What You Need to Know Before You Go to Malaysia 

So you’ve heard many people talking about how much they love Malaysia and you want to check it out. We are so glad you’re here. We too were in your spot. People raved about Malaysia and its blending of cultures, food, and languages. We were so excited to check it out for ourselves and spent 6 weeks exploring Malaysia. And you know what, we were wildly impressed by this country. We think it’s definitely worth checking out if you are interested in Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Arab cultures all blended together in a unique harmony. 

Where is Malaysia?

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian nation situated close to the Equator. It is made up of two separate regions split by the South China Sea. One part, known as Peninsular Malaysia, lies on the Malay Peninsula. This section shares land borders with Thailand in the north and Singapore to the south. The second part of the country, East Malaysia, is located on the island of Borneo. It borders Indonesia and Brunei. If you want to explore both sections, you’ll have to fly between the west and east sections. Luckily this is very easy as there are daily flights between the two regions.

Weather in Malaysia

Malaysia sits near the equator so you can expect hot and humid year round. Most days are 25-35C (77-95F) which doesn’t sound too bad. However when you factor in the 70-90% humidity year round, expect to always be sweating. It’s so much hotter than you can even imagine. Walking around in the shade with a breeze can be ok but the second you are in the sun, it’s scorching! You’ll notice many people carry a small portable fan around their necks to keep cool. 

One thing we noticed is that it rained literally every day we were there (for 6 weeks in March/April). Usually it was a quick late afternoon rain but it can also last a few hours. When it rained, we just popped into a cafe or mall to get inside and waited it out. This type of weather seems pretty typical as the city is designed for rain. You’ll also see people carrying umbrellas and it seems to be two parts: one for shade and one for rain! Great idea! 

Best time to visit Malaysia 

The best time to visit Malaysia depends on where you are going. If you want the cities on the West Coast like Langkawi, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, the best time to visit is December–February. If you are going to the East Coast like Perhentian, Tioman, Redang, the best time to visit is March–September. Try to avoid going during November–February as it’s the very wet/monsoon season. Finally if you’re heading to the island of Borneo like Sabah or Sarawak, you can expect humid and rainy year-round, though usually wetter November–February.

Visa for Malaysia

Malaysia is a relatively open country. They offer visa free entry for either 30 or 90 days for almost 100 countries. Within 3 days before you arrive, you need to fill out the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) electronically. The MDAC is free so don’t use an agent or website that asks for a fee to file it. It takes just a few minutes on their governments website here and is completely free. 

Language in Malaysia

While the official language in Malaysia is Malay, you will find English, Chinese, and Tamil widely spoken. Most signs and menus are in multiple languages. It makes it convenient for travelers and it’s a fun place to brush up on your language skills! 

Cash or Credit Card in Malaysia

The national currency is the Malaysian ringgit. We found that in big cities like Kuala Lumpur you don’t need cash. Almost everywhere accepted our foreign Visa credit card. There were one or two smaller shops that only accepted cash but overall you can get away without taking out cash if you’re staying in KL. 

That being said, if you go anywhere else like Ipoh or Penang, you will definitely need cash. In these towns, most places accept only cash or a QR code that is associated with Malaysian banks and Chinese payment apps. 

Depending on how long you’ll be in Malaysia there is a Touch ‘n Go (TNG) card. It was originally designed for toll roads and public transportation and the physical card can still be used for that. Recently it has expanded to include a TNG eWallet app to scan DuitNow QR codes at cafes, restaurants, and fast-food chains. Do note that the physical TNG card is not used for retail dining payments. You have to set up the eWallet app first. 

Airports in Kuala Lumpur

There are a few airports in the KL region but most international flights come to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). One thing that was kind of confusing to me was how they also use acronyms to reference their terminals. KLIA is the primary terminal, serving full-service carriers such as Malaysia Airlines, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways. KLIA2 is about 2 km away, primarily serving low-cost carriers including AirAsia and Scoot. If you need to switch terminals, plan ahead. 

Yes the airport seems very far south from the city (about 45 minutes away) but there are two easy ways to get into the city. First is the express train. It doesn’t make any stops so it’s perfect for a quick ride into town. But you will need to get yourself from the KL Sentral train station to your hotel. The second way is taking a taxi or Grab. Usually this costs more but when we went, it actually cost about the same price as two of us taking the express train, and it dropped us off at the front steps of our hotel so it was easier and cheaper. 

Definitely download the Grab app before you travel. It makes calling a cab super easy and you can connect to your payment of choice. We ended up using it almost daily. 

