Penang (George Town) → Cameron HighlandsBus · 5h · Minivan or bus to Tanah Rata
Cameron Highlands → Kuala LumpurTrain · 4h · KTM ETS via Tapah Road + taxi Tapah–Tanah Rata
Kuala Lumpur → DelhiFlight · 9h · Malaysia Airlines / AirAsia X
About this circuit
Through Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi for Pantai Cenang, the SkyCab and the Kilim mangroves; the ferry to Penang for George Town's shophouses, clan houses and hawker food; a minivan up to the tea estates and Mossy Forest of the Cameron Highlands at about 1,500 m; then down to Kuala Lumpur for the Petronas Towers and Batu Caves, and the flight home.
Why it matters
George Town is a UNESCO World Heritage city, and its hawker food is the country's most famous. Malaysia's Tamil community makes Indian vegetarian food easy, from Penang's Little India to Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, and Batu Caves' 272 rainbow steps climb to a Hindu cave temple.
Stop by stop
How the 10 days split across the 4 stops, and what each one costs on the ground for two.
An island of 99 islands off the Thai border with an airport of its own: Pantai Cenang's beach and sunsets, the SkyCab cable car and curved SkyBridge on Gunung Mat Cincang, mangrove boat trips in Kilim Geoforest Park with eagle-feeding, and island-hopping to the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden. Duty-free, so chocolate and alcohol are cheap. Reached by flight from KL or Penang, or by ferry from Kuala Perlis, Kuala Kedah or Penang.
Don't miss: SkyCab cable car and SkyBridge · Sunset on Pantai Cenang.
How long: 3 days, which is the recommended stay.
Langkawi International Airport (LGK), 5 km
3 days for two from ₹25,712 · ₹53,125 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
George Town, the old British port on Penang island, is a UNESCO World Heritage city of shophouses, Chinese clan houses and temples, mosques and Hindu temples side by side, with murals on its walls. Its hawker food (char kway teow, assam laksa, nasi kandar) is the country's most famous. Penang Hill's funicular and the Kek Lok Si temple are outside town. Little India round Lebuh Pasar and Lebuh Queen has vegetarian restaurants and the Sri Mahamariamman temple. Trains stop at Butterworth on the mainland, a short ferry across.
Don't miss: George Town street-art and mural walk · Khoo Kongsi clan house.
How long: 3 days, which is the recommended stay.
Penang International Airport (PEN), 16 km
3 days for two from ₹17,043 · ₹38,401 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
A colonial-era hill station at about 1,500 m, 18-25 °C all year: rolling BOH tea estates with tea rooms over the slopes, strawberry and vegetable farms, the Mossy Forest boardwalk on Gunung Brinchang, and jungle trails from Tanah Rata. The road up from Tapah or Simpang Pulai is all bends; weekends and school holidays bring traffic jams from KL. Tanah Rata has several Indian restaurants.
Don't miss: BOH Sungei Palas tea estate and tea room · Mossy Forest boardwalk.
How long: 1 day here; on its own Cameron Highlands is worth 2 — add a day if you can.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), 220 km
1 day for two from ₹3,205 · ₹7,646 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
Malaysia's capital and the arrival city for almost every flight from India. The Petronas Twin Towers and KLCC park, the 272 rainbow steps up to the Hindu cave temple at Batu Caves, Merdeka Square and the old Moorish railway buildings, Chinatown's Petaling Street and the night food street of Jalan Alor. Indian food is everywhere: Brickfields (Little India) by KL Sentral has pure-vegetarian South Indian restaurants and banana-leaf rice, and mamak stalls serve roti canai round the clock.
Don't miss: Petronas Twin Towers skybridge · Batu Caves and its 272 rainbow steps.
How long: 3 days, which is the recommended stay.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), 55 km
3 days for two from ₹21,710 · ₹45,902 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
What it costs
from ₹76,771 a person
The whole 10-day trip as the planner prices it in December, for two sharing at budget stays: flights from India and back, travel between the stops, stays, food, getting around, entry fees and the planner's buffer.
December to March suits the north, and February suits every stop; on Thaipusam (late January or early February) over a million people go to Batu Caves, so see them another day
Entry rules
No visa needed for up to 30 days
In the 3 days before you land, fill in the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) at imigresen-online.imi.gov.my. It is free (sites that charge are not official); keep the confirmation email. One card per traveller, children included.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Make it yours
Opens in the planner with all 4 stops, suggested days and your home city pre-filled, in December. Swap anything.
·Visa-free entry for Indians runs until 31 December 2026, and no extension had been announced by late October 2026: for a trip in 2027, check before you book
·File the free Malaysia Digital Arrival Card in the 3 days before you land
·Langkawi to Penang is a ferry of about 3 hours, Penang to Tanah Rata a minivan or bus of about 5, and the Highlands to Kuala Lumpur a taxi to Tapah Road and the ETS train
·Langkawi has almost no public transport: rent a car or use Grab
·Take a jacket for the Highlands (Tanah Rata drops to 15 °C at night), and go midweek: weekends jam the road and the tea rooms
