Budget in Ipoh
Part of the Ipoh travel guide — see every topic in All Ipoh Guides.
Ipoh is inexpensive. A white coffee is three to six ringgit, a plate of bean sprout chicken fifteen to thirty, a heritage shophouse hostel bed forty, and the old town costs nothing to walk. The main variable is the day of the week, since weekend hotel rates roughly double. A backpacker manages on 80–130 ringgit a day; a comfortable trip with a boutique hotel, taxis to the cave temples and proper meals runs 250–450.
Accommodation and food
Hostels 40–90 ringgit midweek, boutique shophouse hotels 130–350, business hotels in New Town 120–300 — all roughly doubling at weekends. Food: white coffee 3–6; kaya toast and eggs under 10; dim sum 4–9 a basket, so 25–40 for a full breakfast; kai see hor fun 8–18; bean sprout chicken 15–30 a head; a good dinner 40–80. Eating exclusively at coffee shops and hawker stalls costs 40–70 ringgit for a whole day, and that is where all the famous food is.
Transport
The ETS train from Kuala Lumpur is 25–60 ringgit and from Butterworth about the same. Within the city, the old town is walkable and Grab is 8–25 ringgit. The cave temples are 12–30 each way by Grab. A car with driver for a full day covering Kellie's Castle and Gua Tempurung is 350–550. Car hire is 100–180 a day. Transport is a small line in an Ipoh budget, particularly if you arrive by train and stay in the old town.
Attractions
Most of it is free or nearly so: the old town walk, the murals, the railway station and civic buildings, and the cave temples, which are free or take a small donation. Han Chin Pet Soo charges a modest fee and must be booked. Gua Tempurung charges by tour level, from a few ringgit for the dry walk to 30–60 for the four-hour wet route. Kellie's Castle is inexpensive. Lost World of Tambun is the one genuinely expensive attraction, at theme-park pricing.
Where to save
Come midweek and halve your accommodation cost for an otherwise identical city. Arrive by ETS rather than driving. Stay in the old town so you walk rather than ride. Eat breakfast twice and lunch once, which is the correct way to do Ipoh anyway. And note that the single most expensive thing you can do here — a day with a driver to the Perak sites — is easily shared, since the same route works for any two or three people.
Budget at a glance
| Backpacker day | RM 80–130 midweek |
|---|---|
| Comfortable day | RM 250–450 |
| White coffee | RM 3–6 |
| Bean sprout chicken | RM 15–30 a head |
| Train from KL | RM 25–60 |
| Biggest saving | Visit midweek — weekend rates roughly double |