Definitely Malaysia was not our favorite place. It’s hard to explain, but the country hasn’t a strong personality that makes it so interesting and has not spectacular places that you can’t miss. In fact the most interesting part is the mixture of cultures of Malays, Chinese and Indians. It’s as if you had a bit of the other countries living in harmony in the same area and sometimes even looks like you’re traveling in India or China.

Perhaps the best of the country is on Borneo island, as we heard from other travelers, but much more for its nature than the cities. Paradisiac islands, the urangotangos, the Mount Kinabalu and all the different experiences you can find there. But unfortunately we had no time to go there. On the positive side, traveling around Malaysia is super easy, the roads are very good and they have very comfortable buses. The best cost-benefit so far.

What we wanted to do but we didn’t: Peninsula Malaysia: the beautiful islands of the east coast, Pulau Tioman and Pulau Perhentian Kecil / Peninsula in Borneo: the magnificent landscape of Mount Kinabalu, the urangotangos in Kinabatangan and the paradise islands of the archipelago of Semporna.

A few tips:

  • CLIMATE: Malaysia is a country super humid and rainy year round. But the period of monsoon differs between its east and west coasts. On the east coast the best time to travel is Apr-Oct and on the west coast is Nov-Mar. How the most beautiful beaches are on the east coast I would prioritize the good times over there.
  • TRANSPORTATION: If you are going from Malaysia to southern Thailand do not take the joint ticket to the islands, because you will pay much more and many agencies send you by regular public transport. We did everything on our own from Langkawi to Ko Phangan and saved almost 20 USD per person. Perhaps give a little more work but definitely worth the savings. Just watch-out the periods in which you will be traveling (eg Full Moon Party). If it is busy you may find it difficult to buy the boat ticket 1 hour before.
  • FESTIVAL: If you are traveling in Malaysia on Jan-Feb be sure to check the dates of the Thaipusam Festival, held in Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur. It is one of the greatest events of Indian culture and you can see millions of pilgrims on a long walk performing their sadomasochistic rituals of devotion.
Our itinerary (12 days)

We arrived at the land border with Singapore, the city of Johor Bahru and from there we took a bus to Melaka, on the west coast. After two days we went by bus to Kuala Lumpur, where we spent 3 days and then we moved again by bus to Georgetown, in Penang. After four days we took a boat to Langkawi and then we went also by boat to Satum, directly in Thailand.

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The best of the country

Best period

Average spent/day
  • 50,00 – 60,00 US$ for the couple

Must-see places

  • Melaka (UNESCO Heritage)
  • Langkawi Island (if you can’t visit the islands of the east coast)

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Essential cooking

  • Laksa (Melaka – one of the few Malaysian dishes with coconut milk, pasta spicy noodle)
  • Celup Satay (Melaka – spicy fondue with meat, seafood and vegetables)
  • Popiah (Melaka – a kind of giant spring roll with vegetables)
  • Roti (Indian – a fried dough with sauce)
  • Chicken and rice (Chinese – crispy chicken or cooked with rice)

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