LAM

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

Andrew

ex reg

Plenty on this site about Penang.

I'd say you'd enjoy it more than S'pore.
No mossies.

Plenty to see.

I'd try the Paradise, Sandy Bay for good value. Nice beach

But I've heard the Evergreen is good as well. No beach but nice pool.

Some of the Batu Ferringhi Hotels are a waste of money for us and we don't like the area.

LAM

Thanks for the reply

Will it be easy to get a transfer from the airport?

How much will it cost

amienleo

you can get a airport limo... the charges are fixed... if i am not wrong.. it should be around rm80...

ex reg

At the airport you buy a taxi ticket from a desk before you leave the building.

Taxi prices are controlled and fixed for this.

During the day find out from your hotel concierge how much the taxi will cost to go where you want to.

Then before you get in a taxi tell the driver where you want to go and ask the price.
Then if it is above what the concierge suggested you must bargain.

This is normal for taxis throughout Malaysia and some other countries in the region.

I'd say the most expensive taxi from the airport to whereever you want in Penang is Ringitt50.

The airport being in the south and most of the hotels in the north.

Not bad value that.
But many of the taxis are old bangers.

amienleo

the government has just introduced meter for all the taxis.... so always make sure that the taxi is using the meter so that you will not be cheated and save the time of negotiation....

LAM

Thanks for the heads up on the taxi front

Looking at booking it for the 16th Sept, is there anything else i should know?

Amazing Grace

Ramadan begins around this time but when i lived there i found it very easy with no problems during the day. Obviously it is courteous to respect people who will be fasting during the day but in the hotels you will still be able to get food although not sure about alcohol in the daytime but hey when in Rome. You are visiting a beautiful country as a guest and therefore good to respect their beliefs and customs particularly at this time. Bhatu Ferreghi beaches are sandy although the sea is not great and can be prone to jelly fish but all the hotels along the beach have lovely gardens with palm trees swimming pools and sunbeds





This is the Bayview Beach Hotel in Batu Ferrenghi where we took my daughter and son in law when they were on their honeymoon. We loved it as it was nice and quiet and peaceful.

Enjoy your time in Penang. The Ship is wonderful if you like a steak or lobster dinner.

ex reg

Got ten minutes spare so just some more info.

A week in Penang may be a bit long for the first trip.

Why not split it to 4 night in Penang and 3 night in S'pore.

A trip up Penang Hill is worth it, have lunch when you get to the top.
Fort Cornwallis in Georgetown also interetsing.

But be aware Georgetown itself is a scruffy scruffy place which may give you a shock.
Friendly people though.
Take the lift to the top of the Komtar building for good view.
The heritage trail bus is good as well and better with a child than doing the walk.
There's an old house in Georgetown worth a visit.
iirc it's the Cheong Fatt Tse villa.
Definitely worth a visit, very interesting.

You could hire a car for a drive around Penang but if you haven't driven in Malaysia you may be better not to do that.

Butterly farm and a herb garden in the north west of Penang right at the end of Batu Feringhi.

Not really worth me recommending restaurants as it's an individual thing.
Someone above recommends a restaurant we don't like.

But I will recommend the Bagan Restaurant in Bagan Rd if you can find it.
Great Italian food and strangely enough great local food as well. Very nice local decor inside of an old style Penang Mansion.

Also if you stay in the Paradise, Sandy Bay two nice restaurants across the road and the breakfast is a Delifrance thing in the hotel itself.

The Evergreen on Gurney drive has all the hawker stalls you want available close by but with a four year old that may not be what you want.

Certainly Singapore is more child friendly than Penang in some ways, but living in Singapore we always enjoy our visits up to Penang and it would be a pity for you not to have a look around.

I'm not sure if this site allows me to post urls but there are a few good internet sites on which to book hotels.
asia travel without the space being one to google.

Amazing Grace

Gurney Drive is definitely worth having a look at for all the hawker stalls but if you want a hotel with a beach that area is defintely not for children the seafront is rocky and to be honest i found very very dirty, and also so much traffic. Another option is Kuala Lumpur/Penang or Penang/Langkawi and from your hotel you can hire a limosine and driver for a morning trip round the island with the driver taking you to places of interest.

If you have a little one then I would definitely recommend visiting Georgetown for the old Penang but definitely staying in Batu Ferrenghi.

Kooky.

Have to agree with ex-reg, a week in Penang is a long time. My husband and I went for about 5 days and struggled (and, just FYI, we stayed at the E&O and thought it shabby).

Any reason you don't want to spend the time in Singapore? Tons to do with small kids and you could even take the ferry to Bintan for a few days to cut down on the flying.

Or why not take a trip to Bali? Get a villa in Seminyak, for instance. All home comforts plus a private pool for the little one to play in.

LAM

Spent a very jetlagged day in Singapore last November, went to Sentosa Island and had a singapore sling in raffles and didn't think there was much more to do.

might split our week between Singapore and Penang then.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but I thought indonesia was a bit dodgy for tourists, or is it me being paranoid after the bombing a few years ago?

ex reg

Batam is a short ferry trip away.

Many DOMs go to Batam and some Singaporeans go there for some cheap shopping and a massage.
Personally wouldn't bother having been there and wouldn't recommend.
Bintang is a longer Ferry trip but I'd say it's only for golfers, although there are better beaches there than Batam.

There is quite a lot do do in Singapore with a 4 year old.

The Zoo, day or night.
The Bird Park.
Crocodile Farm
Day beside the hotel pool
Toys R Us
Cable car to Sentosa if you didn't go that way last time
Orchid farm
Some museums, quite a few to choose from in fact.
China town
Little India
Trips on the MRT.
Trip on a Bum boat from Clarke Quay

So three days in Singapore is OK.

Wife can spend a lot of time shopping

Kooky.

Hell no, the only people that go to Batam are married Singaporean men who want to...perhaps I shouldn't elaborate...let's just say the golf clubs usually go unused.

Indonesia - well I did say after the second bomb that I wouldn't go to Bali again as the authorities obviously weren't taking security seriously, but you can't let the bastards win can you? And it's the lovely people of Bali that suffer because we don't go. We went last October just to stick two fingers up to the JI.

The JI is also in Singapore - the first bomb was meant for us but the security was thought too tight. Won't stop me living here.

You could always try Lombok instead - have been a couple of times and loved it. Bali's little sister.