Penang In 3 Days On A Budget: The Best Itinerary
A few days is the perfect amount of time to visit this incredible island. Read along to find out how to visit Penang in 3 days on a budget.
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Penang In 3 Days
Are you a budget traveller considering visiting and unsure how to visit Penang in 3 days without breaking the bank? Not to worry!
After spending almost one week in Penang during my last visit, I found that it is an incredible place with so many free things to do (that are actually enjoyable too).
Sure, most things here are generally a bit pricier than most places in Malaysia – particularly accommodation, but it is quite easy to stay for 3 days in Penang spending less than 90 MYR a day (~$30 AUD or $20 USD)
During this Penang in 3 days itinerary, you’ll get to explore the UNESCO World Heritage listed city of Georgetown and its unique street art and colourful Clan Jetties, walk through the smallest national park in Malaysia (whilst still being stunning) and wander around Malaysia’s biggest Buddhist temple.
Not to mention, you’ll be eating some of the best street food you’ll ever have in your life.
Penang is worth visiting and you won’t regret spending time there. So, without further ado – here is my Penang in 3 days itinerary:
3 Days In Penang Itinerary
Day 1
Your first full day on this Penang In 3 Days Itinerary is spent best getting to grips with Georgetown itself! Georgetown is the heart and soul of the island and what most people think of when talking about Penang. You’ll get to explore this unique heritage listed city with it’s street art and unique clan jetties.
Here is how you can lay out your day!
Morning
This Penang itinerary is full of cool things, and I think the best way I can describe Georgetown is that it feels like someone dropped a vibrant paint bomb over the city. Street art is what the city is best known for – and for good reason.
Pretty much wherever you go you’ll see amazing street art, and what sets Georgetown apart from other cities is how they have incorporate real objects into their works. For example, the “Kids on a bicycle” artwork, where they’ve placed a real bicycle in front of the children, making it look like they’re riding it!
Start this Penang in 3 days itinerary by either joining a free walking tour of the street art or following this Google Map of the best Georgetown street art.
Midday
Straight after exploring the street art of Penang and some lunch, you can head straight to the Clan Jetties! These are some of the more unique things you’ll see across Malaysia.
In short, these are historic villages that were built on the water in the 19th century by Chinese immigrants who worked with boats and trade.
Now, they have become one of the best free things to do in Penang. They make fantastic travel photography opportunities and it’s super interesting to see how the people who now live there go about there day to day life.
Afternoon / Night
Now that you’ve gotten the gist of Georgetown and its beauty, head back to your hostel to chill out and rest your legs! You’ve done a lot of walking.
When you feel like you’ve recovered, head out again and watch as Georgetown comes to life! Carnarvon Street is known as the food centre of Penang, and that’s down to the amount of tasty food stalls, where you can get a filling meal for just a couple of dollars.
House of Journey Hostel is on this street as well, so as soon as you start smelling food – that’s the time to head out!
Check out my Malaysia Packing List
Day 2
Day 2 of this Penang In 3 Days Itinerary is a fun one! And one where you get to check out the best nature in Penang, for free (aside from the bus tickets).
Wake up early-ish and head to Penang National Park by bus (the most affordable option). This will take about 1hr 30 to get there.
I took Bus 101 from Georgetown, you can use Moovit to figure out the bus times and where is best for you to jump on. A one-way ticket will cost you MYR 4 ($1.30 AUD).
Once you arrive, walk out to the beautiful Monkey Beach – where you can honestly spend the rest of your day. You’ll certainly feel like it too! It’s not the easiest walk in the world and you will be sweating uncontrollably due to the humidity.
When I was there, I pretty much had the entire beach to myself! I found it surprising considering how beautiful it was.
If you fancy some more walking, you can head up to the Muka Head Lighthouse. I didn’t manage to fit it in when I was there.
Once you’re done here, head back to Georgetown for some food and some serious shut-eye.
Check out my guide on the best photography spots in Penang
Day 3
On the third day of this Penang in 3 days itinerary you will have the chance to check out the vibrant suburb of Air Itam, the beautiful Kek Lok Si Temple & the best view of Penang and beyond at Penang Hill.
Morning
Get up early and take bus 203 or 204 from Komtar Bus Terminal all the way to Air Itam, where you can walk up to Kek Lok Si Temple! The bus will take around 50 minutes.
It is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and one of the biggest in all of south east Asia. It is completely free to visit making it one of the best things to do in Penang on a budget.
Kek Lok Si Temple opens at 8:30am so I highly recommend arriving as early as possible before the crowds come.
Midday
After you’re done exploring Kek Lok Si Temple, wander back down to Air Itam – where you can find an abundance of tasty street food and markets where you can buy fresh fruit. The main thing in Air Itam is the temple, so once you’ve seen that – the main attraction is the town itself.
Chill out for a bit and grab some food to refuel and then you can either head back to your hostel to seek refuge in the peak heat or continue on and head up to Penang Hill!
Afternoon
Penang Hill is the only attraction in this Penang in 3 days itinerary that will cost you money. A two-way ticket on the railway costs 30 MYR (about $10 AUD or $6 USD).
Once you get to the top, walk past the first main lookout and continue along the road where it’s a lot quieter. Here, you’ll find some great lookouts with just a fraction of the people at the main lookout – you might even have them to yourselves!
Some other things to do on Penang Hill include the skywalk, seeing temples and wildlife.
Night
At night, after you’ve recharged – it’s time for some free entertainment! Head to The Jetty Food Court, grab some food and wait for the show! I think it’s one of the more unique things to do during this Penang in 3 days itinerary.
Every night, from 9:30pm-12:30am – they have people jump up on stage and perform! It’s almost only locals who go there at this time, and I found we were the only tourists there.
To be allowed to sit down at a table, you have to order a drink. If you don’t like alcohol you can purchase a Coke or a Sprite for MYR 3.
Planning a trip to Penang?
How To Get To Penang
Start this Penang in 3 days itinerary with ease.
The easiest and most affordable way to get to Penang is by bus. Malaysia has a really great bus network with literally hundreds of buses arriving in Penang everyday from places like Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, the Cameron Highlands and even Melaka in the south.
These buses are very comfy, air conditioned and spacious. But still, if you couldn’t think of anything worse than travelling by bus – you can get to Penang by train. I go into this in my guide about how to get around Malaysia on a budget.
You can also arrive from Langkawi Island by a budget flight.
The most well-known way to purchase bus tickets is through 12Go.
Where To Stay In Penang
Penang is probably the second most popular place for backpackers in Malaysia, after Kuala Lumpur. For that reason, theres a decent amount of hostels for you to choose from.
Penang in 3 days is best spent at a comfy hostel – which is why I recommend staying at House of Journey Hostel.
It is awesome for solo travellers. It’s in a fantastic location and they’ve got free breakfast, free filtered water, good air conditioning and social activities every day! So you’re not going to find it hard to meet people.
If you prefer a hostel that’s more party-based during your Penang in 3 days itinerary, I know a couple of people who stayed at EZ Social Hostel and they said it can get pretty rowdy! So if that’s your style I recommend staying there when using this Penang in 3 days itinerary.
Penang Travel Tips
Visiting Penang In 3 days is pretty simple and straightforward and I believe it’s one of the best places for first time backpackers in South East Asia.
That being said, there are some things that you should know about travelling in Penang that will help you out:
- Bring cash everywhere: whilst you can pay for most accommodation with cards and some more touristic restaurants in Penang, it’s best to have cash.
- If you want to take advantage of all of the amazing street food, you must have cash as there are no card payments at these stalls.
- If you need the bus when visiting Penang in 3 days – use Moovit for finding bus routes and schedules. Google Maps tends to be unreliable.
- It can get scorching hot here, so bring some sunscreen from home if you can. Malaysian sunscreen has whitening ingredients in it.
Check out my in-depth guide about Backpacking In Penang
Travel Insurance For Penang
Visiting Penang in 3 days won’t cause you much trouble. But in the incredibly unlucky case that something goes wrong on your trip, you should buy travel insurance.
In my opinion, if you can’t spare some money for travel insurance – you shouldn’t travel! I have thankfully never had to use it but i’ve met people on my travels where it has saved there a*rses.
Penang In 3 Days: Final Thoughts
Penang is an amazing place, and now that i’m looking back on my time in Malaysia – I can say that is was my favourite place in the whole country.
Penang in 3 days is not only fun, but you don’t have to go broke visiting – which is a huge bonus. Enjoy!
Check out all of my posts about Malaysia
Book Your Trip With My Favourite Resources:
Cheap Flights: I always use Skyscanner to browse for cheap flights. It offers so many options to help you find a good deal! It even allows you to search for “anywhere” if you haven’t decided where to go yet!
Accommodation: I start my hostel search with Hostelworld. Most hostels are now on this platform making it the place to find the best hostel for you.
Travel Insurance: If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. It is so important to have when travelling as it will save you from illness, injury, theft and cancellations! I always use Worldnomads when travelling on a budget as they have the best deals for me.