Monkey Beach is named after the macaques that hunt for crabs along the beach. It’s a small beach in Penang National Park and it can only be accessed by a hiking trail. Or by boat.
While there’s not a whole lot to do here, you’ll most likely have the beach to yourself except for school holidays. As you will see in this post!
Read more about how you can get here and what to expect.
How To Get To The National Park
Monkey Beach is in Penang National Park.
You’ll need at least 40 minutes (or 1.5 hours for the bus) to get to the entrance of Penang National Park in Teluk Bahang from George Town.
We drove here (there’s a big open-air car park close to the entrance of the park). But if you don’t have your own car, there are a few ways to get here from the city.
- By car – simply park next to the entrance in a guarded open-air lot for only RM4 or RM5.
- Local bus service, Rapid Penang 101 and 102 have routes from Weld Quay Jetty Bus Terminal or KOMTAR to the entrance to Penang National Park in Teluk Bahang. It costs just under RM3!
Entry fees for the national park (including Monkey beach) is RM10 for locals, and RM50 for foreigners
Before entering the park, you must also register with your intended destination and activities.
How To Get To The Beach
Whether you’re taking a boat to Monkey Beach or back or both, a boat trip saves considerable time compared to hiking there, so you can spend more time exploring other beaches in the national park.
That being said, hiking does allow you to appreciate the local topography and rainforest a little better, plus the chance of spotting some native animals!
Get the best of both worlds by hiking in and taking a boat back! Or vice versa!
During our visit, the hiking trail through the park was closed and so, we opted for the boat.
Boat Fares
You shouldn’t have any trouble finding a boat at either Teluk Bahang or Monkey Beach! As we said before, the boatmen are all too eager to sell their services.
We got our boat service at the main dock beside the entrance to the national park. The last boat leaves at 6pm.
At the dock, there are limited facilities (toilet and surau) and these are in poor condition. There is a place to wash your feet once you come back to the jetty though and we appreciate this.
It cost us RM100 (for Malaysians) for 2 pax to take a return trip to Monkey Beach via boat. The boats can take a maximum of 12 pax.
Tip: If you want to save on this cost, see if you can find other visitors at the carpark to split the cost with before you approach the boatmen. Act like you’re from the same group.
We recommend arranging for your return boat transfer ahead as there is poor phone signal reception (Celcom works better than Digi) once you are in the national park.
The boat trip was with a speedboat and thus, very bumpy despite calm waters.
Boat Duration: 10 minutes
Our Visit To This Beach
We came to this beach with the intention to check it out. And climb up to Muka Lighthouse. It was that time of the month, so swimming was not in our plans.
The bay is pretty and while the beach is just a small stretch, the sand is soft and whiter than the mainland beaches. It was also less crowded. We only saw two families on the beach.
There is some plastic litter in the sand and floating around the water. And we didn’t see any changing facilities or toilets. But there are some rope swings and hammocks at one end of the beach.
Swimming is purely at your own risk as there are no lifeguards or first aid on the beach. Besides this, there can be jellyfish lurking close to the shore, and the water is murky even in the shallows which makes them hard to spot. There may be strong undercurrents further out as well.
Despite this, we still saw many people hitting the water. The sand in the shallows is soft in places.
On weekends, it is possible to rent water sports equipment and even quad bikes if you want! We didn’t see any when we were here though.
But there were boats frequently coming and going to drop off and pick up passengers too.
After we had a good look around (including a quick splash in the shallows, we took the trail to Muka Head Lighthouse, Malaysia’s second-oldest lighthouse!
Muka Head Lighthouse
The start of the trail to the lighthouse is at the left end of the beach (if you’re facing the sea). There is a signboard in front of the trail along with a man-made path.
We have considerably low fitness, and this hike took us about 45 minutes (one way) to finish. Multiple breaks were necessary on the way up.
There are railings closer to the top, but they are quite rusty. We don’t recommend this hike for elders or young kids.
Once at the top, we found that there was a simple building attached to the lighthouse. We could not access the main or smaller back buildings of the lighthouse, but there the door to the lighthouse was not locked.
Note: The toilet by the main building is dirty and not usable.
We climbed up the spiral staircase up to the tower for some views at the top of the lighthouse. It’s quite claustrophobic in the stairwell despite the windows. There was an exposed electrical wire somewhere at the top too. As well as basic cleaning equipment but no staff in sight.
At the top of the lighthouse, there is space to take a few steps. But it is not a 360-degree view because the surrounding shrubbery is overgrown.
Thankfully, coming down was a lot quicker (~30 minutes).
Café Or Bars
After our climb up to Muka Head Lighthouse, we were looking forward to chilling on the beach with a cold drink!
Being the most touristy beach at Penang National Park has its perks, such as the variety of food and drink vendors on offer! It is even possible to get a beer from one of the vendors along the beach.
- Tiger Monkey Bar & Leisure -This is where you can get a beer or mojito. If you’re hungry, they have fried noodles too.
- Jungle Café – Another simple beachfront food and drinks stall just next to Lazy Boys Café, they offer a variety of drinks
- Mermaid Beach Café – They sell food as well as drinks. Their food menu includes local favorites like nasi goreng (fried rice), laksa and bihun soup among others. As for drinks, they don’t carry alcohol but have chilled canned drinks as well as fresh coconut (costs ~RM10 for a coconut).
We opted for a chilled can of 100 Plus. And we ended up getting a fresh coconut to share as well.
Beware if you come here in the middle of the week, the stalls may be closed.
What We Think Of This Beach
If you only intend to spend an hour here, you might want to rethink your plans because the high price of the boat trip alone is not worth it.
The beach is sadly not as well maintained as it should be too. Manmade trash can be seen and it has encouraged the local monkeys to become a nuisance (please don’t feed them). Moreover, the beach doesn’t have any changing facilities or toilets.
But if you have a spare day and would like to see a prettier beach than the ones along the coast of the main island, then Monkey Beach is still a neat spot to chill for a few hours.
If you do plan to go, we think it’s a good idea to bring along a towel, water, snacks, and some change, as you might find yourself staying there for longer!
Keep a close eye on your belongings as monkeys will always take advantage of a bag that is left alone. Especially if there are things that are made of plastic (e.g., bottles, containers, bags, etc).
Note: Sunscreen and mosquito repellent is recommended; do also refrain from feeding or touching any of the animals!
Conclusion
Monkey Beach is reason enough to make a trip to Penang National Park if you like being outdoors!
Hike through the scenic jungle trail and chill by the quaint beach afterward, or simply take a boat there to just enjoy the surf and sand!
Things To Do In Penang
Monkey Beach is not a must-see location. Unless you want more nature-related things to do in Penang. Places like the Penang Youth Park and Penang Hill are better options in our opinion.
Local Transport In Penang
E-hailing service is the most convenient way to get around Penang in our opinion. But you should plan your return trips ahead. Because places like Penang Hill, Kek Lok Si or the Penang National Park are further away from the main city.
