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Holiday in Malaysia - The trip of a lifetime

A taste of Malaysia

Route: Kuala Lumpur - Taman Negara National Park - Cameron Highlands - Penang - Langkawi

This two week adventure holiday in Malaysia includes visits to all of the highlights of Western Malaysia. You can do this itinerary by shared minibus or private hire car. Starting in the lively city of Kuala Lumpur, you'll travel on to the jungle of Taman Negara National Park where you'll be staying in a rustic wooden chalet on the edge of the rainforest which is more than 130 million years old. The higher elevated and cooler tea plantations on the Cameron Highlands are your next travel destination, after which you'll travel back down to the west where you'll be able to live out your tropical island fantasy on the laidback beaches of Pulau Pangkor. Before your holiday in Malaysia comes to an end on white sandy beaches, you'll also visit the cultural and historic treasures of Penang. You'll spend the last days of your trip on tropical Langkawi before flying back to London with a backpack filled with memories and experiences.

Fancy building your own holiday in Malaysia? You can choose from our range of bite-sized Malaysia tours. Alternatively, take a look at our range of suggested holidays in Malaysia. Want to combine your holiday in Malaysia with a trip to Borneo? Take your pick from our bite-sized Borneo tours or ready-made holidays in Borneo.

Duration	14 days/ 13 nights departure daily	Accommodation	Accommodation in comfortable and characterful hotels, lodges, guesthouses and resort. Comfort Level 3 and 4 (see accommodation).
Price	£770 by shared minibus / bus £860 self-drive Price per person - based on 2 people sharing (High season supplements apply in July, August, September & December.)	Includes	Transport, accommodation with breakfast
Transport	Minibus / Bus or Hire Car	Excludes	International flights & airport taxes, domestic flight from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur, other meals, additional costs for car hire e.g. petrol, parking fees, insurance and excursions during itinerary

Days 1 and 2 - Kuala Lumpur

Most flights from London to Kuala Lumpur arrive early in the morning. On day one of your holiday in Malaysia, you'll be met at the airport upon arrival by our representative before being transferred to your hotel in Kuala Lumpur by car or minibus. After check-in, your holiday in Malaysia will really begin and you'll have the rest of the day to explore the city. Only a short distance from your hotel, you'll find the lively 'Petaling Street'. This area is excellent for long strolls through small side streets and alleyways. On the second day of your stay, you'll have all the time you need to discover Kuala Lumpur. A few top attractions you don't want to miss during your stay are the world's highest twin towers, the Petronas Towers, the neo-colonial Anglo-Moor style train station and the hyper modern Masjid Negara-mosque. Kuala Lumpur also offers quite a lot to travellers who are more 'West' oriented; from fast food restaurants to large air conditioned shopping malls suitable for endless shopping sprees.

Holiday in Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur towers

Day 3 - Kuala Lumpur - Taman Negara National Park

Travel time: 6 hours

It's the third day of your holiday in Malaysia and at 8:00am you’ll take the luxury bus from across your hotel to the small village of Kuala Tembeling. If you're travelling by hire car, your car will be dropped off at your hotel. All our hire cars are standard equipped with GPS navigation system to help you find your way. If you are travelling to Taman Negara by car we suggest you stop off at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary to join in the elephants daily bathtime at 2pm. From there, you'll continue your drive on to Kuala Tahan, the headquarters of the Taman Negara National Park, where you'll park the car and cross the river by boat to your resort around 6pm.

Travelling by comfortable bus instead of hire car, the trip from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Tembeling takes about 3 hours. At the port office of Kuala Tembeling you’ll be asked to fill in your personal details for your pass (RM1)to the Taman Negara National Park. You’ll need to pay extra for your camera too (RM5). Next you’ll step onto a wooden jungle boat for a relaxed boat trip along the Sungai Tembeling river. After about 3 hours, the boat will moor at the jetty of your jungle resort where you’ll be staying during your visit to Taman Negara. In the evening there’s a video presentation about the National Park if you’re interested. The resort has an excellent (buffet) restaurant, but you can also head across the river to one of the floating restaurants in Kuala Tahan.

Day 4 and 5 - Taman Negara National Park

This morning you've got two options; you can enjoy a bit of a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant, or you can choose to wake-up early to brave the heights of the Canopy Walk. From the walkway suspended 30m above the ground you’ll get a completely different perspective of the rainforest around you. Despite crowds in July and August we thought it was a spectacular experience. The entire walk takes around 3 hours.

In the afternoon you can relax back at the resort and recover from the tropical heat or you could take part in one of the many excursions offered at the resort; you can choose to go rafting, visit a local village of the Orang Asli tribe, Malaysia’s indigenous inhabitants, go on a sunset cruise or discover the secrets of the jungle at night on the daily night walk. For dinner head to the excellent hotel restaurant, or hop across the river to one of the riverside restaurants in Tahan.

(If you would like to include the canopy walk and jungle night safari walk into your holiday in Malaysia, just let one of our Malaysia travel specialists know on your request form.)

Holiday in Malaysia - Canopy walk at 30ft

Holiday in Malaysia - The Cameron Highlands

Day 6 - Taman Negara - Cameron Highlands

Travel time: 6 hours

After breakfast it's time to bid farewell to the jungle and cross the river where you'll find your driver waiting to take you to your next destination, the Cameron Highlands. You'll be sharing a bus or minibus with other passengers. If you're travelling by hire car for this holiday in Malaysia you'll pick up your car in Kuala Tahan and follow the directions of your GPS to the rolling tea plantations of Tanah Rata.

As soon as you start to climb, you'll notice that the temperature begins to drop and tropical vegetation soon makes way for endless hills covered in lush green tea plants. Towards the end of the afternoon you'll arrive in the small town of Tanah Rata where you'll find your characteristic hotel in British colonial style... In the evening you can either enjoy dinner at your hotel, or go into town to check out the many tasty dining options there. Try a 'steamboot', a type of Cantonese fondue at a restaurant called Mayflower. The town has a large Indian population so you'll also find lots of excellent curry houses here.

Day 7 - Cameron Highlands

Today you might want to go for a nice hike through the rolling hills in the area. You can do this independently; however it may be more fun with a guide accompanying you to tell you all about the area you're walking through. Let us know ahead of time if you would like to participate in a tea excursion to the Cameron Highlands. If you choose to visit the tea fields during your holiday in Malaysia, you'll be picked up at your hotel around 10am and taken to one of the largest tea plantations in Malaysia, the Boh Tea Estate. Afterwards you and your guide will head out into the Mossy Forest, so you may want to wear decent walking shoes or sandals today. After visiting the tea factory (which is closed on Mondays) and learning all about the process of making tea, you'll go for a picnic at a lovely spot on the Boh Tea Estate. During your visit to the tea factory, make sure you try some of the wide variety of teas offered at the tea shop, whilst enjoying the view of endless terraces of the tea fields. After your tea factory tour, you'll visit a butterfly garden on your way back to the hotel. (Additional RM5 to be paid locally). Literally hundreds of tropical butterflies flutter around here, each one more colourful than the other.

If you're not going on the tea fields tour, there are several hiking trails in the area. Just ask at reception for routes and maps.

Day 8 - Cameron Highlands - Penang

Travel time: 4 hours

It's day eight of your holiday in Malaysia and after breakfast (depending on your mode of transport) you can spend the rest of the morning chilling on the veranda or wander into Tanah Rata, if you are travelling by hire car or take an early morning bus to the cultural island of Penang. If you're travelling by hire car, you'll make your own way across the impressive 8 mile long Penang Bridge from Butterworth to the colourful Georgetown where you will drop your car off.

Penang is a cultural melting pot and a culinary hotspot, even for the local Malaysians. The typical Nyonya cuisine is a delicious mix of Chinese and Malaysian influences. Whilst, we're on the subject of food, we definitely recommend having a quick bite to eat at one of the local food stalls. You'll find quite a few at the 'Datuk Keramat Hawker Centre', which is also known as 'Padang Brown'. You'll often find a typical night market here as well. Be sure to ask your hotel's concierge when these markets take place, it differs from time to time. Last, but not least, don't forget a visit to the heart of Georgetown.... Gurney Drive. This hawker's square looking out over the sea is known across all of Malaysia for its' authentic Malaysian cuisine, including dishes such as "Asam Laksa", a salty sour fish soup.

During this part of your holiday in Malaysia, you'll stay in a hotel which is located in the heart of Georgtetown within walking distance of all the sights. Your hotel is truly unique with charming and comfortable rooms.

Day 9 - Penang

If you want to see everything Penang has to offer during your holiday in Malaysia (and there's plenty), we suggest getting up a bit early. There are several ways to travel around Penang; besides local buses there’s a free shuttle hop-on hop-off service to all the major sights, very useful if you want to visit other places outside Georgetown. You can also take a taxi and ask the driver to take you around the sights. In Penang taxis don't have a meter, so you'll need to agree on a price beforehand.

Within Georgetown (where you'll also be staying) take a trishaw to get about. We can pre-arrange a trishaw ride for you where you'll be picked up at your hotel at 9am by your trishaw driver who will take you to some of the most fascinating spots in Georgetown; the Khoo Khongsi Clan house, Fort Cornwallis and the Goddess of Mercy Temple. For dinner we suggest that you try the food court next door to your hotel, the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion) in Chinatown, which offers a wide range of foods and often has a great party atmosphere when the evening gets going.

Holiday in Malaysia - The island of Langkawi

Day 10 - Penang - Langkawi

Travel time: 2.5 hours

On day ten of your holiday in Malaysia, you'll head out early in the morning to Penang's harbour to catch the 08:15 boat to Langkawi (approximately a two hour boat ride). Tickets for the boat will be provided in your travel documents. There are dozens of taxi cabs at the harbour that can take you to your resort. Your hotel is beautifully situated on the west in Pantai Cenang, on a long stretch of beach with restaurants nearby. The resort organises all types of activities: jungle tours, morning and evening cruises, snorkelling, kayaking and fishing trips and boat rides to nearby tropical islands.

Of course you can stay at your hotel for dinner; however Langkawi is well known for having exceptional restaurants. A truly wonderful restaurant with an equally amazing view and delicious cuisine (fusion) is the Bon Ton Restaurant, located slightly north of Pantai Cenang. It may mean taking a taxi cab ride to get there, but it's well worth the trip. During your stay on the island, why not head north (from Kuah on route to Padang Lalang) and spend an evening in 'Barn Thai' which is idyllically located in a stretch of mangrove forest.

Day 11-13 - Langkawi

You could spend your days chilling out on the beach, but if you want to do something a little more active during your holiday in Malasia, there’s plenty to do on or in the water, like catamaran sailing or kayaking. Further inland you can take a cable car (approximately £2) to the top of the Gunung Mat Chingchang, the second highest mountain on Langkawi, rising up from the dense green rainforest.

If you want to discover Malaysian sea life without getting wet, visit the aptly named Underwater World in Pantai Cenang, one of the largest aquariums in Asia. You can also take a snorkelling trip to one of the nearby islands, visit one of the museums or go hiking to the hot springs of Telaga Air Hangat. For a real thrill on this holiday in Malaysia, try an 'air trekking experience' (approximately £25), a challenging track high above the ground. If you'd like to find out more about this, just ask your hotel staff.

Holiday in Malaysia - View over Langkawi

Holiday in Malaysia - One more cocktail...

Day 14 - Langkawi - Kuala Lumpur - End of trip

Travel time: 1 hour+ to Kuala Lumpur

Today your holiday in Malaysia comes to an end. You'll arrange for a taxi cab to pick you up at your hotel and take you to Langkawi Airport for your flight to Kuala Lumpur. Your domestic flight will take approximately an hour. We will try to book an international flight for you that connects safely with your domestic flight from Langkawi, or to be really safe we can add on an extra night in KL if you'd prefer? Once you reach Kuala Lumpur you'll fly back to the UK, where you'll arrive early the next day. This marks the end of your incredible holiday in Malaysia.

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