· SOUTHEAST ASIA · MALAYSIA ·
Three Incredible Days in Penang: a Detailed Itinerary and Guide
Scribbled by Claire ◊ 20 Jul 2025
Are you planning a short trip to Penang and want to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the highlights? After spending two excellent weeks in Penang, we’ve written exactly how we’d spend a three day stay, including everything you’ll need to plan a trip!
Penang was on my to-visit list for years, maybe even decades.
It was the quirky street art, outstanding cuisine, distinct architecture. It was Malaysia’s largest Buddhist temple, crazy fireworks at Chinese New Year and colourful Hindu festivals. It all just entirely captivated me.
Time after time, though, I passed through Kuala Lumpur, telling myself ‘I’ll visit next time’. Penang was always just that little bit out of reach. That was until recently, when we finally bit the bullet and booked a two-week trip to the island over Chinese New Year.
Penang did not let me down, at all, despite my high expectations. It’s such a distinctive, vibrant region of the world and I’m so glad we visited, especially during Lunar New Year festivities!
Below, we’ve picked out the best things that we did, the coolest experiences, the prettiest places, and the tastiest food that we experienced in Penang, to help you plan the perfect trip around this mesmerising little island!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you book through these links we may make a small commission at zero cost to you. It helps us pay for the upkeep of this blog. Thank you!
About This Penang Itinerary
The best way to get around Penang is either by Grab taxi, rental car, motorbike, or using the buses.
All are great options, but taking the buses would make getting around a little slower on this itinerary, so bear that in mind. Public transport is really easy to figure out on Google Maps – the bus numbers and stops are marked really clearly.
Our recommendation is to rent a vehicle. We rented a scooter for our entire time in Penang, which was amazing. If the weather was going to be a little worse, we would have rented a car (we travelled in February and it was mostly glorious sunshine).
We took a few Grab taxis when it rained and they were reasonably prompt and quite affordable.
Day 1: Around George Town
On day one, the plan is to explore the most vibrant part of Penang – the capital city, George Town.
A Morning Meander Around Old Town
For your first morning in Penang, take an organised walking tour around the George Town UNESCO World Heritage site, or set off on your own self-guided wander.
The most iconic sites are all within walking distance around the compact old town, including the legendary street art and colonial architecture. At minimum, make sure to check out:
⬩ Goddess of Mercy Temple
⬩ Kapitan Keling Mosque
⬩ Street art, such as Boy on Motorbike
⬩ Armenia Street
⬩ Little India
⬩ The Old Fire Station
⬩ Bomba Street
⬩ Pinang Peranakan Mansion
An easy morning meander between these will give you a good taste of the city. We spent quite a few days exploring the city on foot, and occasionally on a motorbike – it’s a very walkable place, for the most part (although the curbs can be high and there are some large open drainages!).
Note | we’d have found the streets tricky to navigate with a pushchair or wheelchair in spots.
Casual Lunch
Take a wander down Lebuh Kimberley (Kimberley Street), right in the middle of the old part of George Town. This street is crammed full of epic places to eat – you know, the ones that often have queues for miles outside.
As vegetarians, we can’t advise on the meaty options (there are so many), but people rave about the soups at Kimberley Street Duck Kway Chap.
For a vegetarian alternative, try Tina’s Kitchen just down the road from the duck place – they offer most of their excellent menu with vegetarian options, for which we were eternally grateful! For an even more affordable meal, try the veggie laksa at Kedai Bee Thean Heong Vegetarian – it’s super comforting and one of the best Laksas we had in Penang (we only saw it open later in the day, though, so maybe pop back later if you can).
Afternoon around the Clan Jetties
Head down to the clan jetties, particularly Chew, Tan and Lee Jetties, and grab a snack at the Jetty Food Court if you’re peckish.
Make sure to spot the vibrantly yellow Hean Boo Thean Kuan Yin Temple from across the water (the best views are from Tan Jetty) and pop on over to explore if you have the energy!
Next, walk down towards Fort Cornwallis via the Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower. (Fort Cornwallis is a rare occasion where the entry fee is really very expensive for what you get to see, so maybe just skirt around the outside if you’re short on cash or time). Then take a slow amble along the esplanade.
Grab some snacks from Pasembur King or another spot of your choice at the large open air food court, then head across to the famous 1880’s Blue Mansion (Cheong Fatt Tze) with its 38 rooms and 220 windows (book a tour).
Evenings in George Town
Most of our evenings were spent in George Town, so we did quite a few different things! There is so much going on at night to suit basically any preference, so take your pick from the options below:
1. Eat all the Street Food
Consider booking a food tour and explore the incredibly diverse foodie scene – after all, Penang is known as a culinary capital of the world!
