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12-day Malaysia and Singapore itinerary
Welcome to our 12-day Malaysia and Singapore itinerary! This is a post we really wanted to write because we loved the country and we believe it is a travel gem to be discovered. It is a place with very specific cultural characteristics, a society with a very diverse population and very different neighborhoods, an aspect that can be seen in all its corners. As we have said, for us, a discovery and a place that we loved.
Malaysia has many places to discover and we would have liked to include some other places that finally we could not. We think that the route we did is very cool to know the country but we would add places like the Langkawi Islands or Cameron Highlands. In the time we had, the route was as follows:
- Day 1-2: Singapore
- Day 3: Malaka
- Day 4-6: Kuala Lumpur
- Day 7-8: Georgetown
- Day 9-11: Perhentian Islands
- Day 12: Return to KL.
A VERY important consideration is that the Perhentian Islands are only open to tourism from March to October, so in case you go in the months that are not included here, we would recommend you to change it for the Langkawi Islands, which are located on the west coast of the country.
How to move in Malaysia and Singapore
We have good news for you. Malaysia and Singapore are two of the cheapest and best connected countries with domestic transportation in ALL of Southeast Asia. We are talking about all types of transportation: airplanes, buses and cabs:
- Plane: It is surely one of the places we have seen the best to move around by plane, as it is easy to find flights between the main cities super cheap. As you will see below, we did not use internal planes but it was for a logistical issue and savings in some cases, but it is easy to find flights for 15-30 euros between major cities. We recommend you to check the options on Trip.com.
- Bus: The best way to move internally on a Malaysia and Singapore itinerary. They are buses that connect practically all points of the country, they are super comfortable and spacious and very punctual. The best option to take them in Asia is obviously 12GO, the most reliable website.
- Cab: Obviously, it is not the best option to move long distances, but it is a GREAT option for transportation within cities like Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Many times it is the same price as public transportation and it is much more comfortable. The app par excellence is Grab, download it before leaving home.
Day 1: Singapore
We started our 12-day Malaysia and Singapore itinerary in one of the most luxurious and spectacular cities in the world, Singapore. As a first note about this city, it is very expensive. Forget that you are in Southeast Asia, suddenly, the cost of living is at the level of large European cities, so we decided that it was worth spending only two nights in the city to avoid paying so much for accommodation.
We arrived in Singapore from Japan, as this route is part of our 7 months traveling in Asia. We recommend arriving directly at the Singapore airport (or leaving it) since there you will have the first sightseeing of the route. Singapore has one of the most spectacular airports in the world, the Jewel Changi Airport, which houses the largest indoor waterfall on the planet (40 meters), the HSBC Rain Vortex. You’ll find it in the waiting area before passing through the controls, you can’t miss it.
We headed to the center of Singapore to leave our things. We arrived in the afternoon, left our things at the hotel and headed to see the most important attraction of the city, Gardens by the Bay. Its main attraction is the Supertrees and we wanted to see it at night, as they put on a very cool light show. We decided to see the show and visit the park in detail the next day.
Where to sleep: As we have told you, this city is crazy in terms of prices. We wanted to save money and we went for a capsule hotel in a shared room. We stayed at CapsulePod Aljunied and, to be honest, we liked it. It was clean, tidy and quite intimate in the capsules.
Where to eat: We ate at a Thai place below our hotel, nothing special.
Day 2: Singapore
We woke up eager to make the most of this second day of our Malaysia and Singapore itinerary. We wanted to visit quite a few interesting places in the city as we had always been quite curious to see it.
We started the day in Haji Lane, located in the neighborhood of Kampong Glam. Singapore has influences from many different cultures and, as you will see throughout the day, we visited many neighborhoods of different origins. This neighborhood is known as the Arab/Malay neighborhood of the city and one of the most historic. We recommend:
- Haji Lane Street, known for the urban murals, which tell the history of the neighborhood through painting.
- Sultan Mosque, one of the most important in the country.
- Strolling through its many craft stores, cafes and restaurants. It is a very lively neighborhood that invites you to enjoy a while in it and buy interesting souvenirs.
- We would also recommend its nightlife, which is very lively and diverse.
After finishing Kampong Glam, we wanted to walk to the Gardens By The Bay area. We do not recommend walking too much, as Singapore is one of the places where we have noticed the most humidity in Southeast Asia and it is quite bad.
