Our Favorite Things to Do and Places to Visit in Penang with Family!

Penang is a wonderful family travel destination in Southeast Asia. Located on Peninsula Malaysia, it offers everything from great playgrounds, street food, and adventure activities to beautiful jungles and coastal scenery. We spent about 10 months living in George Town, Penang, with our daughter who was three years old at the time. We’re excited to share our recommendations of the best things to do in Penang with kids, based on the fun we had there.

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Our favorite things to do in Penang with kids

To this day, (bar a subsequent pandemic-induced lengthy stay in Fethiye, Turkey), Penang remains the place that we’ve spent the longest since we began our full time, slow travel lifestyle. We would have spent even longer there if the immigration officers hadn’t politely asked us to leave after our third visa run! 

There are so many things to do in Penang with kids, which is one of the many reasons we ended up staying there so long. Overall, it also offered us a great lifestyle at an affordable price. Here are 26 of our favorite family-friendly attractions in Penang!

1. Penang Hill

Penang hill is one of the top places to visit in Penang. It’s actually a group of hills in Georgetown, with extensive hiking trails throughout. Colin and I loved hiking to the top one day, without the little one in tow! It was bucketing with rain that day, but we took the opportunity and went anyway. The pouring rain is not such a big deal when it’s super warm, and the canopy of the trees also offers some protection.  The knarly, muddy areas made it even more fun! It took us a little over 2.5 hours to reach the top without kids. 

However, you don’t have to walk to the top, and this is one reason it’s a fantastic family-friendly attraction. One of Penang Hill’s best features is the funicular railway, which transports you to the top of one of the hills. Once you’re up there, you can enjoy the greenery and the gentler paths up the top. 

Just don’t make the mistake we did and go during the school holidays! We arrived relatively early but still ended up waiting for two hours in line to get our funicular tickets!

The owl museum, ‘habitat’, and Monkey cup cafe

The top of Penang hill is quite touristy but it’s nice for a wander. Colin and Ayla visited the owl museum while I wandered around. 

‘The habitat’ is a beautiful 1.6km walk you can do up Penang Hill, which requires a separate ticket. It’s set on the edge of the rainforest and is full of jungle life. We saw monkeys, giant squirrels, and lots of butterflies and bugs. The treetop walk and canopy walks weren’t completed when we were there, but it appears The Habitat offers a lot more now, including forest bathing packages.

For an easy (and free) walk that you can do with the kids up Penang Hill, head to the Monkey Cup Cafe. It’s about a 20 minute walk with little ones, and they can enjoy a refreshing soda when they get there. Monkey Cup Cafe is located in an awesome setting in the middle of the jungle where they’ve kept the surroundings as natural as possible. The standalone toilet is very cool. It looks like it has been cut straight out of a tree!

2. Hin Bus Depot

Visiting the Hin Bus Depot was one of our favorite regular things to do in Georgetown Penang. A former bus depot, it’s now a very funky arty and creative type space. We used to go there every weekend for the free fitness classes. And you can’t go past the fantastic cafes, weekend markets, and art exhibitions. Check out the website for up to date information about what’s going on.

3. Take a trishaw ride to see the street art

It’s definitely a touristy way to see the street art, but we highly recommend taking a trishaw ride. As well as it’s phenomenal food, Penang is pretty famous for its street art. Hopefully, your kids will enjoy the novelty of the ride. If so, you’ll get to sit back and take it all in, as well as snap some fun photos along the way. 

4. Kek Lok Si Temple

Kek Lok Si is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. It’s an interesting place to visit, with some great views. We loved wandering around the temples, pagodas, and gardens. We highly recommend it as part of your itinerary of things to do in Penang with kids. 

5. Amanville indoor playground Gurney Plaza

When you need to escape the heat or the rain, you can’t go past an indoor playground to burn off some energy. Amanville indoor playground in Gurney Plaza is a good Penang kids attraction to call on when it’s needed. 

6. Komtar

For Penang kid activities, make sure you check out the Komtar building in central George Town. We were intrigued about what was inside the building after we noticed life-sized dinousaurs high up on the building, which you can see from the street.

There is an information and ticket book at the bottom, where you can find out exactly what’s on offer. Also check out our little video below to get a glimpse of the skywalk and dinosaur park!

7. Prangin Mall indoor playground

Kidland Penang in Prangin Mall is perhaps the best indoor playground in Penang. It’s a theme-park style indoor playground (similar to Kidzania) that will keep the kids entertained for hours. Keep it up your sleeve for things to do in Penang with kids when you need an easy option that will keep them happy!

