Kuala Lumpur to Penang
How to Travel by Bus, Train, Flight 2024

How far is it from KL to Penang (Georgetown)?

The distance from Kuala Lumpur to Penang (jarak Kuala Lumpur ke Penang) is around 360 km travelling by road.

Prices now vary from those shown above, as KTM have introduced a new Flexi Fare system where ticket prices change depending on how far in advance you book your tickets (the further ahead the cheaper) and the time of day, week and time of year you want to travel with various peak times at weekends and public / school holiday periods (ie peak holiday periods are more expensive while non-holiday off-peak weekdays are cheaper).

When you travel from Kuala Lumpur to Penang by coach and do not buy your tickets before you arrive at the bus station, try to avoid the ticket touts that will try to attach themselves to you as soon as you get close to the bus station.

They are very friendly and helpful guiding you to the "right" ticket counter to get your bus tickets to Penang, but there is often a price to pay!

These touts get a commission and often you are sold a more expensive bus ticket on a more luxurious, direct bus service that is leaving in a few minutes.

However, often the bus is changed at the last minute to a less comfortable, stopping off in Ipoh service.

Or worse still (this has happened to me twice in the last few years). You are sitting on your nice coach waiting for it to depart, then on comes "someone working for the bus company" saying there is a problem with the bus and you have to take another bus.

This bus will be one of the cheaper, stopping buses and often will not be leaving for quite some time.

It is a very annoying practice that can cause you a few hours delay (once I very nearly missed the last ferry over to Georgetown because of one of these bus swaps).

So do what I now do:

1) Either take the train from KL to Butterworth - which is a much nicer journey anyway.

2) Avoid the touts at bus stations (just a polite "no thank you" when your approached will normally put them off).

3) If you do want to travel by bus, book your tickets online before you arrive at the bus station (it is also often cheaper if you buy bus tickets online in advance).

Once you reach Butterworth Train Station or Penang Sentral Bus Terminal, it's just a short walk to the ferry terminal / jetty through the new Penang Sentral Terminal building (just follow the signs to the ferry once you exit the train station or arrive at the lower floor of the bus terminal).

From the jetty ticket counter, you can purchase your ferry tickets (currently costs RM 1.20 to Georgetown and it is free in the other direction from Georgetown to Butterworth).

The boat ride over to Penang Island takes around 15 minutes and usually boats depart 20 to 30 minutes apart from around 6 in the morning, until the last boat at around midnight.

When you arrive at the Penang Jetty you will be on the edge of the old part of Georgetown where you will find most of the accommodation, with plenty of cheap budget hotels and some more pricey, but stylish Heritage Hotels.

There are a growing number of budget and mid-range hotels close to the jetty, however, if you are planning on staying in the main backpackers area of Georgetown, you will have a 10 to 15 minute walk from here.

To get from the jetty in Georgetown to your accommodation you can either:

1) Walk into the old part of town - Just follow the pathway down from the jetty and take the footbridge over the busy main road. Once across the bridge, you want to take the small road that is directly ahead of you (there is a small food court on the left hand side). After a minutes walk you will reach Lebuh Victoria (Victoria Street).

If you are heading to the popular backpackers areas around Chulia Street and Love Lane, turn left here and walk along until you reach Gat Lebuh Chulia, then turn right. Walk along Gat Lebuh Chulia for a few minutes and you will come to a Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street). This is where the area of Penang's Little India starts (you will start to see all the Indian shops and restaurants on your right hand side).

There are a number of budget style hotels in the Little India area if you want to stay here (it is far less touristy than around Chulia Street and the Indian food is fantastic).

If you are still on the way to Chulia Street, cross Lebuh Pantai and walk straight ahead to the next junction (you will see the big Kapitan Keling Mosque on your left hand side).

Cross the junction (straight ahead) and you are now at the start of the main area of Chulia Street (Lebuh Chilia).

In a couple of minutes, you will then come to the junction with Love Lane (on your right hand side).

This is the area where you will find most of the backpacker accommodation and backpacker hangouts (you could also try along Muntri Street which you will reach after a couple of minutes walk along Love Lane).

2) Take a bus from the RapidPenang bus terminal located on either side of the walkway as you come down from the jetty.

One of the most useful bus services from the Penang Jetty is the free RapidPenag city buses (FreeCat Bus).

These free buses leave from the bus terminal of your left hand side as you leave the jetty area.

They run through the old part of the city on a loop to the KOMTAR Bus Terminal (so if you want to stay in one of the usually more upmarket hotels around KOMTAR these buses are a free way to get close to your accommodation).

These free buses are very handy if you don't want to walk too far in the heat and there are a few useful bus stops you can get off at that get you close to the main accommodation areas of Georgetown.

If you want to stay around Chulia street / Love Lane / Muntri Street take the free bus to the Penang Museum bus stop (just ask the driver to let you know when you get there). Once you get off the bus, turn right and walk past the Old Museum building and you will come to the junction with Love Lane after a minutes walk.

Another stop along the FreeCat bus route takes you to the popular accommodation area on Penang Road, where there are many mid-range and a few budget accommodation options.

If you want to travel out to one of Penang's beaches, you can also take a bus from the Jetty bus terminal.

Penang's most popular beach area is at Batu Ferringhi which can be reached by bus 101 that departs from the left hand side bus terminal at the jetty.

The 101 also passes close to the upmarket Gurney Drive area, then travels through the Tanjung Bungah beach area before reaching Batu Ferringhi.

This bus then continues on to Penang National Park which is a great place to go for a jungle walk or to stay if you are camping (it is free to camp in the national park).

3) Take a taxi from the jetty direct to your accommodation.

Taking a taxi from the jetty is by far the easiest way to get to your final destination but it will cost you.

You will find all the taxi drivers waiting for passengers just before you reach the footbridge at the end of the walkway down from the jetty.

The good news is there is usually plenty of them waiting around here (so you will not have to wait long before you can get a taxi).

The bad news is that you will have to haggle over the price as these taxi drivers will not use their meters.

Our best advice is to ask many drivers for a price (one by one).

They will charge you more than they should do, but it is still relatively cheap compared to taxi prices you will pay in western countries.

Another thing you should be aware of is that taxi drivers often get a commission from some hotels / guest houses for bringing in guests. So, the "great hotel they know" that they will try and recommend to you, may not be the "best place to stay" for you, but will often pay the best "tea money" for the taxi driver.

Book Tickets Online

• Trains Malaysia >

• Buses >

• Trains / Bus Thailand >

• Langkawi Ferry >

• Flights >