Penang has perhaps the largest and well preserved colonial-era old town, with excellent examples of Chinese clan houses, colonial homes, public buildings and private mansions. Visit Little India and exciting Chinatown, and make a stop at the world famous Royal Selangor and the Penang Museum. Before the day is over stop at Wat Chayamankalaram to see the big reclining Buddha.
Take a drive through colonial Georgetown to Fort Cornwallis, the most prominent historical remains of Penang. Learn about the strait settlement history and rich heritage of Penang at the State Museum.
Visit the colorful Little India and the bustling Chinatown before stopping at Royal Selangor to witness the unique art of Pewter craftsmanship. Then, head to Wat Chayamankalaram, which houses one of the world's largest reclining Buddha.
Finally, visit the Penang State Museum, a colonial era-building housing both a museum and an art gallery, showcasing exhibits about the history and heritage of Malaysia, China and Inda. Option to drop off for shopping at Gurney Plaza.
As another recent reviewer has said, mine also ended up being a private tour because no-one else had booked for that morning. I wouldn't have chosen a private tour, but actually it was very enjoyable. I also had Philip as my guide. He was great.
Review by: Clive N, April 2018
This needed up being s private tour.our guide Philip was very accomodating, knowledge and very entertaining. Very nice man. We enjoyed our tour and _br/_ We would recommend it.
Review by: arieh55, February 2018
We paid for extra 4 hours tour to cover more sites on the island. Our guide/driver spoke excellent English and was very eager to please us.However,it felt uncomfortable when he almost forcefully took us the shops where he expected us to buy thingsit was clear that he has a personal deal with those places.Still, that was the best way to tour Penang when your time is limited.
Review by: Josef B, February 2018
The tour was excellent organize and the guide was perfect._br/_ I have only one remark. During the booking my feeling was that I correspond with AI which need more learning. _br/_ I repeatedly received repetitive messages that were unrelated to the issues of refinement. It is good for no FAQ questions to have more human control._br/_ I wish you success in your business._br/_ Iossif
Review by: Esther B, February 2018
It was a wonderful tour of Georgetown hitting the highlights with plenty of time to wander_br/_ and great commentary from my guide John. Thank you.
Review by: Elizabeth G, January 2018
We were picked up late from our hotel, not a problem, a communication break down somewhere, however Philip our driver was so enthusiastic and apologetic about the delay he more than made up for it in our half day tour of Penang. We covered a lot of the tourist attractions, along with a wonderful, knowledgeable and detailed history of the area and sights. We had a great morning, a few laughs and now know a lot more about the wonderful history of Penang. Well done Philip.
Review by: Susan R, January 2018
Everything went like clockwork, right from the booking and confirmation stage, and then the actual trip was very good. We were so fortunate as there were only two of us in a car, so were able to stop when we wished and see things that otherwise we may have missed._br/_ The guide was very knowledgeable, knew his history very well, was easy to understand and had great empathy. Our only issue was the pre Christmas traffic. Absolute chaos. The poor guide had to manage this by changing the route and showing us some sights that were not on the itinerary. We were very happy with that and the traffic did not deter us from completing the trip. Well done to our fantastic guide. We did try to book him again, but as a cruise ship was in port were unable to get further bookings.
Review by: Sophie S, November 2017
Fabulous tour with Lawrence - very informative and excellent knowledge of local history
Review by: Gordon R, October 2017
A disappointing tour with a poor guide. The tour did not give us the expected introduction to the key sights and heritage of Georgetown.
Review by: nimishshah2004, October 2017
This tour was excellent. Lawrence our guide was friendly and very knowledgeable. Would recommend him any day and trip was great.
Review by: Sam T, August 2017
lovely little city with so much history!
Review by: madden54, March 2017
City tour very interesting and covered a lot. Guide very informative and helpful
Review by: eam1963, September 2016
Our Guide was Philip. He greeted us so warmly and started the tour that became private as there was only two of us. Philip took us to the pier area and even bought us some wondertful local food. The reclining Buddah was spectacular and all the information regarding the culture and religion was shared beautifully. A wonderful tour and excellent guide. so worth doing. Kevin and Liz McHugh
Review by: Tracy M, November 2015
Great to have someone show us around town and give a history of the place. Guide had excellent English and was very knowledgeable. Great way to see town in air-conditioned comfort.
