Eric Michelson Last updated: Travel Like a Boss with These 5 Amazing Malaysia Travel Apps
It was 1:30 a.m., and I was taking in the Malaysian nightlife near the PETRONAS Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
I needed to wake up early to catch a bus, so I decided I should get back to my hostel on the other side of the city for the night.
But then I realized I’d already stayed out too late. Kuala Lumpur’s public transportation system had stopped running for the night!
So instead of sleeping on the street, I opened my ridesharing app on my phone and found a nearby local driver who got me back to my hostel in a matter of minutes.
Downloading Malaysia travel apps changed my life for the better in the country. And they can change yours, too.
But before we dive into which travel apps to download for Malaysia, let’s look at the other steps you should take to prepare for your big trip.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
How to Prepare for a Trip to Malaysia
It’s important to be prepared for a trip to Malaysia so you can make the travel experience as seamless as can be.
Here are some things you should do:
- Research visas. You should check with your local embassy about whether or not you need to apply for a visa before you go to Malaysia. Sometimes you can enter without a visa, but other times you’ll need to go through a visa application process. It all depends on which passport you hold.
- Plan out a route. Malaysia is a big country that has two main sections—the Malaysian Peninsula and Malaysian Borneo—and many stunning, not-to-miss tropical islands. Plan out a smart route that will take you from point A to point B with as little hassle as possible while still managing to hit all the most important places.
- Buy travel insurance. Travel insurance is an essential piece of the travel puzzle to make sure that your overseas adventure is safe and protected. Find a cheap but effective travel insurance provider to cover your journey. There are a number of good options, my favorite being SafetyWing for high-quality, inexpensive travel insurance plans.
- Get the right tools. Traveling internationally is difficult if you don’t have the right tools at your disposal to make everything go smoothly and efficiently. Make sure you travel wisely with the best tools for the job. Get the best travel gear, the best resources and, most importantly, the best travel apps!
Travel Like a Boss with These 5 Amazing Malaysia Travel Apps
Grab
Grab is the ridesharing platform most commonly used in Southeast Asia.
A couple of years ago, they were competing with Uber. But in March 2018, Grab bought out its ridesharing competitor in Southeast Asia to maintain its dominance in the area.
Using Grab, you can book a car ride with a local driver instead of paying an exorbitant amount of money for a taxi. Unlike with a taxi, you pay a low, fixed rate based on distance. This almost always comes out to a cheaper price than if you took a cab.
Ridesharing is a great way to get around quickly and cheaply.
Simply sign up with Grab, input your payment information and start booking rides!
foodpanda
Foodpanda is a popular food delivery app in Malaysia.
If you ever get hungry, all you have to do is open up the app, plug in your address and see a laundry list of available food places nearby. Then select what you want and wait for the foodpanda delivery driver to come knocking on your door!
Foodpanda is a great way to get an abundance of food wherever you are.
Maybe you’re just getting back from an epic walk along the Skybridge at the PETRONAS Towers or you’re hanging out in Georgetown in Penang. Whatever it is, now you can taste some Malaysian delicacies without needing to disrupt your relaxing time.
This app is by and large the most convenient way to have food delivered in Malaysia.
WhatsApp is a messaging app. It’s by far the most popular way to communicate with people in Malaysia.
The app is a hyper secure way to send text, audio, video and picture messages with your smartphone. You can also send stickers and GIFs, as well as make audio and video calls directly in the app.
My favorite thing about WhatsApp is that it’s based off of data instead of cell service. That means you only need a Wi-Fi connection to make it work. And much of Malaysia has widely available Wi-Fi.
This helps you avoid costly data charges on your SIM card.
This is also a great way to connect with friends and family back home while you’re abroad. I have a WhatsApp group with my family that we use to send pictures and keep in touch from different countries.
So whether you’re texting your Grab driver or sending a picture of Menara Kuala Lumpur to your friends back home, WhatsApp is a necessity for communication.
Traveloka
Traveloka is a travel portal that’s based in Malaysia and Indonesia.
You can book flights, hotels and travel tours via the intuitive interface in the app.
Because the app is based in the area, you’ll often find better deals on Traveloka than with similar travel apps.
They often run promotions with local airlines, hotels and travel agents that give you the ability to scoop up some seriously good deals.
One trick for scoring even better deals is to create an account before you search. This “member” pricing is usually even lower than the normal prices most users see.
Waze
Waze is a popular mapping app that’s widely used in Malaysia.
It’s much more accurate than Google Maps and goes beyond the basic driving, walking, biking and public transit directions that Google offers.
Waze uses crowdsourced information to let you know about traffic jams, police checkpoints, accidents, construction and other potential hazards along your route.
Want to make navigation more fun? If you’re using the turn-by-turn navigation feature of Waze, you can change the standard voice to famous people like Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson.
Another pretty cool thing about Waze is that you can listen to music directly from the app while you travel!
A good mapping app is crucial for finding your way around a new place. And Waze is probably the best for Malaysia.
Visiting Malaysia is an insanely rewarding experience that should be on every traveler’s Southeast Asia itinerary.
But before you take the plunge into Malaysia’s crystal clear waters, make sure you download the best Malaysian travel apps to guarantee that everything goes smoothly with your trip.
Get ready to have the time of your life!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Eric Michelson is a nomadic, philosophizing, peace-minded pluralist. He hopes to help bridge the divide between the diverse factions of the world by exploring various perspectives brought on by personal experience. You can follow Perspective Earth to learn more about him and his work.
