Heading to Penang with your family for a local holiday? Or perhaps, you’re based in Penang, and are planning a Penang local staycation? 

A superb family destination, Penang offers plenty of options for entertaining your kids and teens! You can easily pick the best Penang local attractions to suit the diverse interests of your children, regardless of their age.

In our Penang family staycation guide, you will read about:

• Where to stay during your local getaway in Penang

• Top Penang activities for kids

• Penang local places of interest for teens and adults

Here’s wishing you a joyous family holiday in Penang! 

Travelling with kids? You’ll want to book a beachfront resort!

PARKROYAL Penang Resort is located along the perennially popular Batu Ferringhi beach. Its sea-facing location allows you to effortlessly organise a family beach outing, with quick trips back to the hotel for younger kids to rest and recharge. 

If your family loves water activities, you will appreciate the range of reasonably priced options at Batu Ferringhi, such as boating, jet skiing, and parasailing. The rest of Penang is also easily accessible via rideshares, taxis, and buses. 

With your accommodation settled, you’re ready to enjoy Penang with your family! Read on for itinerary suggestions by the PARKROYAL Penang Resort team.

If you are a guest at PARKROYAL Penang Resort, the beach is your wonderland, with options galore! Jet skiing would be the most popular activity at Batu Ferringhi Beach, but you might ask: how safe are such activities for my kids? 

Before taking your children out on the waters, you must check with the operators that safety procedures are in place. Make sure that your children’s flotation devices are a good fit. Going on water rides with your kids? Do curb your need for speed—the objective is to have uneventful, calm rides. 

You can also enquire with water sports operators such as Ferringhi Sea Sports to see if they have jet skis that can accommodate two adults, with a child seated in the middle—this would be a safer riding option for a younger child. Of course, all children are different, so use your own discretion to decide what’s safe and appropriate for your kids.

If you decide not to jet ski, you can take your children on a banana boat ride (this is an inflatable boat that usually has a maximum capacity of six to eight persons) or head out fishing together.

This would be Penang Hill’s funicular railway line, which offers the easiest and most scenic way to make your way up Penang Hill. Once you’ve reached the Top Station, take your kids to explore The Habitat, where they can go on the thrilling Curtis Crest Tree Top Walk—Penang Hill’s highest public viewing platform!

Get directions to Penang Hill (35-minute drive from PARKROYAL Penang Resort)

Penang’s Tech Dome will be a treat for STEM-loving kids, with over 100 interactive exhibits to keep curious children engaged. Kids (and even teens) will enjoy spinning around in a human gyroscope, getting lost in a laser maze, wall-climbing, and much more—all in the name of discovering how the world of science works.

Get directions to Tech Dome Penang (27-minute drive from PARKROYAL Penang Resort)

Kid-friendly fun doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive. If you’re fresh out of ideas, take the kids to the Penang Municipal Park, which has been hailed as the best place in Penang for kids. It’s got swimming pools and splash pools, playgrounds, a skating rink, and even a giant chessboard (with accompanying chess pieces) for a life-sized match!

Get directions to Penang Municipal Park (28-minute drive from PARKROYAL Penang Resort)

It’s regarded as Malaysia’s no.1 theme park, so be sure to put ESCAPE on your itinerary! With ziplines, obstacle courses, diving towers, and the world’s longest tube water slide, your thrill-seeking teens will be thoroughly satiated. Pack swimsuits and food supplies, and be prepared to spend an action-packed day here!

Get directions to ESCAPE (15-minute drive from PARKROYAL Penang Resort)

For selfie-loving teens, Pulau Jerejak is a must-visit for its numerous Instagram-worthy photo opportunities! To get there, you’ll need to hop on a ferry from the Pulau Jerejak Jetty. Apart from its IG-famous “Stairway to Heaven,” Pulau Jerejak also has a brightly coloured pier and climbing wall; both are fabulous backdrops for profile shots and family portraits. To avoid crowds, get an early start—the ferry service begins at 6.30am.

Get directions to Pulau Jerejak Jetty (37-minute drive from PARKROYAL Penang Resort)

It can be challenging to interest teens in a museum, but not if it’s the Wonderfood Museum! This is a lighthearted place to learn about Penang’s famed food culture, and its whimsical larger-than-life food replicas have long attracted their fair share of social media photographers. Spend some time here if you have a free afternoon, and check out the cafes along the street thereafter.

Get directions to Wonderfood Museum (31-minute drive from PARKROYAL Penang Resort)

Fun fact: the first person to hold an exhibition at Hin Bus Depot was Ernest Zacharevic, the artist behind Penang’s famous murals. Where others saw an abandoned bus depot, he recognised potential, and after a successful exhibition, fellow creatives were roped in to transform Hin Bus Depot into a community art space. Your art-loving teens might find inspiration here, or you can simply pop in to do your souvenir shopping at the weekend maker markets. 

Get directions to Hin Bus Depot (28-minute drive from PARKROYAL Penang Resort)