How Much Does George Town Cost per Day
A full breakdown of George Town prices: daily budgets by tier, every itemised cost from the guide, and where the money actually goes.
The short answer
Budget travellers in George Town spend around MYR 120 a day. Mid-range travel runs closer to MYR 280, and a splurge day lands around MYR 650. Per person per day in MYR, roughly USD 27 / 63 / 145 at rates through late 2026. Hawker food keeps the budget tier genuinely comfortable here compared with most Southeast Asian capitals.
Daily cost breakdown
- Stay
- Food
- Transport
- Activities
| Tier | Stay | Food | Transport | Activities | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | MYR 50 | MYR 40 | MYR 15 | MYR 15 | MYR 120 |
| Mid-range | MYR 150 | MYR 80 | MYR 30 | MYR 20 | MYR 280 |
| Splurge | MYR 400 | MYR 180 | MYR 60 | MYR 50 | MYR 690 |
A mid-range day: MYR 150 boutique shophouse hotel room (split two ways or solo), MYR 20 in Grab rides around the old town and to Gurney Drive, MYR 15 char kway teow lunch at a hawker area, MYR 25 sit-down dinner of nasi kandar or Nyonya food, MYR 20 Kek Lok Si entry and incline lift, MYR 15 in coffee and snacks through the day. Comes to roughly MYR 245, before a splurge meal.
Every priced item in this guide
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Kek Lok Si Temple | free for temple grounds; separate paid entry for the pagoda and incline lift, check current pricing |
| Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera) | check current fare tiers on the ticket portal; rates differ for Malaysian residents and foreigners |
| Clan Jetties (Chew Jetty and neighbours) | free |
| George Town street art (Ernest Zacharevic murals and others) | free |
| Penang Botanic Gardens | free |
| Assam laksa | MYR 6-10 |
| Char kway teow | MYR 8-14 |
| Penang Hokkien mee | MYR 7-12 |
| Nasi kandar | MYR 10-20 |
| Nyonya (Peranakan) cuisine | MYR 15-40 |
| Roti canai and mamak breakfast | MYR 1.50-4 |
| Cendol | MYR 3-6 |
| Popiah | MYR 3-6 per roll |
| Oh chien (oyster omelette) | MYR 8-15 |
What I actually paid
- Trishaw drivers in the old town will quote a price that assumes you haven't asked around. Agree the fare and the exact route before getting in, not after.
How to spend less
- Hawker centres and street-side stalls run MYR 5-15 a plate, cheaper and often better than a sit-down restaurant version of the same dish
- Walking the heritage core costs nothing and covers most of the street art and clan jetties in a single loop
- The CAT bus loop through the historic core is free; use it instead of Grab for short hops within the old town
- Temple grounds (Kek Lok Si's lower level, most mosques and Hindu temples from outside) are free to enter; pay only for the parts you actually want, like the incline lift or pagoda