Getting Around Malaysia – Transportation

Malaysia is definitely a car friendly country (with super cheap gas prices) and yes it helps to have a car but do you need to rent a car in Malaysia? Well I guess it all depends on what you want to do. If your trip consists of mostly cities, you can walk, take taxis, public transportation, or even trains to get between the cities. 

If you want to venture farther outside the city, we used Grab for taxis which was so cheap and easy to get around so we never felt like we needed to rent a car. But check your itinerary, see what you want to do and then decide. Do note that Malaysia drives on the British side of the road.

To get between cities we used their train system. This is a little confusing because there are so many train systems (Kommuter, ETS, KTM, etc). The ETS train is the fastest train and it’s very clean and modern. Also the trains run on time which is great. One thing we noticed is that the stations are not well marked when trying to find the right platform. A few minutes before you board, someone will call from a loud speaker. It’s not very helpful for us who like to make sure we’re in the right place. Often we found ourselves asking an attendant as there wasn’t good signage to tell us where to go. One station had a tv they used to project the boarding time but most didn’t. So just be early, ask questions, and be prepared to stay alert to announcements.

Serviced Apartments vs Hotels in Malaysia 

One amazing feature we found in Malaysia is that it’s very typical to rent a fully furnished apartment. They were usually about the same price as hotel rooms but they come with better household amenities like a wash machine, kitchen, and even a filtered water machine (in some). They are not as nice as hotels as there is no daily cleaning but they felt more homey. 

The confusing thing, when we were researching apartments, is that one big residential high rise building will have 20+ different companies owning and operating rentals so when you look up the reviews on GoogleMaps the reviews aren’t always for the rental company you are going to be renting with. Make sure to check the specific reviews on your booking app like Trip.com or Booking.com as those reviews will be for the company you are renting with.

Is Malaysia the food capital of the world?

There’s no doubt that Malaysia has a wide variety of food. With so many unique people groups coming to the land throughout the centuries, the influence is still seen in all the food today. 

First you have the Malay food and it’s wildly delicious. Most dishes are rich in depth, flavor, and texture. Lots of spices, creamy coconut, crunchy add-ins, and of course sauces on the side give it a unique twist. 

There are some very popular Malay dishes you can try. The most famous is the nasi lemak . The fragrant rice is cooked with coconut milk and pandan leaves. The fried egg, peanuts, and crunchy fried anchovies (ikan bilis) give it an irresistible texture. And the fresh sliced cucumber compliments the spicy sambal (chili paste). I’m drooling just thinking about it. 

Laksa is another must try. It’s a delicious soup. One thing to note is there are a few versions. Curry Laksa is creamy with coconut milk. It is typically served using yellow mee (thick egg noodles) or mee hoon (rice vermicelli). Usually it’s topped with bean sprouts, prawns, shredded chicken or pork slices, fried tofu puffs, cockles, and long beans. We were told this is more Singaporean but it’s delicious and hearty! 

While the Assam Laksa is made with mackerel, galangal, chili, lemongrass and tamarind for a sour/spicy flavour. It’s delicious but some may not like it as it’s pretty fishy. It reminded me of tuna flavor in the best way possible. 

Then there is the mouth watering beef rendang. This rich, tender dry curry featuring beef slow-cooked for hours in coconut milk and spices. It’s a fragrant dish that uses lemongrass, galangal, ginger, and garlic, making it a luxurious, intense culinary experience.

Finally the drinks. Kopi (coffee) and Teh (tea) are a way of life here. I’ve never been somewhere with such an extensive way to order just two drinks. Coffee and tea are not just served plain. You can get it with sweetened condensed milk, with evaporated milk, with sugar, without sugar, iced, or hot and every combination in between. Kopi by itself implies the sweetened condensed milk and sugar so if you want it without, you have to order it without. But try it at least once, it’s delicious. 

There are so many other amazing dishes that we could write a full blog post about just Malaysian food so try as much as you can. 

Not only is Malaysian food popular here, you can also find almost all types and varieties of other food.  Click here to see everything we ate. We ate some amazing Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Indian, Arab, American, and all sorts of types of food. I think there are more restaurants in Malaysia than there are people so you can spend years trying all the different restaurants. It’s wildly impressive! 

How long should I go to Malaysia?

Malaysia is a wildly interesting and unique place that combines their own Malay culture with so many other cultures from around the world. The influences of so many types of languages and food is amazing to experience all in one country. Also there is something for everyone here from beaches of the islands, to the big city of Kuala Lumpur, to the National Forests and Wildlife Reserves for orangutan conservation on the island of Borneo. We definitely recommend you check out smaller towns like Ipoh and possibly Penang, George Town but you can read our honest opinions about them in our other blog posts. 

If you can spend a few weeks here, do it. If you only have a few days, you’ll get a great overview that will invite you back!