Malaysia is often overlooked by most travelers as a pass-through country when they are backpacking around Southeast Asia. However, what they may not know is that Malaysia is one of the easiest and cheapest places to travel in Southeast Asia, with a very generous visa policy (up to 90 days), a great selection of food, and many cool and unexpectedly awesome places to see.
Here is a complete backpacking guide and a 10-day Malaysia itinerary for solo travelers. Let's begin, shall we?
Malaysia Itinerary Map
| ☀️ Day 1-3: | Kuala Lumpur |
| ☀️ Day 4: | Melaka |
| ☀️ Day 5-7: | Cameron Highlands |
| ☀️ Day 8-10: | Penang |
10 Days Malaysia Itinerary
Day 1 - 3: Kuala Lumpur (3 Nights)
Kuala Lumpur is the bustling capital city of Malaysia, with plenty of overlooked things to do and places to visit.
First and foremost, if you are interested in the history of Malaysia and how it came to be, I would recommend you visit the National Museum (Muzium Negara). The museum is very well-organized with 4 rooms dedicated to each period of history, from the founding period to modern Malaysia. There is a lot to learn from their bloodless struggle for independence.
You can spend your first day exploring the city with a visit to the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. Be sure to check out the park behind the Petronas towers before you leave too. It's a great place to cool down from the heat of KL.
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Another great place to explore is the Bukit Bintang area, where all the high-end shopping malls are. Even if you are not into shopping, it is still a great place to visit to see the architecture, the people, and all the delicious food to eat.
If you are interested in the cafe culture (Kopi culture) in Kuala Lumpur, there are several cafes you should check out, such as VCR, Yut Kee, and many others.
Photos by IQRemix.
At night, you can visit Jalan Alor Street and try all the street food they have there. From Indian to Thai, there are countless street-side restaurants where you can sit and enjoy.
The next day, you can make a day trip to Batu Cave and hike up 272 steps to the sacred Hindu temple inside a limestone mountain. The Batu cave is easily accessible via a train connecting Kuala Lumpur with the cave.
Day 4: Melaka (1 Night)
After Kuala Lumpur, you can take a bus south to the historic port city of Melaka, formerly known as Malacca, for a one-night stop and explore the diverse culture of the Nyonya. See how colonial powers influenced and shaped the city to what it is today.
The city is only 2 hours away from Kuala Lumpur, so you can easily see most of the tourist attractions in a day. First and foremost, visit the Stadthuys Square and Christ Church, a unique red-colored square that is considered to be the oldest Dutch colonial structure left in the East.
Nearby the Stadthuys, there is a walking street called Jonker Street, where you can find plenty of restaurants and street food stalls to indulge yourself. On a weekend at night, the street turns itself into a flea market where you can buy cheap handcrafts, street food, and many more.
You can also walk up from the Stadthuys to St. Paul's Church and A Famosa fort, and get a view of Melaka from St. Paul's Hill.
If you want to learn more about the history of the Melaka kingdom and how it became an important port city in the ancient world that dominated trade, you should visit the Sultanate Palace Museum and the Maritime Museum. The former discusses how the kingdom came to be, while the latter focuses more on maritime trade, including how it operated under the sultanate, the Dutch, and the British. I really enjoyed the content of both museums.
Day 5 - 7: Cameron Highlands (3 Nights)
After Melaka, you can take a bus back to Kuala Lumpur in the morning and get another bus to Cameron Highlands. It should take around 4 hours to get from Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highlands and should not cost you more than 35 MYR.
There are two ways you can explore Cameron Highlands: one is with a tour, and another is via hiking. Since you will have two full days in Cameron Highlands, I would recommend that you do a tour to visit further-away tourist attractions like the Boh tea plantation and the Mossy Forest. On another day, you can go hiking on your own.
It should cost around 50 MYR for a half-day tour, including a visit to the Boh tea plantation and a hike around the Mossy forest. I went with Eco Cameron, and I can vouch for them. The guide is well-informed, and he even took me to a secret mossy forest instead of the well-trodden one.
For the second day, I would recommend that you go on a hike on your own through the tea plantation. There are several (14) hiking trails you can do in Cameron Highlands, but the one I recommend is a combination of trail #6 and trail #10, which will take you up to Gunung Jasar and down through Cameron Valley tea plantation. Check out my complete hiking guide to Cameron Highlands for further detail.
Day 8 - 10: Penang (3 Nights)
Last but not least, let's visit the food paradise of Malaysia, Penang, another important port city that has seen better development by the British in recent times compared to Melaka.