If you fancy a more self-guided vibe, take a walk along Chulia Street, and check out the pop-up food hawker stalls on Carnavon and Kimberley Street. Head back for our favourite laksa at Kedai Bee Thean Heong Vegetarian, or check out our all-time favourite eatery in Penang – Restoran Nasi Kandar Line Clear. The fresh breads, rices and curries there were our staple, morning and night (our first and favourite hotel was right next door so we ate a meal there most days).
For a non-veggie laksa, try Penang Road Famous Laksa – people rave about it. For some excellent noodles, try Tok Tok Mee Bamboo Noodles – handmade in the front of the shop everyday.
If you’re looking for even more street food, grab a taxi or take the 20-minute walk over to the New Lane Street Food stalls. Here, the most popular option by far is the charcoal barbeque cha koay teow at stall number 40, but also check out Hot Bowl White Curry Mee if you’re around this area in the morning.
2. Cocktails and Jazz
George Town has a surprising number of decent cocktail venues with that underground, jazzy vibe!
Personally, we loved the sneaky Good Friends Club, which is just magic if you like a top-quality cocktail and cute bar snacks with a secretive, speakeasy vibe – try the durian cocktail if you’re feeling brave.
For an even quirkier option, Archipelago is another absolutely smashing little find, with incredible locally-inspired cocktails and a kind of ruin-bar vibe (it reminded me of a trip I took to Budapest many years ago). Just ring the rope-bell to the right of the blue door to get access!
If jazz isn’t your thing, check out one of the lively reggae bars on Chulia.
3. Casual Bevvies at Love Lane
If you’re after a more casual, less upmarket night out, with slightly louder music, head to Love Lane.
This is the (low-key, backpackery) nightlife area, where you’ll spot layers of neon beer signs and the occasional person trying to coax you in for some drink deals.
If you’re in the area later in the evening and fancy a smashing late night feast, we highly recommend Halab Penang Arabic Restaurant, which serves excellent Middle Eastern food with tonnes of veggie options. For a more fast-foodie option, check out Vegan Falafel Penang, who do great late-night casual meals (we love their wraps), accompanied by Mr Bean on the television (isn’t that exactly what you need on a night out?).
Day 2: Temples and Hills
Day two is dedicated to the hills west of George Town – home to Malaysia’s prettiest temple and a vast array of flora and fauna.
Morning: Kek Lok Si
Kek Lok Si, Malaysia’s largest Buddhist temple, is absolutely magnificent.
It sprawls across the hills to the west, overlooking George Town, and is an absolute must for every visitor to Penang, even if you think you’ve seen enough Buddhist temples to last a lifetime! We’ve actually visited twice, once in the evening for Chinese New Year, and also in the morning to see it during the day (and we’d highly recommend both!).
If you go during new year festivities, we suggest arriving just before 7pm, in time to see the lights go on – for more images and a little guide, check out our Kek Lok Si New Year photo journal.
However, most people visit outside of New Year, when the temple is only open during the day. We’d recommend getting there early – it was almost empty, there was no traffic or parking issues, and by 9am it was already absolutely boiling! For a general guide and loads of photos, check out our post on visiting Kek Lok Si.
Make sure you either start from the top and work your way to the bottom, or vice-versa. It’s a huge site – there are even cable cars to move people between different levels!
Where to eat | there are loads of decent places to eat around the temple. Penang Air Itam Laksa, made famous by Anthony Bourdain, serves a bowl of fishy laksa that loads of people rave about. We were also reliably recommended the meat-heavy, upscale Flame Restaurant, so check it out if you fancy a sit-down meal after your temple sojourn.
Happy Vege Cafe was at the top of our to-eat-at list, but we just weren’t that hungry during our visits (I regret missing it). It’s a great looking option if you’re seeking veggie options in a meat-heavy area. It even has air-conditioning!
Afternoon: Penang Hill
Penang Hill, reached by either a chunky 5-kilometre uphill hike or a funicular, is almost right next door to Kek Lok Si Temple. So, it makes sense to make this your next stop on day two. It’s a hill (no shocker there) with hiking routes, shops, restaurants, and an opportunity to hang out among various cool flora and fauna.
We didn’t visit Penang Hill (Chinese New Year crowds were insane and it was quite expensive), but we’d recommend you put it on your itinerary because the rest of the world seems to love it! We’ll almost certainly make the trip up there next time we visit – it seems like my cup of tea.
