Is Penang Any Good
 

My family and I are emigrating to oz in September and are looking at flying from Manchester to Singapore, having a week in Penang, flying back to Singapore and on to Sydney.

We have a 4 year old daughter and want a decent, child friendly, place for a stopover and Penang looks do-able.

Can anyone help with the following:

Decent accommodation, suitable for kids

Areas to look at

What's the weather like this time of year

Is it safe

Is it infested with mossies

If there is anywhere else in reach of Singapore that would suit us better?

Thanks in advance

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

Sorry dont know anything about Penang but Singapore is fantastic and great for little ones so why not have your stopover there.

Di

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

Didn't think much of it in November '06', was only there for a day though.

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

Hi,

I stayed in Penang for about 5 days a couple of years back. Stayed at the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang and it was very nice. Secluded with it's own beach, rooms were OK - seemed to be child friendly (although I don't have any kids) and the buffet's they laid on in the evening were massive and really good. Great swimming pools and facilities.

Went to the main town (George Town) which was interesting but not a great deal to do - I think Penang should be viewed as mainly a beach location IMHO.

I think it will rain there no matter what time of year you go but September will see the start of the monsoon season - but even then, when it rained I found that it would last a few minutes and the rain would evaporate and you'd be dry again relatively quickly.

I didn't really get bugged by the mossies - normally if you stay around the hotels in the evening the staff burn things that keep them away.

As an aside, Singapore is worth a couple of days also - take the kid(s) to Sentosa Island and the night zoo - will keep them entertained for a bit. There are some good restaurants and fantastic hotels, you can cruise the harbour one night for dinner.

Hope this helps.

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

Batu Ferenghi is the best beach resort there and hotels are very reasonable. We have stayed at the Park Royal a couple of times on stopovers and really enjoyed it. There is a bit to do around Penang like go to Georgetown, see the old colonial buildings, go up to the hill lookout on the fenicular railway and lots of shopping but mainly chillout at the beach. Batu Ferenghi has a street market most nights where you can buy lots of very reasonably priced dvd, cd, watches etc !!! and there are lots of cheap but good restaurants.

most flights though fly to kl so you have to transit which is always a pain. our main reservation last time we did it was and this is not just penang but most far east stopovers is unless you have more than a few days you get hammered with two lots of jet lag as the flights to oz mostly leave early evening and arrive early morning. we spent 3 nights in penang and having got over the first flight the second night flight hit both of us really hard and we spent about 2 days in melbourne like zombies.

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

Thanks for the replies

Singapore air fly to penang, so will be using them and leaving most luggage at singapore. Thinking about spending a week there but not sure if we will be able to relax, knowing we are starting a new life and all:eek:

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

Hi! hubby and i went to penang as part of our honeymoon. its a fab place but not got the best beaches (lots of stray dogs so dog poo!), think its the wrong time of year at the mo as best time is oct-feb
Pankor is lovely, much quieter and nicer for the kids. have you thought of sentosa island singapore? you can get to it by cable car (i think it has a road) then you can fly straight to singapore, and get a privet air con mini bus (£20) something pound return, then you have no wait at airport and no more flights.Good beach, fun park good hotels etc (although singapore really expensive) we are doing this too. flying singapore airlines trailfinders are good.. they can sort you hotel and transfer. hope this is helpful? Tracey.x
:thumbup:

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

Just done a search on google earth and found Pankor is an island a little further up the coast. How would we get there?

Did the sentosa cable car thing last year

cheers

Andrew

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

we got there by ferry. this was 7 years ago! thinking about it it could be too much hassle and too far. dont get me wrong, penang it worth a try, i just remember the sea being quite brown, but lots of life in George town.my parents have stayed at GOLDEN SANDS resort on BATU FERRENGHI(think thats how you spell it) for the last 5 years as they travel around malaysia and they love it although cant swim in sea due to jelly fish! Tracey.x

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

By the way! what was Sentosa like? is it a bit tacky? cant remeber the name of hotel trailfinders reccommended now but it is singapores ONLY beach front hotel, 4 1/2 *, and sounds lovely. we dont want more flights as little one 3 and dont think will put up with it!!
Tracey.x

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

Sentosa was ok for a day out, we went with our 4 year old last year and she was fine, although not much for kids that young. I suppose if your in a hotel then you can just chill out by the pool.

We landed in Singapore about 9am spent the day on Sentosa then flew to Melbourne about 11pm. It worked really well for the little one, as she slept on both flights, hammered us though. We landed in Melbourne on Melbourne cup week, so had to drive 100km to get accommodation, with hardly any sleep for 2 days:eek:, amazed I didn't crash the car

Re: Is Penang Any Good
 

I have been to Penang and thought it was a great stop-over. We spent 12 nights at the Holiday Inn at Batu Ferenghi on the north end of the island. The hotel was good, the beach was poor, the weather fantastic and the staff were bending over backwards to help us.

We would go back in a flash as we don't care for the beach anyway. The worst thing about the western side of Malasia is the sea channel for most of the worlds freight passes down the coast onward to Singapore and beyond. So as the can imagine its not realy where you would want to be swimming. If you are looking for beaches go to the eatern side of the Malaysian penisula or Tialand, not as much sea traffic and better sand.

In summary though, we met lots of Brits and Aussies that had used this resor for many years and were continuing to return due to the way they cater for us.