Peninsular Malaysia strings together neatly from south to north — city, heritage town, highlands, island — with short flights and good roads between. Borneo is a separate trip.
The Petronas Towers, Batu Caves, and hawker food in Jalan Alor. The metro covers more of the city than you expect.
Onward: Flight, 1 hr. To Penang. The train takes about four hours and is a pleasant alternative.
Shophouses, street art and arguably the best food in Southeast Asia. The clan jetties at sunset are worth the walk.
Onward: Road, 4 hr. Inland and up into the hills
Tea plantations, mossy forest and the first cool air of the trip. Bring a layer — it drops to the mid teens at night.
Onward: Road then ferry, or flight, 5 hr or 1 hr. Back to Penang for the ferry, or fly from KL
Beaches, the SkyBridge cable car, and mangrove tours. The quiet end of the trip.
On eight nights, drop the Cameron Highlands. It is the longest drive for the smallest payoff if you are short of time.
Add Malacca for two nights south of KL, or give Borneo its own week for Sepilok, Kinabatangan and Mount Kinabalu.
Trying to combine the peninsula and Borneo in under two weeks. They are separated by a two-and-a-half-hour flight over the South China Sea, and Borneo needs at least five nights to be worth the trip. Choose one.
Read the full Malaysia travel guide or take the Malaysia packing list.