Malaysia – The Ultimate 7 Day Travel Itinerary + Guide
The 7 Day Malaysia Travel Itinerary
Surrounded by beautiful beaches, lush greenery, high-towering skyscrapers and bustling metropolitan life, Malaysia is a wonderful multicultural paradise for all kind of travellers. Although many travellers treat Malaysia (and Singapore) as hop-over or pass-through countries for their south-east travel, Malaysia actually has a lot more to offer. Here’s our guide to planning your 7 days trip to Malaysia, including the Best Tours in Malaysia, so as to experience the best of everything!
There actually are two different regions in Malaysia – Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo including Sabah). In this travel itinerary, we have covered Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands and Langkawi. The best time to visit Malaysia is between March to October. Since Malaysia is a tropical country, the temperature and humidity are high all year round.
Reaching Malaysia is very easy too. There are direct flights to Kuala Lumpur from all major international airport around the globe and the flight-frequency is particularly high if you are travelling from an Asian country. Malaysia also has relative easy rules for travel-visa. A vast majority of the country can avail visa-on-arrival and for others, travel visa to Malaysia can be obtained online, without any hassle.
PS –Natvisa.com is a popular service that provides superb visa processing services.
Another step that has been taken in Malaysia towards the digital future is introduction of eSIM. eSIM is an embedded SIM that is built directly into electronic devices rather than using a physical SIM card allowing users to activate and switch mobile plans directly from their devices instead of having to insert or replace a physical SIM card. It makes life a lot more easy for travellers travelling to Malaysia. At the moment, Malaysia eSIM is using the network of top operators like Celcom, Digi and Maxis, offering eSIM service for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy devices, giving customers the flexibility and convenience of having multiple data connections activated on a single device.
Now, let’s dive into our Malaysia travel itinerary and find out the best way to explore this beautiful destination in 7 days.
PS – Useful Travel Resources to use while heading to Malaysia to tick off this 7 Day Malaysia Travel Itinerary –
- Book your Rental Car in Malaysia on Discover Cars and RentalCars.com
- Book the best Malaysia Tours at GetYourGuide or Viator or Klook
- Book your Accommodation in Malaysia on Agoda or Booking.com
- Book your train/bus travel tickets in Malaysia on 12Go.Asia
- Get the best flight deals on Kiwi.com
- Get an eSIM by Airalo to stay connected and Save on Roaming Fees
- Sign up for a Priority Pass before flying to Malaysia, and get access to premium Airport Lounges.
- Sign up for a Travel Insurance to enjoy a hassle free vacation in Malaysia.
Day 1 – Kuala Lumpur
Just like most other Malaysian trips, ours too started from the capital city Kuala Lumpur, which is one of the Best Places to Visit in Malaysia. This skyscraper-filled metropolitan is not just about the Twin Towers. KL has many more amazing places and offers a plethora of pleasing experiences.
We started our first day by are heading straight to Batu Caves temple by cab. Although KL public transport is fantastic, a taxi or ‘grab’ makes life easier (trains are available and it takes 30 mins from KL Sentral). Batu Caves temple bears a gigantic golden statue of Murugan Swami at the gate. Also, these 140 feet (42.67m) tall statue is adorned with 270+ steps, which leads to the cave’s entrance. Be careful of the cheeky monkeys around you and it actually better not to feed them.
There is no entry fee and you are free to explore the depths of this cave, as is an internal structure is comfortable, and shrines are lined up with rocky walls.
Pro tip – Try to visit Batu caves early in the morning so as to get a free-from-crowd and Instagram-worthy photo of the colourful stairway!
Another advantage of starting the day early is you can also visit the Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Center, only 90 km from Batu caves. Kuala Gandah is a tranquil Elephant sanctuary that allows visitors to come into close contact with one of the world’s most majestic creatures. You can see the Elephants taking bath in the wild and also feed them with your own hands.
Also, the road trip from Batu caves to the Elephant sanctuary is full of lush greenery, postcard-perfect landscape with village homes and locals selling fruits by the highway.
After a pleasant time at Batu Caves and Kuala Gandah, we returned back to KL city, because how can Day-1 be over without the icon of Malaysia. In the evening, it was time for the capital city’s most famous attraction – the iconic Petronas Towers!
These silver skyscrapers are 88 – storey tall and connected with a Skybridge on 41st and 42nd Floors, the observation deck is on the 86th floor. Since we had already bought the “skip the queue” tickets in advance (highly advisable), we didn’t have to wait long.
