Penang Visitor FAQ

Penang Visitor FAQ (1 May 2015)


Penang Visitor FAQ answers the many questions that visitors to this island ask me. It is a big joy for us to have visitors coming to Penang. Of course you may have a thousand questions which I try to answer as well as I can through this website. As many visitor ask the same questions, I have put together a list of the most frequently asked questions. I thought these may be helpful to you.

1. I'll be arriving in Penang by plane. Are there any public transport to go to the city?
Yes please, you can either take the taxi or the bus. Here's the information for taking the bus from Penang Airport.

2. Can you tell me which bus to take to go to X from Y in Penang?
This is what you can do. Go through the alphabetical List of Sights I've described. If you're visiting a popular sight, most likely I may have described it before. Do a search (ctrl+F) for X and Y. Find out where X and Y are located, such as the road or place name. Often I have listed out the buses that pass that way. If I don't, please go to the Rapid Penang Bus Routes page. Search for the location/road where X or Y are located.

3. Can you recommend a hotel within George Town?
I would suggest that you read my page on "Where to Stay in Penang" and "Which Penang Hotel to Choose".

4. Is it safe to explore George Town alone?
It is absolutely safe to do that, even at night. Of course, you should be wary of strangers, as you would in any city.

5. Can you book for me a hotel on ...
Sorry, I am not a travel agent, so please book your accommodation yourself.

6. Can you show me around?
I do not show visitors around, but hand the duties to a bunch of licensed tour guides. Their services are managed by a tour coordinator who will craft a tour based on your requirements. To learn more, read this page, or fill up this form to get in touch with Rose, the Penang Tour Guides coordinator.

7. Is it possible to take a bus around Penang Island?
Yes, but you need to change buses two times. If you're going on an anti-clockwise direction, you start from the Weld Quay Bus Terminal, take Bus 101 to Teluk Bahang, then take Bus 501 to Balik Pulau, and from Balik Pulau take Bus 401 back to Weld Quay.

8. I cannot find "Weld Quay Ferry & Bus Terminal" signaged on the buses.
All buses heading to the Weld Quay Ferry & Bus Terminal are signaged "Jetty".

9. I shall be taking an express bus from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. I am told the bus terminal is in Sungai Nibong. Is that in the city?
The Sungai Nibong Express Bus Terminal is a distance from George Town. There are however a number of buses heading to town, just look for those signaged Komtar or Jetty. The taxi stand is also right outside the express bus terminal, so you can also hop into a taxi to take you downtown or anywhere else.

10. I am planning to drive. Where can I rent a car?
There are car rental counters at the Penang International Airport arrivals hall. Parking in most places on Penang Island is chargeable using parking coupons, which you can buy at selected newsagents and 7-Eleven outlets. Parking is 40 sen per half hour (as of November 2016). Within George Town, particularly during office hours, parking space is almost next to impossible to find (so you may wind up going round and round looking for a place to park). Within downtown George Town, leaving your car in a no parking area may result in it being clamped or towed away.

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

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

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.