Penang Travel Guide: How To See Penang In 3 Days

Visiting Penang? Read this Penang travel guide and find out how to see it all in 3 days. From top tourist highlights to where to stay, this blog talks about it all. So let’s get started…

Penang Island is one of those rare places in the world that I would like to revisit any day. There are beaches, laid-back towns, and delicious street food, all with a beautiful mix of Malay, Indian and Chinese culture.

I’ve been to Penang twice (in 2019 and 2024). In 2024, during my 1-week motorcycle road trip across Malaysia, I spent three nights here.

Georgetown is one of the most visited neighborhoods in Penang. It is also a UNESCO heritage city. There are over 80 street art murals, over a dozen temples, and a Clan Jetty area. And that’s just one area in Penang. So yeah, one can stay in Penang for more than a month, and still not repeat the same spot they explored yesterday. But if you’ve only 3 days to uncover Penang, and want to make the most of your visit follow this Penang travel guide.

Penang Travel Guide

I expect you to be an urban backpacker with good taste in travel. But first thing first…

How To Travel From Kuala Lumpur To Penang

And now…

Where To Stay In Penang

If you only have about 3 days in Penang, I suggest you make Georgetown your base. Though tucked to the side, Georgetown is the centre of attraction on the entire island. Other areas of interest like Monkey Beach and Penang Hill can easily be visited on a full or half-day trip from Georgetown.

Another reason why I recommend Georgetown is because everything is accessible at a stone’s throw there. From food to transport, and great experiences to a rich accommodation scene, Georgetown has enough of everything.

Additionally, in Georgetown, the best area would be Gurney Drive. This is where you will find some of the best luxury hotels. I stayed at GHotel and recommend the place. It is one of the most luxurious hotels (rated 5-star) with a range of rooms. We booked an executive room that cost us RM 1,070 for a night. But with that price, came absolute luxury.

  

The hotel had a total of 7 categories namely Deluxe Room (the lowest price category), Executive Room, Duplex Suite, L Suite, Executive Suite, X Suite & G Suite. For all room categories starting from the Executive Room and above, the hotel offered complimentary evening cocktails and canapes between 6 and 8 pm.

What I also loved about GHotel Penang is that they had two hotels (GHotel Gurney and GHotel Kelawai) located a stone’s throw away from each other. And if you’re staying at one hotel, you can visit and enjoy the services of the other hotel too. Meaning, that you can book a room a GHotel Gurney (like we did) and experience the rooftop pool of GHotel Kelawai (or vice-versa). Same for morning buffet breakfast and evening cocktails. It’s almost like enjoying two hotels for the price of one.

Another thing I loved about the place was the free minibar that offered a range of drinks and chocolates. A friendly staff, beautiful decor and a central location were additional perks.

Please wait for the YouTube video that I will soon publish about my experience with Ghotel. Coming up here soon!

Now let’s begin with our original topic in hand and discuss Penang Travel Itinerary.

Penang In 3 Days: Travel Itinerary

DAY 1: GEORGETOWN

Because we are staying in Georgetown and it is the highlight in Penang, we will start our Penang travel guide from Georgetown only. And speaking of the Day 1 itinerary, this is how it goes…

Street Art In Georgetown & Other Prominent Sites

Street art in Georgetown, Penang is one of the highlights and the very reason why I would call Georgetown a modern heritage town. The way how the city has infused new art forms into its decade-old architecture is worth appreciating.

Every 20 metres you can find beautiful graffiti art or a metal sculpture retelling the story of Penang in the form of its many local characters. To date, the town has 52 steel-rod sculptures and over 40 graffiti sites, out of which some were created by a popular international artist Ernest Zacharevic.

While most of the murals are located at Labuh Armenian and Gat Lebuh Armenia, a few popular ones may require you to go a little offbeat.

But if you’re short on time, just stick only to Labuh Armenian and Gat Lebuh Armenia, and you will uncover most of the prominent street art designs that the town has to offer.

Visit the local information centre, located at Lebuh Pantai to find a walking tour map, if you want to explore street art beyond the two streets.

Tip: If you’re staying in Georgetown, and are only covering a few popular streets, you can finish your hunt for Street Art in under half a day. Once done with street art, let’s start with other tourist places in Georgetown, as our Day1 part2 of the Penang travel guide.

Other Prominent Sites In Georgetown

Georgetown gained its title of World Heritage town back in 2008, and since then attracted an overwhelming flow of foreign tourists. There are more than 1,700 historic buildings within its core zone, aligned on four main streets namely Pengkalan Weld, Lebuh Pantai, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling and Harmony Street.

Some of the top attractions, I will recommend you will be, Kapitan Keling Mosque on Jalan Kapitan Keling, The Goddess of Mercy Temple (Kuan Yin Teng) on Harmony Street, the Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple with its back facing Harmony Street, St George’s Church on Harmony Street, and colonial buildings of the Penang Town Hall and the Penang City Hall located right in the waterfront area of Esplanade Padang.

Please note that all the attractions mentioned above have free admission.

Tip: To find some intense backpacking action, and find the coolest cafes & guest houses, head to Love Lane.

