Latest Attractions In Penang For Families

It has only been a year since we went back for Chinese New Year but there are a lot of new attractions for families in Penang now. Penang has remade itself for tourists. Besides the wonderful food, there are so many things to see and do. So many museums popping up like mushrooms all over the town. Besides that, there are some new attractions for families to visit too.

In this post, I will write about 3 of the latest attractions in Penang for families although we only managed to visit two because of time limitations. Got to visit those relatives too you know.

1. THE HABITAT @ PENANG HILL

We hadn't been to Penang Hill for some years so we decided to go just for fun. The rail is much faster now compared to the older one but not the queue. It was a peak period after all. I don't mind queueing but I do mind that they now have a fast track lane for those who are willing to pay 3 times the price. I thought that was a bad idea by management. It's discriminating between those who can afford and those who can't. It is allowing people to pay to jump queue. We had senior citizens in our queue and we watched as our queue got longer due to the fast track lane. It is okay for a fast track lane to be open for senior citizens or the disabled but not to others in my opinion.

Anyway, we went up and were pleasantly surprised to discover The Habitat. The Habitat is set on the fringes of a 130 million year old rainforest. Some of the eco-friendly attractions at The Habitat include a 1.6km nature trail, Giant Swings, Canopy Walks and The Tree Top Walk.

The nature walk was an easy stroll and there are many friendly park rangers along the way.

The Canopy Walks are not ready yet but we managed to experience The Tree Top Walk which was open specially for visitors during the Chinese New Year period (see the instagram posting by The Habitat embedded below). After that it will be closed for further works till they launch. You can catch amazing views and marvel at the trees that have been around since the English colonial days.

We enjoyed the giant swings. Four of us fitted into it nicely and it was nice and windy to swing in them. You can opt for guided tours by the friendly rangers or walk the nature trail free and easy. We had to miss the guided tours as we were in a hurry. My boy was disappointed because he loves nature and plants and wanted to learn all about the plants that he sees along the way.

To go up Penang Hill, we paid RM10 for adults and RM5 for students for a return train ticket. To enter The Habitat, we paid RM20 for adults and RM10 for kids plus RM10 each for The Tree Top Walk. Since we were in a rush, we also took a buggy back at RM15 for the 1 km plus way back after exiting The Habitat nature trail.

Remember to wear proper clothing and shoes. I had to tiptoe my way all around the tree tops on the grill like flooring of the tree top walk in high heels because our visit was an impromptu one before visiting relatives. The park rangers said they would consider loaning slippers or proper shoes to crazy ladies in heels in future. ;)

Below is the picture taken by us from the other side of the Tree Top Walk.



Below is the Instagram posting by The Habitat.

We are super excited to announce the reopening of Curtis Crest Tree Top Walk for this Chinese New Year (28th Jan. - 5th Feb.)! Purchase park entrance ticket & add-on RM10/- to enjoy 360 degree panoramic views of Penang Island including our 130million year old rainforest, Gunung Jerai & the mainland! May the Year of the Rooster 🐓 bring us all to new heights! - We are Open throughout the CNY & School Holidays 28th Jan. - 7th Feb. Operating Hours: 9.00am - 6.00pm (Last ticket sold 6.00pm. Exit closes 7.00pm).

A photo posted by The Habitat Penang Hill (@thehabitatph) on Jan 27, 2017 at 12:10am PST

2. THE TOP @ KOMTAR

With the addition of The Top, Komtar is no longer the same. It has been totally revamped. There are many family friendly attractions at The Top. Some of the attractions include DanceOki, Magic Mirror Maze, 7D Discovery Motion Theater, Tongkat Ali King, Jurassic Research Center, Musical Carousel, Ocean Explorer & Dragon Regatta (for children only).  MyKad holders can enjoy these attractions at RM98 (adults) and RM50 (children).

Alternatively, you can go up to the Observatory Deck and Rainbow Skywalk at THE TOP@Komtar, Penang (Levels 65 and 68) for RM88 (adults) or RM58 (kids). You can also dine there should you choose to do so.

Tickets are pricey (it may cost you up to a night's stay at a hotel if you go as a family of four with parents and two tall kids as they charge according to height for adults/kids) maybe that's why we had an enjoyable relaxing walk without having to wait long queues or squeeze with lots of people.

We skipped the theme park and went straight for the higher levels as we had mostly adults with us. My boy took the following panorama pics at the Observatory Deck and Rainbow Skywalk below. You can experience a glass floor walking experience at both. Other mini attractions include the luckiest chair in the world made of golden horse shoes, the double rainbow & pot of gold plus the upside down orchestra of dreams.

Credit for panorama pictures below: My boy trying to take panorama pictures for the first time.




You can walk around on level 68 and try out the Rainbow Skywalk as shown below. Before you go on the skywalk, you will be asked to don a plastic covering for your shoes.

Credit for picture below is from the The Top



While you are in Komtar and within walking distance away, don't forget to stop by this "attraction": The Penang Road Famous TeoChew Chendul stall.





3. ENTOPIA BY PENANG BUTTERFLY FARM 

Finally, there is the Entopia which is the newly revamped Butterfly Farm. We didn't have time for this and my son just visited it during the December holidays so we will save this for another time.

You can read more about this rebranding of the Butterfly Farm into the Entopia of today in this article:
The Man Who Gave Us The Butterfly Farm. That's our next stop for next year.