cornwallis and the waterfront – another classic but worth a look. The fort was closed but walking around the walls and down the waterfront was lovely, with heaps of history to boot
Wandering the streets (and eating as you go) – the architecture in Georgetown is beautiful. There’s a real charm to it. I’d recommend at least two hours just to meander around and soak up the different areas – I think we probably did about 6 hours.
What to eat (our top 5..)
Roti Canai at Nasser Roti Canai
– Try the Pisang (banana) or sardine for something different. Both are excellent, as are the plain, egg and onion and cheese. Their teh tarik and coffee are on point as well.
Chicken Rice at Kedai Kopi Pak Hock Famous Chicken Rice
– My husband grew up in Singapore and I’d consider him a bit of a connoisseur with chicken rice. He rated this very highly so it deseveres a shout out. Wonderful people too!
Wonton or dumpling soup from New Lane Foodstalls
– This was the best dumpling soup I had in Malaysia. We had a mix of wonton and dumplings and it was excellent. It’s part of a night markets which is typically closed on a Wednesday.
Samosas from Penang Famous Samosa
– We kept missing the button but the egg was unexpectedly amazing. The vegetable and chicken were also delicious.
Popiah from New Lane Foodstalls
– I was after something a bit more fresh and this nailed that brief. Really excellent. I’ve since had kore popiah but this is the standout. As with the wonton, it’s part of a night markets which is typically closed on a Wednesday.
Icecream from Frozen Love
– I’m not normally one for a ‘mainstream desert’ but the flavours here are unusual and the ice cream is amazing. The taro coconut is worth the trip alone – I’d also recommend the Penang White Coffee flavour