Booking the Perfect Private Day Trip in Penang, Malaysia

If you are visiting Penang and researching exploring the Island beyond Georgetown you may be wondering whether a private day trip is feasible or warranted.

Our answer here at Triprovider is that a private day trip is almost essential if you are visiting multiple locations and if you are going beyond Batu Ferrenghi.

Triprovider sat down with our partners in Penang to discuss and then set off on the perfect day trip where we saw a lot and had a great fun time.

Sit back and read on to see how much fun you can have and then contact us to book your private day trip in Penang!

If you are staying only in Georgetown then it is easy enough to get around with Grab or a free CAT bus/Normal bus. But if you wanted to, you could still book a private driver for trips around Georgetown as well, especially if you have multiple stops.

But as charming as Georgetown is, the island has so much more to offer and if you have time, it would be a real shame not to explore as much of the Island as you can.

This is where a private day trip makes perfect sense. Put an itinerary together that suits you then spend a stress free day visiting Penang’s amazing tourist attractions in comfort.

The other reason to book a private driver is you can learn so much from their local knowledge that is both educational plus can be priceless for enhancing your trip (ie the best restaurant tips and off the path places you would never even think of going!)

If you are visiting just one location like the Escape Theme Park then the local bus can be a good option as it is cheap and quite frequent. The drawback is that it can be quite slow with a myriad of stops plus the network doesn’t go beyond Teluk Bahang.

Grab is the more popular option for one stop trips but whilst getting out of Georgetown is relatively easy, getting back can be a different story. Apart from Batu Ferrenghi central, you may find it very hard to secure a ride back to Georgetown with few local drivers available in remote areas.

Glad you asked! We sat down with our tour partner and between us came up with the perfect blend of our choices and their suggestions which made for a great day out.

Here is our day trip itinerary in Penang just so you have an idea what is possible (feel free to copy it if you like!) plus we will add more places to visit which can be added to your itinerary.

OUR ITINERARY

0900 Leave Georgetown

0915 Coffee Tree – coffee and chocolate tastings

0945 Floating Mosque – stop for outside photos but you can go in as well.

1015 Tropical Spice Gardens – Malaysia is famous for its spices and they’re all here!

1145 Teluk Bahang Jetty – see local fisherman at work and maybe the catch of the day!

1215 Batik Factory – amazingly talented people create Batik magic in the workshop and store.

1245 Tropical Fruit Farm – up to 30 different fruits to learn about and taste depending on season.

1430 Saanen Goat Farm – feed and play with the farm animals, how cute!

1530 Lunch – pick a roadside restaurant, they’re everywhere. Amazing CKT and a cold beer!

1700 Back in Georgetown, what a day!

Other places to add to your itinerary include:

Batu Ferringhi Beach

Escape Theme Park (but this is more of day in itself)

Entopia Butterfly Farm

Art and Garden – yes that’s what it is, Art in a nicely manicured garden. Great collection!

Durian Farms – many to choose from like Bao Sheng and Durian Tree House (great views)

Nutmeg Factory

The Lake Café/The Farm – animals in a lake garden setting with café

Georgetown – Penang Hill / Mansions / Temples / Clan Jetties etc.

Our Penang Day Trip Review

We headed off on a bright Monday morning and our first stop heading north out of Georgetown was the Coffee Tree.

Penang and Malaysia are famous for their coffee and you will see big billboards for Penang’s famous White Coffee everywhere. If you like coffee and chocolate, this is the place for you.

Coconut, Tiramisu, Chocolate? We sampled about 10 different coffee types from about 20 on offer (yes, including the Durian!), bought 3 and sampled some chocolate as well. Everything is nicely packaged and the staff are super friendly. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but how could you resist as a great souvenir from Penang?

Next stop the Floating Mosque. A Mosque built on stilts on the ocean that during high tide, looks like its floating on the surface. How cool is that? Sunset shots here are amazing. Of course you can go inside but we didn’t have time with our full schedule.

Looking out to the sparkling waters of the Straits of Malacca, we pass exclusive high rise condominiums and about a million roadside restaurants before driving through the touristy Batu Ferringhi resort which comes alive at night but was barely awake as we passed through.

Time to Spice things up! The Tropical Spice Gardens is a nice place to spend a couple of hours learning about the spices that this part of the world is famous for. Various paths lead you up and around the gardens. Admire the Pinang Tree which Penang is named after and we found the Poison Garden highlighting deadly plants particularly fascinating. Then of course the Spice Terraces take you on a journey through all the Spice plants grown in the area like Nutmeg and Vanilla.

We stop briefly at the Teluk Bahang jetty to admire the life of the fishermen who can spend days out at sea to bring back their fresh catch. Nice to feel the sea breeze on your face. There are tour offices here too for those who want to perhaps book a tour to Monkey Beach or Sunset Beach or undertake other sea activities.

Did someone say Batik? Well the Batik Factory is the place to go. If you see some Batik ware in Georgetown its odds on it came from the factory here where upon arrival they take you on a quick tour of the workshop where talented artists are busy creating exquisite layered wax creations for private clients. The colours are amazing and you can even pre-book a canvas painting session yourself. We settle into the store where everything looks good and purchase a shirt and scarf.

Next up is the Tropical Fruit Farm. One of the best thing about the tropics are all the delectable fruits available. This is the place to come to learn about them and of course taste them as well!

Tours depart every 20 mins or so depending on numbers and a jeep takes you up the hill where our guide Danny is as passionate as a passionfruit can get in regards to all things fruit. What he doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing and he asks us to guess the various trees and associated fruit. We even try some cinnamon straight off the tree bark and honey whilst bees swarm around us. To end off he takes us indoors and explains the enzyme process and the related health benefits. Insomnia and Anxiety? I need some of that stuff to help…. Well surprise, surprise, back at the shed you get to taste and purchase the different enzyme and honey types plus if you’ve bought the platter package you get a fruit juice and fruit platter to enjoy.

Time to play the goat and visit Saanen Goat Farm where we have a lot of fun playing with the various farm animals. For 10RM you can buy some feed and go crazy feeding the goats, ostrich, ducks, cats, dogs and anything else that comes across your path. For cat lovers you can pay extra to be locked in the house with a plethora of furry friends. They also make delicious milk and yoghurt!

By this time we are quite famished so we stop somewhere in Balik Pulau for some local grub all washed down with a Carslberg or two. The Char Kway teow was amazing and now our bellies are satisfied, we can head back.

A great day! Highly recommended and can’t wait to do it again.

Sounds good, how do I book my private day trip in Penang?

Easy as Penang pie. Let us know what itinerary you have in mind (or we can help plan one) then we can get a quote for you and book it in when you’re happy.

What is it? – Private day trips around Penang / Airport transfers also available

Where is it? – Up to you, you can go around the Island and even onto the Mainland if you like depending on time and distance.

When is it? – Any day subject to availability

Why do it? – For convenience and a stress free day plus you will learn a lot too!

How long do I need? – A full day is great but you can also do shorter trips and book by the hour.

How much is it? – Click to Email us here to get a quote: info@triprovider.com

Tips for taking a Penang Day trip –

Tip – Bring sunscreen as the sun can be brutal and mosquito spray for any rural areas visited like the Spice Gardens.

Tip – Check that the places you are choosing are open that day – suck to turn up and they’re closed!

Tip – Avoid weekends and holidays if you can as obviously traffic and queues can be a nightmare!

Have a question regarding this trip? – email us at info@triprovider.com

Now it’s your turn! – Have you been? Like to know more? Like to comment on this review?

Please leave a comment in the box below, we’re waiting to hear from you!