• Digital Nomad Resources
  • Train Travel
  • Urban Rail Transit
  • Where To Stay

Nomadic Notes

Travel blog and weekly travel newsletter

  • Blog
  • Travel Newsletter

Pulau Pangkor Travel Guide

September 14, 2010 By James Clark 9 Comments

Travel Notes > Malaysia > Pangkor Travel Guide

Pangkor Island Travel Guide

Pulau Pangkor (Pangkor Island) is on the West Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. It’s close enough to Kuala Lumpur to make it an accessible stopover destination, which was how I ended up on the island. I had a week in KL enroute to China, so rather than staying in KL for a week I wanted to spend a few days on an island. The beaches of the East Coast would have left me rushing to get there and back, so Pangkor was the best option.

If you have already been to the islands and beaches of Thailand then you aren’t going to see anything new here. Most visitors here are day-tripping locals. I met some British travellers here who were staying on Pangkor for a week while their Visa to India was being processed in KL. If you only have a few days in Malaysia or you waiting around KL and you want to rest your heels in some sand, then Pangkor is ideal.

Pasir Bogak Beach: Pulau Pangkor
[Pasir Bogak Beach: Pulau Pangkor.]

Beaches

When people talk about the beaches of Malaysia, it’s the islands of the Peninsula East Coast that rate the highest. If that is the case then I have got to get over there one day. I mean have a look at this “average” West Coast beach.

Teluk Nipah Beach
[Teluk Nipah Beach.]

Pangkor is half a day of travel from KL, so it can get busy on weekends and public holidays. This was a public holiday crowd.

Pasir Bogak Beach
[Pasir Bogak Beach Crowd.]

Wildlife

Pangkor’s most famous wildlife residents are the Hornbill Birds. It’s quite common to see them swooshing around, they they make a great squawk, which is what I want to hear in a tropical paradise. Some of the guesthouse owners feed them so it is not uncommon to see them sitting around populated areas.

Hornbills
[Hornbills.]

Monitor Lizards are common as well.

Monitor Lizard
[Monitor Lizard.]

The island interior is a jungle, and no jungle in Asia is complete without monkeys. Fortunately you don’t have to go into the jungle to find them.

Monkeys at Pulau Pangkor
[Monkeys.]

The island also has beach goats. Of course.

Beach Goats
[Beach Goats.]

Accommodation

Most of the budget/backpacker style places are around Teluk Nipah, which happens to have the best beach. It’s not a big scene at Teluk Nipah, as most backpackers head to the Perhentian Islands or Thailand before coming here.

There is a good range of accommodation options in Pangkor – from budget guesthouses to luxury resort hotels.

I was just passing through the region so I wanted to stay in a typical Southeast Asian guesthouse. One with an outside bathroom and cold water shower, and Geckos on the ceiling. I found what I was looking for at Nazri Nipah.

A-Frame Huts

Nipah Guesthouse Pangkor has been renovated since my visit.

Search all hotels on Pangkor Island.

Travel Guides

Pangkor – Wikitravel open source travel guide.

Guide Books

Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei (Travel Guide)

Photos

Pulau Pangkor Photo Gallery – Photo gallery of my visit to Pangkor Island.

Filed Under: Travel Notes Tagged With: animals, beach, island, malaysia, pangkor

Comments

  1. Andi says

    September 14, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    I’m dying to get to Pangkor!!!

    Reply
  2. Marie says

    September 14, 2010 at 6:42 pm

    How cool! I slept in that very A frame (and one further back in the jungle)13 years ago. I wonder if the same family still owns it. Thank you for posting these even though I realise it wasn’t just for me.

    Reply
  3. Gray says

    September 16, 2010 at 12:00 am

    Great photos! This place looks awesome. Remind me not to go swimming there, though, if they have lizards in the water. 🙂

    Reply
  4. James Clark says

    September 16, 2010 at 12:14 pm

    @Marie you are welcome. I didn’t see the one in the jungle, I wonder if it is still there?

    @Andi hope you get there one day.

    @Gray LOL, It must be the Australian in me as I don’t mind what else is swimming in the water. I saw one near the beach as well but it ran away as soon as I got my camera out. I think they are more scared of us us.

    Reply
  5. Peter says

    September 20, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    I have went to Malaysia in 1995 and I liked its rural areas except the cities. But now I heard that Malaysia is one of the main tourism country in SE Asia

    Thanks

    Reply
  6. Cathy says

    October 21, 2010 at 2:12 am

    Did you get into the water?

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      October 21, 2010 at 12:09 pm

      I went for a swim and a snorkel. It was a public holiday in Malaysia so there was quite a crowd in the water.

      Reply
  7. Eli says

    January 25, 2013 at 7:32 am

    Hi,
    Nazri Nipah Camp looks great but I have trouble finding any accurate email adress for booking. Do you remember any?
    Thank you in advance,
    Elisabeth

    Reply
  8. Hussein Onn says

    October 14, 2019 at 8:27 am

    Pangkor island is a small island in Malaysia. We rent a motorbike, for sightseeing and roam around.
    Wonderful sunrise and sunset scenery .

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Weekly Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts, and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.
Subscribe For Free Here [No spam, unsubscribe anytime.]

About Nomadic Notes

James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

Follow Nomadic Notes

Recent Posts

  • Bangkok to Pattaya by train
  • Notes on Udon Thani
  • Where to stay in Singapore: The best areas and notable hotels (2023)
  • Ornamental street signs of Thailand
  • Where to stay in Georgetown, Penang – The best area to stay and the pick of the hotels (2023)
  • Notes on Nakhon Phanom: Down by the river, and hanging out at Uncle Ho’s House
  • Where to stay in Da Nang – the best areas and most notable hotels (2023)
  • Where to stay in Hanoi: The best areas for first-time visitors
  • Where to stay in Dubai: The best areas and most iconic hotels
  • Cambodia Railways: A guide to train travel in Cambodia

European Rail Travel

Eurail Pass Travel Guide

Europe Rail News – The new newsletter for train travel in Europe

Southeast Asia Rail Travel

Southeast Asia current and proposed railways

A complete guide to train travel in Southeast Asia

Featured Posts

Top 200 Travel Books
How to find cheap flights
Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

About Nomadic Notes

About
Advertise
Contact
Contribute
Press/Media Mentions
Where I've Been

Search Nomadic Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Resources

Long-term Travel
Travel Blog Directory
Travel Gear
Travel Insurance
Travel Sites

Where To Stay In…

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Da Nang
Ho Chi Minh City
Hong Kong
Jakarta
Kuala Lumpur
Macau
Penang
Singapore

Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.

Copyright © 2023 Nomadic Notes · Site Map | Privacy · Log in