Review by: dimitrakis v, October 2015
My Guide Tan was very knowledgable about the City and could provide detailed information about all the Sites we visited
Review by: Laura E, August 2015
An incredible tour guide who was very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and accommodating! Tailored the tour to what we wanted to see and do and so friendly!
Review by: Michelle H, June 2015
The guide was very informative, helpful and friendly. Happy that we did this tour.
Review by: SHONAMPOWER, December 2014
Despite our initial hesitation at this tour being taken by one man in his car, it turned into a really great tour. Our guide was great (unfortunately I can't remember his name). He had a great knowledge of the island and injected his sense of humor into the tour which really made it. We felt like we were on a photshoot at times as he was constantly pointing out photo opportunities and snapping away for us. High up on our list of must sees was the famous street art which we got to see on this tour. We seems to pack so much in and the tour went over the 3 hours but this was no problem for our guide. All in all a worth while tour of Georgetown.
Review by: James G, December 2014
Our tour guide was wonderful and highly knowledgeable. The tour covered much of Georgetown and everything was very interesting. Highly recommended!!!
Review by: Vincent W, December 2013
We are a family of three from the United States. We visited Penang in November 2013. The City Tour was awesome, the driver spoke beautiful English, his tour was very informative, even my 13 year old paid close attention -:). Overall experience is excellent.
Review by: Joas, November 2012
This tour was a really good opportunity to see the important and historical sights in Penang, Malaysia. I was the only one in the tour and my tour guide was quite good. The two temples- Thai and Burmese were truly spectacular! it wa really worth the trip including a trip to Georgetown!
Review by: Anna M, February 2012
Good introductory tour of Penang.
Review by: Peter John N, February 2012
A very good tour - even when David was informed that the fort area was closed due to a celebration. He was not in the least perturbed and took us across the road to another temple, which was again very interesting with his amount of knowledge, at a moments notice. The new building housing the Royal Selangor Pewter was an eye opener. Even with all the traffic, it was a very informative tour._br/_
i was lucky enough to have David as my tour guide on all three of my tours of Penang. Should I return and took tours, it would be a pleasure to have David as my tour guide again. Should I take an individual tour, I would definitely ask for David as my tour guide, because of his great personality and amount of knowledge.
Review by: Sivakumar M, January 2012
Was a good tour with a good English speaker.
Review by: Daniel A, December 2011
Good, informative. Driver was very entertaining and a good time was had by all! Good length f time spent at all attractions.
Review by: Dan, December 2011
Good, informative. Driver was very entertaining and a good time was had by all! Good length f time spent at all attractions.
Review by: Kerry W, October 2011
Doesn't matter were we go we make sure we do the city tour as it always gives you an insight of the place. Well worth doing
Review by: So Quyen T, July 2011
It is exelent tour!
Review by: Peter T, February 2011
Tour guide/driver was very helpful. Unfortunatly Fort Cornwallis was closed and the rest of the tour was of average interest.
Review by: Kerrie D, January 2011
Comprehensive tour of the city. Could do without the chocolate factory.
Review by: David H, November 2010
I was disappointed the tour only stopped outside Fort Cornwallis and didn't go in.
But we then spent 30min at a Chinese jetty and another 30min at a local chocolate shop!!
Review by: Siew Fun N, November 2010
Good tour but nothing fantastic about Royal Selangor visit becoz not much demo on the production. Main objective is for you to shop for products at the small showroom.
Review by: David H, September 2010
I was disappointed the tour only stopped outside Fort Cornwallis and didn't go in.
But we then spent 30min at a Chinese jetty and another 30min at a local chocolate shop!!
Review by: Siew Fun N, September 2010
Good tour but nothing fantastic about Royal Selangor visit becoz not much demo on the production. Main objective is for you to shop for products at the small showroom.
Review by: Lorraine W, August 2010
We would highly recommend however having paid and receiving confirmation of our booking for a particular day
we were advised on the morning of the scheduled tour that they "don't do this tour on Saturday or Sunday" and we were going the next day. Very disappointing in view of the fact that we had made other arrangements and had received confirmation. We then had to re-arrange all our other plans. I'm still a bit mystified as to why, all of a sudden, they don't do Saturday or Sunday.
