🇲🇾 Malaysia or 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Which one, honestly
Malaysia leads on cities, food and getting around. Indonesia leads on the sea.
A normal day costs about the same in both, around $75.
Side by side
- 🇲🇾 Malaysia🇮🇩 Indonesia
- Jan, Feb, MarBest monthsApr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct
- $75A normal day$75
- 7h 25m to Kuala LumpurNonstop from Dubai9h 15m to Bali
- Very goodBeaches and seaExceptional
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- ExceptionalFoodVery good
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- ExceptionalValue for moneyExceptional
- Very goodEasy to get aroundGood
- Cheap flights, good trains and buses, one of the easiest countries in AsiaGetting aroundScooters and private drivers on Bali, short flights and ferries between islands
- The east coast islands from November to February, when most of them closeWhen to avoidJuly and August in south Bali, when the traffic becomes the trip
Pick by what you want
🇲🇾 Choose Malaysia if
you want Thailand's food and beaches with a fraction of the crowds, and everything running slightly more smoothly.
🇮🇩 Choose Indonesia if
you want volcanoes, reefs and rice terraces for very little money, and you are willing to leave the busy south to find them.
Full Malaysia guide →Full Indonesia guide →
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
Compare something else
Written and checked by hand. Nothing here about visas or entry rules: those change often and depend on your passport, so check an official source.