Malaysia is the most-visited country in Southeast Asia. Let that sink in for a moment because chances are, you’re a little surprised. And yet some 42.2-million visitor arrivals were recorded in 2025, comfortably beating second placed Thailand’s 32.9-million.

Speak to most New Zealanders and Malaysia still curiously seems to fly under the radar. This despite its stunning jungles and beaches, tropical climate, fabled cuisine, fascinating history and cultural mix, friendly people, jaw-dropping architecture, world-beating shopping, how modern and safe it is, and the fact that in Malaysia you’ll find some of the best and most affordable hotels in all of Asia.

Which is where I come in. I’m on a lifelong mission to spread the word about Malaysia having spent almost eight years of my childhood there in the 80s. And while I’ve been back many times as an adult, last year was the first chance to show our children – now aged six and two – where their father grew up. But not only that, the timing was also right for my wife and I to bring her parents along given they’d heard my ravings about Malaysia for years and decided the rare opportunity of a three-generational holiday in the tropics was too good to pass up.

So off we went – children, parents and grandparents in tow – on an epic three week holiday across Peninsula Malaysia. The aim wasn’t just to have a brilliant family vacation, but to use my writing and photography to showcase to New Zealanders why Malaysia is such a rewarding destination. Partnering with Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines, here’s where we went and how we got there:

Malaysia Airlines A330neo:

In 2025, Malaysia Airlines launched their brand new A330neo planes with plans now in place to have as many as 40 of the aircraft in operation in the coming years. With six of us in our travelling party, the four adults took it in turns to occupy our two-year-old boy Austin during the 11-hour flight up to Kuala Lumpur and – thanks to a generous tailwind – the 9.5-hour flight home to Auckland.

With six-year-old Riley engrossed in TV shows and computer games on the 13.3-inch, 4K Ultra HD seat-back entertainment, Austin was initially focused on running up the aisles and introducing himself to as many fellow travellers as possible. Apologies if that was you! Luckily he’s so charming. And also quite luckily, on both legs of the journey he eventually wore himself out and slept surprisingly well.

It was a terrific experience being on a plane straight off the Airbus assembly line where everything looks new, smells new and has a modern, clean-lined feel. There are some cool features too with the Malaysia Airlines’ slim seat design and 2-4-2 configuration such that the legroom in economy class is surprisingly spacious. For a start, there’s no dreaded middle seat! The economy class seats have 32-inches of pitch, and for a modest fee, you can upgrade to the first three rows in economy for additional legroom thanks to a 34-inch pitch. Either way, you’ll notice your knees are less achy than usual for a long haul flight.

Speaking of which, you might also find yourself arriving in your destination less groggy than expected due to programmed-LED mood-lighting cycles to match with Malaysia time, reduced cabin pressure, and cabin air that’s completely refreshed every two-three minutes. The onboard HEPA filters (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) reportedly remove 99.9% of microscopic viruses, particles and bacteria, meaning the traditional post-long-haul cold could hopefully one day become a thing of the past.

The A330neo’s are also reportedly as much as 25% more fuel efficient than older models, making it a smart environmental as well as business decision for Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines “Time For…” Campaign:

As well as new aircraft, something else Malaysia Airlines launched in 2025 was a campaign with the tagline “Time For…” followed by specific marketing for some of the key routes the carrier flies to. With Kuala Lumpur one of the world’s most important air-transportation hubs – and now even more-so with increased uncertainty in the Middle East – KL is a perfect stop enroute to places as far away as London and Paris, as well as closer destinations like Chiang Mai and Phuket (Thailand), Da Nang (Vietnam), Tokyo, the Maldives and Trivandrum (Kerala, India). And of course, other Malaysia must-visits like Langkawi, Penang and Kota Kinabalu are also ideal “add one” stops where you can extend your holiday.

The “Time For… Trivandrum” advertisements caught my eye in particular given Kerala is a part of India I’ve been lucky to explore both in 2014 and again in 2017. Think swaying coconut palms, languid backwaters, good beaches, delicious cuisine, lush rainforests, ayurvedic retreats, old palaces and one of the highest standards of living and literacy in India. Add to that some of Asia’s oldest churches alongside striking temples and mosques and it’s easy to see why so many people regard Kerala as the ideal introduction to India, especially for first time visitors who may feel a fraction intimidated. Trivandrum itself is great, but it’s the historic coastal city of Kochi with its multi-strand Dutch, British, Portugese, Arab, Jewish and Chinese heritage where I really felt myself fall deeply for this part of India.

As for New Zealand’s ties to India, we have a substantial Indian population with as many as 400,000 ethnic Indians now living here, making the Auckland-KL-Trivandrum route an important connection for families as well as holidaymakers.

But not differentiating between the two is part of the point: even if your primary reason for flying with Malaysia Airlines is to get from A to C with B an unavoidable transit, why not see what B has to offer along the way? Indians living in New Zealand will see that Malaysia Airlines is a great way to reconnect with relatives back in Kerala and beyond, while also opening eyes to what a combined holiday in southern India AND Malaysia might look like.

Which practically speaking means you might fly from Auckland to KL and spend three to four nights in the Malaysian capital, then head on to Trivandrum in India for a week or two, before returning to Auckland via Malaysia where this time you might choose a few days in Penang or Langkawi instead.

And as someone who lives to travel, having these kinds of options has so much more appeal than merely transiting for a few hours – especially when that transit country is one with as much going for it as Malaysia.