Review by: David S, August 2010
A good way to see the main sites and get a feel for the city after arrival
Review by: Anonymous, July 2010
If going to book a tour of penang , this is the one, the tours guide was fanastic, they talked about the history , all the old building, one of the best tours l,ve been on ,
Review by: Kerry L, July 2010
If going to book a tour of penang , this is the one, the tours guide was fanastic, they talked about the history , all the old building, one of the best tours l,ve been on ,
Review by: Lorraine W, July 2010
We would highly recommend however having paid and receiving confirmation of our booking for a particular day
we were advised on the morning of the scheduled tour that they "don't do this tour on Saturday or Sunday" and we were going the next day. Very disappointing in view of the fact that we had made other arrangements and had received confirmation. We then had to re-arrange all our other plans. I'm still a bit mystified as to why, all of a sudden, they don't do Saturday or Sunday.
Review by: , July 2010
If going to book a tour of penang , this is the one, the tours guide was fanastic, they talked about the history , all the old building, one of the best tours l,ve been on ,
Review by: Yat Chung L, June 2010
Good enough.
Review by: Frances A, June 2010
The private tour was an easy way to see parts of Penang we wouldn't otherwise see. As we had booked it for the afternoon of the day we arrived, our driver/tour guide did things in reverse order due to the outside temperature. Unfortunately this meant we started with a stop at a coffee and chocolate tasting centre, followed by a batik centre, followed by a pewter centre. All places whose sole purpose was to interest you in the manufacture in order to get you buy stuff. I was slightly concerned by this point that this was going to be the trend for the whole tour!
Fortunately, after the pewter shop we headed to a road that had two large and beautiful temples, one on each side of the road. The first had a large reclining Buddha and many other smaller temples for you to look around. The temple on the other side of the road had a large standing Buddha and is also in the process of building a new shrine out back that you can contribute to if you are that way inclined. Try to wear shoes that can be quickly removed as you need to take them off for all temple entry. The driver left us to wander around the temples on our own and we headed back to him when we were ready. There was no feeling of being rushed, we could just take our time. The final bit of the tour was a visit to a jetty where the Chew Clan live. You get a quick glimpse of life living on the water. The driver went with us leading the way and pointed out bits and pieces as we went. A nice tour, but I'd prefer to change the shops to something more worthwhile!
Review by: Yat Chung L, Hong Kong, May 2010
Good enough.
Review by: Frances A, United Kingdom, April 2010
The private tour was an easy way to see parts of Penang we wouldn't otherwise see. As we had booked it for the afternoon of the day we arrived, our driver/tour guide did things in reverse order due to the outside temperature. Unfortunately this meant we started with a stop at a coffee and chocolate tasting centre, followed by a batik centre, followed by a pewter centre. All places whose sole purpose was to interest you in the manufacture in order to get you buy stuff. I was slightly concerned by this point that this was going to be the trend for the whole tour!
Fortunately, after the pewter shop we headed to a road that had two large and beautiful temples, one on each side of the road. The first had a large reclining Buddha and many other smaller temples for you to look around. The temple on the other side of the road had a large standing Buddha and is also in the process of building a new shrine out back that you can contribute to if you are that way inclined. Try to wear shoes that can be quickly removed as you need to take them off for all temple entry. The driver left us to wander around the temples on our own and we headed back to him when we were ready. There was no feeling of being rushed, we could just take our time. The final bit of the tour was a visit to a jetty where the Chew Clan live. You get a quick glimpse of life living on the water. The driver went with us leading the way and pointed out bits and pieces as we went. A nice tour, but I'd prefer to change the shops to something more worthwhile!
Review by: KAI LEUNG T, March 2009
I was the only person on that afternoon and was served by a very nice guide. He advised me after I told him what I want to see. His service is excellent. And I also appreciate the travel agency still providing service to customers even though there was only one traveller to join the tour.
Review by: MANUEL N, March 2009
It does give you a general view of the city and what it has to offer.
Review by: Navamonie C, March 2009
Good tour.
Review by: Kai Leung T, Hong Kong, February 2009
I was the only person on that afternoon and was served by a very nice guide. He advised me after I told him what I want to see. His service is excellent. And I also appreciate the travel agency still providing service to customers even though there was only one traveller to join the tour.
Review by: KAI LEUNG T, February 2009
I was the only person on that afternoon and was served by a very nice guide. He advised me after I told him what I want to see. His service is excellent. And I also appreciate the travel agency still providing service to customers even though there was only one traveller to join the tour.
Review by: Manuel N, United States of America, December 2007
It does give you a general view of the city and what it has to offer.
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