Malaysia Travel and Lifestyle Portal

Pangkor Island

Explore

Getting There - Get Around - Main Attractions - Buy and Eat - Stay  

Pangkor Island is located at the west coast of Penisular Malaysia, and is a favorite recreation spot for Malaysians. 

Pangkor Island is inhabited by around 25,000 population, mostly working in the fishing industry.

Getting There

• Boat - the most common way to reach Pangkor Island is by boat, or ferry from Lumut.  You can get a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Lumut, or travel via Ipoh.
  
  

• Plane - Berjaya Air has a few flights a week to Pangkor.

Get Around

• Taxi - taxi is available at town center and major resorts area.
  
  

• Motorbike - renting a bike is pretty common and is a good way to explore the island.  Note that the bike's condition is rather poor and the road can be pretty rough and winding, so please make sure that you are good with bikes.

Main Attractions

• Pangkor is famous for its sandy beaches.  The water is not really crystal clear, but is pretty clean and fine for swimming.  The common beaches for tourists are Pasir Bogak, Teluk Nipah and Coral Bay.
  
  
• Fishing village - most Malaysians don't bother much about the fishing industry, but we felt that it's worth a look if you have never seen how the traditional fishing village works.  You can even negotiate to follow a fishing boat in their fishing journey although it's not a common practice.
  
  
• Dutch Fort was built in 1700s during the Dutch East India Company reign at the island.  The fort is mostly destructed and the only things left is a few walls and an inscribed stone.

Buy and Eat

Seafood is cheap in Pangkor, and fresh too.  The most famous souveniors from Pangkor is the dried fish (commonly known as Satay fish) that is properly packed for easy carry nowadays. 

Fish village

Accommodations

• Budget hostels and huts are cheap at Teluk Nipah area, and can go as low as RM15 per night.
  
  
• Pangkor Island Beach Resort (formerly known as Pan Pacific Pangkor) is the most famous for medium-ranged travellers (RM120-240 per night, but can get cheaper if going on tour packages).
  
  
• Pangkor Laut Resort is located at a private island just West of Pangkor Island, and is one of the world's most luxurious beach resorts.