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The best time to visit Kuching is during the dry season from March to October. July-August is the peak tourist season. If you intend to travel in the peak season months it is essential to book in advance. 

The tropical days are hot and humid and we recommend light, comfortable cotton shirts. Casual wear is acceptable for most occasions in the city; on trips to the interior, shorts and T-shirts may be more appropriate. For most trips, bring swimming costumes, as there are chances to slake off the tropical heat with a swim in a river or dip at a waterfall. Please remember, however, to respect local modesty. Light rain wear is a must as invariably there will be encounters with rain.

In addition to personal toiletries bring insect repellent. A basic first aid kit should include band aids, mild antiseptic cream for insect bites or light scratches, cotton swabs, tissues, bandages and painkillers. You can buy most medicines in local pharmacies. Prices are often cheaper than in Western countries.

The Malaysian currency is called the Ringgit (RM or MYR). 1 Ringgit = 100 sen. Notes are available in denominations of RM 1 (blue), RM 5 (green), RM 10 (red), RM 20 (orange), RM 50 (green-blue) and RM 100 (purple). There are 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and 50 sen coins.

Malaysian banks are linked to networks such as PLUS, Maestro and Cirrus so you can withdraw cash at local ATMs. ATMs are readily available in towns and cities.

Yes, Visa and MasterCard credit cards are widely accepted. American Express is less widely accepted. Retail outlets often have a RM 50 minimum charge for paying with a credit card. Some outlets levy a 2-3% fee for using a credit card.

Kuching is generally a safe city. Muggings and attacks on tourists are so rare that it makes the headlines if it happens. Kota Kinabalu requires some extra precautions in some areas but is also generally quite safe. In both cases it is best to apply the standard principle of leaving your valuables in the hotel safe and not carry more cash than you really need.

For Singapore and China passport holders, it’s visa free to Malaysia for 30 days.

Tourists from most countries are not required to obtain a visa and receive an immigration stamp upon arrival at the airport or other entry point. In general, tourists from Western countries are allowed in without a visa for a stay of 1-3 months. Validity on passports must be 6 months or more. For a full list of the nationalities that have visa-free entry and the length of stay allowed, please refer to the Malaysia immigration website at www.imi.gov.my. The immigration website does not have a user-friendly navigational structure so it is not easy to find the visa information pages. The site also constantly changes so there is not point in us listing a specific URL as it changes. So, go to home Page, switch language to English, then go to the Visa page and click ‘Visa Requirement By Country’.

The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website at www.kln.gov.my also has a link to the immigration site’s visa pages. Go to the home page, see the ‘Quick Info’ section on the middle of the page and click the Visa Information Tab. Alternatively Google ‘Visa Requirement By Country Malaysia Immigration’ and that should take you to the right page on the immigration web site.