Pro-tip: Try to time your observation deck visit just before sunset, so that you can get the ‘light-view’ and ‘night-view’ both!
On the base of this stunning commercial place, there is a Suria KLCC, and Petronas Philharmonic Concert Hall. Also, don’t miss the musical fountain (once every 30mins) right in front of KLCC’s main entrance.
Dinner near Petronas Tower can be checked out at best-rated KL restaurants at Petronas towers. The popular one’s Little Penang Café, Lai Ho peen, Madam Kwans. If you are small budgeter, enjoy the Food trucks present in open space. They have the best of international dishes with superb variety. You will also find the Petrosains Museum and Kuala Lumpur Aquarium, Kids Water Park, and it’s free for all.
PS – Grab the Klook Kuala Lumpur Pass to save up to 30% on attraction costs in Kuala Lumpur.
Best Hotels in Kuala Lumpur
Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur | EQ Kuala Lumpur | The RuMa Hotel and Residences | Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur | Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Day 2 – KL Tower | Bukit Bintang | Jalan Alor Food Street
On the 2nd day, it’s time for the KL Tower and the area surrounding it. KL Tower is another tourist attraction which specifically, is a communications tower. This is 7th tallest freestanding tower, which has a high-speed elevator to take visitors from the base to top. The observation deck offers a 360-degree view of KL city and also has a revolving restaurant. At the base, there is an Upside-Down House, forest park, F1 experience and a mini-zoo.
KL Forest Eco-park, a great family-friendly destination, is few meters from KL tower. There is 100-yr old Jelutong Tree standing alongside the tower which actually in Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve. It is a natural rainforest, that too right in the centre of the city. Rather than taking every trail, I would recommend taking a Canopy Walk that allows you to enjoy the experience from the treetops.
Next on our list was the Bukit Bintang district. This is the heart of KL city, where you will see malls everywhere. Here, you can shop for souvenirs, trinkets, and ever-changing fashionable clothing, electronics and accessories. All the shelves are stuffed with international brands and knockoffs too!! This is a haven for the shopaholics!!. Check out Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Lot 10, Sungei Wang Plaza, Starhill Gallery, Berjaya Times square.
Towards to end of Day-2, we headed to Jalan Alor Food Street – must-visit for a complete KL experience. This street is the hub of street food in KL. Here, you can try dimsums, grilled skewers and handcrafted famous fried-ice-creams, which are some of the Best Things to Eat in Malaysia. BBQ chicken and satay sticks are too good at Wong Ah Wah, is a famous eatery on this street.
Day 3 – Putrajaya | KL China Town | KL Bird Park
On the third day in KL, we visited the spectacular Blue Mosque and Putrajaya – the administrative office town of Malaysia. But both these places are outside KL and if you are not keen on going out of KL, below are some of the options to visit in KL itself.
KL China town is one of the most exciting and no one is going to hassle you. Petaling Street is a well-known bargaining place with colourful markets, impressive bars around, sophisticated cocktail joints and best backpacker hotspots –The Berlin KL. Both, day as well as night walking tours are entertaining.
Amongst the 5 most popular gardens, Asean Sculpture Garden features numerous sculptures and it is a peaceful place surrounded by botanical gardens. Butterfly Park Garden is a beautiful home to more than 5000 species of butterflies. Entrance fees are applicable.
KL Bird Park is a world full of spectacular birds and a tropical paradise not to be missed by all. It is also the world’s largest covered bird park.
Brickfields and Little India is also a must-visit district, which is the centre of colonial architecture, harmonious multicultural communities. Little India is an “another world” homely place for Indians, where you can browse around Indian restaurants, textile shops, dancing and singing with Indian Bollywood music.
Pro-Tip:For hiring a cab in KL, we highly recommend that you download the Grab App. We noticed that it was more frequent and less price as compared to Uber.
Day 4 – Cameron Highlands
After completely enjoying KL, we took a bus from KL Central and headed to Cameron Highlands.
Cameron Highlands is of the most favoured places to visit in Malaysia. We started our day early at BOH plantations, for hiking among greenery and watching tea leaves picking activity is one the most favourite experiences in the entire trip. This is the largest producer of flowers and Tea in Malaysia.
Cameron Valley Tea House 1 and 2 are beautiful locations where you can enjoy a yummy lunch, with panoramic views of the tea plantations. We preferred Tea House 1 because it has a lovely waterfall, only a 5-10 minute walk up the hill.