One of the things you can do in Singapore is to visit hundreds of shopping malls. While walking to our next stop, we were able to discover some spectacular ones like Bugis Junction or Suntec City. Also, on the way we passed by Singapore Flyer, one of the largest Ferris wheels in the world, with spectacular views of the city.
After this, we arrived at Gardens By The Bay. This time we spent a good time walking around the park, being super curious about the Supertrees, visiting the Cloud Forest greenhouse and photographing (and freaking out) with the most famous hotel in the city, which is shaped like a boat at the top, the Marina Bay Sands. You can go up to its pool if you are staying there (you can get an idea of the price per night here) or go up to the observation deck (you can get tickets at this Civitatis link).
After spending a couple of hours in the park, we went to eat at the Marina Bay Sands mall, where we found a food court with lots of food options and lots of people. We really liked the food and the place, so we would recommend it, we leave you the ubi in the food section below.
With our bellies full, we walked across the bay to Merlion, the city’s most famous square and unmistakable icon. It’s a fountain with a statue of a lion spouting water from its mouth. It really didn’t look like much to us, especially since it is FULL of people.
The next stop of the day was to head to Chinatown, a fairly commercial area that we did not like too much, as we have seen other Chinatowns that are much better.
To finish the day, we went to a neighborhood that we really liked, Little India. Singapore has a huge Indian community, so the neighborhood really transports you to India and makes you feel like it’s the real thing (Chinatown gave us a bit of a tourist-ready feeling). Some places of interest:
- Tekka Center: A mall to eat at a Hawker center (tables with lots of different food stalls and VERY cheap).
- Mustafa Center: A mall where you will find EVERYTHING and is open every day 24 hours, crazy.
- Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple: Very curious if you have never seen a Hindu temple.
- Wander around and get lost in the neighborhood, it is super curious and authentic.
After dinner in Little India, we were very tired and left to visit Orchard Road, the largest and most important shopping street in the city or the Botanic Gardens, places that you can include to complement what we did.
Where to sleep: CapsulePod Aljunied
Where to eat: In Singapore there are two types of places where you can eat without spending a penny. The first is in Hawker Centers, street food centers with very cheap prices where you will find many stalls and a central seating area. And the other is the food courts, usually a similar concept but located in shopping centers and somewhat more expensive.
For lunch, we tried a food court in the Marina Bay Sands shopping center. For dinner, we did it at a hawker in the Indian quarter, as we love Indian food and wanted to try something authentic. It was at the Tekka Center mall and it was delicious, one of our first Indian meals on our route through Malaysia and Singapore.
Day 3: Malacca (Malaysia and Singapore itinerary)
On the third day of the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary we had to leave the great city of Singapore to go to Malaysia, specifically to the city of Malacca.
We chose to take the first bus at 6 am in order to be around 9 am and take advantage of the day in the city. We leave you the link where you can see the buses between Singapore and Malacca -> 12GOAsia.
Malacca is a city with many different influences, including Dutch, Portuguese, British and Chinese and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We recommend several places to visit in the city:
- Dutch Square: Colonial heart of the city, with Dutch architecture.
- Christ church: Church of Dutch origin.
- Jonker Street, the main street of Chinatown, which has a famous night market on weekends.
- Cheng Hoong Teng Temple: oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia.
- A famosa: Ruins of a Portuguese fortress.
- Walking along the banks of the Malacca River.
- Masjid Kampung Kling: One of the oldest mosques in Malaysia.
Basically, Malacca is a perfect city to visit in one day, both from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. It is a curious place and, like practically the whole country, influenced by many different cultures.
Where to sleep: Backyard Rio Melaka. Perfect location, new facilities a good price. A total recommendation.
Day 4: Kuala Lumpur
And the 4th day of our Malaysia and Singapore itinerary arrived and it was time to go to one of our favorite cities in Southeast Asia, the wonderful Kuala Lumpur. We don’t know why, but we loved this city, its cultural mix, its spectacular buildings and its vibrant neighborhoods. We were able to stay three full days and we believe we visited most of its must-sees.
To get there from Malacca, again we took the first bus of the day to be there as soon as possible. Buses are VERY cheap (you can find them for 5€) and take less than two hours. We recommend you to look for the best option in 12GOAsia.
After leaving our things in the accommodation (the best of the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary and also of our 7 months in Asia), we started our route through this wonderful city. This first half day, we were able to walk around and see:
- Merdeka Square, the Independence Square, where in 1957 the independence of Malaysia from the British Empire was declared. It is a very large square overlooking the main skyscrapers of the city.
- River of Life: Viewpoint to the Masjid Jamek Mosque, one of the most important mosques in the city.
- Masjid Jamek Mosque
- Chinatown or Petaling Street. We loved this Chinatown. It has a super complete market where you can buy a lot of things (especially imitations). We spent a long time bargaining and looking around.
- Merdeka 118: I recommend you to walk around it, as it is not yet possible to visit it. It is the second tallest building in the world after the Burj Khalifa, with 678 meters. You will be quite impressed to be underneath and feel tiny.
- KL Tower: Iconic building of the city with the Petronas Towers. We saw it from below, but you can book a ticket to go up to its observation deck here.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the pool and gym of our wonderful hotel, one thing you should also do in Kuala Lumpur, enjoy the amazing terraces of the hotels.
Where to sleep: Quill Residences KLCC. As we have said, the best hotel on the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary. A terrace with swimming pool overlooking the skyscrapers, full gym, rooms with kitchen, dining room, TV, bedroom, very comfortable bed …. A real pass, almost luxury, at a “cheap” price. We highly recommend it.
Where to eat: This first day, we ate at an Indian/Malay restaurant in the mall below our hotel. It was very tasty, we recommend it, it is called Mell Bistro.
For dinner we went to a night market that we loved for its atmosphere, also near our hotel. The market is called Kampung Baru Night Market.
Day 5: Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia and Singapore itinerary)
The second day in the city began with a visit to one of the two great attractions of Kuala Lumpur, the Batu Caves. It is a set of caves that house several Hindu temples, in one of the most important complexes of this religion outside India.
To get there, our advice is to go by Grab. It will cost you less than 10 € and you will be comfortable, although the traffic in the city is somewhat chaotic (it takes about 45-1h to go). They will leave you right at the door and you can visit the caves. it is a visit of about two hours. Our opinion is that it is a cool and curious place, but it is very crowded, so we recommend you to visit it first thing in the morning. The entrance is free and you must dress discreetly, covering legs and shoulders or they will make you pay 3 € to cover yourself.
After visiting the caves and occupying practically the whole morning, we returned to the city by Grab again and headed straight to Little India or Brickfields. We found the neighborhood to be very simple, we were not at all excited about it since it is only one street. Much better in Singapore or Georgetown.
From there, we headed to visit the most important Chinese temple in KL, the Thean Hou Temple. We found it spectacular, as it is located overlooking the entire city and is a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism and impressive architectural elements. We highly recommend the visit, it is well worth it.
To end the day, we wanted to see the most famous street in the city, Jalan Alor, which is a street located in the central and liveliest district of the city, Bukit Bintang. It is a street where a night food market is set up where you can taste all the typical food of the country (Indian, Malay, Chinese, Arabic…). In our opinion, it was a bit touristy, so we decided to dine in adjacent streets, in places that looked better
Where to sleep: Quill Residences KLCC.
Where to eat: We ate Indian food at a great restaurant in Brickfields called Erode Ammman Mess. The best Indian food on our Malaysia and Singapore itinerary.
Day 6: Kuala Lumpur
The last day in Kuala Lumpur we wanted to make the most of it to see all those places we had not been able to see.
We started the day by visiting the crown jewel of the city, the Petronas Towers, the great icon and, in the past, the tallest building in the world. To visit them inside, you must take a ticket and book an hour. You can do it from this link. Once there, they give you a tour of about 1 hour, which takes you to see the bridge that connects the two towers and to the top of one of them, from where you can have a panoramic view of the whole city. It is a must-see in Kuala Lumpur and on the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary.
On the way out, we recommend going to KLCC Park, for the best photos overlooking the towers.
After this visit, we headed to our favorite place in the city, the Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan Mosque. It is a lesser known mosque and a little further away from the center (the best known is the National Mosque or Masjid Negara) but it is a real gem. The best thing about this place is that they give you a free 1 hour tour, usually done by volunteers. Our guide was a delight, she told us all the wonders of the mosque and many things about Islam and how they live it. It was very culturally enriching, one of the best moments of the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary.
We wanted to finish our days in Kuala Lumpur visiting a place that seemed to us very curious. It is the Berjaya Times Square Theme Park shopping center and we thought it was super cool. The park has an entrance fee of about 20-25€ per person. We didn’t go in, but you can see the attractions perfectly from the outside, as they go inside the mall itself. We opted to try the bowling alley :)
Where to sleep: Quill Residences KLCC.
Where to eat: For lunch, we ate at the food court of the Central Market, located on the third floor.
For dinner, one of our favorite restaurants on the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary. It was located in the shopping mall below our hotel, was Pakistani food and was called Pak Punjab.
Day 7: Georgetown
Our next stop on the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary is, what was surely our big surprise of the trip, the wonderful Georgetown, on the island of Penang. To get there, we took a flight KL-Georgetown, for a price of 20€ and duration 1 hour with Trip.com. As you can see, transportation within Malaysia is easy and cheap.
How we liked this city! It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it is a mix of colonial, urban art, different cultures, temples and street food.
We divided the visit in our day and a half (since we arrived around noon). The first day, we dedicated to see the street art of Penang, especially the painting of the boy on a chair, the boys on a bicycle or the children on a swing. These famous murals were commissioned by the city council to Ernest Zacharevic in 2012, on the occasion of giving the city a tourist boost. Today, it is one of its main attractions.
Also, right next to the kids on the swing, there is a very cool gallery of antiques, vintage stuff, handmade products, tattoos (we got tattooed there) called Jetty 35.
We recommend you to finish walking along Armenian Street, which is in the area and has several interesting craft and souvenir stores.
Where to sleep: We stayed in a very nice place, with shared washroom and in the best location to walk to almost everything called Inn Lebuh Melayu.
Where to eat: We didn’t eat anything special, we ordered delivery.
Day 8: Georgetown (Malaysia and Singapore itinerary)
This eighth day of our 12-day Malaysia and Singapore itinerary was quite a thrashing. We wanted to take advantage of seeing all that Georgetown had to offer in the scorching heat and humidity. However, we were quite satisfied with everything we were able to do. We visited:
- Khoo Kongsi: This is an impressive Chinese house-clan. We didn’t go inside because of time, but if you like architecture and history, you should definitely go inside to see it.
- Pinang Peranakan Mansion, a Chinese-Malay culture type house. Same vibe as the Khoo Kongsi.
- Walk through the Jetty Clan of Chew. Our favorite place. They are neighborhoods built on wooden stilts in the sea, forming floating houses that are connected by walkways. They were the homes and neighborhoods of Chinese fishermen and sailors created at the end of the 19th century and are still inhabited by the families of the first inhabitants. Even though it has become a tourist attraction, you will see many people still living there.
- Kek Lok Si Temple: A spectacular Buddhist temple, being the largest in Malaysia. Get lost in the temple and be amazed by the pagoda and the giant statue of Kuan Yin. We recommend you to arrive and leave by Grab, as it is a bit far from the city center.
- Little India: Very authentic and perfect for a bite to eat.
We know we missed some places to visit, but if you have little time, we think these are the must-see places to visit if you go to Georgetown. We would have stayed one more day, keep it in mind if you have time.
From there, we went to the bus station from where we would take a night bus to Kuala Besut, port from where the boats to the Perhentian Islands leave. We took this bus with 12GoAsia.
Where to sleep: Night bus
Where to eat: For breakfast, we went to a delicious brunch called The Daily Dose Penang, we were full, so we went to a very good Indian restaurant called D’Sakra for dinner.
Day 9: Perhentian islands (Malaysia and Singapore itinerary)
Soon we will bring you a complete post with all the information to visit the Perhentian Islands to expand the information that we will give you in this post of Malaysia and Singapore itinerary. But basically, you have to understand several things about the Perhentian Islands:
- They are two islands, the small Pulau Perhentian Kecil and the big Pulau Perhentian Besar.
- To get there, you have to go to the port of Kuala Besut and buy a public ticket.
- The Perhentian Islands have a super poor infrastructure. No roads, no big hotels, no super restaurants. It is a paradise but with few amenities.
- It is a great place to dive. In fact, if you go, it’s one of the best activities you can do.
- It’s not a place where you can spend all day doing things. You have to find a balance between relaxation and beaches and some activities, so you’ll see that we relax quite a bit.
- They are only open half the year, from March to October, so they are ideal if you go between these dates. Otherwise, we invite you to modify the route by changing the days for the Langkawi or Borneo Islands.
- Take out enough cash before entering the island as there are no ATMs.
- We recommend to make base in the small Kecil, as it is cooler, more atmosphere and diving. You can stay in Long beach which is the center of everything on the island or in Coral Bay, which is a 10 minute walk away.
That said, we arrived at the Perhentian Islands around 9 am, as we had our diving activity at 10 am. We wanted to dedicate this first day to diving, as it was one of the activities we were most looking forward to do in this place. We did it with the only Spanish diving school on the island and it was wonderful. The treatment, the laughs and the diving could not have been better. If you are interested in knowing who we did it with, let us know on Instagram and we will pass you the contact.
We did 2 dives at Batu Layar and Police Wreck and they were very cool. Not for us the best bottom we have seen in Southeast Asia, but we liked it.
The rest of the day (we finished around 4) was spent chatting with our instructor and relaxing in our room.
Where to sleep: We stayed at the Maya Resort, a very modest and small accommodation. We wouldn’t want to recommend it, but on the island the accommodations are very limited, so if you are interested contact us and we will give you the contact information (it is not on Booking). Of those you can book, we would recommend you to take the Senja Bay Resort, the Bubu Villa or Perhentian Marriott Resort & Spa, the best accommodations there are (said by people who live there).
Where to eat: We tried several very good restaurants on the island. The first one is the ChillOut Perhentian, with brunch in front of the sea.
For dinner, we tried the Adawiyah Café, a cheap place with traditional food that we liked very much. Like almost everything else, right on the seafront.
Day 10: Perhentian islands
As we have told you, it is a place to dive, snorkel and relax. We opted for relaxation, since, as we have told you, it was our last destination before returning to Spain after 7 months traveling in Southeast Asia and we were dead. However, good news for you since we were very well informed about everything to do on the island. We did not end up doing it because we were tired.
This day, we would reserve it either to continue diving or to do a snorkeling tour. The snorkel tour is sold almost everywhere on the island, you walk around and you will see little stalls advertising it (in Coral Bay there are several). You can choose between several options, from short to full day tours. In our opinion, the one that was the most worthwhile (we got feedback from the guys we met there) is the one that takes you to:
- Coral Point
- Shark Point
- Turtle Point
- Fishman Village (it’s like the capital of the island, the village where the locals live), where you eat.
- Coral Garden
- Turtle Beach
This tour costs 50 MYR (10€) per person and takes about 6 hours.
We relaxed on the beach of Coral Bay, had a nice lunch and went for a drink with the people we met the day before.
Where to sleep: Senja Bay Resort, el Bubu Villa o Perhentian Marriott Resort & Spa.
Where to eat: We ate at Rosemary Café, one of the top of the island. We recommend the Rosemary Fried Rice, let us know if you finish the dish ;)
For dinner, we had it near the hotel, in a great value for money place (very good for breakfast too), called Oceanboys Café.
Day 11: Perhentian Islands
Last day of the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary :(:( It was time to say goodbye to paradise and this trip that we liked so much. And we did it like the previous day, relaxing. However, you still have some cool activities you can do to make the most of Pulau Kecil, all of them recommended by the diving girls, who live there.
On this island it is totally possible to move around on foot, since either by the coast or by inland roads, you can reach the main points. We would recommend that this day you take a kayak or go trekking along the beaches to see some interesting places like:
- Romantic Beach
- Windmills
- Adam and Eve Beach
- Turtle Beach
- D’Lagoon Beach
Another plan this day is to go to Pulau Besut, the big island of the Perhentian Islands and visit some of its beaches and coves.
If you still have strength after the day, we recommend you to have dinner and a drink at Long Beach, where you will see a fire show every night or go to the restaurant of the Ombak Dive Resort, where every night they make an open-air movie.
Where to sleep: Senja Bay Resort, el Bubu Villa o Perhentian Marriott Resort & Spa.
Where to eat: Breakfast and lunch at Oceanboys Café and- dinner at Ombak Dive Resort,– the-front-room restaurant is not worth anything, but they do have a movie and popcorn :P)
Day 12: Back to KL
On the last day of the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary it is time to return to the big cities to take the plane. You have two options to return to Kuala Lumpur, bus or plane from Kota Bharu. We opted for the bus for budget reasons, but if you are going for so few days, we recommend you to take an early flight in the morning and not to spend the 8 hours of travel.
If you arrive in time to Kuala Lumpur and you feel like it, you can still visit some places you might have missed or just stop by one of its shopping malls for lunch.
Map of the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary
We leave you the map with all the places that we commented in the post of the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary.
As you may have seen in the post, the Malaysia and Singapore itinerary was a real surprise and we loved it. We believe they are two countries with a lot to offer touristically and culturally.
If you have questions or want contacts, do not hesitate to comment or write us on Instagram and we will be happy to answer you.
