Things to do in Malacca
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Malacca
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best window, the drier months with bright sun and sea breezes, peak walking weather and peak weekend pricing.
Shoulder, more frequent afternoon storms but reliably clear mornings, softer weekday rates and a more local city.
Worst for rain, the heavy monsoon stretch with washed out afternoons and choppier Pulau Besar crossings.
Haze risk in bad years, when smoke can flatten Strait and Sky Tower views for days at a time.
What's on
- Chinese New Year Jan/Feb
Jonker Street at its most decorated with lion dances and busy clan temples, the biggest crowds of the year.
- Thaipusam Jan/Feb
Tamil processions to the Sri Poyyatha temple on Harmony Street, woven into the old town.
- Hari Raya Aidilfitri Mar/Apr in recent years
End of Ramadan, with Malay open houses and Kampung Morten at its most hospitable.
- Festa San Juan 23 June
Portuguese Settlement festival at Ujong Pasir, part of the Kristang community's own calendar.
- Festa San Pedro 29 June
Patron of fishermen, with boat blessings, Portuguese folk dance and food stalls at the Settlement.
- Melaka River Festival typically mid-year
Riverfront events and programming, details vary by year, check the state tourism calendar.
- Merdeka and Malaysia Day 31 Aug-16 Sep
Parades and riverfront programming across the national celebrations.
- Deepavali Oct/Nov
Little India around Jalan Bendahara lit and busy with sweet shops, in the wettest weeks.
- Christmas in the Portuguese Settlement Dec
House by house Christmas light displays the Settlement is famous for, with the seafood stalls at their biggest.
- New Year's Eve 31 Dec
Official state countdown with fireworks on the riverfront.
Best things to do in Malacca
Jonker Walk
Chinatown main street of Peranakan shophouses by day and a kilometre long food night market on weekend evenings.
Dutch Square
Terracotta red colonial square with the Stadthuys, clock tower and fountain, best photographed before 9am.
Stadthuys
Dutch building from around 1650 housing the History and Ethnography Museum, the square's one indoor visit.
Christ Church
Red church built in 1753 facing Dutch Square, part of the classic postcard view of old Melaka.
Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum
Three Chan family townhouses preserved as a wealthy Peranakan home, the museum that makes the culture legible.
A Famosa
Porta de Santiago gatehouse, all that survives of the 1511 Portuguese fortress, at the foot of St Paul's Hill.
St Paul's Church
Roofless 1521 church ruins on the hill with Dutch tombstones and the best free view over the old town and Strait.
Cheng Hoon Teng Temple
Malaysia's oldest functioning Chinese temple from 1645, with superb lacquer, tile and woodwork on Harmony Street.
Where to stay in Malacca
Jonker Street / Heeren Street heritage core
almost everyone, first trip
Sleep inside the UNESCO zone and walk to the night market, museums, Harmony Street and most top restaurants.
Riverside / Bandar Hilir
luxury and first timers wanting a full service hotel
Pools, spas, parking and quiet nights at the river edge, still a 5 to 10 minute walk from everything.
Melaka Raya
drivers, longer stays and local food first trips
Mid range hotels, serious Nyonya restaurants, malls and far easier parking, a short Grab to Dutch Square.
Ayer Keroh
golfers and zoo or botanical garden days only
Highway side hotels near the golf courses and Ayer Keroh attractions, 20 plus minutes by car from the historic core.
Think twice about
- Melaka Sentral bus terminal area
Not dangerous, just desolate: a transport and big box strip 4 km from everything, so you spend the trip in Grabs.
- Ayer Keroh highway strip
Fine for golf but dead at night and far from the sights, so it fails as a base for the city.
- Isolated Klebang condo towers
They strand you a car ride from dinner and from the old town.
Best restaurants in Malacca
Capitol Satay Celup
The famous satay celup house where skewers cook in a bubbling communal pot of peanut satay sauce.
Restoran Ban Lee Siang
One of the oldest satay celup houses and the local alternative to Capitol, best at opening when the sauce is fresh.
McQuek's Satay Celup
Newer satay celup name that outscores the famous Capitol in recent listings, named as a local alternative.
Kedai Kopi Chung Wah
Old kopitiam at the Jonker end of the bridge famous for the original chicken rice balls, go before 11am.
Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball
Accepted understudy to Chung Wah a few doors along Jonker, adding asam fish and sides and taking group bookings.
Jonker 88
Museum cafe at No. 88 Jonker serving Baba and asam laksa, where the asam laksa still wins the praise.
Bibik House
Jonker Street shop two minutes from Jonker 88 that recent reviewers pick for the better bowl of cendol.
