Malaysia Collection: Kuala Lumpur & Island Hopping the Perhentian Islands




This is a WeRoad Collection
A trip designed for ultimate comfort, with specially selected hotels and unique experiences.
Itinerary
A capital that looks like it's from the future and an archipelago untouched by time: Malaysia is this double leap, taken easy over eleven days. Four nights in Kuala Lumpur, six straight on an island, internal flights and transfers all sorted: the pampering only our Collections offer.
In KL we visit the skybridge of the Petronas Towers, the stalls of Jalan Alor, where you eat standing up, and the 272 rainbow steps of the Batu Caves, with Murugan and the thieving macaques. Then Malacca, a port city of Dutch houses and river cruises. We fly northeast, and a thirty-minute speedboat ride takes us to the Perhentian Islands: white sand, crystal-clear water, a coral reef two strokes from shore. Snorkeling with sea turtles, island hopping among the coves, breakfast at dawn on a sandbank. For the rest: hammocks, kayaks and fish barbecues on the beach.


Selamat datang, Kuala Lumpur!
Street food, yes please!
We land in Kuala Lumpur and settle into the city center: four nights in the same spot, nice and easy.
KL is a city you just can't pin down: a mosque, a Hindu temple and a mall with arctic-level air conditioning, all at the same intersection. Looming over it all? The Petronas Towers.
Our first night is all about street food, because that's where the real magic happens: freshly grilled satay, nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaves and roti canai pulled by hand right in front of us.
We wash it down with teh tarik, the frothy milk tea poured back and forth between glasses. Selamat datang!

Petronas, KL Tower, and a night in Jalan Alor
Kuala Lumpur from above
Today we see KL from the sky, then taste it at street level.
The Petronas Towers were the world's tallest buildings for six years, and yes, you can go up: elevator to the skybridge on the 41st floor, then up to the 86th. From there the city looks like a miniature model.
In the afternoon, a walk through Merdeka Square, where the British flag was lowered in 1957, then Chinatown and the Petaling Street market.
In the evening, Jalan Alor, the ultimate food street: 200 meters of stalls, smoky grills and tables in the middle of the street. Durian? Give it a try, if you've got the guts!

Batu Caves: 272 colorful steps inside the cave
The temple carved into the rock
Just half an hour north of KL, a limestone hill hides a massive cave, home to a Hindu temple.
To reach it, we climb 272 colorful steps, guarded by a 43-meter golden statue of Murugan.
Watch out for the macaques: they're ready to steal anything not nailed down!
At the top, the cave opens up and light streams in in beams. This is a place of real worship, so we enter barefoot and in silence.
We head back in the afternoon, and the rest of the evening is free.
Malacca: Portuguese, Dutch, and Peranakan houses
UNESCO World Heritage site
Day trip to Malacca, two hours south: the city that perfectly sums up Malaysia.
Portuguese in the 16th century, then the Dutch, then the British. In the mix, Chinese traders who settled, married local Malays and gave birth to the Peranakan culture.
The result? A brick-red Dutch square, the ruins of a Portuguese fortress, a Chinese temple dating back to 1646 and streets lined with colorful, tiled shophouses.
Lunch is a bowl of Nyonya laksa, then a boat ride along the river and back to KL for our final night in the city.

Flight and speedboat: time to reach the Perhentian Islands!
Shoes off
A travel day, but one that's totally worth it.
A one-hour domestic flight to Kota Bharu, a transfer to Kuala Besut port and a 30-minute speedboat ride bouncing over the waves.
The Perhentians appear out of nowhere: two granite islands draped in jungle, pristine white sand and water in three shades of turquoise, depending on the depth.
No roads, no cars: once off the boat, shoes stay in the bag for the next six days.
Check-in at the beach resort and straight in for the first swim.

Snorkeling with green turtles
Crystal-clear water
The Perhentian Islands are one of the easiest places in the world to swim alongside a green turtle, and today we go looking for them!
Boat trip with masks, snorkels and fins included, with a guide who knows exactly where to look: the seagrass meadows where they feed, the corals where parrotfish hang out, and the schools of sardines.
If we're lucky, a blacktip reef shark might cruise by: they're shy, and more scared of us than we are of them.
Free afternoon on the beach. In the evening, bioluminescent plankton: we get into the water in the dark and watch it light up.

