Kuantan, the capital of Pahang state, is on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Understand

With over 500,000 people Kuantan is the largest city on the Malaysian east coast. However, it has little if anything of interest to the casual visitor, and most people just pass by or stop for the night on their way north or south.

Get in

By plane

Kuantan's small Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport (KUA) currently only fields a few daily flights to Kuala Lumpur (40 min, full price RM 122) plus a single weekly flight to Kuala Terengganu.

By bus

Kuantan is about 3 hours from Kuala Lumpur by bus. Fares are currently around RM 14.30.

By car

Opened in 2004, the Karak Highway and East Coast Expressway connects Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur, and the distance of approximately 250 kilometers can be covered in 2.5-3 hours. the East Coast Expressway is evenly distributed with stop-over areas, equipped with toilets, sundry shops and food stalls.

Get around

See

Do

Teluk Chempedak Beach View from Kuantan Hyatt

• Teluk Chempedak, 5 km north of Kuantan. A fairly decent beach offering a light range of watersports including boating and kayaking. The Kuantan Hyatt Hotel occupies approximately half of the available beach front of Teluk Chempedak, while the remaining area is open to the public. Kuantan Hyatt was refurbished recently and is drawing attention from holiday-goers from Kuala Lumpur City , which is merely 2.5 hours away. This is also the first and only beach that provide you a chance to enjoy the scenery of sunrise with a 24-hours McDonalds!
• Taman Gelora, Aroud 3 km from Kuantan along the way to TC, is a beautiful park called Gelora Park. Various sport activities could be done here including jogging, aerobic dance, exercising, tennis, beach volleyball etc. You can admire the Lotus if you want.
• Taman Teruntum, Nearby the TC, there is a Mini Zoo. You can watch few animals here.
• Berserah, Around 7 km from Kuantan city, a village that famous for fresh fish every day! You can get fresh fish at whole sale price here.
• Balok, A beach that famous with wind surfing, is around 13 km away from Kuantan.
• Batu Hitam, It is a special beach where all the stone are black or dark in colour. It is still under development.
• Pulau Ular, A legend can be heard here. It is about snakes help the villagers to keep away from the pirates but then the villagers being sabotaj by the pirates that the the snakes are evil. Lastly the village being attack and conquer by the pirates. It's believed happened during the 11th century.
• Cherating, Asia first Club Med situated here. A lot of water fun here including yatching, surfing, swimming, etc. Nearby there is a turtle sanctuary. You can find some information about turtle here. A lot of handicraft could be found too.
• Sg. Lembing, Largest syaf tin mining in the world situated here. It is 40 km from Kuantan. A beautiful museum could be found here which has lots of tin mining informations. A panorama hill where people can enjoy goddess scenery every early morning situated here.

Buy

• Salted fish at Jalan Besar.

Eat

• Tourists can try dining at one of the many restaurants which is mushrooming around the Berjaya Shopping Mall on Jalan Tun Ismail, at reasonable prices.

Drink

• Tourists can try special extra large fruit juices at night around Tanjung Lumpur at around RM 3 per liter!!

• You can also try specials jelly ice at Teluk Chempedak!

Sleep

Budget

• Hotel Pacific, 60-62 Jalan Bukit Ubi, tel. 5141980. Functional but tolerable two-star hotel. Rooms are RM60 and up, and have air-con and attached bathrooms.

Mid-range

• Vistana Hotel, [1]. Moderately-priced business hotel.

• Grand Continental, Jalan Gambut.

Splurge

• Club Mediterranee, [2]. Asia's first Club Med, now an excellent 5-star all-inclusive beach resort since its reopening in 2004.

• Eastern Pavilion, [3]. Beautiful 2- and 3-bedroom villas with private pool, jacuzzi, and personalized service. Part of the Holiday Villa Cherating complex.

• Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort, Teluk Cempedak Beach, [4].

• Swiss-Garden Resort, [5]. International class beach resort offering an idyllic retreat from the urbanite traveller.

Get out