There’s quite a bit to do, one of the most popular being The Habitat, a biosphere reserve with high canopy walkways that snake through the rainforest, showing off panoramic views across Penang (and lots of monkeys). Entry is quite pricey at 60 MYR, especially for a 1.6 kilometre route, so bear that in mind if you’re on a budget. This cost is also on top of the 30 MYR return ticket for the funicular.
If you want to take a several-kilometre meander through Penang’s jungle, head towards Kopi Hutan (meaning ‘Jungle Coffee’) for coffee and cake – we were recommended the tiramisu and the basil lime cake by our friends who visited. If you fancy a proper meal visit the popular David Brown’s – it’s more of a sit-down type place.
Evening: sunsets at Batu Ferringhi
If you caught the sunset atop Penang Hill, head back to George Town and grab a meal, food tour or drink. However, if it’s still early, head over to Batu Ferringhi, wander down the beach, grab a drink and watch the sunset.
Lots of people recommend Frandy Beach Bar, but it’s not our vibe really so we gave that one a miss. We skipped sunset and went to Biru Biru on the Island instead, which is a lovely waterfront café with impeccable tropical vibes that serves simple, but tasty, international food. We had their Yuzu soda drink (highly recommend) and ice cream (always up for a healthy dinner).
CAR HIRE FOR YOUR PENANG TRIP
We always rent our vehicles all over the world, including our recent trips in Thailand, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco, with Discover Cars. They’re often the most affordable, plus they paid out immediately on an insurance claim we made when our car took some heavy damage in Sicily. We fully recommend them.
–
TAKE A LOOK BELOW OR CHECK CAR RENTAL
Day 3: Alternative Adventures
Day three is an adventure through less visited places, plus an opportunity to do anything you missed over the past two days.
Morning: Monkey Madness at the Gardens
First thing, take an early morning stroll around the Penang Botanical Gardens. These free-to-enter gardens were always almost empty when we visited, apart from the *crazy* number of monkeys. (Please don’t feed them, it’s unsafe for us and them).
There are lovely walking routes through the grounds, with little waterfalls, places to sit and lots of greenhouses (with specialist plants like orchids) that open to visitors on different days.
We really liked it here – it’s such a peaceful place to start your day, and parking is easy with a motorbike or a car!
Along the road into the botanical gardens, there are quite a few beautiful Hindu temples, too, if you want to stop and check them out. We didn’t get to have a proper look around because they were setting up for the huge Thaipusam celebrations when we visited!
Afternoon: Jungles, Beaches or Malls
This afternoon is dedicated to whatever you love the most: jungles, beaches or shopping.
Jungles
Make the journey over to Penang National Park in the northwest of the island and take a hike or boat ride to some secluded beaches and work up a serious sweat in Penang’s rainforests. (Start this as early as you can, or do it instead of the botanical gardens above).
The entry fee is 50 MYR for foreigners, and boat trips are extra. It’s honestly quite expensive for basically just an unguided jungle walk with mediocre beaches, so if you’re on a budget we’d recommend sticking to the free botanical gardens instead.
Shopping
Head on over to the ocean-adjacent Gurney Drive for George Town’s modern, commercial side. Check out the shops (and enjoy the aircon) in Gurney Plaza and Paragon, and spot the socialites having drinks in Halzan. (We *loved* it here – the cannelloni and smoked tomato soup were something else. Also, the drinks were beautiful works of art – my watermelon lychee drink remains on my mind.).
If you need to stretch your legs, head on over to the park (where people inexplicably exercise in the midday heat). If you’re still hungry, hit the Gurney Drive Hawker Centre for some outstanding value veggie noodles and soups at 52 Vegetarian Food by Guan (or your alternative meaty food of choice).
Note | if you’re visiting on a weekend, also consider checking out the Hin Bus Depot. It’s an artsy, quirky venue with loads of mini exhibitions, handicraft stalls, food and live music, making it a fantastic, slow-paced way to spend an afternoon.
Bonus | there are some really elaborate Buddhist and Burmese Temples near Gurney, too, which are definitely worth visiting! They have free parking and were almost empty when we visited – the Buddhist one even has an enormous reclining Buddha inside. They’re called Chaiya Mangalaram Thai Buddhist Temple and Dhammikarama Burmese Temple.
Beaches
If you didn’t get adequate beach time on day two, spend the afternoon on Ferringhi Beach, Penang’s most popular strip of sand. There are high end hotels, like the Shangri-La and Hard Rock, and more casual beachfront options, too, if you want a drink or snack (or somewhere to sleep!).
On your way to the beach, stop off at the supremely pretty Floating Mosque – it’s just off the road, has free parking and the people there were very welcoming to us! If you decide to have a look around, ensure you dress appropriately – cover your head as a woman, and arms and legs as a man (and woman). Take a wander along the adjacent beach for a more local beach vibe (rather than touristy) and some pretty colour-coordinated fishing boats.
An Evening of Fine Dining
For your last night in Penang, consider a unique culinary experience. There are obviously loads of options, but here are a couple that were recommended to us (that we could tragically never afford):
Restaurant au Jardin | prioritising Malaysian produce, particularly regional Penang ingredients, this high-end Michelin-starred restaurant has a multicourse tasting menu that is perfect for the hardcore food enthusiasts out there. It’s located in the Hin Depot, so pair your artsy visit with some artsy food! Reservations essential.
Gen | this restaurant’s super creative, Malaysian inspired tasting menu has all sorts of foods I’ve never heard of, or ever imagined combining (I’m super uncultured, food-wise, and can quite happily live on noodle soup and pizza). It even offers non-alcoholic wine pairings, which I think is incredible. Have a look at the menu to see if it’s your cup of tea.
Penang Itinerary Map
Below is a Google Map with every location we’ve mentioned within this post. The points are broken down into layers:
Purple | food and drink
Orange | day one
Green | day two
Red | day three
To save the map, select the star by the title.
How to Get to Penang
Penang is an island, connected to mainland Malaysia by several bridges. As such, travelling there can be a little more complicated than other places in Malaysia (although not very complex!).
You have the option of bus, train, ferry or plane, depending on your preferences and starting point.
From Kuala Lumpur to Penang by Train
We chose to travel via train from Kuala Lumpur, which we’d recommend because:
It’s *very* affordable and Malaysia’s high-speed trains are *really* nice. The journey from Kuala Lumpur to Penang takes five hours and forty-five minutes on the express service (and closer to five hours for the slowest train). The train arrives into Butterworth, a town on the mainland opposite the island. The journey cost us 75 Mayalsian ringgit (MYR) each, including the optional insurance, and we paid online through the official KTMB website.
We took a more local commuter train via Ipoh on our way back to Kuala Lumpur, and although it was a little less glamourous, it cost very little and was airconditioned (thankfully – Malaysia is always hot!). This cost us 12.80 MYR each.
To get from Butterworth to Penang, you can take a short commuter ferry, which is a several-minute walk away from the train station and takes passengers across the channel to the port in central George Town, Penang. The ferries cost 1.2 MYR for adults and can only be paid by card at the port. It’s also possibly to take a taxi.
It’s all rather efficient and we found both our outbound and return journey to be totally painless.
Train tickets can be bought up to 60 days in advance directly from the train company.
From Kuala Lumpur to Penang by Plane
It’s a quick, one-hour domestic flight from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. These flights are often very reasonably priced, serviced by lots of budget airlines daily. Typically, a one-way flight costs as low as 70 MYR! Penang’s airport is in the south of the island, roughly an 30-minute drive away from the capital of George Town.
From the airport, it’s easy to rent a car or get a taxi.
We’d be remiss not to mention that if you can take a train, we highly recommend doing so, as it’s far better for the environment (and more fun). It’s also not actually that much slower, since the train station is in central Kuala Lumpur, and Kuala Lumpur International Airport is 54 kilometres outside the city (or a 40 minute train ride), plus all the standard airport security jazz.
We book all our flights on Skyscanner and have used them exclusively for years. It’s the easiest platform to search for the cheapest options across the various airlines.
From Kuala Lumpur to Penang by Bus
Lots of comfortable buses service Peninsula Malaysia, and many operate along the route between Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
To look at bus routes and reserve tickets, check out 12GoAsia, a reliable English language website who list the companies and have reviews.
WHERE TO STAY IN PENANG
The most obvious place to stay in Penang is George Town, especially if you are on a shorter trip. It has absolutely every kind of accommodation you could ask for – so every traveller style will be catered for here.
We stayed in George Town for about half our time, then moved up to the Tangung area because it was more chill for a longer stay (during Chinese New Year!).
Our Choice – Hotel Mokozoyo ($$). This modern, minimalist, uniquely designed hotel really exceeded my expectations, with comfortable beds, Netflix, a great shower, quality aircon and free snacks. The location was perfect, too. It was the small details, really, that made me love it. We’d recommend it for mid-range travellers who care about budget but want nice things!
For a more upscale stay, we’d recommend the Eastern & Oriental Hotel ($$$). It’s super well-rated, classically designed and on the oceanfront, while still being in central George Town. Definitely one of the most sought-after stays in the area!
