The best of Kuching in 3 days
The best of Kuching in 3 days
Kuching is a city with much to offer. It has a rich and interesting history, beautiful nature, friendly people and the food is delicious. Here's an itinerary for how to best spend your time when you have 3 days in Kuching. Feel free to adjust the order to your liking, swap activities, or contact us for additional tips when you decide to stay longer.
Day 1
🍜 Start your day with a nice breakfast
The best way to enjoy a nice local breakfast is eating at a food court. A food court is a gathering of food stalls so there always will be something to your liking. We would advice you to go to the Choon Chong cafe near the Waterfont. They are well known for their laksa, a typical Malaysian noodle soup dish you have to try! We made a top 7 laksa in Kuching. If you are not at the Waterfront area you can try one of these.
💸 Eating at a food court can be really cheap, for example you can eat a regular laksa here for only 8rm
🗺️ Explore the Waterfont
Have a nice morning stroll on the Waterfront Boulevard. There is a lot to see and some nice shops to visit. Here you can take some nice pictures with the Dun Petra Jaya on the background. You can also cross the street and visit one of the kek lapis stores to try the famous Kuching kek lapis. This is also know as layered cake and is a typical Kuching treat. Keep on walking until you reach the Darul Hana bridge where you can cross to the other side. There you take the path in front of the Dun Petra Jaya all the way to the Water Cascade steps. If you walk up these stairs you will find your next destination on your to do list.
🗺️ Fort Margherita
When you reach the top of the Water Cascade steps you see a white fort named: Fort Margherita. This is a museum about Sarawak and Kuching's history and the story of the British Brooke family. This family played a big role in making Kuching and Sarawak the way it is today. Take your time to discover the interesting history.
💸Children under 7 years are free, 7-12 years 10rm and adults are 20rm
🍜 Time for lunch
When you make your way back and cross the bridge back to the Waterfront you can find the Old Courthouse across the street. This is a beautiful building and the perfect place for you to have lunch.
💸 Lunch at the courthouse is more expensive than at a food court, you can expect to have lunch around 30rm per person
🗺️ Search for some street art
Around this area you can find some street art. If you search in google maps to street art you will find a nice route to take. When you are searching for the street art you will come across some nice streets including some markets.
🛍️ Go shopping in Plaza Merdeka
In this area you can also find Plaza Merdeka. A big shopping mall with air-conditioning so you can cool off after you walk through town. Have fun shopping!
🍜 Have dinner in the main street
The last stop of the day will be Carpenter Street. This is the main street and is full with nice food establishments. You can find some food courts, cafés and restaurants. You cannot pick wrong so look for a place you like. After you can also find a bar to close off the day.
💸You can make dinner as expensive as you want. Dinner at a food court is the cheapest (10 to 20rm), then a café (20-30rm) and having dinner at a restaurant (30-40rm) is the most expensive from these three.
Day 2
For today you need a car. We rented a car at Kuching Car and Bike Rental and had a good experience with them.
🍜 Have some breakfast
Near the car rental place you find some food courts of cafés to have a breakfast. Here you also have some shops to buy some water and snacks for the upcoming hike.
⛰️ Go for a hike at Bengoh Dam
An hour outside of Kuching you find Bangoh Dam. Here you can make a beautiful hike, our personal favorite. You have to book upfront because you need a guide an boat ride. The hike itself is not very long or hard but be prepared because it is uphill and warm. When you reach the end you will find an impressive waterfall and some nice picture spots. On the way back you will stop an another waterfall where you can go for a swim so make sure to pack some dry clothes and a towel. After that you will head back and get lunch before you take the nice boat ride back.
💸Hiring a guide including the boat ride is between 50 an 100rm per person
🗺️ Semenggoh Wildlife Centre
On the route back you will pass the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre. This is a sanctuary for semi-wild orangutans. You can visit Semenggoh at certain timeslots to see the feeding. The timeslot you are aiming for will be at 3pm. We wrote a guide about this place so for some extra information you can read our guide.
