Guide to Pangkor Island, Malaysia: Things to Do on This Small, Underrated Island

I wasn’t expecting to visit Pangkor Island, Malaysia. But after spending two months at a co-living space in Kuala Lumpur, my friend Klara suggested we take an island break.

We floated a few ideas and quickly landed on Pangkor. It’s around a 3.5-hour bus from the city, and alongside beaches, it has temples and a few Malay dishes that she’d always wanted to try.

I didn’t expect much – it was more of an impromptu trip – but I ended up really liking it. It’s much quieter than other islands in Malaysia, and travelling with my Malaysian friend meant I got to understand the place well.

Pangkor Island definitely earned its place on my Malaysia itinerary, and I’ll explain why in this post by covering the best things to do, where to stay, and whether it’s worth it for you personally.

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Is Pangkor Worth Visiting?

I literally created my travel blog to talk about less-visited places, and Pangkor’s exactly that. It’s quiet, known mainly among Malaysian tourists, and off the beaten track.

If you’re deciding between Pangkor and places like Langkawi or Perhentian, Pangkor is much quieter and less developed.

It’s not quite as spectacular as the Perhentian Islands for snorkelling, but it has temples, really nice food and white-sand beaches, so you get a good variety of things to do rather than just snorkelling and beaches.

Another place is that it’s much closer to Kuala Lumpur (3.5 hours by bus), whereas Perhentian and Langkawi require almost a full day of travel to get there from the capital.

10 Things to Do in Pangkor, Malaysia

1. Visit Sri Pathira Kaliamman Temple

Sri Pathira Kaliamman Temple is a gorgeous Indian temple that faces the sea, founded around 1890 by Indian fishermen. It has South Indian architectural influences.

It’s great for a quick stop, especially for sunrise when the gold really glitters. From here, you can see over the fishing boats at the port, too.

2. Explore Fu Lin Kong Temple

Fu Lin Kong Temple is my favourite temple on Pangkor Island, Malaysia.

The small Taoist temple is really different to any other temples I’ve seen – and I’ve seen a lot – with a garden full of models, plants, and next to a miniature Great Wall of China. I also appreciated the views out over the townhouses heading towards the ocean.

3. Check out the Dutch Fort

Not far from the other two temples is Pangkor’s Dutch fort, a small but interesting little site. Here, you can see the ruins of a Dutch outpost built in 1670 to store tin and try to take control of the trade in Malaysia.

Once destroyed by local Malay people who didn’t like how the Dutch got the minerals, it was rebuilt in 1743 and abandoned five years later. There’s not much to see here, but it’s an important part of Pangkor’s history and worth a quick look.

4. Try the Pangkor curry mee

Pangkor has a good range of renditions on classic Nanyan dishes including curry mee, a spicy noodle soup which uses seafood in Pangkor.

We went to Nanyang 1957 specifically for the curry mee. You can also try many other Nanyang dishes and butter coffee here.

5. Unwind at Pasir Giam Beach (Pantai Pasir Giam)

When we were ready for a beach day, we made a beeline for the west coast of Pangkor and drove all the way to the end until we reached Pantai Pasir Giam.

It honestly felt like the quietest and most idyllic out of all the beaches we drove past. Although I later heard about the scenic Coral Beach, which you can hike to from Pasir Giam – it’s only accessible on foot. So do try that hike and let me know in the comments how the beach is.

There are watersports rentals and snorkels for hire along the beach, but we just lay down to unwind, looking at the boats going to and from local islands. We also attracted a cute cat, who napped with us.

6. Watch the sunset from Daddy’s Cafe

After the beach day, we were looking for somewhere to enjoy the sunset and went to the liveliest looking place: Daddy’s Cafe at Pasir Giam Beach. It’s got a mix of Western and Malay dishes, but the main attraction is its placement on the beachfront. The sun sets right over the water in front.

They also have an area where they put out food for hornbills, a gorgeous bird with long downward-curving beaks and a colourful ‘helmet’ (casque). Pangkor is one of the best places to see hornbills in Peninsular Malaysia, but I’m not completely onboard with the idea of the feeding stations; there are lots around the island, but they interfere with the birds’ natural feeding patterns.