George Town is a good place to base yourself out of to explore Penang as there are quite a few cool things to do in the area. Such things to do are exploring the street arts of George Town, walking along the Chew Jetty, and enjoying cheap beers at the Antarabangsa Enterprise stall.
From George Town, you can also take a direct bus and spend a day at the Kek Lok Si temple, try the most delicious Laksa there, and be sure to visit the Farlim Night Market in the evening. Indulge yourself in all the street food Penang has to offer.
When to Visit Malaysia?
Humidity is high all year round in Malaysia, and the temperature often hovers around 30°C in the lowlands and 20°C in the highlands.
March to April is often considered to be the best time to visit since it is the shoulder season, which will give you the best of both worlds: relatively drier weather than January and February, but fewer tourists than from May to October.
That said, if your holiday doesn't coincide with the recommended period, any months between March and October are also good options.
How to Get to Malaysia?
Malaysia is easily accessible via AirAsia, a popular low-cost airline in Asia that is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. All the flights will pass through KL, so you won't have any trouble traveling to Malaysia from within Asia.
Be sure to browse through Skyscanner or Expedia for a cheap flight from your home country to Malaysia.
If you are coming from Singapore, there are several buses leaving from Singapore to Melaka every day. It should cost you around 80 MYR, and it will take you 4 hours to get to Melaka. You can book your bus ticket from 12Go Asia for this trip.
If you are currently in Thailand and want to visit Malaysia, there are several buses connecting Hat Yai (Thailand) to George Town, Penang. The bus should cost around 40 MYR and will take around 4-5 hours.
How to Get Around Malaysia?
The bus system in Malaysia is very well-connected and accessible to tourists, and most people speak English, which helps a lot in navigating the country via public transport.
All the places recommended in this itinerary are connected via Kuala Lumpur, so you can easily book your bus tickets online at 12Go Asia and show up at either Terminal Bersepadu Selatan or KL Sentral Bus Terminal.
Within big cities like Kuala Lumpur, you can take the RapidKL train, which should cover most of the tourist attractions in and around the city. The GRAB taxi app is also a great option if you are looking to get around places further away from the usual tourist area.
For smaller cities like Penang, you can easily walk to most places or you can take a local bus to visit the tourist attractions easily and cheaply.
For Cameron Highlands and Melaka, most tourist attractions in these two places are within walking distance. In Cameron Highlands, there are several hiking trails you can explore to see different places. In Melaka, you can either walk or easily call the GRAB taxi app to get around the city quite easily.
Daily Budget
This place is quite affordable compared to all the other countries in the world. If you are planning a trip here, you can expect to spend around $25 - $45 USD per day per person, which should include accommodation and three meals.
Please keep in mind that these are suggested daily budgets based on my own style of travel, which leans more towards the budget side of things. If you aim to stick to this budget, anticipate sleeping in dormitories, dining out only occasionally, and being comfortable with the cheapest and most convenient modes of transportation, which often involve a considerable amount of walking.
Which tourist SIM card is best for Malaysia?
Update: If your phone supports eSIM, I highly recommend checking out Airalo, a global eSIM marketplace. It allows you to stay connected affordably while traveling in Malaysia without having to switch out your physical SIM card.
Gone are the days when you needed to scramble to find a local SIM card at an airport upon arrival. You can purchase an eSIM before your arrival, and you'll be good to go. If your phone doesn't support eSIM, here is how you can get a local SIM card in Malaysia:
Internet access in Malaysia is really good, even if you just rely on WiFi. The hostels I stayed at all have great WiFi, or if not, any cafes, notably PapaRich and Old Town White Coffee cafe, that are literally in every city in Malaysia, all have reliable fast WiFi.
If you want access to the internet on the go, you can get a local SIM card as well for a very decent price. I got a 5GB SIM card for 30 days from Celcom for only 30 MYR, and I had 4G connection in almost every place I visited.
For more information on Malaysia SIM cards: Malaysia Prepaid Data SIM Card.
Tips: To stay connected with people at home, be sure that you have a VPN, such as ProtonVPN, installed before traveling. It's FREE, and you can gain access to services that may be blocked in certain countries.
What to Pack for Malaysia?
As you may already know, I am an advocate of light traveling, and indeed, packing light for a journey like this is a unique art form. Here are some packing tips for your upcoming trip to Malaysia:
- Walking/Hiking Shoes: With all the walking and possible hiking during your travel, a comfortable pair of shoes is a must. I recommend the Timberland 3-Eye Classic Boat Shoes that are my go-to pair for long strolls and hikes.