Island hopping and a seafood BBQ on the beach
From island to island
Boat day hopping between the two Perhentians, the Big and the Small, stopping at all the bays worth seeing.
Turtle Beach, where the turtles come to nest, and Romantic Beach, accessible only by sea.
The best snorkeling spots on the sheltered side.
And the evening? Our WOW experience: a fish barbecue right on the beach, a long table on the sand, fresh fish and squid off the grill and lanterns hanging from the palm trees. Feet in the sand, stars above.

A laid-back day of kayaking, hammock time, and Long Beach
Doing absolutely nothing
Today is totally free, and that's the plan: on a Collection trip, free time is an inclusion, not a gap in the schedule.
The resort has kayaks: paddle around the bay in water so clear you see the bottom the whole time.
Up for a walk? The jungle trail cuts across the island to Long Beach in about 20 minutes, with bird calls and the occasional lizard scurrying away.
Hammock, a book and a mango smoothie? Good choice!

Sunrise from the boat and breakfast on a sandbank
In the middle of the sea
Wake up before the sun, just once on the whole trip. Trust us, it's worth every minute of lost sleep!
We head out by boat while the sky is still purple, to a sandbank that emerges at low tide in the middle of the sea, a few hundred meters from the coast.
A white strip surrounded by shallow water and nothing else around: breakfast right there, coffee from a thermos and fresh fruit, watching the sun rise.
Back by mid-morning, with the rest of the day free.
One last dip in the Perhentian Islands
Time to say goodbye to the island
Our last full day on the island, and everyone's free to do their own thing. What's the plan?
One last snorkeling session, or a first scuba dive: the diving centers here are legit and the water is super calm. Or just the beach.
In the late afternoon we meet at the beach bar for the sunset, which drops straight into the sea on the west side of the island.
Final group dinner at the resort; tomorrow we're back on the boat.
See you again, Malaysia!
Heading back from Kuala Lumpur
Speedboat back to the mainland, transfer to Kota Bharu airport and a domestic flight to Kuala Lumpur to catch your flight home.
Eleven days, two worlds: a capital that never sleeps and smells like satay, and six days on an island with no roads where we swam alongside turtles.
Jumpa lagi, see you soon!
What's included
10 nights in 4-star hotels in Kuala Lumpur and beach resorts in the Perhentian Islands
All breakfasts
Street food welcome dinner on day 1, fish BBQ on the beach on day 7, and group dinner on day 10
Domestic flight Kuala Lumpur–Kota Bharu round-trip, including private transfers and speedboat
Petronas Towers entry and a guided tour of the city center on day 2
Medical and baggage insurance - (coverage limits by destination country/region - €10,000 Italy, €20,000 Europe, €30,000 World, €50,000 USA/Canada)
What's not included
- Airport transfers
- Food and beverages when not specified
- All that is not mentioned in "what's included"
Optional activities
Please see below extra optional activities that you can experience during your trip. Your Group Leader will be happy to assist with organizing these activities for the group. Availability may vary depending on location and group preferences.
Please note these activities are provided by third party suppliers and liability rests exclusively with these third party suppliers.
Try dive - approx. USD62
N/A
Additional info
- TransportPrivate van across Peninsular Malaysia, a domestic round-trip flight, and a thirty-minute speedboat ride to reach the Perhentians.
- Documents
Passport with at least 6 months of residual validity. No visa is required for short tourist stays for Italian citizens – but always double-check the latest rules before you head off.
- Physical rating
Low. The 272 steps at the Batu Caves are the only real workout you'll face. As for snorkeling, it's perfect even if you're a complete beginner.
- Meeting point and goodbyes
We'll meet on Day 1 at Kuala Lumpur's KLIA airport. The trip wraps up on Day 11, back in Kuala Lumpur.
- Seasonality
The Perhentian islands are closed from November to February due to the north-east monsoon, so this trip runs from March to October.
- Info on private roomsShow all details
Why WeRoad
Small groups, on average 11 people
Move or change your trip for free up to 31 days before departure
Book with $ 0. Pay the $ 100 deposit only once the trip is confirmed
The Group Leaders
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