Amy Heritage Nyonya Cuisine
Family run Nyonya restaurant led by Madam Amy Koh, known for ayam pongteh and prawns in coconut pineapple curry.
Outdoor things to do in Malacca
Melaka River Cruise
45 minute boat ride past shophouse backs, mural walls and Kampung Morten, best late afternoon or at night.
Tiara Melaka Golf & Country Club
27 holes across Lake, Meadow and Woodland nines, the consensus best city golf, 25 minutes from the centre.
A'Famosa Golf Resort
27 hole resort course with Rocky, Palm and Crocodile nines inside a resort with safari and water parks.
Ayer Keroh Country Club
Historic 1964 club with 27 mature, tight, tree lined holes, the value pick of Melaka's three main courses.
Orna Golf & Country Club
Course out at Jasin described as the toughest test in southern Peninsular Malaysia, for low handicappers only.
Melaka Botanical Garden
92.5 hectares of lowland forest with shaded cycling and jogging trails and cheap bike rental, best early or late.
Skytrex Adventure Melaka
High ropes and zipline courses through the botanical garden canopy with capped numbers and tree protective rigging.
Zoo Melaka
Malaysia's second largest zoo in a forest setting, worth it as part of an Ayer Keroh day, best at opening.
Best hotels in Malacca
Casa del Rio Melaka
Five star boutique hotel on the river at the foot of Jonker Street with a rooftop infinity pool and big rooms.
The Majestic Malacca
Restored 1920s mansion hotel on the river with a spa village and old Malaya atmosphere, a calm 10 minute walk from Jonker.
Baba House Melaka
Peranakan themed boutique hotel in restored Heeren Street shophouses, five minutes from Jonker, with no pool.
Hatten Hotel Melaka
Full size international hotel bridging the two big malls, with big pool, gym and easy parking.
Holiday Inn Melaka
Full service hotel with pool, gym, buffet breakfast and sea view rooms at Melaka prices, good for drivers and longer stays.
Layang Layang Guest House
Family run guesthouse in a restored heritage shophouse in the core, the named budget pick.
1825 Gallery Hotel
Riverside design hotel whose photos sell well but recent reviews report upkeep problems, so check fresh reviews first.
Is Malacca expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | MYR 140 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | MYR 300 a person |
| Splurge | MYR 700 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Encore Melaka: a few days ahead
- Melaka River Cruise: a few days ahead
- Tiara Melaka Golf & Country Club: a few days ahead
- A'Famosa Golf Resort: a few days ahead
- Ayer Keroh Country Club: a few days ahead
- Orna Golf & Country Club: a few days ahead
- Skytrex Adventure Melaka: a few days ahead
- Heritage walking and cycling loop: a few days ahead
- Heritage core hotel rooms sell out on Fri to Sun nights and holiday weekends. Book the top hotels weeks ahead for peak dates.
- Book Encore Melaka weekend seats, Skytrex slots, golf tee times and Nyonya cooking classes days ahead.
- Buy the Sunday return bus when you buy the outbound. Go to the Baba and Nyonya Museum at opening on weekend mornings.
Is Malacca safe?
- Keep bags on the building side, zipped, against motorcycle bag snatching, and valuables in front pockets in the Jonker market crush.
- Use repellent by the river in the evening. Dengue is endemic and mosquitoes are a real factor on the cruise and at Kampung Morten.
- Heat is the main hazard. Sightsee 8 to 11am and after 4pm and put museums, cafes and the river cruise in the 12 to 3pm window.
Malacca travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Chicken rice balls are a novelty. Eat them once at Chung Wah or Hoe Kee and do not queue an hour in the sun for a second round.
- Jonker Street souvenir pricing is tourist pricing. The same goods are cheaper at local facing shops off the main street.
- Pick one viewpoint, Menara Taming Sari or The Shore Sky Tower, not both. The night market is Fri to Sun only.
- Melaka's Strait coast is for sunsets and shakes, not swimming holidays. Day trip to Port Dickson for sand and swimming.
Getting around Malacca: public transport and more
- Walk the flat heritage core, about 1 km across. Grab is cheap and plentiful for Klebang, the Settlement, Ayer Keroh and Melaka Sentral.
- From KL, express buses leave Terminal Bersepadu Selatan about every 30 minutes, take about 2 hours and cost RM 10 to 15.
- From Melaka Sentral, Grab to Jonker Street is RM 10 to 15 and 10 to 15 minutes. Do not rent a car for the core; weekend parking is painful.
- On a decorated trishaw, agree price, route and duration before you sit down. About RM 25 to 30 for 30 minutes is the standard guidance.
Who Malacca suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Malacca your trip
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