How to go → HO CHI MINH to PENANG? ☀️

1. Flights to Penang
2. By Land to Penang
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From Ho Chi Minh City to Penang you can travel by plane, bus, train.

• • From Ho Chi Minh City in Southern Vietnam to Penang in Malaysia, you can travel in various ways and travel routes. The most convenient and fastest option is clearly a direct air connection, and another option is a land transfer by bus and train via Cambodia and Thailand. However, you can also combine different modes of transport, e.g. travel several times by bus or train or even private transfers, there are many options. Direct flights are offered by Air Asia, and land transfers via Cambodia and Thailand are offered by various transport companies and/or Thai and Malaysian trains. If you decide to travel overland, expect a trip that can take up to 2 days.
  • However, you will have the opportunity to visit other places in Cambodia and Thailand, which you will not have in the case of an air connection. The ground transfer from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang has 4 main routes and they are: Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh by bus, Phnom Penh to Bangkok by bus, Bangkok to Hat Yai by train and Hat Yai to Penang by bus/minivan or by train. There are several combinations and you will mainly use buses and trains. Hat Yai is a larger city in the south of Thailand, not far from the border with Malaysia. The fastest ground transfer option therefore has a total of 4 steps. There is no direct rail connection, so you have to combine this option with bus connections. For all travel routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang, you can search and buy tickets online.

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• • Penang is the oldest settlement inhabited by British immigrants in Malaysia. He is even older than Singapore and Melaka. The capital city – Gerogetown – is often called simply „Penang“. It is definitely one of the most famous cities in Malaysia. Georgetown is a true Chinese city full of colors with lots of shops, markets and monuments. The town is located on the island, but it is very easy to get there by ferry or local bus/taxi from Butterworth or Penang Airport.
  • From Penang you can also travel to Langkawi by ferry/boat or plane, there are direct flights. You can also travel to Kuala Lumpur by bus, train, car or plane. There is also an international airport in Penang and there are local buses or taxis from the airport to Georgetown. Read the instructions how to reach Penang in Malaysia from Saigon in Vietnam below. You can also search and book tickets and flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang online.

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How do I get from Saigon to Penang?

1. FLIGHTS from Ho Chi Minh to Penang

If you use a direct flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang in Malaysia, the advantage will be convenience and saving your time. There may also be flights with a transfer in another large city or country in Southeast Asia. The disadvantage is the very limited schedule of these direct flights, but sometimes the price can also be an advantage, because there are also relatively cheap low-cost flights on offer.

The cheapest direct flights by Air Asia can start as low as $70/pp, on average, flight prices to Penang from Ho Chi Minh City can range up to 200/pp. However, prices can also differ if you use e.g. connecting flights, so they can be higher depending on the flight class.

Direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Pennag will be offered by Air Asia, which offers relatively cheap flights to many other places in Southeast Asia. Most of their offered flights to Penang are Economy class. Flights are operated from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Saigon to Penang International Airport, and the direct flight time from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang is approximately 2 hours.

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So if you include the transfer to the airport and the wait before departure in Saigon, the total transfer time can be up to 5 hours, which is very decent and you will save a lot of hours compared to the land transfer via Cambodia and Thailand. Other airlines, such as Vietnam Airlines or Malaysia Airlines and Malindo Air, can also offer you flights with a transfer in, for example, Kuala Lumpur.

You can search and book flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang online in advance. Due to the limited flight schedule, it is advisable to search for these flights well in advance. Also, always read all terms and conditions and flight instructions when booking a flight and follow the airline’s instructions.

Penang Airport is located approximately 20 km from the city of Georgetown, which is the capital of this island, and you can use buses or other private transfers for transportation. A direct flight is the best option to transfer to Penang from Ho Chi Minh City, even in terms of lower prices of low-cost flights and saving time.

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2. BUS + TRAIN from Ho Chi Minh to Penang

If you want to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang by land, you can use a bus and minivan transfer combined with a train transfer. This transport option can be realized via Cambodia and Thailand, and the total travel time by land from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang can be about 2 days. However, this time may vary, depending on your stops or other places you decide to visit. The given time is therefore only the average travel time of buses and trains to Penang. This transport option can be realized by 4 travel routes: from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh by bus, from Phnom Penh to Bangkok again by bus, from Bangkok to Hat Yai preferably by train and from Hat Yai to Penang by minivan, minibus.

In the first step, various buses can be used from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh. It is a popular tourist route and is very busy, there are relatively many buses and everyone will definitely choose their suitable route. You can use companies such as Long Phuong Cambodia, Mekong Express, Giant Ibis, Duc Duong Bus, Vet Air Bus Express, Kumho Samco, Virak Buntham, Thero Express, Airbus or Techbus VN for this method of bus transport.

The bus transfer from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh will take you about 5.5-7 hours, this time may vary a little, depending on the traffic situation. Buses can depart from different stops in Saigon and arrive at different locations in Phnom Penh, you will see this information when booking tickets online. A bus transfer to Phnom Penh from Saigon will cost you between $21-40/pp, depending on the type of bus you choose. You can easily search and buy tickets to Phnom Penh online in advance.

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The second step is to travel by tourist sleeper or seater bus or minibus from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, which can take about 11-15 hours. The vast majority of these buses go through the Poipet – Aranyaprathet border crossing, which is the busiest border crossing between Cambodia and Thailand. On this route between Phnom Penh and Bangkok, you can use buses from Saly Express, Travel Mart, Airbus, Vibol Express, SRL Transport, Go Ho Travel, Virak Buntham, Thero Express, Capitol VIP, BookMeBus or Sarah Transport.

The offer includes either buses with seats or with sleeping beds, and minibuses only have seats, but relatively comfortable ones. Traveling by bus or minivan / minibus from Phnom Penh to Bangkok can cost between $26-44/pp and again, tickets are easy to find and buy online ahead of time. It is also possible to use the train connection from Aranyaprathet to Bangkok, so part of the route can also be taken by Thai train.

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The third step is then a train transfer from Bangkok to Hat Yai in the south of Thailand, which can take approximately 14-16 hours, depending on the type of train you use. There are classic Thai trains in operation with seats and sleeping beds, it is definitely advisable to choose a sleeping bed for this long route, for better comfort. These trains also stop in other cities before arriving in Hat Yai, so you can also use them to visit other interesting places in Thailand.

There are usually around 5-6 trains between Bangkok and Hat Yai every day and train tickets cost between $8-45/pp. Seats are always the cheapest option than sleepers, but the comfort really makes a difference. Trains depart from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal Station in Bangkok and arrive at Hat Yai Railway Station, see Thailand Railway Map. Once again, train tickets to Hat Yai can be easily purchased online as e-tickets, which do not need to be printed.

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The last step is a minivan/minibus transfer from Hat Yai to Penang via the border crossing. For this option, you can use various private companies such as BEH Travel, Ahlin Tour, New Asian Travel or KST Travel, which offer transfers between these places in comfortable and modern minivans for a limited number of passengers. A minivan transfer from Hat Yai to Penang takes about 4-4.5 hours and tickets cost between $15-20/pp.

The timetables of these minivans are relatively long and there are plenty of these services from Hat Yai to Penang every day. Minivans can depart from various locations or the locations specified by you and arrive in Penang such as Geogetown or Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal, Penang Komtar or other locations. You will see this information about Hat Yai departures and Penang arrivals when searching and booking tickets online. Again, you can easily buy tickets to Penang online.

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❓ FAQ – Travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Penang:

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