How To Get To Ipoh From Penang – All Possible Options
If it’s your first time to any of these cities, this is how you can travel between them. We’ll talk about both private and public transportation methods.
And which are the best methods to stick to a low budget, or a tight schedule.
Ready to get started?
1. Self-Driving
For many Malaysians, this is probably the first choice.
Most Malaysian households own at least one car. And having a car allows you to travel at your own pace, with privacy.
Plus, you get to bring along everything from your pillow, a wheelchair, to extra baggage.
The disadvantages of driving your own car though, is having to pay for petrol and toll fares. And especially in Penang and Ipoh Old Town, finding parking at peak times can be a stressful experience.
If it’s the onset of a long weekend (And Malaysia has many public holidays as well as a few school holidays), you could be stuck in traffic too.
This is why it’s always a good idea to consult a navigation app like Google Apps or Waze before beginning your journey. This way, you can also avoid any potential accidents that are causing a jam.
- Cost: <RM80 (Toll costs are around RM25, petrol can cost RM50 for a regular sedan type car)
- Duration: Under or close to 2 hours with light traffic
2. Taking The Train
Ipoh and Penang (at least the mainland) are connected by the ETS train. Assuming you’re starting your journey from George Town in Penang, you’ll need to first get over to the mainland where the ETS Butterworth station is.
The most convenient way to do this is to take an e-hailing service.
From the ETS Butterworth station, you can board the ETS train to Ipoh. The train stops at the Ipoh railway station – which is a heritage landmark in Ipoh Old Town.
There are usually 5 to 6 departures for the train service from Penang to Ipoh throughout the day. And tickets cost between RM33 to RM43 per person, one way.
Because the train journey is not affected by holiday traffic, we recommend taking the train over the bus if you don’t have your own car and want to rely on public transport to get to Ipoh.
Just be sure to book your train tickets online as early as possible as they can sell out on popular dates.
- Cost: RM33 to RM43 per person, one way
- Duration: ~1 hour, 40 minutes
3. Taking The Bus
Buses are the cheapest way to get from Penang to Ipoh. And you won’t need to stop at Butterworth as with the train.
The price ranges from RM20 to RM30 per person one way.
But you do have to get yourself to the bus station. There are several stations but for tourists based in George Town, the most convenient one would likely be KOMTAR bus terminal.
There are many bus operators operating daily from early morning until midnight. And these all terminate at Terminal Meru Raya or Ipoh Amanjaya Bus Station.
You should note that the Ipoh Amanjaya Bus Station is a 20-minute drive from Ipoh Old Town.
- Cost: RM20 to RM30 per person one way
- Duration: Under 2 hours, 10 minutes with little to no traffic
4. Private Transport Service
If you want the benefit of direct, comfortable, and private transport straight from your hotel in Penang to your next hotel in Ipoh:
Explore Ipoh offers private transport service that you can hire for the day. This includes transport in and around Ipoh on the same day by experienced drivers/ guides.
Hours are between 10am to 6pm if pick up is from Penang.
Group sizes can vary – we have different-sized vehicles including vans.
- Cost: Starting from RM500 one way (depending on your group size)
- Duration: ~2 hours with little to no traffic
Conclusion
With flights out of the question, that leaves you public transport like the train or bus if you plan to get to Ipoh from Penang.
If you have your own car, you have the freedom to go whenever and wherever you please.
But if you don’t want to take public transport yet want the same benefits of self-driving (without the frustrations of finding parking), then we can help with our private tour and transport service.
