KellyHazel

Is Malaysia much more expensive than its neighboring countries? How much can I spend daily during my backpacking trip? What is worth a plate of noodles or rice? Or most importantly ... Is beer as expensive as they say? We will show you below expenses and approximate prices so that you can get an idea when planning your next trip. As always, we remind you that this is something indicative, we are sure that there are people who will spend much less (who can) and people who will like to travel with more comforts and spend more. In our case, at least on the first trip to Malaysia we made for 3 months, the cost was € 22.5 per person per day on average.

Visa : To enter Malaysia, at least if you are Indian, you should know that you will not have to drop a rupee for the visa, since you will have a permit to be in the country for a maximum of 90 days. Malaysia visa requirements are minimal and we detail them in the previous link. Also Malaysia evisa for Indians is yet another simple thing you don't worry about. 

Travel insurance : We do not need to say the important thing about traveling with good insurance. There are many types and colors, prices and coverages, but we always go with the IATI company. In addition we were the first to offer a 5% discount to readers. More info on this are availableon travel insurance sites travel insurance (and with opinions).

Accommodation : Although the hostels may cost a bit more than in neighboring Thailand for having less tourism, there is a lot of offer and different places to choose depending on the quality you want. To give a couple of examples, the cheapest hostel we have slept in was worth 26MR in Ipoh, and the most expensive one was Uncle Tan's B & B, in Sepilok, with 110MR (although with all meals included). Therefore we will move in an average of 10-12 € the double room.

Food : Malaysia is a country to enjoy its gastronomy because of the mixture of cultures that coexist in it. The cheapest places we have found have been Indian or Chinese restaurants, street stalls and local restaurants, which you can eat for € 1-2 . The places focused on the tourist tend to be much more expensive than those we have mentioned before.

Drink : Yes, the beer is very expensive, a Tiger boat usually rounds the 8RM and the bottle between 15-17RM . But fortunately there are some places where you can buy without spending a lot of money as is the case of the Antarabangsa Enterprise of Georgetown or duty free stores like those of Pulau Tioman or Pulau Labuan. A bottle of water or a soft drink is worth a couple of ringgits, although for a few cents you can fill your bottle in the water jets that you will find in many places.

Activities : Entrances to museums, national parks or even orangutan rehabilitation centers are not usually expensive, between 10-30RM . Excursions or trekking are already rising in price because you usually stay a few days, such as Trekking Tanah Ratah, 2 days / 1 night and lunch included: 200RM or excursion 3 days / 2 nights with Uncle Tan in Kinabatangan all included: 455RM .

Transportation : Traveling by bus in Malaysia varies according to the distance of the journey, but it will not cost you more than 50RM . Domestic planes are quite cheap flying with AirAsia and the ferries to access the islands are around 20-50RM.