A Great Country for Day Trips

Wherever you end up in Malaysia, you'll find unlimited opportunities for day trips of all varieties. Whether you want to explore the country's rich multicultural and multi-religious history or lounge around on the beach or trek through jungles, you're guaranteed to find what you're looking for and do it in the convenient time frame of a day trip.

Ancient Heritage Trips

From Georgetown you can make a day trip of the stunning Kek Lok Si temple, the largest Buddhist temple complex in the nation. You can take a cable car up to its showpiece aspect: a giant statue of Buddha, regarded as the Statue of Liberty of the religion.To get the most bang for your buck vis a vis heritage, you could do worse than cover most of Malacca's sights in a day. These include a boat trip on the river, the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum and the reconstruction of the sultanate palace.

Into the Wild

Elsewhere you can go to Temenggor Lake, near Kota Bharu in the north of Malaysia, and enjoy looking at wild flowers and elephant tracks. If you want to turn your day trip into something longer then you can easily stay in a basic village-style hut with no electricity during the day and delicious local catering. From the beaches of Tioman Island you can also participate in a one-day adventure into the jungle interior where you might spot flying foxes, monitor lizards, monkeys and even king cobras - but take care! The Cameron Highlands are not only temperate and cool but they offer excellent hiking opportunities through gorgeous mountain terrains for that perfect day trip.

Watersports Central

Boasting some of the best beaches and dive spots in the world, Malaysia has plenty of seaside and undersea activities that fit perfectly into the schedule of a day trip. Probably the best diving day trip you can make is to Pulau Sipadan, one of Jacques Cousteau's favourite locations in the world. Its crystal clear waters and remarkable range of sealife make it a must - and you can cover its highlights within a day-long dive. You can take day trips or even spend weeks on Malaysia's greatest beaches on Pulau Perhentian, Pangkor, Langkawi and Pangkor. Pack plenty of cool drinks and delicious food, bring a ball and/or a frisbee and while away that hot day with plenty of fun stuff on the beach.