Penang Travel Forum

I'll be in Penang for 4 days/3 nights with my fiance. Would appreciate a scheduled travel itinerary of places to visit so that we won't have to rush about and hunt from one end to the other end of Penang from one place to the other only to find out that there is some other place we could have visited in the middle. Lol.

Have already booked a hotel in Tanjung Bungah for the 3 nights.

I roughly have an idea of places to visit like Penang Hill (is it recommended?), the temples, Gurney Drive, Botanical Park etc (any other nice places?) but was also wondering if visiting the places at a specific time is better.

Plus any romantic places in Penang?

Thank you very much...

Both my fiance and I have a bad sense of direction so we'll just follow along the travel itineraries given by travellers here :)

besides this forum i suggest that you go to this forum for information www.penangtravelforum.com.

Which hotel at Tanjung Bungah are you staying at??.

Tanjung Bungah is approx midway between Georgetown and the tourist area at Batu Ferringhi. I am staying at the Tanjung Bungah beach Hotel in 10 Days and I always hire a car when in Penang as I prefer the freedom of driving myself rather than catching taxis and busses but because i lived there for three years I am used to the traffic and thousands of motor bikes going everywhere.
Be warned the Taxis DO NOT USE THEIR METERS and you have to agree on a price so the busses are much cheaper.

Must see things are
1. Penang Road and Chinatown area ,try and get a heritage walk map from the Tourist information at the airport or some shops in town (allow at least half a day or more.

2. Prangin Mall in town for shopping.

3. a must must must is Kei lok si temple at Ayer Itam and whilst there go to Penang Hill which is near the temple. (Allow at least 6 hours all up to do both) and go to the temple around 10am as its cooler then. If its overcast forget going up the hill as there is not much to see otherwise.(you can get a bus at Komtar shopping mall in Penang road to Ayer Itam.

4. reclining Buddah (get a taxi from hotel) I would expect to pay approx 8-10 malay dollars for the taxi there.

5. Night Markets in penang road opposite the citadel hotel.

6. Night Markets at Batu Ferringhi and the Long Beach food court there.

7. Gurney Drive at night for food courts.

8. Around Island drive takes me about 3-4 hours and the eastern side of the island is really beautiful.

I hope this helps as there are a million things to do and three days will go fast. As i said go to the other forum for things to do and what tour guides to go to.

If you are cashing traveller cheques you will need to carry your passport.

I only take cash and a visa card.

Thank you Japappy. I'll be staying at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel :)

well i will be there from the 20th april so I will let you know what it is like as its a 3 star, i have driven past it a thousand times but never been in. We got a sea facing room for RM128.00 per night breakfast included. For you with no transport it can be a little remote especially at night so you will be needing to use the taxis a lot but what you save on accommodation compared to batu ferringhi hotels you will make up for the taxi fares. I suggest that if you dont hire a car then the first day hire a taxi for say four hours (around the RM100.00 mark) and do a tour into town for that time, and if you like the driver arrange a $$$ deal for him to pick you up daily and take you places for a bulk rate.

Hi

I would suggest hiring a driver for at least one of the days. We were in Penang for the first time in January and hired a driver named Gani from Ocean Jupiter's tours in Batu Ferringhi. Their website is http://www.oceanjupiter.com/index.html. They were terrific, we had some ideas of where to go, but they added to them and suggested itineraries. They were charging 25MR per hour for a car and 35MR per hour for a van, both reasonably new and air conditioned. There was a minimum of four hours. I highly recommend this way of seeing the island, rather than taxis.

Deb

Plus any romantic places in Penang?

Bukit Genting for evening dinner
(Restaurant on top of durian hill, you can see the sunset there and night light of Bayan Baru area + Penang Bridge) Food decent (Thai) and not expensive

Hiking (30 minutes) with your partner into Pantai kerachut (Muka head area)
Decent view by the beach

City Bayview Georgetown for evening dinner
There's a rotating restaurant (the restaurant rotate 360 degree)

Ah.. just want to add up a bit.

Always visit Penang hill as early as possible because:

1. Enjoy the morning breeze and mist at the top
2. Avoid crowd and the heat (noon)

Appreciated. I'll be travelling to Penang in the first week of May. Will be flying in from KL. Enjoy your holiday.

Thanks for the romantic places...just love places not too crowded, not too secluded either...always the fear of muggers :)

Staying at the tanjung bungah now and I am happy with the place considering the price i paid (RM128). I have a seaview queen room which is spacious and even though the bathroom could do with a lick of paint every thing is fine and what you would expect for a three star hotel.

as I said before it is a little isolated but there are plent of taxis and busses going past.