Spend Your Evening Exploring Little India & Dining There

Though you can find Little India practically in every town in Malaysia, the one in Penang is a little intense and takes you some 7,000 kilometres away, and in another part of the continent.

A colourful and vibrant mix of the Indian community, filled with multi-coloured shop houses selling fabrics, sarees, jewellery and even Tamil magazines, the Little India of Penang is congested and crisp and is made up of 3 main streets, which includes Lebuh Chulia, Lebuh Queen, and Jalan Pasar.

And if you are looking for some good Indian food, you’ve come to the right place. There are several places serving dishes including Briyani rice, Nasi Kandar, Tandoori, Roti Canai, you name it. You will also find numerous stalls selling Indian sweets and biri (a version of Indian cigarettes).

Day 2: GEORGETOWN & AROUND

Starting with day 2 of our Penang travel guide itinerary, we start with the most unique thing in Georgetown: Clan Jetties!

Early Morning Visit To The Clan Jetties

The Clan Jetties in Georgetown, Penang, are unique Chinese settlements that have been around since the 19th century. Immigrants initially came here to find new job opportunities, with most of them ending up working as porters and fishermen. But with changing times and needs, most of them today are making money by catering to tourists.

Out of the many clan jetties that initially resided back, six clan jetties remained, where you can visit and see stilt houses built along the jetties over the water. The homes were originally built over the water and in the seas, in order to avoid paying taxes, and the interesting thing is, all the families living in Clan Jetties are, even today, not required to pay any taxes. Each jetty is named after a specific Chinese clan, who settled in houses built along the jetties.

The Chew Jetty is the most popular one to visit, but it is worth taking the time to see the other jetties as well.

Tip: Early morning is the best time to explore the area when locals are busy with their day-to-day work and tourists are rare to find.

Out of the many clan jetties that initially resided back, six clan jetties remained, where you can visit and see stilt houses built along the jetties over the water.

The homes were originally built over the water and in the seas, to avoid paying taxes, and the interesting thing is, all the families living in Clan Jetties are, even today, not required to pay any taxes. Each jetty is named after a specific Chinese clan, who settled in houses built along the jetties. The Chew Jetty is the most popular one to visit, but it is worth taking the time to see the other jetties as well.

Half-Day Tour To Kek Lok Si And Penang Hill

The next thing in our Penang travel guide is a half-day tour to Penang Hill.

Take bus number 203 from Komtar to Kek Lok Si, which is the biggest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia. The huge temple is stunning, peaceful, and impressive, with some great spots to take some photos. The bus takes nearly half an hour from Komtar to Kek Lok Si.

Not too far from Kek Lok Si (2.5 Km), is located Penang Hill. You can either hike the 5.1 km or take bus number 204. But for those, short in time, perhaps hiking isn’t an option. It’s moreover rare to find people walking when you can cover the journey in a bus for 2Rm.

Standing at 833 meters high, Penang Hill is the oldest British hill station in Southeast Asia, dating back its foundation to the 1700s. The main highlight here is the funicular train ride that transports visitors to the Skyway, which has a stunning 360° view of the surrounding area.

Tip: Try to team up with another person for Penang Hill train ride if you’re travelling solo. One person should go get the tickets while the other person stands in the entry queue for the train. This will save you a lot of time.

Day 3: MONKEY BEACH

Located on the other side of Penang National Park, the Monkey Beach in Penang is a tourist highlight and one of the top beaches in Malaysia, where you’re allowed (and expected) to swim in swimsuits and even camp in night.

Getting to the entrance of the Penang National Park, from Georgetown, is very easy. Just take bus number 101 (from Komtar bus station) to the end of the line and you’ll be there.

In nearly 45 minutes you get to the starting point of Penang National Park, from where your trek to Monkey Beach starts.

Now, there are 3 ways to get to Monkey Beach: One is by hiring a personal boat, which can cost around 100-150Rm for a return ticket. Option two is, that you hike one way and return by boat (something that I ended up doing). And three, you hike both ways.

Depending upon your fitness level, you can reach Monkey Beach in 1.5 to 3 hours. So if you hike one way and return by boat, you still invest nearly 5 hours for Monkey Beach, plus 1.5 hours of bus journey from the town.

Admissions to the national park are free, you only pay for any boat services you opt for.

Be warned that hiking through the national park is going to be much more involved than you may initially anticipate. Before long you may be clambering over rocks, ducking under tree trunks, scrambling down steep ledges and circumnavigating a maze of branches and roots.

In short, you will be walking through a dense forest, so dress appropriately. And then, there will be heat. So don’t forget to carry enough water and food with you. There is absolutely nothing to buy anything along the way. However, once you reach Monkey Beach you may find some shot, but with everyone charging at least 25% extra of the retail price.

A hike to Monkey Beach is going to take a good share of your day. But if you still find some time and a bit of energy left in you, I’ll recommend exploring Gurney Drive and perhaps even dining there, at Gurney Drive evening street food market.

Have you been to Penang? Do you have anything to add to this blog on Penang Travel Guide?

Also, read my 3 days in Kuala Lumpur itinerary.