Visa / Country Information

 

Country

The Federation of Malaysia comprises Peninsular Malaysia made up of 13 states, three Federal Territories and the states of Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo. Its capital is Kuala Lumpur.

 

Climate

Tropical climate with warm weather all year round with temperatures ranging from 21°C to 32°C. Annual rainfall varies from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.

 

Religion

Islam is the official religion but other religions are practiced freely.

 

Languages

Bahasa Melayu (Malay) is the national language but English is widely

spoken. The ethnic groups also speak various languages and dialects including Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Tamil and Hindi.

 

Currency

The Malaysian currency is normally referred to as Ringgit or RM. It is pegged at RM3.80 to US$1. The RM comes in denominations of RM1, RM2, RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100. Coins are denoted as sen. These include 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen  and 50 sen .

 

Immigration and Customs

Visitors to Malaysia must be in possession of a valid passport or travel document with a minimum validity of six months beyond the period of stay. Most nationalities do not require visas for social or business visits. For further information, please check with the nearest Malaysian Mission or Tourism Malaysia office in your country. Alternatively browse www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my or www.imi.gov.my. Trafficking in illegal drugs is a serious offence and importing large amounts of foreign currencies requires a declaration.

 

 

Getting to Penang Island

 

 

Flight

Via Kuala Lumpur International Airport

The main gateway to Malaysia is through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at Sepang, located approximately 50km south of Kuala Lumpur. From KLIA there are several transport options to the city among them being the high-speed KLIA Ekspres train, taxis, limousines and buses. A non-stop 28-minute ride on the KLIA Ekspres will connect you from the airport to the KL City Air Terminal (KLCAT) at the KL Sentral Station.

Via Penang International Airport

Penang Airport also serves as an entry point to Malaysia. There are regular flights to Penang from major Asian cities such as Hong Kong, China, Bangkok, Phuket, Hat Yai, Medan, Taipei and Singapore. Malaysia Airlines provides frequent daily flights between Kuala Lumpur and Penang. There are taxi services from Penang Airport to the city

Coaches

There are coaches from Kuala Lumpur to Penang Island via the Penang Bridge. The journey will take around 5 hours. The coaches can be taken from Pudu Raya bus terminal of KL train station.

Train

Malaysian Railways (KTM) offers daily train service from Kuala Lumpur (KL Sentral station) to Butterworth, Penang. The journey takes almost nine hours. There are ferry services from Butterworth to Penang Island, which will take around 10 minutes.