Our Peninsula Malaysia Itinerary:

India, Vietnam, Japan, the Maldives and other Malaysia Airlines destinations will have to wait because for this holiday, it was all about Malaysia. And while 19 nights might sound like a lot, with small children and grandparents, we didn’t want to rush. Which meant the tough call not include Malaysian Borneo, nor other places I also adore like Melaka, Terengganu and Langkawi. But knowing me we will definitely be back and before too long! Here’s where we went with links to my articles:

Kuala Lumpur – 3 Nights – Renaissance Hotel:

There is so much to do in Malaysia’s capital that we decided to break it up into two, three night stints. The Renaissance is as good a large, luxury, urban, family-friendly hotel as you could ever wish to find. The gigantic swimming pool comes with multiple slides, there’s an enormous dry play area complete with a Jack & The Beanstalk climbing pole, and there are even space, safari and jungle-themed family suites. Too much fun.

As for that East-meets-West breakfast buffet, it was so outrageous I would go to bed looking forward to waking up early. Location-wise you are just 10-minutes on foot from the Petronas Towers, and right near the green lung of Bukit Nanas.

WATCH:

Tioman Island – 4 Nights – Aman Tioman Beach Resort:

Six visits across 17 years is evidence enough of how much Tioman Island has gotten under my skin. Slightly larger than Auckland’s Waiheke Island but almost entirely covered in untouched jungle, Tioman is a nature-lover’s paradise – including for its internationally-renowned diving and snorkelling. Just 2000 people live on the island and it is very laidback. Accommodation is mostly in the budget category that caters to divers and backpackers, but there are a handful of 3 and 4-star options, as well as a couple of outstanding 5-star eco-retreats. We stayed at the Aman Tioman Beach Resort in Paya village which is a good midrange choice. Special mention of the staff who were fantastic with our kids throughout, especially on the snorkelling trip.

Note: to get to Tioman you have to drive five-six hours from Kuala Lumpur to the eastern port town of Mersing, and then catch a 90-minute ferry. It’s worth the effort.

WATCH:

Kuala Lumpur – 3 Nights – Majestic Hotel:

To sum up the Majestic in one sentence, in my mind it should always, always be mentioned in the same conversations as Singapore’s Raffles – it’s that immersive and that impressive. Perhaps – given the Sarkies Brothers operated both Raffles and Penang’s equally grand Eastern & Oriental – the comparison is best made between Singapore and Penang than Singapore and KL, but in all fairness, all three hotels form a geographic triumvirate line of some of the greatest colonial-era hotels in Asia. This is the hotel my wife and I spent the first part of our honeymoon in 2017, and it’s not hyperbole to say the Majestic is one of my favourite historic hotels anywhere in the world.

While the Majestic wasn’t part of my NZ Herald coverage on this trip, I have written about it in the past. It’s location on the edge of the CBD right next to the National Museum and the Perdana Botanic Gardens make a nice change of pace from the more frenetic hotspots like Bukit Bintang.

Ipoh – 4 nights – Tui Blue The Haven:

I’d never been to Ipoh – not as a child nor as an adult – and it was already high up on my list given everything I’d heard about the city’s history, temples, street art and food. But then we saw some photos of this incredible resort in the jungle on the outskirts of Ipoh and my wife and I went from being hopeful we could squeeze it in to making it a non-negotiable. We weren’t disappointed.

Tui Blue The Haven is an apartment-hotel resort complex overlooking jagged forest-covered limestone peaks. Next to a central lake is one of the largest, most extraordinary hotels pools I’ve ever swum in, shaped like a seahorse. We were 21 storeys up and the view from our balcony was – forgive the cliche – breathtaking.

Another important point about Tui Blue The Haven is that Ipoh has long been regarded as one of the key foodie destinations in Southeast Asia which might make you think twice about staying at a hotel a 15-minute drive from the central city. That is, until you realise that The Haven’s in-house restaurant is ranked Tripadvisor’s #1 restaurant in the entire state of Perak out of over 500. And you when you’re floating on a pontoon in the centre of that lake eating chicken rice with the jungle all around, you’ll see why.

Penang – 5 nights – Shangri-La Golden Sands:

Since opening on Batu Ferringhi Beach in 1980, the Shangri-La Golden Sands has remained one of Malaysia’s definitive family beach resorts. This is one of those hotels where you know the instant you walk into that open-air lobby that you’re going to have a great time. There’s something about the feel of the Golden Sands; that semi-circular design, the sun-loungers and immaculate gardens – it’s luxury but it’s also unpretentious.

We were lucky enough to have a two-bedroom suite with balcony and we never got tired of that view over the resort and towards the sea. The perfect place to spend our daughter Riley’s 6th birthday, this was also the hotel that I snuck into as a kid back in the 80s – a story I told in a Herald article that reportedly became The New Zealand Herald’s most-read travel article of 2025.

As my wife often says, “I want to go back to Malaysia and stay at least two weeks just at the Golden Sands!”

Visit Malaysia Year 2026:

This year is officially “Visit Malaysia Year” and if anything, instability in the Middle East may encourage more people to choose Southeast Asia as a holiday destination. But irrespective of whatever else is going on in the rest of the world, Malaysia is safe and modern but also exotic enough that you can really feel like you’re having an adventure.

Tourism Malaysia’s longterm tagline has been “Malaysia truly Asia”, and it’s true. The fusion of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures give Malaysia the feel of everywhere from Mumbai to Shanghai to the quiet Malay “kampungs” that are unique to the country. There are beaches the equal of Thailand, skyscrapers to rival Hong Kong, tea plantations akin to Sri Lanka and jungles as vibrant and vital to Planet Earth as Indonesia.

Convinced yet!? I’m hoping so. Huge thanks to the teams at both Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines for collaborating on this trip. Until next time,

Terima kasih banyak-banyak,

Tim Roxborogh