Driving to Melaka/Penang/KL over Chinese New Year

[screns]

Moved here a few months ago and have left it too late to book any reasonably priced flights for Chinese New Year. So wondered if driving to Melaka, Penang, Cameron Highlands, KL and back to Singapore in one week is feasible during Chinese New Year. Or is this a ludicrous idea? Travelling with husband and two children will rent a small car. I have read that the roads are good and the distances on a map don't look too bad, but if anyone has ridden all or part of these routes and has a better sense of whether we are biting off more than we can chew, would welcome any advice. Thanks.

[zzm9980]

I don't know what kind of impact Chinese NY would have (I suspect not much), but it should be fine. You can reach Penang (the farthest destination) in a day.

[the lynx]

Moved here a few months ago and have left it too late to book any reasonably priced flights for Chinese New Year. So wondered if driving to Melaka, Penang, Cameron Highlands, KL and back to Singapore in one week is feasible during Chinese New Year. Or is this a ludicrous idea? Travelling with husband and two children will rent a small car. I have read that the roads are good and the distances on a map don't look too bad, but if anyone has ridden all or part of these routes and has a better sense of whether we are biting off more than we can chew, would welcome any advice. Thanks.

If you drive on the eve or the weekends before the CNY, the jam will be horrible! A 9-hour drive from Singapore to Penang will become a 14-hour drive, no thanks to the exodus.

Same thing goes on your way down, for next few days following CNY, the jam is still bad but more spread out between the days as the people tend to take leaves and return later. Just avoid the following Friday evening or weekends.

For more info, check Malaysia Transport Authority (JPJ) website for advised travelling times for CNY for certain highways.

[Darren 0]

Driving around Malaysia during the holiday sounds very interesting to us, but is the Chinese New Year holiday a good time to go? I heard from a friend that during the Chinese New Year, there would be bad traffic jams and many shops & eateries there would be closed.