Tornelo

Hello
We are a family 2 adults and one child travelling for 1 month and half in April.
We are planning to stay only in continental Malaysia, we want to spend more time in fewer places, and travel slow. I have identified the following places, we won't go to all of them, we are still seeing how we will move from place to place because of our child . Do you think there is some place here that is not worth going, or is there some place missing that you think is really worth going,.Tips are more than welcome.

Kuala Lumpur - 6/7 days (jet lag day)

Ipoh -3/4 days (around Ipoh:Kuala Kangsar, Taiping)

Cameron Highlands / Tanah Rata - 5 days
(Very curvy roads?? maybe we won't go)

Penang- 6/7 days
(George Town - Batu Ferringhi)

Langkawi - 4 days

Taman negara (is it woth going?Do you have the jungle feeling in other places we intend to visit?)

Pulau Tioman - 6 days

Johor Bahru - 3 days

Malacca - 6 days (?)

Back to Kuala Lumpur-3 days

Thanks for your help.

MmePerdu

I suggest having a look at Malaysian Borneo, Sabah & Sarawak. Cheap flights on Air Asia from KL. Having just returned from a trip that included KL & George Town where I'd been before, if I'd had more time I'd have returned to Borneo - Kuching, Mt. Kinabalu, Sibu & towns up the Batang Rajang (Rajang River). You've got time if you replace some days on your current itinerary that may be a bit redundant with maybe 2 weeks in Borneo. I especially enjoyed Kuching & the small towns up the Rajang by boat.

crellston

A few random thoughts;

Is there a particular reason that you want to stick to peninsula Malaysia? If not then Borneo is definitely worth considering. It is less crowded, arguably easier to get around and so much to see and do you could spend your entire 40 day there and not get bored.

Getting Around; We have spent a lot of time travelling around Malaysia over many years and have always found it to be one of the easiest countries in which to travel. We often rent a car and , if you are ok driving on the left, then you should give that serious consideration especially if your child is very young and need a lot of equipment. It also give you a huge amount of flexibility to get around to less accessible places. We have mostly used Air Asia for budget flights for longer distances. they go to a LOT of destinations and using their network is almost like catching a bus though there is no getting away from the fact that you will always spend a few hours waiting around at airports etc. Buses are good for some destinations KL to Melaka etc.I Definitely try to incorporate trains in to your plan for more info see https://www.seat61.com/map-of-train-...heast-asia.htm KL to Ipoh to Penang is very easy and the only logical way to go that route.

As I say , my wife and I have spent a lot of time travelling around Malaysia since we got married on Langkawi some 26 years ago. A few of the places we have visited are covered in our blog @https://accidentalnomads.com/category/malaysia/ if nothing else, there are a lot of photos!

As to how much time to spend in each place, I like the fact that you are not moving around every couple of days. Packing, unpacking and getting on a plane , train or bus every couple of days gets very tiresome , very soon! I like to think in terms of nights in a place rather than days - 3 nights gives you 2 full days of usable time etc. etc. Of the places you list, I would make the following comments;

• Kuala Lumpur - maybe cut to 5 days
• Ipoh - 4 nights (3 days)
• Cameron Highland - this needs two nights, three max. Avoid weekends at all costs, the traffic is horrendous and it will be very crowded. Don't drive as it is easy to get a bus. Get your hotel to organise a minibus or jeep tour or sort it out on arrival
• Penang - 6/7 days would be great. Having stayed in both Georgetown and Batu Ferrengi, I would most definitely advise Georgetown.
• Langkawi - if beach time is important extend your time there. I believe there are now a few non-beach things for kids so may google that. Use the time from Pulau Tioman, see below.
• Pulau Tioman - Pleasant enough but a beach is a beach and you can get that on the west coast in Langkawi or elsewhere without flying across the country, probably via a connection in KL which would waste a day. It does have rainforests in the interior but you can get that in Taman Negara and many other places
• Johor Bahru - I wouldn't bother
• Melaka - Maybe worth a side trip from KL for a couple of days but, again, I wouldn't bother.

Definitely, spend a couple of night in KL before your flight home if only to cope with travel delays and screw ups. Happy to suggest places in Borneo if you are open to that, but it would be helpful if you could provide some background info on like and, dislikes, interests, type of accommodation (budget/5*/mid range etc)

Tornelo

Hello
Thanks a lot for your reply.
Our background is:
- our daughter is 9 years old
- We prefer to travel slow, stay longer in places allow us to mingle a lillte bit more in daily routines and with people, and we dont what to have a busy daily agenda.
We want to experience the local culture, local food, we want to make family activities as well, children activities. We prefer midrange accommodation. We prefer to avoid crowded touristic places (sometimes is not possible)
The reason we didnt choose a visit to Borneo, was because we thought we had a lot to see in peninsula Malaysia.
I do understand your point of view on Pulau Tioman, from our research we found it was a more local destination so we thought would me nice.
Eventough we dont want a deep into the jungle experience, we would like a small experience in the jungle with our daughter, is Taman Negara suitable? For how long would you think is necessary for Taman Negara. Also do you know if Malaria medication is needed?
-About Borneo for how long would you think os worth a visit, and which places?
Thanks a lot again for your Help, looking forward for your feedback.

crellston

Jungle experience- Taman Negara would be great for a brief visit as its not too far from KL. a couple of days should be enough for a taster visit.

Malaria - is a risk in Borneo though not a a high enough risk to warrant taking tablets. Peninsula Malaysia is low to no risk . Dengue fever could be a bigger issue. See https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/dest...-east/malaysia . Basically don’t get bitten - spray and cover up.

Accomodation - plenty of good, mid range accommodation throughout Malaysia. I usually use booking.com . You can set the filters for price , location etc. and , in your case , for rooms that will take 3. Avoid the generic chain hotels in favour of small locally owned places and check the reviews. For me, nothing below an 8. In KL it could be worth splashing out on one of the 5* places for a touch of luxury as rates there are amongst the cheapest in Asia.

Borneo - if it were me I would likely drop Tioman, Malacca and Johor Bahru perhaps add a few days to Langkawi and us the remainder for Borneo. Either head for Kuching and take some trips out from there or Kota Kinabalu a couple of days there, a visit to Mount Kinabalu park and then perhaps Sandakan/ Sepilok for the Orangutan Rehab Centre, the Rainforest Conservation Centre, or, for more jungle, a trip on the Kinbangatan River.

There are some photos and detail of some of these places in our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/malaysia/