Arriving in Penang by Cruise Ship

Arriving in Penang by Cruise Ship (19 March 2015)


B. Melayu

If you are one of the privileged few to be arriging in Penang by cruise ship, this article is intended to give you an idea of what to expect. Arriving by cruise is one of the most exciting way to reach Penang. Long before you arrive, you would have seen the island emerging from far away. As you draw closer, things get sharper. You can see the skyscrapers lining the coast. It's almost like a mini version of Singapore, except that, there's a lot more hills here.

Map of Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal

Map showing the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal and nearby attractions.

Your cruise ship will take you right up to Swettenham Pier, the same place used by the ferry for services to Langkawi and Medan. You will see a mix of old and new harbour buildings, including old warehouses as well as newly built marinas and piers. Behind this front line of buildings, the treasures of George Town await your discovery.

If you are coming from overseas, you may have to clear customs before you are allowed to enter George Town. Having done the necessary formalities, you emerge from the Passenger Terminal of Swettenham Pier, out the gate, and into the heat and humidity of George Town.

In front of you are two roads: on the right is King Edward Place, on the left Weld Quay. There will usually be a line of trishaws waiting to pick up customers. Tour guides would also have stationed themselves here to provide their services. Engaging their services will certainly give you a personal experience of the city. Many of the trishawmen are also quite knowledgeable about the sights and attractions of George Town, and can serve as impromptu tour guides.

Cruises to Port Swettenham (4 April 2010)


Passenger Terminal, Swettenham Pier (31 August 2011)


Cruise ship at Swettenham Pier (1 May 2015)

Exploring Penang with a Tour Guide

Free-lance tour guides from Penang Tour Guides are available to take visitors around. They charge according to time and can drive small groups of visitors of maximum 4 guests in cars. These tour guides offer tailor-made tours of Penang. Their services are usually pre-arranged in advance. Minimum rate for a guide with car is RM90 per hour for minimum 4 hours, inclusive fuel. These guide can also take visitors on walking tours of the city. For details, contact Rose, the tour coordinator at Penang Tour Guides, by filling up the form below. Rose may also arrange vans and buses for larger groups. Inform Rose what you expect to see/do/experience, so that she may select a guide that is most appropriate to your needs.

Contact Penang Tour Guides

Exploring George Town on your own

You can also explore George Town on your own. I have created free walking tours which you can print out and take with you as you explore the city. These walking tours show you some of the most important streets of George Town, where you will pass many of its interesting sights:

Exploring George Town by Bus

If you have enough time, you can take the bus to explore George Town. The Rapid Penang buses are all air-conditioned and are clean and comfortable. Seats are limited, but they have big windows that offer you good views of the city. The best bus route to take is CAT, which is a free shuttle bus that goes around the city. I have created an itinerary below that you can print out and take with you: Sightseeing with CAT. The CAT is the free bus service that goes around the city, stopping at various important sights. Hop on and off at any point of your choice without paying anything!

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap