What is it really like living in Penang with kids? Not visiting for three days or staying in a resort and ordering room service. I mean actually living there, grocery shopping, finding daycare, making friends, getting around with toddlers, and discovering what everyday life in Penang feels like.
For two months in 2012 and another two months in 2014, Penang was home for me, Mia and Caius. They were tiny. Mia was still a toddler, and Caius wasn’t much bigger, which meant our Penang experience involved just as many supermarkets, playgrounds, swimming pools and toddler meltdowns as it did temples, beaches and sightseeing.
We rented an apartment, figured out where to buy food, found daycare, made friends with other travelling families and slowly settled into a routine. There were beautiful beaches, tropical forests, ridiculously good food, shopping malls, birthday parties, night markets and plenty of adventures, but there were also missing swimsuits, sick kids, mosquitoes, daycare dramas and the occasional moment where I wondered why I had voluntarily taken two toddlers halfway around the world.
Because that’s the reality of living in Penang with kids.
Updated September 2026
This is the story behind those four months. If you’re looking for attractions, beaches, temples, and sightseeing, I’ve also put together my practical 32 Best Things to Do in Penang With Kids guide. That article is about where to go and what to see. This one is about what it was actually like to live there.
Quick Answer: What Is It Like Living in Penang With Kids?
Living in Penang with kids can be a brilliant experience, particularly if you enjoy slow travel and want to experience Malaysia beyond a short holiday. For us, the biggest advantage was having time.
We didn’t have to race between attractions because we knew we weren’t leaving in three days. Thanks to digital nomad life. We could spend a day at the beach, go grocery shopping the next, have a completely uneventful day at home, meet friends for lunch, and still have weeks ahead of us to explore the island.
That slower pace allowed us to create routines, and with toddlers, routines can be the difference between travelling happily and wondering what on earth possessed you to leave home in the first place.
Our experience was in 2012 and 2014, so prices, businesses, childcare options and facilities have changed considerably since then. Where I mention old prices or opening hours, they are part of our story rather than current recommendations, but the experience of living there, making friends and raising two tiny travellers in Penang remains one of my favourite periods of our family travels.
Why We Lived in Penang
Back then, we were travelling with two very young children and wanted somewhere we could stay for more than a few nights. Penang allowed us to stop moving, especially with the generous Malaysian visa allowance.
Instead of constantly checking into hotels, unpacking, repacking and trying to entertain toddlers from the back seat of a car, we had an apartment and a little slice of normal life. That meant breakfasts at home, laundry, supermarket trips, swimming, daycare and the occasional desperate search for something, anything, that would entertain a toddler before lunchtime.
It was also a great base for exploring. We could head into George Town for food and culture, spend time around Batu Ferringhi, explore the jungle, or simply stay home when everyone had reached their limit. With toddlers, sometimes staying home is the most adventurous thing you can do.
Settling Into Life in Penang
Living at Miami Green
Our apartment was at Miami Green, which became our little home base. It wasn’t glamorous expat life with a rooftop cocktail bar and someone folding your towels into swans. It was real life.
We had somewhere to put our clothes, somewhere for the kids to sleep, a kitchen and enough space to actually breathe. After months of travelling, having somewhere familiar to return to felt like a luxury.
The kids knew where their beds were and where the pool was. They started recognising places around the neighbourhood, and I started knowing exactly where to go when we ran out of breakfast cereal.
That was one of the biggest things I loved about living in Penang. It stopped feeling like we were constantly on holiday and started feeling like we belonged there, even if only temporarily.
What Was Everyday Life Like in Penang With Kids?
Everyday life in Penang was a mixture of very ordinary family life and completely unexpected adventures. One day might involve breakfast, daycare, and a supermarket run. The next could involve a beach, monkeys, a temple, or somewhere we’d never heard of until that morning.
The difference was that we didn’t feel like we had to explore every minute. Some days we did absolutely nothing exciting. We swam, played, watched movies, ate, went to the supermarket, and stayed home.
Honestly, some of those ordinary days are the memories I remember most clearly. When you live somewhere for a while, you get to see the destination between the postcard moments.
You see where people buy their groceries, discover which shopping centre has the useful kids’ shops, find your favourite cheap restaurant and learn your way around. You make friends, and you discover that toddlers can turn absolutely anything into an adventure.
Getting Around Penang With Kids
Getting around became part of everyday life. We used taxis, drove when we had a car, and walked when somewhere was close enough.
Of course, with toddlers, every journey came with its own little logistics department. There was the stroller, snacks, water, the possibility of somebody falling asleep at exactly the wrong time, and the eternal question of whether everyone would make it from A to B without someone having a meltdown.
That was another advantage of staying longer. We gradually figured everything out. We knew where the supermarket was, where to shop, where the kids liked to swim and which places were worth the effort.
That familiarity made Penang with toddlers considerably easier than constantly arriving somewhere new.
The Practical Side of Living in Penang With Kids
The Reality of Grocery Shopping in Penang
One of the funniest things about travelling with toddlers is that basic errands suddenly become major logistical operations. We quickly discovered the big Tesco was about a ten-minute drive from Miami Green.
Back in 2012, it was open from 8 am until 1 am, which was practically miraculous when you were travelling with small children. The supermarket had most of what we needed, including cereal, bread, spreads, fruit and vegetables.
There was just one problem. Swimmers. But we’ll get to that.
For imported and more familiar foods, we also used Cold Storage at Island Plaza. It was more expensive, but handy when we wanted something familiar.
Gurney was another regular haunt. There were restaurants, shops, a cinema and a larger Cold Storage, and somehow grocery shopping could turn into an entire family outing.
The cinema prices were also ridiculous compared with what we were used to in Australia. Back in 2012, two adult tickets, popcorn and drinks could cost around A$10 altogether.
I mean, please take me back.
The Great Swimsuit Mystery
Then one day, every single one of our swimsuits disappeared. All of them.
I have no idea how a family manages to lose that many swimmers at once, but apparently we managed it. So began the Great Penang Swimsuit Hunt.
We tried the beach stalls, then Tesco. No swimmers. Apparently a supermarket capable of supplying almost everything required for human survival does not necessarily believe swimming costumes are essential.
Eventually we discovered several little swimwear shops at Gurney. One was down a level near Toys R Us, and there were burkinis, two-piece swimsuits and plenty of options, although finding something in an actual cup size was another adventure entirely.
Eventually I found an Ogival swimwear store near the department store. The staff were fantastic and helped me find something that actually fitted.
Back in 2012, my swimsuit was just over $30, Mia’s was under $20, and Caius’s tiny shorts were around $5. These days online sho0pping would be my lifesaver.
Shopping Became Part of Our Life
Shopping malls became part of our lives because they were practical. Queensbay Mall was another favourite, with shops, restaurants, entertainment and an indoor playground, which made it particularly useful when Penang’s tropical weather wasn’t cooperating.
There was also a slightly fairground atmosphere and enough going on that the children could be entertained while I attempted to remember why we’d actually gone there. TBowl was another memorable experience, because eating in a toilet-themed restaurant with two toddlers is exactly the sort of ridiculous travel memory you don’t realise you’re collecting until years later. The T-Bowl Restaurant in Queensbay Mall closed in 2015.
Prangin Mall in George Town was another regular stop. Back then there were inexpensive clothes and shoes, electronics and food, and it connected through to 1st Avenue.
And yes, we bought things. Long-term travel with children means constantly replacing something. Shoes disappear, clothes become permanently decorated with food, swimmers apparently enter an alternative universe, and somehow you always need another snack.
Finding a Local Wet Market
One of the things I loved about having time in Penang was that our food shopping wasn’t limited to supermarkets. We also experienced local wet markets, including Tanjung Bungah Wet Market.
There was fresh produce, seafood, meat, Malaysian sweets, and all the smells, colours, and noise that come with a traditional market. With toddlers, you don’t necessarily get to stroll peacefully through a market contemplating exotic ingredients. You get questions. Lots of questions.
And occasionally a child announcing very loudly that something is disgusting.
Those experiences mattered because the kids weren’t only seeing Malaysia through the windows of tourist attractions. They were seeing how people actually shopped and lived.
Food became a huge part of our time in Penang too, and if you’re planning your own trip, this is a natural place to dive into my what to eat in Penang guide. There is far too much good food on this island to squeeze into one paragraph.
Daycare in Penang
Finding daycare in Penang was one of the more complicated parts of living there. We visited several centres and asked plenty of questions.
One school asked about caning, which immediately made me uncomfortable. I don’t want to turn an experience from 2012 into a sweeping statement about childcare in Penang today, because that would neither be fair nor accurate.
What it did teach me was the importance of actually visiting childcare centres, looking around and asking questions instead of relying entirely on recommendations. AppleTree came highly recommended, but they were busy, and we never managed to get everything organised there.
Then we found Cherie Hearts. It had a cubby house, trampoline, and secure outdoor area, along with two levels and bilingual teaching.
The kids liked it, and that was basically the deciding factor.
Mia initially wasn’t particularly impressed with being upstairs, but eventually had a brilliant day downstairs playing with a rainbow lion and somehow came home with extremely muddy pants. Which, frankly, is a successful day for a toddler.
Back in 2012, the advertised full-day schedule was 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday, with Saturday until 1 pm. At the time, the monthly price was around 800 MYR for full days and 600 MYR for half days.
We ended up doing three full days a week, usually from around 9 am to 4 pm, for around half the full-day monthly cost. Meals were included, and there was even a shower.
Our timetable changed regularly because of parties, visitors and our own trips around Malaysia. This was long-term family travel, not a perfectly organised school term.
Building a Life in Penang
When My Best Friend Came to Penang
One of my favourite memories from living in Penang was when my best friend Sharelle came to visit. We met through a Perth mums group when Mia was only one month old and clicked almost immediately.
Years later, she arrived in Penang with her husband and daughter. They stayed at Hard Rock Hotel, which meant four glorious days of friendship, food, shopping and children entertaining each other while the adults occasionally escaped.
Here’s what a typical 3-day itinerary looks like when your bestie visits:
Day One: Pools, Steak and Kid-Free Satay
We met at Hard Rock and immediately headed for the giant pirate ship steak restaurant. Back in 2012, steak was around $12.
The kids ran around; we caught up and then spent the afternoon in the pool. Eventually we arranged a hotel babysitter for three hours.
Three hours, kid-free. I could practically hear the angels singing.
The four adults headed to Long Beach, where we ate satay, roti and curry before wandering through the night markets looking at clothes, watches, toys and bags. The girls shopped without children, which felt wildly luxurious.
Then we went back for the kids, because apparently they needed us.
Day Two: Kids Club and George Town
Hard Rock’s Kids Club was free, so Mia and Indy went there while I took Caius and the stroller into George Town. We had cheap hawker food, did some shopping, and eventually made our way back to the hotel.
Our friends were staying in the Club Lounge, and staff offered us access to the same package without needing a Club room. Back then it was around $25 each and included breakfast, afternoon tea, and cocktail hour.
Honestly, I was sold.
Day Three: Shopping and a Spa Day
The girls headed back to Kids Club while Sharelle and I went shopping. Then it was back to Hard Rock for afternoon tea.
Drinks, cakes and sandwiches are basically my definition of a successful afternoon.
It was also Sharelle’s birthday, so we booked the Diva Experience at the spa. There was a facial, an aggressively enthusiastic blackhead removal session and a massage, and we talked the entire time.
Because obviously.
Then came cocktail hour overlooking the pool and beach. Eventually the boys and kids joined us; we headed back out for dinner, and somehow another ridiculously good Penang day disappeared.
Day Four: Goodbye
And then it was time to take them to the airport. There were stale sandwiches, overpriced cookies, hot chocolate and tears.
Lots of tears.
The kids didn’t understand why their little holiday friendship had suddenly ended. Neither did I.
We hugged goodbye and promised that miles didn’t count. It was one of those friendships where distance doesn’t really change anything.
The Travelling Families We Met
One of the unexpected joys of living in Penang with toddlers was meeting other travelling families. We apparently weren’t the only slightly crazy people who thought tiny children and long-term travel were compatible.
We met Australians, Americans, Argentinians, Malaysians and families from all over the world. The kids played while the adults swapped stories, travel tips and survival strategies.
Often the children didn’t care where they were. If there was another child and somewhere to run around, they were happy.
Those friendships made Penang feel much more like home.
Seeing Penang Through a Local
We also spent a day exploring with Beatrice from ToursByLocals. Beatrice had been born in Penang and lived there her entire life, and she was friendly, incredibly talkative, full of local knowledge and fabulous with the kids.
We started at a wet market, where she introduced us to Malaysian sweets, fresh fish, fruit and vegetables. Mia spotted some dried fish and announced, “That’s disgusting.”
So much for cultural appreciation.
From there, Beatrice took us towards Penang National Park. I’d already been there with travelling families, but exploring with someone who had grown up on the island was completely different.
She could answer our ridiculous questions, knew the stories and knew the landscape. It was unschooling at its best.
We saw white-bellied sea eagles and monkeys along the shoreline and learned about the unusual meromictic lake. Beatrice also shared her own memories of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
She and her husband had been in the jungle when it happened and didn’t know the full scale of what had occurred until they returned. Meanwhile, her parents had been desperately trying to find them.
Standing in Penang years later and hearing the story from someone who had actually lived it gave us a perspective no guidebook could have supplied.
There were plenty of lighter moments too. Caius discovered two varieties of bananas he liked and ate approximately five, while Mia somehow convinced our boat captain to let her sit on his lap and “drive” us back.
Only in Asia!
Eventually Beatrice took us to a tiny roadside nasi kandar restaurant. It wasn’t fancy, and it didn’t need to be.
That was exactly what I’d wanted from spending time with a local. To eat where locals ate, hear stories we wouldn’t otherwise hear, and understand a little more about the place we were temporarily calling home.
Birthday Parties on a Tropical Island
The kids also went to birthday parties while we were in Penang. It sounds like a small thing, but when you’re travelling long term with toddlers, familiar childhood experiences become surprisingly important.
There were balloons, cake, other children, and a party. Normal childhood stuff, except the backdrop happened to be a tropical island.
Not bad.
Sundays Became Family Days
We developed routines, and one of our favourites was Sunday. Back then, Golden Sands had an incredibly affordable Sunday lunch buffet followed by free entry to Adventure Zone.
Lunch, cake and indoor playground chaos became something we simply did. Adventure Zone stopped being somewhere we had visited and became part of our week.
That’s one of the differences between living somewhere and holidaying there. Places stop becoming attractions and start becoming part of your routine.
I’ve shared the full Adventure Zone story, including the terrifying red death slide, in my 32 Best Things to Do in Penang With Kids guide.
Beach Life With Toddlers
The same happened with Batu Ferringhi. The beach was just there, and we didn’t have to make an event of it.
Sometimes we’d simply wander down, let the kids play in the sand, and watch the world go by. There were horses, paragliders, beach stalls, other children, and plenty of opportunities for a toddler to become completely covered in sand within approximately fourteen seconds.
The sunsets were beautiful. There is something particularly lovely about watching the sun disappear over the water while your kids are playing beside you.
It makes the chaos feel worth it.
The Reality of Long-Term Travel With Toddlers
The Foam Party I Probably Shouldn’t Have Investigated
Living somewhere for longer also meant there was time for ridiculous experiences. Hard Rock Hotel had foam parties, and naturally I decided I needed to investigate the adult one.
I was tackled under the foam, inhaled foam, swallowed foam, gagged, got hosed off, and then somehow went back for more. Because apparently I had learned nothing.
It’s still one of my favourite Penang stories, but I’ve included the full version in my things to do in Penang with kids guide rather than repeating it all here.
The important part of this story is that Penang had become somewhere we could say, “There’s a foam party this weekend,” and simply go. It was part of our life.
Not Every Family Day Was Beautiful
There was also Tropical Spice Garden. In theory, it was going to be a lovely family outing filled with plants, nature, fresh air, and learning about spices.
