[--Me--]

We are looking at a short overseas holiday in October but wanting to avoid Bali and Phuket. We went to Singapore in Nov so that is out too.

So Dh and I are considering Penang. Problem is that know one we know has been recently so we don't know if it is particularly kid friendly. It will be the 3 of us - Me, DH and DS aged 5.

Does anyone have any advice, hotel recommendations, activity suggestions etc?

TIA!

[twinboys]

I went to Penang 10 years agoe - the snake temple was great to see....If you aren' scared of snakes.

We also loved the night markets every night along the tourist strip.

I can't remember where we stayed - But We as a young couple had a great time going to local places to eat and trying hawker food at the markets

[Leeloomina]

I went to Penang when I was 12 (eons ago!) but I can remember the food was very yummy

Sorry I know it doesn't help with your questions, but what about East Malaysia? I think it's a more popular tourist destination than Penang.

[crocodilessnap]

We're actually heading to Penang for our 3rd joint trip (DHs 5th) in 6 years later this year. It's a lovely place and the people are really friendly. We're planning on staying out at batu feringgi at the golden sands hotel, a little pricey I'll admit but as we will be taking our then 18 month old it's more set up for kids and we have stayed there before. Batu feringgi is by the beach and beautiful, it's about a half hour cab ride into the city but cabs are so cheap it only costs about $10-15 per trip and if you did say at the golden sands there is a courtesy bus that runs several times per days.

In terms of things to do, there are heaps of tours which are reasonably priced and things like the snake temple as mentioned above, though due to lots of development there aren't many snakes left. There is also the spice gardens, butterfly farm, night markets, or you can head up to the top of Penang Hill which gives amazing views of the city, and there are heaps and heaps of stunning temples to explore.

If you go I'm sure you will love it

[Zesty]

LOVED Penang. We spent 4 weeks in December/January there and are considering going again.

We stayed in a self contained apartment in Batu Ferringhi, however there are many styles of accommodation to choose from. It's just a matter of deciding on your budget and choosing what you want.

Buses into Georgetown run often and was cheap, around RM6 for a family of 4. A cab ride was around RM30.

We went to the Spice Garden, Butterfly Farm, Botanical Gardens, War Museum, Burmese Temple, Penang Bird Park, Penang Hill, Georgetown historic district... I could go on.

We actually went to the Golden sands for our Christmas. It is right on the beach and certainly central in BF.

My kids were 6 and 8 and whilst it took them a few days to get used to the country (people trying to get you to buy things etc, differences in culture), they absolutely loved their stay and were quite sad to leave and keep asking when we can go and live there.

If you want more specific info, feel free to ask.

[busy_bee]

It's been more than 5 years since we went there (and it was before having children). But we've always said it would be a great place to go back to with kids.

Having travelled a fair bit in SE Asia - I found it more relaxed and less 'sleazy' (for want of a better term) than Bali, Phuket and Koh Samui.


We stayed at the Park Royal....I think it is still there under that name. Great pools, even had a kids pool and a kids club - but things change so much.

Great botanic gardens and the Spice Gardens are great too

[nlman]

We are going in July for a week with the extended faimily. This will be my 3rd visit.

We will be staying at the Golden Sands (Shangri-La) which is awesome. It is opposite a hawker centre for cheap food and has lots of pools, kids club etc

There are shopping centre about 1/2 hr from the beach but there is a night market nearby.

The food in Penang is great!

[libbylu]

I was there for a couple of days 18 months ago with DS aged 4. I wasn't particularly impressed. We stayed at the Holiday Inn. The beach was pretty average. It is a very crowded island, noisy jet skis off the beach, tourist market is full of rubbish mostly imported from China or India and overpriced, and there were traffic jams along the main beach road. On the plus side, the people are friendly and the food is great. There are some interesting temples - you can see one with the biggest indoor reclining Bhudda! Personally, I prefer to go somewhere more remote with a bit more nature - but then, we weren't there for long, so perhaps there are prettier spots that I didn't get to see.

[TheAppetiser]

We took the kids last October and stayed at the Golden Sands. Very kid friendly with pools and a large indoor playcentre that we had free access to for 2 hrs a day (we only managed 2 visits though). It had huge slides. The kids loved it. The beach didn't appeal but with three pools we didn't miss it. We ate at the night markets nearly every night - kids loved the food and atmosphere. Cheap and clean. No upset tummies at all. We went on a spice garden tour and to a butterfly farm as well as up Penang Hill on the tram. The Gs has a free shuttle bus into the city several times daily and we found taxis to be safe and trustworthy - just agree on your price beforehand. I wouldn't recommend the shopping though - most is stuff from Thailand although at the Gurney Plaza there were some good genuine watch prices and cameras. The hotel was pretty cheap but I think we went in off peak season. I loved it mainly as a safe holiday with the kids - having travelled the world it was nice to be able to genuinely relax