Penang Hop on hop off bus

[judithann423]

Has anyone had any experience with the Penang HOHO bus.

 

In theory it looks good, not sure of the cost, but the couple of reviews that I have read are not very impressive. It appears that in lieu of every 20 minutes you can be kept waiting for one hour plus and then not be able get on as it is full.

 

I believe that it is also used as a local bus service (cheaper fare) and this is leading to it's overcrowding.

 

Would appreciate any feedback.

 

Thanks

Judy

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The taxis are very very cheap in Penang. The drivers will be scrambling over one another for your business. You can do a deal and get a car and a driver to take you wherever you want........just make sure you agree to a fixed time and a fixed price before you set out .

Our driver took us to the major sites , and then a surprise visit to one of the luxury resorts where he knew someone , and we got a guided tour of that as well.

 

 

[3littlepigs]

We walked. It's flat and fairly easy to navigate. We weren't interested in going out to the beaches just the main sights around town so grabbed a map from the tourist office near the port and wandered around, had a lovely day exploring.

 

When you get off the ship there is a traffic jam of taxis and touts wanting to take you for the day. If you choose to go that way be armed with info on what you should be paying.

[wagtail_syd]

Agree with the previous posts. I've been on holidays to Penang (not as part of a cruise). The old town is really interesting and easily walkable. There is lots to see and the hawkers market food is delicious.

For further afield, taxis are cheap to hire for the day or a set journey. The water around Penang is quite polluted so the beaches I saw were not that nice. We stayed at the Park Royal in Batu Ferringi and it accepted day trippers for a fee and has a lovely pool and reasonably priced (for a resort) bar snacks. It is quite a way from Penang though. Maybe 30 minute taxi ride.

We also tried the local bus and it was slow, unreliable (sometimes a long wait between buses) and very crowded. Would not recommend it if you are only there for the day.

[dizzy1948]

We jumped on tri-shaws (think that's what they are called) just out of the port - (cheaper there) got peddled around for about an hour - towards the town, good guides - very informative - gave us loads of history, took us into some crummy streets - but interesting - plenty of history there. Then bailed out near a shopping centre (can't remember the name).....well it was four years ago :o we wandered around there and then jumped a taxi back to the ship. There seemed to be more people hanging off the buses than trying to get on - so we gave that a swerve. Not much help I suppose, I did have lots of info on my computer - but it misbehaved over 12 months ago - and dumped everything !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: