Malaysia Holidays
Malaysia Information
Weather and Climate
Malaysia sits on the South China Sea in the center of Southeast Asia. The country is composed of two parts-Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia is a long portion of land, which extends from the border of Thailand to Singapore. The northern part is mostly covered by dense jungle, while the central part is lightly populated. The western part is a fertile plain extending down to the sea.
East Malaysia, the other part of the country, is adjacent to the southern part of Indonesian state of Kalimantan. It is divided between Sarawak and Sabah, with the country of Brunei between them. Sabah and Sarawak have dense tropical forests. Malaysia is hot and humid year round with a temperature of around 20-30 degrees Celsius, and a humidity level of 90%. Since the temperature fluctuates little throughout the year, travel in Malaysia is a pleasure year round. There are two distinct wet seasons for this country.
The West coast of Malaysia will experience slightly more rain through the months of September to December. The East coast of Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak experience significantly more rain through the months of October to February. When the rain comes, it typically falls in short hand bursts briefly interrupting the strong sunshine.
Malaysia has two distinct seasons-dry season and rainy season. The dry season occurs during the southwest monsoon from May and September. The northeast monsoon brings the rainy season to the country during mid-November till March.
The best time to visit the east coast is between May and September as this is outside the rainy season. It is also the best time to see the turtles, which make nightly landings at various locations to lay their eggs. November to January is the rainy season and it is best to avoid this time of year if you're hunting for a good beach to relax on. On the West coast, showers are experienced during October-November, and then in April-May.
