How Much We Spent Traveling in Malaysia
Malaysia is often overlooked in favor of its cheaper neighbors, such as Thailand. While I can’t say Malaysia was my favorite country, it’s definitely worth spending some time there. It has a completely different culture and vibe from the rest of southeast Asia, and that alone makes it interesting. Here’s a look at how much a trip to Malaysia costs.
Total Malaysia travel costs
Expenses are listed in Malaysian ringgit (MYR) and US dollars. The exchange rate while we were in Malaysia was roughly 3.25 ringgit per dollar.
1,262 MYR / $384.90 – accommodation
145.40 MYR / $44.35 – transportation
708.55 MYR / $216.11 – food and alcohol
60 MYR / $18.30 – activities
35.50 MYR / $10.83 – miscellaneous
2,211.45 MYR / $674.49 – total
This does not include our transportation in and out of Malaysia. Our bus tickets from Krabi to Penang, Malaysia, which cost 1,400 baht or about $42.42, and our bus tickets from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore cost 90 ringgit or about $27.45.
Malaysia lodging costs – $384.90
Andy and I spent four nights at Apollo Hotel in Penang and five nights at Crossroads Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Both hotels were nice, though our room in Penang had no window, the bed was very hard, and they played elevator music in the hallway starting around 9am every morning. It did have one of the best showers of our trip. The hotel in Kuala Lumpur had such comfy beds, I almost didn’t want to leave. For nine nights in Malaysia, we spent an average of about $42.77 per night, or $21.83 per person per night.
Transportation costs in Malaysia – $44.35
The bus from Penang to Kuala Lumpur cost about $21.35, or $10.68 per person. The other $23 was for public transportation in both places. We ended up using public transport a lot more in Kuala Lumpur, and a typical ride on the monorail for one person one way was $0.49. We averaged about $2.56 per day, or $1.28 per person per day, on public transportation over the nine days. As you can see, it’s pretty cheap to get around.
Food and alcohol costs in Malaysia – $216.11
We didn’t like the breakfast options at either hotel, so instead we bought a couple of boxes of granola bars. During our time in Penang, we sort of ran out of energy for seeking out food, and we ended up eating at Subway quite a few times. We also escaped the scorching heat by sitting in the overly air conditioned Starbucks a few times.
Once we got to Kuala Lumpur, we found that they had Papa John’s and Wendy’s, and we couldn’t resist eating some American junk we haven’t had in years. Rest assured, we did eat some amazing satay several times in Penang as well as a few other more local meals in Kuala Lumpur. We had a few beers one night, but skipped alcohol beyond that. In nine days, we averaged $24.01 per day, or $12 per person per day, on food and alcohol.
Cost of activities in Malaysia – $18.30
While in Penang we took the cable car up to Penang Hill, which was about $9.15 per person. The views were nice, but I’m not sure it was worth the money. Everything else we did was free. We walked to the old British fort but decided not to go inside.
In Kuala Lumpur, we went to see the Petronas Towers but didn’t want to spend the money to go up. It was not the most eventful nine days we’ve ever spent traveling.
Miscellaneous spending – $10.83
I spent $3.05 on contact solution, and the rest was two loads of laundry. We didn’t buy any souvenirs in Malaysia.
Even though Malaysia is one of the more expensive countries in Southeast Asia, we managed to spend less here per day than we did in Thailand. We averaged $74.94 per day, or $37.47 per person per day, traveling in Malaysia mostly because we didn’t do many things that weren’t free. There certainly are other things you can do in Penang and Kuala Lumpur that will add to your expenses. You can also spend less on food by sticking to local food and not eating at the American chain restaurants we ate at a few times. But overall I’m pretty happy with how much we spent traveling in Malaysia.
You might also enjoy:
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Southeast Asia for Two Months
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Thailand
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Europe for Two Months
- Or read more posts about travel spending


May 5, 2014 @ 10:31 AM
It is interesting that you spent less than you did in Thailand. That is something to bear in mind should I ever travel to South-East Asia.
May 5, 2014 @ 11:13 AM
As I mentioned, the biggest reason we spent less in Malaysia is we didn’t do tours. We actually averaged more per day on food and lodging in Thailand. And even though Malaysia is an interesting country and well worth visiting, we both enjoyed Thailand more.
May 6, 2014 @ 9:54 AM
I think that you probably would have spent less in Thailand than Malaysia if you hadn’t been in the southern island area. We found that part of Thailand VERY expensive compared to the rest of the country. I’m glad you spent a little time in Malaysia, though. It’s a great country with friendly people and a very different vibe from the rest of Asia, so it’s a shame most tourists seem to skip it!
May 6, 2014 @ 2:03 PM
Yeah, it does sound like southern Thailand is more expensive that northern Thailand. We also didn’t do any tours in Malaysia, but we did in Thailand, so that saved us some money. We did enjoy our time in Malaysia, I’m glad we went. I agree, it is a shame so many people skip it because there really is so much there. A few years ago on my round the world trip, I went to Borneo to see the orangutans and proboscis monkeys, which was amazing and such a different region of Malaysia.
May 7, 2014 @ 10:45 AM
We found ourselves spending less in Malaysia too compared to Thailand, I’m not sure how that is possible considering food for instance in Thailand is extremely cheap.
May 7, 2014 @ 5:00 PM
Thanks Franca, interesting that it wasn’t just us. I blame most of our lower daily spending in Malaysia on the fact that we took a couple of tours in Thailand. We certainly found cheap food in both countries, but I wonder if even the cheap Thai food we were eating was still expensive given where we were.
May 7, 2014 @ 1:01 PM
I am so glad I found your blog! This was really good read Ali.Don’t think would get a clearer idea about Malaysia than this.And the images, too, are beautiful and really helpful for me.
May 7, 2014 @ 5:01 PM
Thanks Myra!
November 18, 2014 @ 2:55 AM
Hw can I get to malasia bcusi want to hav my own observation too frns pls mail me
November 18, 2014 @ 10:50 AM
Malaysia is a beautiful country. I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking me, but I hope you are able to save up some money and book a trip there someday!
April 7, 2015 @ 9:37 PM
Hi please can you advise what hotels you stayed at in KL and Penang? Thanks
April 9, 2015 @ 10:54 AM
We stayed at Apollo Inn in Penang. It was nice enough, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. The bed was really hard, most rooms don’t have windows, and they played elevator music in the hallway starting at 9am which was rather annoying if we ever wanted to sleep in. Though it did have one of the best showers of our trip.
We stayed at Crossroads Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Comfy beds, helpful staff, close to the monorail, but a little farther out from the sights.