Must see places on a 12 day trip to Malaysia

Hi everyone!

My boyfriend and I are heading to malaysia in October. We sadly only have 12 days and are on a budget as well.

We want to experience some of Malaysian culture and must see sights. Maybe visit one beach if we have time in the end. We don't want to be to rushed but still want to see what the country has to offer. 12 days is not a long time to see a whole country, so any advice on what things not to miss would be really appreciated.

So far what we were thinking was 1-2 days in KL, maybe see Cameron Highlands and also stopping in Malacca before heading into Singapore (our next destination).

Also we will be staying in hostels or other budget accommodation, using public transportation and want to mainly eat local food. Any suggestions would be really welcome!

Thanks so much in advance =)

Where are you coming from? Are you flying into Malaysia?

You can do what you list above..why not? I wouldn't say anything is a 'must-see'...that depends on you and your interests.

What kind of things do you like/are you looking for?

You mention beach/island above.

Not so easy on that itineray,,,there are beaches in that area,but not very good ones! probably the best bet would be Tioman,which is kind of on the way between KL and Singapore (not a very straight line though,and you need time to get there and away-not easy if you want to fit in those other places too!).

Better islands for me would be the Perhentians,but they are far away from the south west...you would need to fly up and back (to Kota Bharu,north east)or else redesign your plan completely.....

Hi Lucapal

Thanks for your responses.

I am flying from Sri Lanka where I have spent the last year, and we will be flying from Singapore when we leave.

What we are interested in is to explore the nature a bit, do some nice trekking or if there are any beautiful nature spots to see. We are also interested in just exploring the culture, what is unique about Malaysia...

We spent a lot of time on beaches and looking at temples and things like that while in Sri Lanka so we are not so keen on these things now.

The ideas I mentioned before are just rough ideas judged from some recommendations I have heard which is why I was looking for some more suggestions =) I don't really know much about Malaysia or what there is to see there. The beach is only something we thought we might do if it fit into the time schedule since we already have seen so many beaches the last year ;)

But thank you for your suggestions, I will look into some of these places you mention :)

Ok....Cameron Highlands is as good as anywhere in peninsular Malaysia for (light) trekking...more like hill-walking really ;-)

You could maybe fly into Penang..that is a really nice smaller city.It has pretty much everything.....nature,culture,great food...even some beaches.Then make your way down via CH to KL,on to Melaka and then to Singa?

Hi Linbja

For beaches and Island - Go to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia such as Pahang or Terengganu. There few stunning island such as Redang Island, Perhentian Island, Tioman Island to be explored for water activity there. Popular beaches in Malaysia and in my opinion the most beautiful beach is Juara Beach which is located in Tioman Island. ANother famous beach is Cherating Beach.

Jungle - Go to Taman Negara for activities like jungle tracking, see the culture of native jungle people and how they live, flora and fauna, it's reserve jungle anyway

Food - Penang is the best. You can also try many budget and local street food in KL such as at Jalan Alor Street Food.

Historical Place - Malacca State !