💸Children below 6 years are free, children 6 - 18 years are 5rm and adults and seniors are 10rm
🍜 Dinner at Kubah Ria
For dinner we would recommend to go to Kubah Ria. This again is a food court but that also is the best way to enjoy local dishes. Next to the food court there also is a market.
💸 For dinner at a food court you can expect to pay between 15 to 25rm per person
📸 Take some touristic pictures
To close off the day you can walk to the Satok Suspension Bridge. You will see the bridge when you are having dinner because is it an illuminating bridge. Because of its beautiful lights it is the perfect place to take some nice pictures.
Day 3
🍜 Have a nice breakfast
Search for a nice café or place you can have some breakfast. After two days you might already know what you like.
💆♀️ Have a relaxing massage
After your hike yesterday you deserve some time to relax. Head over to our favorite massage place: Attiya Spa and let them take care of you.
💸 The price depends on the massage and time you want. This will be between 80 and 200rm
🛍️ Have some fun at the mall
Across Attiya Spa you find the Viva City Megamall. Here you have some different options. You can go for some shopping, have fun at the arcade hall or just have a look around.
🍜 Lunch
At the third level of Viva City you have a lot of different food establishments. Have a good look around and go find yourself something nice. We really liked the sushi king. That is the sushi place with a Conveyor belt, making you sushi lunch a fun experience.
💸 Lunch at Sushi King will be between 30 to 50rm per person
🗺️ Head over to the Borneo Cultures Museum
Make your way to the Borneo Cultures Museum. This is another nice museum about the history and culture of Sarawak. Besides that it is a really pretty and impressive building. Have fun exploring this museum. Afterwards you can visit the museums shop and have a coffee at the restaurant if you want. For extra information about the museum
💸 Children to 12 years are free, 13 -17 years are 25rm, adults 18-60 years are 50rm and seniors 60+ are 25rm
🗺️ Explore Kuching from the water
After you are finished at the museum, make your way to the Waterfront. There you will find two big boats that offers a sunset boat tour on the Sarawak River. We took the Sarawak River Cruise. This will take one and a half hours. You will get some orange juice and kek lapis when entering the boat and there will be some cultural dances as well.
💸 Children 5-12 years are 30rm and adults 13+ are 50rm
🍜 Last dinner
For you last dinner you can head over to the James Brooke Bistro & Cafe. That is just a short 5 minute walk after the boat tour. Enjoy your last Kuching dinner with a nice view of the waterfront.
💸 For dinner at James Brooke Bistro & Cafe you can expect to pay 25 to 50rm per person
🗺️ Finish your trip in style
If you have some time and energy left make your final way to the Waterfront. At 8.30 and 9.30pm there will be a show called the Darul Hana Musical Fountain. This is the perfect way to finish your Kuching trip.
Where to stay
If you are visiting Kuching we would recommend to look for a place near the Waterfront. This is the heart of the city and most of the highlights will be around here.
Easiest way to get around
For day 2 in this itinerary we advice you to rent a car because it is an hour outside of Kuching.Other than that the activities are all in and around town. The easiest way to get around will be by taking a grab. That is the Asian version of Uber and is very cheap. You can also walk a lot if you are in the city center. The moment you go outside of the center it is easier to take a grab.
An extra tip specially for you
Eating at a food court is something we recommend a lot in this itinarary. Why? Because it is a lot of fun to have dinner just like the locals. But you can get lost a bit the first time because you have to know your way around. To help you guys out we made a guide on how to become a food court expert. Have a look so you are prepared when you go to your first food court.
Make the most out of your Kuching experience
I hope this itinerary helps you out or give you some good ideas when you are visiting Kuching. If you want some extra recommendations, tips or tricks write us a message. For some stories of our Kuching adventures and experiences have a look at our blog!
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