In reality, we had toddlers.
One decided walking was no longer an acceptable activity. There was crying, carrying, sweating, and that particular parenting moment where you stand somewhere beautiful and wonder why you didn’t simply stay home and watch a movie.
That is also part of living in Penang with toddlers. Not every day goes according to plan, and sometimes your surroundings are spectacular while your child couldn’t care less.
A meltdown is a meltdown. But I’d rather deal with a tantrum living by the beach in Malaysia then in the suburbs of Australia.
The Forest Playground We Almost Missed
One day while driving with our friend Mary, we spotted a playground tucked into lush forest and decided to investigate. Back then we knew the area as the Penang Forest Museum and Eco Park.
There were rivers, swings, seesaws, slides, and natural pools deeper into the forest. It felt like we’d found a local secret.
The kids played, and we explored until the mosquitoes found us and began drawing blood at an alarming rate. So we escaped.
What a wonderful find. If only we’d brought the Aeroguard.
Today the area is generally known as Teluk Bahang Forest Eco Park, or Taman Rimba Teluk Bahang, with the Penang Forestry Museum within the area. The important part of this story isn’t simply that it was an attraction, but that having time allowed us to stumble across places we probably never would have found on a short holiday.
The Puppies
Then there were the puppies. One evening we discovered a gorgeous black cross-Lab puppy and followed him home.
That’s when we discovered he was one of 29 puppies.
Twenty-nine.
The owner encouraged us to take one home, but we didn’t. Instead, the puppies became our surrogate pets.
We kept visiting them, cuddling them, and watching them grow. They became part of our routine.
We didn’t need a pet. We had 29.
When the Kids Were Sick, Tired or Just Done
Of course, not every day was magical. There were sick days, exhausted days, and days when one child was hungry, the other was tired, and I wondered why I hadn’t simply stayed in the apartment.
There were also days when the best thing we could do was nothing. This is something people don’t always talk about when discussing long-term travel with children.
Kids don’t suddenly become better behaved because you’ve put them on a plane. Toddlers are still toddlers.
They still get tired, refuse food, and melt down because you cut their sandwich incorrectly.
Eventually, you stop fighting it. If everyone was exhausted, we stayed home. If somebody needed a nap, plans changed.
If the kids wanted to swim for three hours, we swam for three hours.
Travel stopped being about seeing everything and became about finding a rhythm that worked for all of us.
Sometimes We Just Stayed Home
This was probably one of the biggest differences between living in Penang and taking a holiday there. There were days when we stayed at Miami Green.
The kids played, we swam, watched television, ate snacks, did laundry, and had a completely normal day.
Because we weren’t trying to squeeze an entire island into a three-day itinerary, that was fine.
There is a strange pressure when you’re travelling to make every day productive. You flew all that way, so you must see the temple, visit the beach, see George Town, and go to the market.
Toddlers don’t care. Sometimes they just want to swim.
Is Penang Good for Slow Travel With Kids?
For us, absolutely. Penang was one of the places that taught me how much easier family travel became when we stopped moving every few days.
Staying for months meant we could build routines, make friends, use daycare, have lazy days, and still experience plenty of the island. There was enough to do that we never felt bored, but there was also no pressure to do something every single day.
That balance made slow travel in Penang with kids work incredibly well for our family.
Learning to Explore With Kids
Before having children, I travelled differently. I wanted to see everything, do all the things, stay out late and move on quickly.
Having kids changed that.
Penang with toddlers taught me that exploring doesn’t necessarily mean sightseeing. Sometimes exploring meant walking to the supermarket, finding another playground, or sitting at a hawker stall while the kids tried something they’d never seen before.
Sometimes it meant spending the entire day in a pool. Sometimes it meant doing absolutely nothing.
That was one of the biggest lessons I took from those months.
What Living in Penang Gave Our Family
What Surprised Me About Living in Penang With Kids
Looking back, the things that stand out aren’t necessarily the big tourist attractions. I was surprised by how quickly ordinary life became an adventure.