8. Youth park

Youth Park was one of the places we visited most regularly while we lived in Penang. You can’t go past it when you’re looking for fun and free kids activities in Penang. There are free outdoor swimming pools here, a big grass playing field, a cafe, and a few playground areas. If you have a scooter, it’s a great place for the kids to ride around. If you’re feeling inclined, you can also walk up Penang Hill from here. 

9. Play at Batu Ferringhi Beach

Batu Ferringhi beach is the main beach in Penang, with a long sandy stretch. The water is very warm – even warmer than our swimming pool was! In general, the beaches in Penang aren’t what I’d consider “great”. But we are a little spoiled coming from New Zealand. 

Batu Ferringhi was really littered with plastic rubbish when we were there. The water was ok but didn’t seem overly clean either. The beach can also be very busy, as is the road to and from George Town. Overall I found it to be “acceptable” for swimming, but I wouldn’t describe it as “nice”. 

Kayaking to Rat Island

One of the most fun and adventurous days we had from Batu Ferringhi was kayaking across to Rat Island with our friends. They worked at the International school there and we borrowed kayaks for the day. We had to lug two double (and very heavy!) kayaks up a windy set of stairs, then down a dirt road to the beach. 

The adventure continued through unexpectedly choppy water, and then we were bashed from rock to rock when we reached the island. Somehow we managed to make it up onto the small sliver of beach. The beach started disappearing with the tide pretty quickly so we didn’t get to stick around for long. It could have been fun to climb around the tiny island a bit more, but sadly, there was a lot of rubbish around anyway. 

Living life to the fullest, complete with kids and dramas!

The adventure continued as we paddled back and began the challenging task of getting the kayaks over the rocks, up the hill, and back down the winding stairs. By this time, we had two screaming kids, and one going awol…just to add to the fun! We finished the adventure with a swim in a lovely resort pool along the road. We wouldn’t have changed the adventure for anything! It’s activities and days like these that make us really feel like we are living life to the fullest.

10. Batu Ferringhi aqua duct

There’s a little bit of a hill you can walk up here, with a flat area at the top which is good for the kids to ride scooters around. This is another place to beware of the monkeys!

11. Tropical Spice Garden

Tropical Spice Garden is set in a stunning environment. It showcases a vast array of herbs and spices growing on the hillside, and it’s definitely one of our recommended places of attraction in Penang.

I couldn’t listen to the audio tour easily with Ayla by my side but I got to enjoy seeing the raw form of many of my favorite spices. They also have a fantastic playground there, which is set in nature. It’s basically a network of slides coming out of the hill.

We were able to create a complete stock of spices from what was on offer at the shop, and the food at the Thai restaurant was delicious. I had my first experience of pineapple fried rice served inside a fresh pineapple – stunning!

After you’ve had enough at Tropical Spice Garden you can hang out at the little beach across the road. It’s pretty nice and clean and has lots of rocks around the edges for hopping, playing, and exploring. And of course, the water is very warm!

12. Entopia (Penang Butterfly Farm)

Further north, in Teluk Bahang, is Entopia, the butterfly farm. It’s a nice place to hang out and there is plenty of educational information and interactive games and displays. It was a little too advanced for Ayla at three years old but there was still enough for her to interact with, and the butterfly area is beautiful. 

13. Tropical fruit farm

Heading down the quieter side of Penang island a little further along from Entopia is Tropical Fruit Farm. This is another Penang place of attraction that is great for the whole family. We got a tour around all the tropical fruit trees and plants and were shown the process of making fermented coconut, and a fruit enzyme drink. The fruit enzyme drinks here ferment for six months!

At the end of the tour, we were treated to a tropical fruit buffet of all the tropical fruits that are in season right now. Some of my favorites like mangosteen and rambutan weren’t in season when we were there. But we did get to eat lots of melons, papaya, dragon fruit, pineapple, and a couple of my other favorites – mangos and passionfruit.

I also discovered that the combination of fresh nutmeg and pineapple make a delicious drink! We’d definitely recommend adding Tropical Fruit Farm to your list of things to do in Penang with kids. 

Plan your ride back in advance!

If you tend to visit these places by using a taxi app (like we do), beware that you may not be able to get a taxi to pick you up from here. Maybe you’d be alright earlier in the day, but by late afternoon it was a no-go for us. So we had a bit of an adventure instead.

We ended up waiting until the farm was closed and hitched a ride with a staff member to the bus stop. From there we managed to catch a bus back to town and vaguely figure out where to get off to meet Colin for dinner. And of course, my phone battery died in the process too!

14. Penang Botanic Gardens

Visiting the Penang Botanical gardens was one of our favorite things to do in Penang with kids. Once Ayla got past the fact that there was no playground there, she started to embrace what an incredible natural playground it is. 

These botanical gardens are unlike any others I’ve seen before. The main reason they are so spectacular is that they’re right on the edge of the jungle so the setting is really stunning. You can choose to take a little tram around the internal road in the gardens if you like. This is a good option if you’re not up for walking, for any reason. 

You’ll find indoor gardens here, as well as an abundance of wildlife. There are many monkeys everywhere, as well as lizards and butterflies. Be careful of the monkeys. They’re very bold, so keep any snacks well hidden and try not to make eye contact. There are probably plenty of snakes around too, although we didn’t see any!

Walking trails and more

There’s a wee trail that runs alongside the road heading out of the gardens, so you can have fun exploring that, whilst being careful of the monkeys. Just a little way along the road you’ll find a few very cheap local eateries, as well as the bee gallery. It’s filled with amazing and nourishing raw honey products.

There are some small hiking trails you can walk within the botanical gardens, and you can also access Penang Hill from here. We walked a trail that would take about 15 minutes for a grown-up. There was a steep slope at the beginning though, and it probably took us about 30 minutes with little kids. 

15. Quarry Park

Quarry Park is one of those cool little places that you might not ever find out about unless the locals tell you, or unless you read a blog post like this! Quarry Park is another reason that the Botanic Gardens was one of our favorite Penang attractions for family fun. It’s basically an extension of the botanical gardens.

When we lived there, it wasn’t signposted. But you can find it by heading along a path to the left of the botanical gardens. Ask someone if you are unsure because it’s a beautiful nature and water play spot. We went there several times and were often the only ones there.

16. Penang National Park

As a major nature lover, Penang National Park was one of my favorite places to go in Penang. There are a few different hikes you can do in the National park. We hiked from the entrance to Turtle Beach with two other families with very small children. So I guess you could call it a family-friendly hike! Without kids, the trail would take about 1 hour 20 minutes. With the young kids walking it took us 2 hours and 30 minutes (one way). 

I was amazed at how well they did and couldn’t believe that Ayla walked the entire way, at three years old. That’s the beauty of going with a big group. The spirit and energy of the group as a whole really pushed the little ones along. Before this, I think the longest Ayla had walked without being carried was about 30 minutes. 

Boat or walk back – the choice is yours!

We took our own sandwiches to eat, which Colin and Ayla promptly sat down to devour when we arrived. Before eating my sandwich I went to check out the turtle sanctuary with the others.

You can most certainly walk back to the National park entrance. However, we pre-arranged a boat to take us back. We booked it to arrive a little early so didn’t get to enjoy the tranquility of the beach for long. If we went back again, we’d definitely plan to stay longer. 

Monkey beach and lighthouse hikes

On a separate occasion, I went on a kid-free hike in the National Park with my mum, to monkey beach. We decided to continue onwards from here and added on the lighthouse walk, which was awesome. There’s a lovely view at the top, and it’s very peaceful – especially without kids in tow! It took us just over 30 minutes to reach the lighthouse from monkey beach, and we returned on foot.

17. Teddyville Museum

If you’re a teddy bear fan you might want to add the Teddyville museum to your list of things to do in Penang with family. The museum tells lots of interesting stories about Penang, which are woven together using teddy bears. So even if you’re not a teddy bear fan it’s an excellent opportunity to learn more about Penang.

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18. Escape Penang

If you’ve got a bit of cash to spend, then Escape Penang offers the ultimate theme park experience. Full of adventure in incredible natural surroundings, active kids (and maybe even grown-ups) will love the zip lines, slides, and high ropes courses on one side of the road. 

Across the road is a phenomenal water park, which is part of the same complex. There’s a pool with slides and other fun things for young kids. Bigger kids and grownups can enjoy some very exhilarating water slides, or you can cruise around the lazy river if you want to chill out!

19. Adventure Zone Penang

Adventure Zone is another incredibly fun indoor playground in Penang. It’s located in Shangri-La’s Golden Sands Resort, but you can also pay just for entry into the playground if you’re not staying at the resort. The fast slides are one of the best features here, and overall it’s a fantastic place to go in Penang for families. 

20. Drive around the island

If you’d got time to meander while you’re in Penang, we’d recommend driving around the whole island. For us, the day was a little stressful because our daughter didn’t want to be in the car. But if you have good travelers, we’d recommend a trip around the island. It’s one of the interesting things to do in Penang with kids that offers a nice overview of what’s around. 

During your trip, you could stop off at one or more of the sites we’ve already talked about. We hired a car and drove around the island close to the end of our time in Penang. In doing so, we decided to explore a few places we hadn’t yet visited. 

The sites we saw on our drive around Penang Island

First, we visited Forest Eco Park, which was a cool spot to visit, although very crowded. It’s up near the National Park and there are semi-natural pools to swim in, and trails to hike. After a swim and a little hike, we continued around the island.

