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Travel and Tourism in Malaysia
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Malaysia.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
- Time Difference
- UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- ringgit (MYR)
- Climate
- The weather in Kuala Lumpur varies little throughout the year. Daily minimum and maximum temperatures remain fairly constant averaging 27°C (80°F) and 38°C (100°F). With the heat, there is high humidity as the average annual rainfall is 250 centimeters. Although Kuala Lumpur is not subject to typhoons or cyclones, brief rainy seasons occur each year and bring scattered flooding. About 1-2 months of relatively dry weather usually precede the rainy seasons, although afternoon and evening thundershowers occur regularly throughout the year. The east coast and East Malaysia experience longer rainy seasons, and more widespread flooding as a result.
- Ethnic Groups
- Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10%
- National Holiday
- Independence Day (or Merdeka Day), 31 August (1957) (independence of Malaya); Malaysia Day, 16 September (1963) (formation of Malaysia)
- Geographic Coordinates
- 2 30 N, 112 30 E
- Location
- Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
- Airports
- 117
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
Kuala Lumpur: The City in Depth
Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it is universally known, is one of the great capitals of Asia, a city that has transformed itself from a tin mining settlement established at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers in the 1850s into a sophisticated metropolitan area of over seven million people in its greater conurbation. The name means Muddy Confluence in Malay, a reminder of the city's humble origins as a trading post at the junction of two rivers in the middle of the jungle. Today it is a city of gleaming towers, sprawling shopping malls, extraordinary street food, and a cultural richness that reflects its Chinese, Malay, Indian, and global communities.
The defining landmark of Kuala Lumpur, and arguably of Malaysia itself, is the Petronas Twin Towers. Completed in 1998 and standing 452 meters tall, they were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004, and they remain the tallest twin towers ever built.
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Medical facilities and services are adequate in the larger cities, where you can find Western-trained doctors. The U.S. Embassy can provide a list of English-speaking doctors and hospitals upon request. Psychological and psychiatric medical and counseling services are limited. Serious medical problems requiring hospitalization and/or medical evacuation to the United States can cost thousands of dollars or more.