Geography of Penang

Penang comprises Penang Island and Seberang Perai (also called Province Wellesley) on the mainland. The central part of Penang Island is hilly. The capital, George Town, rolls out from the northeast tip of Penang Island and spreads across the lowlying areas like a concrete carpet. The tourist belt of Batu Ferringhi and Tanjung Bungah are located on the hilly northern side of Penang Island. Over here, whatever land there is for development hugs the hillside, required much leveling and cutting before anything can be built there.

Penang Hill, located at the centre of the island, prevents the city from marching westward, forcing it to develop southward through Gelugor all the way to Batu Maung to the south. The demand for housing has resulted in new development taking place in Teluk Kumbar, Gertak Sanggul as well as Balik Pulau. Balik Pulau, a town whose name translates roughly as "hindside of the island", was pretty much a sleepy backwater until recently. Today Balik Pulau is undergoing rapid development. Nevertheless, the town is still popular among Penangites for its orchards, particularly of durians and nutmeg.

Seberang Perai is relatively flat, save for Bukit Mertajam, the name of a hillock as well as the town at its foot. The snooty urban folks of Penang Island seldom venture into Seberang Perai - regarding it as a far-away countryside - until the pressing need for cheap housing forced some of them to live there. Now towns in Seberang Perai such as Juru, Jawi, Sungai Bakap and Nibong Tebal, once regarded as the agricultural hinterland as late as a decade ago, have experience rapid development, in terms of industrialization and the sprouting of new housing estates. These towns are expected to benefit from the construction of the second Penang Bridge .

The Penang Bridge carries a dual-lane carriageway, the E36, across the channel connecting Penang Island and the mainland. Linked to the Penang Bridge is Route 1331, comprising Jelutong Expressway and Bayan Lepas Expressway. This is the main motorway on the east side of Penang Island, connecting Batu Maung in the south to Weld Quay in George Town.

On the mainland side, the Penang Bridge connects to the North-South Expressway, E1, the main motorway running along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The E1 connects to the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway, E15, and the Butterworth Outer Ring Road, E17. With the exception of the Jelutong and Bayan Lepas Expressways, all the motorways mentioned are tolled.

George Town, the capital, is located on the northeast tip of Penang Island. It is where most of the sights of historical significance and tourist attractions are located. It is also where most visitors to Penang will be staying.


The road on the north coast of Penang island is characterised by sharp bends.


Penang Hill, foreground, prevents George Town from further developing westward.


Pulau Betong, on the southwest of Penang island

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

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Map of Roads in Penang

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.