Malaysia

Geographically Malaysia resembles two countries astride the South China Sea. Peninsula Malaysia at the tip of Thailand is where most visitors head, beginning in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. ‘KL’ is a vast city, home to both colonial buildings and modern skyscrapers such as Petronas Towers. Outside of KL, Terengganu is a peaceful idyll for jungle walks and river cruises. Tenggol Island is one of the top dive sites in Asia. Towards the border with Thailand, the island of Langkawi or ‘island of legends’ is renowned for its high-class resorts, stunning beaches and pretty villages. Or head out to Pangkor Laut, one of the world’s most exclusive private island resorts with a top spa. On the other side of the South China Sea, Sarawak and Sabah offer incredible wildlife and jungle experiences.

Top Accommodation

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  Four Seasons Resort Langkawi

  Malaysia

  Spectacular scenery

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  0 ratings

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  The Datai

  Malaysia

  Tucked away in an ancient rainforest

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  Pangkor Laut Resort

  Malaysia

  Designed to resemble a typical Malay village

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  0 ratings

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Top Restaurants

• 

  Pangkor Laut Resort

  Malaysia

  Designed to resemble a typical Malay village

  more

  

  0 ratings

  0 reviews

• 

  The Datai

  Malaysia

  Tucked away in an ancient rainforest

  more

  

  0 ratings

  0 reviews

• 

  Four Seasons Resort Langkawi

  Malaysia

  Spectacular scenery

  more

  

  0 ratings

  0 reviews

Malaysia is generally hot, humid and tropical. There are two monsoon seasons. One from October to February brings heavy rain and the other from April to October is drier making this the best time to visit.

Transport

Getting around

Malaysian Airlines (MAS), MAS subsidiary Firefly and AirAsia are the main domestic airlines, servicing both the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak. In Malaysian Borneo, MASwings offers local flights within and between Sarawak and Sabah.

Peninsular Malaysia has a fast, economical and widespread bus system, and this is generally the best way to get around. Sabah has excellent roads, and minibuses ply the main routes. Buses ply Sarawak's major trunk road, but hardly anywhere else. Compared with buses, long-distance (or share) taxis are expensive. The taxis work on fixed fares for the entire car and will only head off when a full complement of passengers (usually four people) turns up. Between major towns you'll have a reasonable chance of finding other passengers without having to wait around too long; otherwise, you'll probably have to charter a whole taxi.

There are no ferry services between Malaysian Borneo and the peninsula. On a local level, there are boats and ferries between the peninsula and offshore islands, and along the rivers of Sabah and Sarawak.

Driving in Malaysia is fantastic compared with most Asian countries. There has been a lot of investment in the country's roads, which are generally of a high quality. New cars for hire are commonly available and fuel is inexpensive. It's not all good news. Driving in the cities, particularly KL, can be a nightmare, due to traffic and confusing one-way systems.

Peninsular Malaysia has a comfortable and sensibly priced railway system, but there are basically only two lines, and for the most part services are slow. One rail line runs up the west coast from Singapore, through KL, Butterworth and on into Thailand. The second ranches off from this line at Gemas and runs through Kuala Lipis up to the northeastern corner of the country near Kota Bharu in Kelantan.

Local transport varies but almost always includes local buses and taxis (which are metered). In a few Peninsular Malaysian towns there are also bicycle rickshaws but in general these are dying out.

Getting there and away

The gateway to Peninsular Malaysia is the city of Kuala Lumpur, although Pulau Penang and Johor Bahru (JB) also have international connections. Singapore is a handy arrival/departure point, since it's just a short trip across the Causeway from JB. Malaysia Airlines is the country's main airline carrier although AirAsia and Firefly flights are much cheaper. Kuala Lumpur International Airport is 75km south of the city centre at Sepang. Most tourists either fly into Sepang or arrive overland from Thailand or Singapore.

The Causeway linking JB with Singapore handles most traffic between the countries. Trains and buses run from all over Malaysia straight through to Singapore.

You can cross the border by road into Thailand at Padang Besar, Bukit Kayu Hitam, Rantau Panjang (Sungai Golok on the Thai side) and Pengkalan Kubor. The rail route into Thailand is on the Butterworth-Alor Setar-Hat Yai route, which crosses into Thailand at Padang Besar. Ferries connect Kuah on Pulau Langkawi with Satun on the Thai coast and, from November to mid-May, with Ko Lipe.

On Borneo, several express buses run between Pontianak in Kalimantan and Kuching and Miri in Sarawak, and Kota Kinabulu in Sabah. Boats connect Brunei to Lawas and Limbang in Sarawak, and to Pulau Labuan, from where boats go to Sabah.

There are eight ferry services between Malaysia and Indonesia (including Penang-Medan, Melaka-Dumai and, in East Malaysia, Tawau-Tarakan).

Health & Legal Requirements

Dangers and annoyances

In general Malaysia is very safe, with violent attacks being uncommon. However, the usual travel precautions apply, such as restraining your urge to go wandering around seedy areas alone late at night. Credit-card fraud is a growing problem so only use your cards at established businesses and guard your credit-card numbers. The snatching of bags by thieves on motorcycles is a recurring crime in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Penang's Georgetown, so keep bags away from the roadside in these areas. In seedy areas such as Ipoh and KL's Golden Triangle, male travellers may be harassed to buy pirated porn DVDs, drugs or the services of prostitutes.

A disturbingly high incidence of theft occurs in guesthouse dorms. Sometimes this involves an outsider sneaking in and other times it involves fellow travellers. Don't leave valuables or important documents unattended, and carry a small padlock.

Rabies is an ever-present problem in Malaysia - you should treat any animal bite very seriously. Leeches can be a nuisance after heavy rain on jungle walks.