7. Take a snorkelling tour

By the time I reached Pangkor, I’d already done a 5-month trip around Southeast Asia and I was pretty tired of snorkelling. But there are lots of operators along Pantai Pasir Giam that’ll arrange snorkelling trips by boat for you. I watched so many boats zipping off around the bay with snorkellers onboard.

The main snorkelling sites in Pangkor are:

• Giam Island: An island with a nice reef that attracts turtles and reef sharks.
• Coral Beach: Some of the trips will take you to Coral Beach (also accessible on foot), where there are good corals.
• Pangkor Laut Island: The adjacent island has clear water and several good snorkel spots including Emerald Cove.

8. Browse the markets and Pick up some sun-dried anchovies

There are many market stalls lining the road to Pantai Pasir Giam, selling food and beach gear. Here, you can get snacks like coconut ice cream or dried anchovies and pick up the popular local snack and classic streetfood dishes.

9. See the ‘floating mosque’, Teluk Raja Bayang Mosque

Near the port is Teluk Raja Bayang Mosque, a floating mosque that’s suspended over the sea. I totally forgot to snap a picture, but it’s nice to see, especially if you haven’t seen any of Malaysia or Indonesia’s floating mosques yet.

10. Try some watersports

There are so many watersports shops along Pasir Bogak Beach, Teluk Nipah and Pantai Pasir Giam. Banana boat rides, kayaking and jet-skiing are available, and a really nice way to pass an afternoon at the beach.

Where to Stay at Pangkor Island

I stayed at Pangkor Guesthouse SPK, a small guesthouse located in Pinang Kesir. This was very suitable because we hired a scooter, so we could easily explore the island without depending on taxis. The area also has a lot of local restaurants.

If you’re not renting a scooter, I recommend taking a taxi from the ferry port to the area around Coral Beach, Teluk Belanga and Teluk Nipah (e.g. Nipah Guesthouse Pangkor).

That way, you have a beach and restaurants right at your fingertips, and when you want to visit temples, you can arrange transport or a tour guide to take you.

How to Get to Pangkor Island

Pangkor Island is located in Peninsular Malaysia, around a three-hour drive north of Kuala Lumpur and 1.5 hours from Ipoh.

As an island, it’s only accessible by ferry – which departs from both Lumut and Marina Island. I used the Lumut ferry terminal, after taking a 3h20m bus from Kuala Lumpur.

For all of the details, including the ferry schedule, the bus from Kuala Lumpur and how to book them, check out my guide to how to get to Pangkor Island.

Check availability for the ferry from Lumut to Pangkor Island. If you’re short on time, you can also take a day tour to Pangkor Island from Kuala Lumpur. ️

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My Experience at Pangkor Island, Malaysia

I spent three days at Pangkor Island and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. If you want to get off the beaten track and go on holiday where Malaysian people go, this is the place. It has a lot of variety – temples, Nanyang cuisine with seafood and beaches.

It wouldn’t be my top recommendation out of all the islands in Peninsular Malaysia – I found Perhentian much more spectacular – but it’s much easier to reach from Kuala Lumpur. Renting a scooter made it cheap and easy to get around.

Tips

• You don’t need more than 2–3 days at Pangkor Island, otherwise you may start to feel a little bored. It’s only a small island, and you can easily see everything within a couple days.
• Embrace the slow lifestyle. Things don’t move fast on Pangkor, and there’s no use trying to get them to! This island’s quiet, laidback and friendly.
• Rent a scooter if you can ride. I explored Pangkor by scooter and it gave me so much more freedom to go where I wanted. It also cuts costs (taxis, transport) significantly.

Quick 3-Day Pangkor Island Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrive by ferry from Lumut and head to Nanyang 1957 for curry mee and butter coffee.
  • If you’re able to ride a scooter, check in at Pangkor Guesthouse SPK or a nearby hotel, and rent a scooter.
  • If you can’t ride, take a taxi to the hotels at Teluk Nipah and Pantai Pasir Giam.
• Day 2: Spend the day at the beaches: take a snorkelling tour or hike to Coral Beach, then grab dinner at Daddy’s Cafe.
• Day 3: Explore the island’s historic sites by scooter or tour, including Sri Pathira Kaliamman Temple (best at sunrise), Fu Lin Kong Temple, Teluk Raja Bayang Mosque and the Dutch Fort.

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I hope you found my Pangkor Island guide useful! Pangkor isn’t the most famous island in Malaysia, but that’s exactly why I liked it.