Malaysia Travel Guide

We try not to say things like ‘this is a country of contrasts’, because that could be said of anywhere, but in Malaysia it’s hard not to.

The sudden transitions from ancient to ultra-modern, thriving jungle to hotels dripping with luxury, and cuisines from every port between Mecca and Beijing. It’s certainly interesting to tailor a holiday here – in Malaysia, we can take you from tea plantation to rainforest to tropical coastline, stopping in some top notch towns along the way, in a country that’s barely 200 miles across!

Where to go in Malaysia

Most visitors to Malaysia – in fact, many travellers to South-East Asia at large – will arrive at Kuala Lumpur, the country’s buzzing capital, whose international airport is a key gateway to the region. In ‘KL’, the country’s cultural diversity is tangible at every turn, especially in its fantastic street-food scene. Penang is another must-see if it’s your first time – it’s the oldest British settlement in Malaysia, and its historic Georgetown district is a prized UNESCO heritage site.

The Cameron Highlands tea-growing region is an excellent place to relax and refresh yourself, given its cooler climate and lush tea-growing mountainsides, whilst a wilder side of nature can be found in Taman Negara, one of the oldest rainforests in the world with an excellent canopy walk.

Offshore, clusters of tropical islands festoon Malaysia’s coastline, with one to suit every need from family beach holidays to exclusive private honeymoonsLangkawi, in the Andaman Sea, is perhaps best known, with its long picture perfect beaches and upmarket hotels, and Pangkor Laut is certainly the most exclusive, but we also love the little low-key Perhentian Islands, where the diving is world-class and the scenery amongst Malaysia’s finest.

Reasons to love Malaysia

  •     Its diversity. Malaysia’s environment is amongst the planet’s most biodiverse, and its human population is made up of hundreds of ethnicities.
  •     Road-trips! Malaysians drive on the left, on roads that are well made and sign-posted in English and Malay, so self-drive holidays through its gorgeous landscape are very much on the cards.
  •     The gorgeous Colonial architecture, especially in old towns and cities like Malacca  

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MAP VIEW
LIST VIEW
Map of places to visit in Malaysia

Malaysia ⟩ Perhentian Islands

Malaysia ⟩ Redang Island

Malaysia ⟩ Kuala Terengganu

Malaysia ⟩ Malacca

Malaysia ⟩ Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia ⟩ Pangkor Islands

Malaysia ⟩ Cameron Highlands

Malaysia ⟩ Penang

Malaysia ⟩ Langkawi

Malaysia ⟩ Taman Negara

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9 May 2024 ★★★★★

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22 May 2024 ★★★★★

Our recent trip to China and Mongolia was a great success. Overall we found Absolute Asia Tours services to be excellent throughout the two weeks we were in Asia. For us, Mongolia was definitely the highlight. We thoroughly enjoyed or local guides and drives and they were unfailingly knowledgeable, helpful and amusing. Their languages skills were excellent and we felt that we recieved real insight into this fascinating country. We were intinially drawn to the idea of this trip by the reports of the world class fihing and we were absolutely not disappointed. The fishing guide was first rate and we caught more fish than we could have hoped for - more than 25 each day - with the added bonus of being the only other people in sight for miles arround. AAT created a private ger camp for us on the Onon River and we enjoyed delicious food prepared by our chef in a beautiful unspoled atmosphere. They alo arranged for us to visit a nomadic family and spend time with them at home and organized a dinner with an anthropologist with expert knowledge of the region. AAT fullfilled their promise to tkae us to us to one of the world's best fishing destinations in comfort and style. We would be happy to travel with AAT again and will definitely recommend them to our friends.

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16 May 2024 ★★★★★

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17 January 2024 ★★★★★

Absolute Asia tours gave us a wonderful tour of Southeast Asia (working with sister-agency My Way Travel based in Vietnam). For our Siem Reap/Angkor Wat journey, our party of two had a private driver and guide named Jak, who was a cheerful and knowledgeable companion, explaining the history, culture, architecture and religious significance of the sites while keeping it always fun. We moved efficiently from site to site, and finished with a boat tour of the fishing village on stilts at Kampong Pluk on the Tonle Sap Lake. During most of our trip we stayed at top-notch locally-owned hotels, but in Siem Reap we were at the excellent local Hyatt hotel. Absolute Asia and My Way Travel our outstanding local providers, less expensive than name-brand group tours, and customized to our interests and schedule.

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2 January 2024 ★★★★★

We had an awesome time on cycling tour with AAT! It was incredible, filled with good vibes, laughs & a fantastic way to explore Vietnam & Cambodia. Tony our guide made it special by introducing us to locals and showing us the real charm of these countries. The whole tour was well-organized & the way they took care of us awesome. It's an unforgettable trip and I'll definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to experience the beauty of Southeast Asia.

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1 January 2024 ★★★★★

My group of six completed a 30 day cycling tour in Asia with AAT. We traveled form Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket & Saigon to Siem Reap. Every day we pedaled through stunning countryside views, passing villages, fields & limestone karsts. Our guide Tony was fantastic-interesting, friendly & personable. This experience stood out as the highlight of our Asia trip.

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    • James
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    • Thailand and Asia Specialist
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