Malaysia
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
302km²
Area
109km
Coastline
833m
Highest point
Penang Hill
1,740,400
People
30°C
Warmest sea
June
6km
To the mainland
When to go to Penang Island
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in June (30 °C) and coolest in January (29 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island on west coast of Penang, Malaysia
Penang Island is an island in Malaysia. It belongs to Malay Archipelago. It covers 302 km², with 109 km of coastline. Its highest point, Penang Hill, rises to 833 m. About 1,740,400 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 6 km away.
Getting there
- Penang International Airport (PEN)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at PEN airport (Penang)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesPenang to Langkawi (Currently Unavailable), Penang Ferry (Butterworth to George Town), National Park Boat Service, Penang Ferry (George Town to Butterworth)
- 6 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Penang Island.
- 34beachesCat Beach, Teluk Bahang, Kerachut Beach and 31 more
- 61viewpointsAnjung Indah, Bukit Genting Viewpoint, Menara Pandang and 58 more
- 3lighthousesFort Cornwallis Lighthouse, Muka Head Lighthouse
- 8ferry terminalsMonkey Beach, Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal, Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal and 5 more
- 78named peaksWestern Hill, Eagle Point, Tiger Hill and 75 more
- 16waterfallsPenang Waterfall (Lower section), Big Lake Waterfall, Batu Ferringhi Waterfalls and 13 more
- 2castles and fortsSouthwestern District Officer Bungalow, Fort Cornwallis
- 5ruins and archaeological sitesRelau Villa, Archaeological Site A, Archaeological Site B and 2 more
- 2dive centresPADI Diving Centre, House Of Diving
- 4waymarked walking routesRabbit Trail, Heritage Trail, Taman Negara Trials and 1 more
- 11campsitesKerchut Beach, Kampi Bay, Lazy Boys and 8 more
- 313hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 1,399restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Penang Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Penang Island, each with its own numbers.
18beaches and covesCoastya
32mountainsPeakyas
Highest point
735m
Penang Hill
prominence 735 m · according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
30.5°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
18 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Pasir Elok30.5°C
- Pantai Mas30.5°C
- Pantai Kerachut30.5°C
- Pasir Ikan Mati30.4°C
- Pasir Buaya30.5°C
- Pasir Panjang30.5°C
- Pasir Pandak30.5°C
- Pasir Bulan30.5°C
10 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
32 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Penang Hillprominence 735 m735m
- Government Hill594m
- Batu Itam483m
- Pondok Upih
- Bukit Pintu Tujuh
- Bukit Kelompang
- Bukit Ka Choo
- Bukit Gedung
24 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 148 m above the sea. 71 % of it is below 200 m.
- 48 %0–50 m
- 22 %50–200 m
- 22 %200–500 m
- 7 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Paya Terubong226,712 people
- George Town158,336 people
- Kampung Sungai Glugur145,600 people
- Kampung Sungai Ara140,849 people
- Bayan Lepas130,455 people
- Jelutong63,507 people
- Balik Pulau23,559 people
- Kampung Teluk Kumbar21,481 people
- Batu Feringgi20,000 people
- Relau18,755 people
- Glugor18,662 people
- Bukit Gemuroh17,379 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 93 | 62 | 146 | 200 | 242 | 176 | 203 | 218 | 263 | 303 | 271 | 177 |
| Wet days | 13 | 12 | 18 | 26 | 28 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 22 |
| Sun h/day | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.9 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.4 | −0.5 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 |
| 2023 | −0.2 | +0.2 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.4 |
| 2024 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.7 |
| 2025 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Thailand
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1150673) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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