If you want a proper heritage stay in George Town, we’re torn between Noordin Mews ($$$$), which looks *crazy* beautiful, with some of the best reviews I’ve ever seen, and Ren I Tang Heritage Inn ($$), which is smack bang in the middle of the action, well-priced, with a classic Penang aesthetic and a beautiful courtyard.
–
(Veggie-Friendly) Restaurants in Penang
Below are some of our favourite tried-and-tested restaurants in Penang that we found during our two week trip, in case you’re looking for some extra recommendations on your itinerary. Our choices obviously swing towards the vegetarian end of the spectrum, but most places (unless specifically veggie) are well reviewed for their meat options, too.
To be honest, it’s not hard to get an incredible variety of meat dishes in Penang, literally every corner sells them! However, finding great veggie food was way harder, so this list is more for the suffering vegetarians reading this post.
Also, semi-unrelated, but we (tragically) never found any top quality pizza in Penang.
Our Restaurant Recommendations
Plant a Seed Vegan | beautifully presented, simple Japanese food – order anything with the smoky eggplant (and I don’t usually love eggplant).
Fire By Shankar | south Indian cuisine (I’ll never say no to south Indian and anything served on a banana leaf). This one is also great for meat eaters, but I recommend the veggie fish claypot and the mushroom ghee roast.
Brown Poodle Café | this vegan, predominantly Japanese and Malaysian restaurant is super cute, very well priced and away from the tourists – it seemed to have more of an expat vibe. We had the nasi lemak and mala hot pot, both of which were excellent.
Kedai Bee Thean Heong Vegetarian | top notch veggie laksa street food in central George Town. You’ll almost certainly walk past – don’t miss it.
Uncle Loke Curry Mee | vegetarian curry mee from a hawker stand – our hands down favourite meal in Penang. Make sure to ask for the fried donut bits in the soup, they’re crazy good (when are donuts ever bad?).
52 Vegetarian Food by Guan | another great noodle-y, soupy, veggie street food, although Uncle Loke above is ever so slightly better, in our opinion.
The Garden Banana Leaf | more vegetarian Indian food (it’s all about those banana leaves). This one has incredible portions, fantastic prices and wonderful flavours. Try it.
Restoran Nasi Kandar Line Clear | extremely affordable, casual Malaysian food. We ate here most days we were in George Town, picking up our just cooked roti breads and veggie curry which we’d eat for any meal! It’s definitely more meat heavy, though, so if you’re into fish heads or chicken, this place will be perfect for you!
Halzan | serves international foods with beautiful presentation and top-notch service. Just the restaurant vibes alone made it worth a visit (although the food was pretty magnificent, too).
250C Boulangerie | this bakery, just around the corner from our excellent hotel, was an incredible discovery. It did Japanese sort of style breads, but in a German way? The pretzels, cakey things and all the other treats I bought (and bankrupted myself for) were some of the best we’ve ever eaten. We ate here for breakfast several times (and lunch, too).
![A vegetarian version of the popular 'Curry Mee] dish in Penang, Malaysia.](https://therestlessbeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/vegetarian-curry-george-town-penang-malaysia.webp)
HAS OUR FREE CONTENT HELPED YOU PLAN A PENANG TRIP?
If you’ve found our post helpful, consider booking your rental car (if you need one!), through the company we always use – Discover Cars. They’re the absolute best and have been our rental companion (and savior, thanks to their insurance) in many destinations across the world.
Also, consider booking your accommodation through Booking.com – we use them exclusively when travelling in southeast Asia.
Help like this makes it easier to pay for the upkeep of this site. Thank you!
–
Where to Next?
We absolutely *loved* our time in Penang.
In fact, we weren’t actually supposed to spend two weeks on the island, but really didn’t ever want to leave, so kept extending our stay until we had no choice (we needed to be in Kuala Lumpur for Thaipusam, via a quick stop in Ipoh). It is a steamy, frenetic, fragrant place, one that is worthy of any Malaysia itinerary.
Although we spent two leisurely weeks, we reckon three days is the perfect amount of time for an introduction to Penang, to get a feel for the region and try all of the iconic food on offer!
We hope this post helps you plan your trip – it’s such a fascinating and photogenic place. On that note, if you’re visiting Penang with the goal of taking some nice photographs, take a peek at our favourite photography spots.
Have a magnificent day!
Hi, thanks for visiting our blog! If our free content has been of help to you, or you’ve just enjoyed our random ramblings and musings, say thank you by buying us a coffee! It helps keep The Restless Beans blog up and running.
Thank you, Claire + Nick
