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 we just can't pin down: a mosque, a Hindu temple and a mall with arctic-level air conditioning, all at the same intersection, with the Petronas Towers looming over it all.
Street food night: 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.
A glass of teh tarik: 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.
Up the Petronas Towers: the Petronas Towers were the world's tallest buildings for six years, and yes, we 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.
Merdeka Square and Chinatown: in the afternoon, a walk through Merdeka Square, where the British flag was lowered in 1957, then Chinatown and the Petaling Street market.
Dinner on Jalan Alor: 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.
Up the 272 steps: to reach it, we climb 272 colorful steps, guarded by a 43-meter golden statue of Murugan.
Inside the cave temple: 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.
Free evening: we head back in the afternoon, and the rest of the evening is free.
Watch out for the macaques: they're ready to steal anything not nailed down!
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, and in the mix Chinese traders who settled, married local Malays and gave birth to the Peranakan culture.
Walking through the old town: 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.
Nyonya laksa and river cruise: 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.
Flight and speedboat: a one-hour domestic flight to Kota Bharu, a transfer to Kuala Besut port and a 30-minute speedboat ride bouncing over the waves.
Arriving in the Perhentians: 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.
First swim: check-in at the beach resort and straight into the water.
No roads, no cars: once off the boat, we can ditch our shoes for the next six days.

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!
Snorkeling with a guide: a boat trip with masks, snorkels and fins included, and a guide who knows exactly where to look: the seagrass meadows where the turtles feed, the corals where parrotfish hang out, and the schools of sardines.
Free afternoon on the beach: time to relax on the sand.
Swimming with bioluminescent plankton: in the evening we get into the water in the dark and watch the bioluminescent plankton light up.
If we're lucky, a blacktip reef shark might cruise by: they're shy, and more scared of us than we are of them.

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 and Romantic Beach: Turtle Beach is where the turtles come to nest, while Romantic Beach is accessible only by sea.
Snorkeling on the sheltered side: we stop at the best snorkeling spots.
Fish barbecue on the beach: our WOW experience is in the evening, with 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.
Kayaking around the bay? The resort has kayaks, and the water is so clear we see the bottom the whole time.
Up for a walk? If so, the jungle trail cuts across the island to Long Beach in about 20 minutes, with bird calls and the occasional lizard scurrying away.
Hammock and a book? If we opt for a hammock, a book and a mango smoothie, we've chosen well!

Sunrise from the boat and breakfast on a sandbank
In the middle of the sea
We wake up before the sun, just once on the whole trip. Trust us, it's worth every minute of lost sleep!
By boat to the sandbank: we head out 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.
Breakfast at sunrise: on a white strip surrounded by shallow water and nothing else around, we have breakfast with coffee from a thermos and fresh fruit, watching the sun rise.
Free for the rest of the day: we're back by mid-morning.
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?
Snorkeling, diving or beach? One last snorkeling session, a first scuba dive (the diving centers here are legit and the water is super calm) or maybe just the beach.
Sunset at the beach bar: 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: 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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