Flights
Kuala Lumpur is a significant hub with direct flights from Europe, the Gulf, Australia and across Asia — twelve to thirteen hours from Europe. Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching also take regional flights. Low-cost carriers based here make the whole of South-East Asia cheap to reach.
Getting around
The peninsula has a good motorway spine and an electric train service running north from Kuala Lumpur to the Thai border — comfortable and inexpensive. Buses cover everything else. For Borneo, flying is the only realistic option, and internal distances there are large with limited roads. Driving is on the left.
When to come
Equatorial, hot and humid throughout. The monsoons are what matter: the east coast of the peninsula and Borneo are wettest from November to February, when many islands close; the west coast is wettest from April to October. This means there is almost always a dry side — plan the coast to match the month rather than the other way round.
Orders of magnitude
| Return flight from Europe | €550 to €950 |
|---|---|
| Mid-range hotel night | MYR 180 to 450 |
| Local restaurant meal | MYR 10 to 30 |
| Domestic flight to Borneo | MYR 200 to 500 |
What holds everywhere
- Insurance covering medical costs and repatriation stops being optional as soon as local healthcare is limited. Check it actually covers the destination: many policies exclude areas under adverse travel advice.
- Carry cash. In much of the world cards work in the big cities and nowhere else. Check the ATM situation and your bank's charges before leaving.
- Leave margin on connections. A tight transfer on a thinly served route is expensive: the next flight may be tomorrow, or in three days.
- The real budget runs over two years, not one trip: repeated flights, paperwork, translations, legalisations, any support sent. It is always underestimated.