A supermarket trip could become an outing, a shopping mall could rescue a rainy afternoon, a random beach visit could become the highlight of the week, and a birthday party could suddenly make the kids feel completely at home.
I was also surprised by how easily we made friends. Travelling families seemed to find each other, and kids didn’t care what country another child came from.
If there was a playground and someone willing to play, friendship happened in approximately thirty seconds.
Most of all, I was surprised by how much having a routine helped. Before settling in Penang, I thought long-term travel simply meant we’d have more time to explore.
It did, but it also meant we had more time to do nothing.
With toddlers, that turned out to be just as important.
What Penang Taught My Kids
Mia and Caius were too young to remember every detail now. They probably don’t remember the name of every temple, and they certainly don’t remember what I paid for their swimsuits.
But they experienced something important.
They learned that the world wasn’t simply the place we came from. There were different foods, languages, customs, and ways of doing completely ordinary things.
They met children from other countries, saw markets, beaches and jungles and experienced temporary homes.
They also learned that adventure didn’t need to mean something huge. Sometimes adventure was simply getting in a taxi and seeing where the day took us.
What I Loved About Everyday Penang
What I loved most wasn’t one attraction. It was the combination of the food, people, tropical weather, beaches, shopping, and the ability to disappear into George Town for an afternoon.
I loved that you could be eating incredible food one minute and watching monkeys not long afterwards.
More than anything, though, I loved having a life there. We weren’t just tourists.
We had routines, friends, favourite places to eat and people who recognised us. We knew where to shop and where the kids liked to play.
For a few months, Penang was home.
What Has Changed Since We Lived There?
A lot, obviously. Our experience was in 2012 and 2014, and Penang has changed considerably since then.
Businesses have closed, attractions have changed names or been redeveloped, new places have opened, and prices have changed. The children who once needed nappies and strollers are now teenagers.
So I don’t pretend this is a current relocation guide. It is a first-hand account of what our family experienced when we lived in Penang, combined with the things I learned from spending months there rather than days.
For current attraction details, prices, and opening hours, check directly before visiting. If you’re genuinely considering moving to Penang with kids or living there long term today, you’ll also need current information on visas, accommodation, healthcare, schooling, childcare, transport and cost of living.
Is Penang a Good Place to Live With Kids?
For our family, living in Penang with kids worked incredibly well. There was plenty to do without needing to sightsee constantly, and we had beaches, pools, parks, shopping centres, restaurants and family attractions.
Food was another huge advantage. We could eat easily and relatively inexpensively, and there was enough variety to usually find something even when the children were feeling particularly suspicious of unfamiliar food.
The biggest advantage for me was being able to create a routine. That made an enormous difference with toddlers.
Whether Penang would suit another family depends entirely on what you need from a longer stay. Because my own experience was more than a decade ago, anyone considering relocating or spending several months there today should research current costs and practical requirements rather than relying on my 2012 figures.
Would I Live in Penang Again?
Yes, I would. Would I do it with toddlers again? Ask me after I’ve recovered.
Seriously though, I would, just differently now. The kids are older, my travel style has changed, and Penang itself has changed.
There are also plenty of things I never got to experience properly because I was dealing with nappies, snacks, daycare and two tiny people who believed bedtime was a personal attack.
I’d love to go back and see what still feels familiar. I’d also love to experience Penang now without carrying approximately seventeen kilograms of toddler-related equipment everywhere I went.
The Real Reason I Love Penang
I think the real reason Penang stayed with me is that it wasn’t simply somewhere we visited. We lived there.
We had ordinary days, made friends, had terrible days and brilliant days, got lost, ate too much, found beaches, found puppies, found daycare, lost swimmers and found more swimmers.
We discovered that toddlers can make friends with people who don’t speak the same language in approximately thirty seconds.
Somewhere between the supermarket runs, beach sunsets, hawker meals, birthday parties and tropical adventures, Penang became part of our family’s story.
That’s what long-term travel can give you that a quick holiday can’t. You get to know the place between the highlights and see what life actually feels like.
Sometimes those are the memories that stay with you longest.