- Breathable Shirts: Given the potential for hot weather, pack a few breathable shirts for your outdoor adventures.
- Shorts/Jeans: Anticipate lots of walking during your travels? Be sure to pack some breathable shorts and a pair of Levi's jeans for when the weather cools. For women, leggings are excellent for both hot and cold climates, so consider packing some as well.
- Outer Shell Jacket: An outer shell jacket is great for windy or rainy conditions. I highly recommend the Columbia Watertight Jacket (for women). It's lightweight, breathable, and even comes in a cool orange color.
- Microfiber Towel: A Microfiber towel is the ideal backpacker's towel due to its lightness, quick drying, and compressibility.
- Swim Suits: A swim trunk is a must-pack item if you are planning to visit Malaysia in the summer, just in case there is a body of water you can jump in.
- Camera: You should also pack a good camera for your trip so that you can capture all the beautiful experiences you might have. I recommend the Sony a7R V camera together with the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 GM II lens, which is probably the highest-performance camera and lens combination you can get right now.
- Power Bank: Keep your electronics charged on the go with a 20,000+ mAh Power Bank.
- Water Bottle: The Hydro Flask Trail Water Bottle is a great insulated water bottle to have with you in cities or on hiking trails. It is lightweight and can keep your water cold or warm for more than 12 hours. It's a total game-changer.
- Universal Adapter: You'll need just one universal adapter to plug in your electronics in any country you visit.
- Packing Cubes: Packing Cubes will help you save space in your backpack and keep all your belongings organized.
- Daypack: The Langly Alpha Globetrotter is my go-to everyday camera backpack. It's large enough to carry all my travel gear, and it comes with plenty of slots and pouches. Plus, it's stylish as hell!
- Large Backpack: You will need a large backpack to carry all of your stuff. I recommend the Osprey Atmos AG 65L backpack. With excellent weight distribution and a lifetime guarantee, you can't go wrong with Osprey.
For more information on what I pack in my backpack for this trip, check out: My Packing List: 60 Travel Essentials.
Now that we have all the information we need, it's time to start planning your trip! Here are some resources to help you get going:
Are you planning to travel independently? Be sure to check out my guide on How To Plan A Backpacking Trip here.
Further Reading for Malaysia
Malaysia may often be overlooked by travelers, but the country has so much to offer that you can't get anywhere else in Southeast Asia.
Here are a selection of articles you might want to read about Malaysia:
- Are you planning to travel to Malaysia as part of a big Southeast Asia trip? Check out our 3-month backpacking itinerary for Southeast Asia.
- Planning a trip to Malaysia and not sure where to begin? Check out: 10 Best Places to Visit in Malaysia.
- Kuala Lumpur is where you will likely land when you are traveling in Southeast Asia, and from the outside, it may look like your typical Asian city. However, KL is so much more, and at a cheaper price too. Here’s a complete guide on things to do in Kuala Lumpur.
- Not your first time in Kuala Lumpur? How about we go explore the cafe and the unique Kopitiam culture of Kuala Lumpur with the 8 Best Cafes and Restaurants to try in Kuala Lumpur guide?
- If you are looking for a day trip from Kuala Lumpur or somewhere to stop on your way to/from Singapore, Melaka is a great place to stop and learn a little bit about this ancient port city. Check out my 8 Incredible things to do in Melaka travel guide here.
- Cameron Highlands is a break from the hot, humid weather and the bustling city of KL that you need. Surrounded by mountains and tea plantations, here is a complete travel guide on things to do in Cameron Highlands.
- Cameron Highlands is high up in the mountains, with a cool breeze that makes it the perfect place to go hiking. There are over 14 trails to choose from. Check out my ultimate hiking guide to Cameron Highlands.
- Penang is the food heaven of Malaysia, and it is a must-stop on your way to/from Thailand. Here are 10 Best Things to Do in Penang.
- Want to go off the beaten path in Malaysia? Let's head over to Borneo with a complete travel guide and a 2-week itinerary for Borneo and Brunei.
- Want to know where to go after Malaysia? How about spending 3 days in Singapore or going snorkeling on Koh Lipe, Thailand?
- For all articles about Malaysia, visit the Malaysia Travel Guide page.
- Looking for more travel guides for Southeast Asia? You can find more on my Southeast Asia Travel Guide page.
- I have also compiled all of my favorite photos I took in Southeast Asia into one post. Check out 64 photos of Southeast Asia that will inspire you to travel.
- For more of my travel guides, visit the All Destination Travel Guide page.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.