The name of the island comes from the Thai ‘Pang Ko’, which means Beautiful Island. Pangkor is a mountainous island, the highest point is at 1216 meters (Pangkor Hill). Since the main island consists of just mountains, the roads are lying in a circle around the island. The island has a number of international hotels/resorts. It can get quite busy during school and public holidays. There is no best time to visit Pangkor as the island is pretty much shielded by Sumatra, weather is pretty much the same throughout the year. Water sports and other activities are plenty around Pangkor Island. Especially around Bogak beach and Nipah beach there are numerous operators that offer banana-boat rides and Jet Ski rental. You can do some light jungle treks around the island. The best one, the Pangkor Hill Trek, starts at Bogak beach and takes you all the way to the eastern side of the island. Another fun thing to do is to rent a boat for the day to go around the island. A speed boat is an option, but a normal boat is way more fun as you have more time to enjoy the scenery.

Best time to visit

Pangkor island can be visit throughout the year.It is because Pangkor Island is shielded from strong wind and heavy rainfall brought by monsoons as it located between the mainland of Peninsular of Malaysia on the east and Sumatra Island on the west. However, be noted that the western side of Peninsular Malaysia experiences heavier rainfall during the year-end than other parts of the year.

Travel by Car

The quickest route to get to Pangkor from Kuala Lumpur is drive towards Ipoh and taking the exit at Bidor. From here, follow the signboard to Teluk Intan and then to Lumut. If travelling from south, exit at Gopeng intercharge and turn left after Pangkor/Sitiawan/Batu Gajah signboard. Then, headed over to Lumut Jetty. Cars cannot be brought onto the island so it is the best to leave your car secured at car park. Parking are available right in front of the jetty costs MYR10 per day with 24/7 surveillance.

Travel by coach

There are daily buses operate from Kuala Lumpur (Bandar Tasik Selatan, TBS) to Lumut and return back to Kuala Lumpur. The price of the ticket is MYR27* with journey takes around 4 hours to Lumut.

Travel by Ferry

You can take ferry at the main ferry terminal in Lumut on the mainland. The journey takes about 40 minutes to arrive in Pangkor, thus, great alternative is to get a ferry at Marina Island Pangkor, at newly operated jetty as it only takes 10 minutes ferry rides to reach Pangkor.