Travelling Beyond Penang
If Penang is part of a bigger Malaysia trip, there’s a very good chance Kuala Lumpur will be part of it too. We’ve been back to Kuala Lumpur many times over the years and absolutely love it.
If you’re travelling as a family, my Kuala Lumpur with kids guide covers the younger years, while my Kuala Lumpur with teenagers guide is perfect if your children are now closer to the age Mia and Caius are today.
And because food is half the reason I keep returning to Malaysia, I’ve also got a full guide to what to eat in Kuala Lumpur. If you’re only passing through the city between flights, my Kuala Lumpur layover guide will help you work out whether you have enough time to leave the airport and what you can realistically fit in.
Frequently Asked Questions About Living in Penang With Kids
Is Penang good for families with young children?
YES! We had access to beaches, pools, playgrounds, shopping centres, food and family activities, but what made Penang particularly enjoyable was being able to balance those things with ordinary family routines.
Is Penang good for toddlers?
Penang worked very well for us with toddlers because we stayed long enough to slow down. We could plan around naps, spend afternoons swimming, use playgrounds and indoor spaces when we needed them, and change plans when somebody was simply done for the day.
What is it like living in Penang with kids?
For us, it was a mixture of normal family life and travel. We lived in an apartment, grocery shopped, used daycare, made friends, ate local food and developed routines, while also having beaches, George Town and the rest of Penang to explore whenever we wanted.
The biggest difference from a short holiday was that we didn’t have to rush.
Is daycare available in Penang?
There are childcare and early-learning options in Penang, although availability, costs, enrolment requirements and teaching styles change over time.
When we were there in 2012, we visited several centres before choosing one that suited our children. Our experience is historical and shouldn’t be taken as a recommendation of any particular childcare centre today.
Is Penang expensive for families?
Our experience in 2012 was very affordable, particularly for food, local activities and some shopping. However, those prices shouldn’t be used as a guide to the current cost of living in Penang.
Anyone considering a longer stay should research current accommodation, schooling or childcare, transport, food and healthcare costs.
I did check monthly Miami Green condo prices and a 3 bedroom for the month is $1,341.66 AUD. Which in my eye makes Penang still a fantastically affordable destination.
How do you get around Penang with kids?
We used a mixture of taxis, driving and walking. With toddlers, flexibility mattered more than anything.
We planned around naps, meals and tired children rather than trying to stick rigidly to a schedule.
How long should you stay in Penang with children?
For a holiday, several days will give you an introduction to Penang. If you have the flexibility to stay for a few weeks or longer, you get something completely different.
You can slow down, create routines, explore beyond the major attractions, and experience more of everyday Penang.
What are the best things to do in Penang with kids?
I’ve deliberately kept the sightseeing side separate from this article. For beaches, temples, parks, museums, Penang Hill, family attractions, and our own experiences exploring the island, see my 32 Best Things to Do in Penang With Kids guide.
This article is about what everyday family life in Penang was actually like for us.
Is Penang suitable for long-term family travel?
For us, yes. Penang worked particularly well for slow family travel because we could create a normal rhythm rather than constantly packing up and moving to another destination.
Families considering a longer stay today should separately research current visas, healthcare, accommodation, schooling and childcare.
What should families consider before living in Penang?
Look carefully at accommodation, schooling or childcare, healthcare, transport, visas and cost of living. Where you live will also have a big impact on everyday life.
Rather than choosing accommodation purely because it looks appealing for a holiday, think about the places you’ll need to reach regularly, whether that’s school, childcare, supermarkets or work.
Explore With Erin Wrap Up
Four months in Penang with two tiny children gave me something a normal holiday never could. I got to see the island when nobody was taking photos, on supermarket runs, at daycare drop-off, during toddler meltdowns, over cheap hawker meals, at the beach on an ordinary Sunday and surrounded by friends we’d only just met.
That’s the magic of living in Penang with kids. You don’t just collect attractions. You collect a life.
And even though Mia and Caius were far too young to remember most of it, I remember every chaotic, hilarious, sweaty, sandy, delicious minute. And they, of course, have a great blog to read and remind them.