Our next stop was a little nutmeg farm on the less-developed west side of the island. Finally, we made our way down to a tiny fishing village called Gertuk Sanggul. It was very rustic and reminded us of the northeast area of Bali (Ahmed), only less developed. 

21. 3D Trick art museum

Not so much a museum as a fun place to take funky photos, the 3D trick art museum is a fun place to add to your Penang itinerary for family. If you take the photos in the right position, you’ll create the desired illusion…and you can ask the staff if you need help!

22. The clan jetties

When you’re in George town, make sure you check out the clan jetties. They used to be working jetties, and now they’re simply a fun place to explore. They’re full of little local stalls selling clothes and trinkets. The jetties haven’t been refurbished so you can still see them in their original state. 

23. Air Hitam Dalam Educational Forest

The Air Hitam Dalam Educational Forest is a fun nature area to visit. It’s actually located on the mainland. As was the case with Tropical Fruit Farm, we had no trouble getting there by taxi, but we had an adventure getting home again. The taxis wouldn’t pick us up there so we hitched a ride to the main road with a family who was already crammed in without us in there! We managed to call a taxi ok from the main road. 

You’ll be able to discover a network of long canopy trails over the top of a mangrove swamp. The swing bridges are spectacularly long and there is plenty of wildlife around, including monkeys, lizards, butterflies, and frogs. 

Proceed with care…

The maintenance of the towers leading to the canopy walks leaves a bit to be desired, but we survived! I believe that we were lucky they were open because we were told that they’re often not. 

There were also some trails down below. We followed the main one but came to a standstill where a gigantic tree had crashed down and destroyed the concrete pathway. There’s not a huge concern for health and safety here, with no warning signs around. I was happy to see that it was relatively (although not completely), free from rubbish. 

24. Visit a waterfall

There are a few spots on Penang Island where you can enjoy the natural beauty of a waterfall. Chin farm waterfall at Batu Ferringhi is a popular option. However, for a little more adventure, try Teruna Dara Waterfall on the west side of the island. It’s very green up the very north end of the island, and over to the west. On our way to the waterfall we were treated to some amazing views from the hill top looking out over the sea.

It’s a five-minute walk from the side of the road and is good for a bit of a dip. Sadly, as with many places of natural beauty in this part of the world, there is a lot of rubbish lying around. The water is refreshingly cold. I’m a bit of a warm water gal, so I didn’t stay in for long!

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25. Try out one of the climbing walls

There are a few climbing walls in Penang. It’s a great option for things to do in Penang with kids when you need to tire them out a bit and have a fun challenge at the same time. Check out Project Rock in Tanjung Bungah, or one of the HangOut Climbing gyms. We really enjoyed having a go at a random big outdoor climbing wall we managed to find.

26. Visit one of the cat-friendly cafes

There are a few places in Penang you can enjoy a drink and bite to eat alongside some furry friends. We visited the Armenian St Cathouse, in the heart of George Town’s heritage zone. Cat lovers will enjoy it as a nice place to chill out for a while.

Other things to do in Georgetown, Penang

A few other ideas for things to do in Penang with kids include:

• Penang Bird Park. We didn’t visit the bird park during our stay. We had recently visited the Bird Park in Kuala Lumpur and didn’t feel the need to go here. However, it might be a fun thing to add to your list of what to do in Penang with kids.
• Penang toy museum and the toy museum heritage garden.
• Make sure you enjoy plenty of Penang’s world-famous street food. Check out one of the many hawker centers around. You can also read our post about the best vegetarian restaurants in Penang. 

Note that Urban Playground Penang has been recommended as a fun thing to do in Penang for kids by other families in the past. However, it is now marked as permanently closed.

Family-friendly resorts in Penang

If you are wondering where to stay in Penang with family, the following resort-style hotels have been recommended by other families:

• Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La. This would be our pick because Adventure Zone is super awesome (see #19 of our suggestions!)
• Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort
• Hard Rock Hotel Penang

Holiday Inn Resort Penang was also known as a very kid friendly resort. However, it is now listed on Google as being permanently closed. 

Further Information on George Town, Penang

You might also want to check out Colin’s videos below about the link bike service in Penang.

As we mentioned earlier, Penang offered us a superb lifestyle at an affordable price. One of our favorite things about living there was the condo pools. Ayla learned to swim there when she had only just turned three. This was simply from having the opportunity to play in the water, pretty much every day! Check out the video below, which showcases her swimming efforts in the first week we arrived (after visiting KL and Singapore). 

We hope you’ve enjoyed finding out about these top places to visit in Penang with kids. For more ideas about things to do in Malaysia as a family, check out our posts about Legoland Malaysia, Johor Bahru, and Kuala Lumpur. We’ll soon be sharing ideas about the best things to do with kids in the Cameron Highlands.

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