Malaysia Travel Guide 2026: Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, Malacca and Borneo
Browse more guides: Malaysia travel | Asia destinations Malaysia Travel Guide 2026: Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, Malacca and Borneo TL;DR Malaysia is the most underrated country in Southeast Asia, and I will defend that. I have spent close to two months across three trips here, and every time I leave I start planning my return on the flight home. The mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous Borneo cultures gives you four travel experiences inside one visa, and the ringgit is so weak right now that a mid-range trip costs roughly half what Thailand does. In Kuala Lumpur, the Petronas Twin Towers (451.9m, completed 1998) still hold their own next to the brand-new Merdeka 118 (678m, completed 2023), now the second-tallest building on Earth. I climb the 272 steps at Batu Caves, eat my weight in nasi lemak around Bukit Bintang, and use KL as a launchpad. Penang's George Town earned UNESCO status in 2008 and remains the hawker food capital of Asia. Langkawi gave me my first S...