Penang Worldschoolers
A community of families embracing alternative education for our children
About us.
We are a community of families embracing alternative education for our children, whether through home education, world schooling or a range of alternative approaches. We are made up of a mix of families that live permanently in Penang and also a large amount of families travelling through for anything from a couple of weeks to several months.
Penang is a really appealing location for many reasons and we've found lots of families are drawn here. This community has built itself fairly organically through families seeking community and friends. We take a small role in facilitating meetups, welcoming new arrivals and general admin with the group.
We in particular are a home educating family from the UK with three children between 2 and 10 and have been away since 2022, first living in Hanoi before settling in Penang in 2024.
It's not a great amount of work and we enjoy doing it as we benefit so much from a thriving community. If you feel like you want to say thanks, you can always buy us a coffee at the link below,
Ness and Andy
Meetups.
We have three regular meetups throughout the week, as well as extra events that come up more organically.
Mondays
Indoor games/books meetup
Monday meetups are indoors at Let's Meat cafe in Permai. Kids play games, both electronic and board/card games, there's a free library with lots of English language books and there's a park opposite too. Despite the name there's also plenty of vegetarian options on the menu too.
Wednesdays
Outdoor meetup at Youth Park
Wednesday meetups are outdoors at Youth Park. We meet in the cafe or playground (they're next to each other so pretty handy to find everyone) and there's pretty cheap options for food in the cafe too. There's a skate park out back and several small swimming pools that are all free. Plenty of shade in the park too, so it's always relatively pleasant.
Saturdays
Picnic by the sea
Saturday afternoons we usually have a picnic by the sea behind Straits Quay. It's nicely shaded and there's also a good breeze from the sea front. Everyone brings their own food and games and we stay there until it starts getting dark. Food can be anything from snacks to takeaway so no pressure.
Where to stay.
Families tend to stay anywhere between Georgetown and Batu Ferringhi when visiting Penang. Georgetown is a world heritage site and has more of an old town feel. It’s a bit busier than other areas of the island but there’s more places to eat and shop and you’re close to museums and other touristy spots too.
Just above Georgetown is Tanjung Tokong and Tanjung Bungah, where most worldschooling/homeschooling families live when visiting. All of our regular meetups are in these two areas and there’s plenty of shops/restaurants/supermarkets in both areas too. Most places that people stay are within walking distances to local shops but Grab rides are not expensive if you need a big shop at the supermarket!
If you’re a bit more budget minded Batu Ferringhi is also a popular destination amongst families. A lot of people find accommodation in Miami Green, although there are plenty of other options you might find on the usual sites. It’s close to the beach and if you head out in the evening, it has a relaxed tourist town beach feel. It’s a bit more in a Grab and takes a little longer to get places but that’s why you find a discount at a lot of places there.
Getting around.
Most people use Grab to book rides around the island. There’s not quite as many drivers as other areas of South East Asia so you might want to give yourself an extra 15mins when booking a ride to meetups but you shouldn’t be waiting too long.
The road that runs all the way from Batu Ferringhi to Georgetown also has regular buses that are fairly comfortable and cost next to nothing in fares. You can look up the timetables on google maps and sometimes you can even see live updates from the buses on the map too.
If you want to hire a car, you can find a few decent options around all of the places that people stay and you can also ask in the WhatsApp group for direct recommendations too.
Things to do.
There's loads to see and do in Penang. Here are some of our favourites:
Youth Park
Where we have our weekly Wednesday meetups. Big park with a large kids playground, skate park, cafe and two free swimming pools. Nicely shaded by big trees too during the day.
Botanical Gardens
Large walkable paths and a nice way to get some nature in your trip without trekking into the jungle. Decent cafe near the entrance too.
Entopia
Butterfly farm on the top left of the island. Fills up most of the day, there’s loads of butterflies all around you, along with loads of other animal exhibits and talks throughout the day (and the opportunity to hold some rather large creepy crawlies too!). We love it as a special day out. There is a cafe there for lunch and prices are a little higher than usual. You can also take your own food though.
Tropical Spice Garden
Terraced gardens in the jungle, just past Batu Ferringhi. Lovely space to explore with kids and they also do a series of community events if you check out their website. Worth noting that a monthly pass is only usually a little more than a day one, so if you’re planning to visit more than once, it’s good value for money. Small cafe near the entrance with limited food choices, although there is a very cheap cafe over the road.
Komtar Building
A massive tower in the middle of Georgetown. There’s a load of different things you can do there (aquarium, skywalk, dinosaur experience etc.) but our favourite is the Techdome, an interactive kids museum about science and technology. Check out their website for a full list of activities and prices.
Escape
Waterpark and adventure space in Batu Ferringhi. A bit pricey but a full day out and popular amongst worldschoolers that visit. Avoid going local holidays though!
Penang Hill
Train ride up to the top of the big hill in the middle of the island. At the top there’s several things to do and places to eat but the most popular is the Habitat, a walkable park area where you can hopefully see some nature. Definitely go early and during the week if you want to avoid big queues for the train.
Kek Lok Si
Buddhist temple set across several levels. It’s a really beautiful temple with lots to see and a huge statue at the very top, along with some great views of the island. There’s a few shops and a very tasty and cheap vegetarian cafe there too. If you time your visit just right, the whole place is lit up for Chinese New Year around Jan/Feb depending on dates.
Armenian Street
Tourist area with loads of souvenir shops and places to stop for a coffee/ice cream. There’s also loads of street art in the area and you can find quite a few guides online if you wanted to try and see some hidden gems.
Museums
There’s quite a few museums in Georgetown with several different themes (local history, ghosts, food, upside down photo ops). None of them are must see things but they pleasantly fill an afternoon and aren’t too taxing if you want a relaxed day looking around Georgetown.
Beaches
There’s a few nice beaches in Penang, with the most popular being the one at Tanjung Bungah or the one at Batu Ferringhi. It’s a good place to take the kids to play around in the sand but beware of going into the water as most people avoid the sea due to jellyfish, some of which can deliver quite a nasty sting.
Other
There’s many other tourist attractions that will pop up if you look around Georgetown on a map, such as Fort Cornwallis, the jetties, various temples, the National Park on the top left of the island etc. None of these are ‘must see’ things but maybe worth a google to see if it’s your type of thing.
Where to eat.
There are loads of great places to eat in Penang, from restaurants of all budgets to takeaway options on Grab to food courts selling all manner of local food. Sometimes it can be tricky to find places if you're vegetarian/vegan though, so here's a few places we like to start you off:
Evergreen - Local food buffet. Super cheap and super tasty.
Brown Poodle - Vegan cafe. A bit more pricey but very good.
Six Spring Vegetarian Cafe - Mix of cuisine on Gurney Drive.
Lily's Vegetarian Kitchen - Oriental veggie food in Georgetown.
Yi Ke Shu - Local/oriental vegetarian food in Tanjung Bungah
Annalakshmi - Indian restaurant and Temple of Fine Arts offering vegetarian/vegan food
Woodlands - Vegetarian Indian cuisine
Pinxin - Local vegetarian food near the jetties.
It's also worth noting that if you're after a local food experience, anywhere you see Nasi Kandar, you'll find a cheap, buffet style restaurant with very tasty options and always a few veggie dishes too.