Best Hotels in Cameron Highlands
Day 5 – Cameron
A beautiful way to start your 2nd day in the hill of Cameron is Time Tunnel Museum. It is the first memorabilia museum in Malaysia. Here you can check out over 4000 items on display about the way of life in Malaysia during the pre-War years, many historical photographs, and relive childhood memories.
Cameron highlands also offer many strawberry farms and flower gardens for a leisurely evening stroll.
Additionally, Ipoh is just an hour’s drive from Cameron highlands. Ipoh is another unique place, especially for its streets filled with spectacular wall art.
Pro Tip: When you visit Malaysia you can find exclusive discounts on your hotel bookings at Booking.com and Agoda and the best tours on Klook.
Best Hotels in Ipoh
Day 6 and Day 7 – Langkawi
The last 2 days of our Malaysia trip was spent on the pristine islands of Langkawi. For us, Langkawi was love at first sight – primarily because of the view from the flight-window. Although being an archipelago of small islands, there are plenty of interesting places to visit and things to do in Langkawi.
We started our first day in Langkawi by visiting its most famous icon – the Sky Bridge and Sky Cab. Langkawi Sky Bridge is a cable-stayed 125-metre long curved walking bridge in Malaysia which is 2170 feet above sea-level. For me, the best part of the entire experience was the cable-car-ride – Sky Cab. It is by far the most exciting cable-car-ride I have ever done!
Pro-tip: If you are going during peak season, you can buy tickets in advance to avoid long queues.
After enjoying the spectacular panoramic views from the Sky Bridge, you can come down to experience many more interesting SkyGliding things at the base. Attractions like SkyRex (ride simulations), SkyDome (360 degrees 3D image projection theatre) and 3D Art Gallery will definitely fill you will excitement.
While returning, don’t forget to visit the beautiful black-sand beach, which is only a few kilometres from Sky Bridge.
On the second day in Langkawi, take the Langkawi Mangrove tour – a speed boat ride through the Kilim Geoforest Park. The speed boat ride (usually 3 hours), which is one of the Best Tours in Malaysia, will take you through the different mangrove islands of Langkawi. A major attraction of this boat ride is watching eagles hunt for fishes – it is a sight like no other.
And, then the last afternoon and evening of your wonderful Malaysia trip can be spent at the beautiful Pantai Cenang Beach and also shopping around anywhere on Langkawi.
Pro-Tip: The entire island of Langkawi is duty-free shopping! So, we recommend you can save all your shopping for Langkawi!
PS – Grab the Klook Langkawi Pass to save up to 30% on attraction costs in Langkawi.
Best Hotels in Langkawi
In the end, we are sure that this 7-day travel itinerary for Malaysia will definitely help you to have a great vacation and you will be able to make the best of your time. Having said that, don’t forget to Pin this One Week Malaysia Travel Itinerary, for ready reference in the future.
You can also enhance your experience by taking the time to learn the basics of the language before your trip. You can take Malay lessons online, so this is something that you can do with ease and convenience – and it can help you to enjoy a more enriching experience when you visit Malaysia.
If you enjoyed reading this 7 Day Malaysia Itinerary and Travel Guide, you might want to check out some other 7 Day Travel Guides and Itineraries, for other Asian / South East Asian destinations as well.
- 7 Day Phuket Dive + Travel Itinerary
- 3 Day Chiang Mai Travel Itinerary
- Weekend in Bangkok – 3 Day Travel Itinerary
- 7 Day Japan Travel Itinerary
- The 7 Day Myanmar Road Trip Itinerary
- 7 Day Road Trip to Bhutan – The Last Shangri La
- One Week in Kerala – God’s Own Country
- The Epic 7 Day Leh Ladakh Road Trip Itinerary
- One Week in Cambodia – Travel Guide and Itinerary
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Places In Pixel is a Travel and Photography Blog run by Mainak and Siddhida, wherein the share their travel-planning ‘how-tos’ and travel-photography tips and hacks. They love a little bit of luxury-travel, but on a tight budget and hence they share the same luxury travel planning tips while maintaining a tight budget.
Thanks for this itinerary! Currently planning a trip to Singapore and Malaysia. I have limited days in Malaysia and was considering visiting Penang and KL only. Langkawi looks interesting, I will consider including that in my plans.