A short getaway to Melaka, Malaysia: things to do

Here's my biggest regret on going to Melaka (or Malacca if you may) in 2025: Only that I did not do it sooner! My parents are here in Malaysia visiting us from India and that to us was the perfect reason to explore more of Malaysia. Just something that tends to happen for a lot of us is that we tend to venture out of the country more often than we take the time to explore the destinations closer to home. As expats in Malaysia, we have been actively trying to avoid that. So in a period of two and a half years we already have Cameron Highlands, Genting Highland, Penang, Langkawi under our belt. Melaka is a town on the southwestern coast of Malaysia. We did go in with a two day itinerary of things we wanted to do but unfortunately for us, a bunch of things we were hoping to do were shut on the Tuesday of our trip. But I still believe a two day itinerary should serve you well to get reasonable acquainted with this cute little town! Find below everything we did manage to do with my thoughts and everything else that we did want to do but could not (there's always another trip!). 

Important to note we decided to drive down to Melaka from Kuala Lumpur and since we didn't encounter much traffic, we comfortably made the journey in around two hours . We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Melaka and while we did have a few hiccups at their bar (no pun intended), the stay was largely comfortable.

• Our first stop and probably our most fun bit was Jonker Walk. Everybody talks about how it is the thoroughfare of Chinatown in Melaka but also worth noting are the vibes. Ok that's just millennial speak but seriously, full of bustling kopi houses or kopitiams, more modern cafes, little stores selling antiques and curios, tonnes of little touristy shops with everything from trinkets to cute porcelain wares to shop, Nyonya fashion boutique with bejewelled combs and beaded shoes, this is your one stop! Things to look for: white coffee, gula melaka, coconut centred confections, souvenir like paraphernalia, little porcelain bits, wooden combs and other antique wares! We were hoping to dine at Kopi Harian but the queue was way too long so we ended up at Heesan Kopi and I'm so glad we did! Think of this kopitiam as a little art house of old Malaysian posters, a mural by Malaysian artist Kenji Chai and just over all very lovely vibes! We treated ourselves to a proper Malaysian brunch: think roti canai, sweet and sour tofu, mutton curry, the works. 

• We walked all through Jonker on to the Stadthuys and the red square with its little windmill and the cow statues as a reminder of the Dutch colonial history. And before we knew it we were next to the colourful shop fronts by the Melaka river. Sitting by the water at one of the restaurants there comes recommended (or even taking a little boat tour) but we did neither of those since we chose to walk around instead. A lot of photo opportunities. Avoid peak afternoons since it can get terribly hot and humid. Also worth checking out? These little pimped out tuk tuks with neon lights and Hello Kitty-esque paraphernalia blasting music all through the ride. I did enjoy watching people zoom around in those at the red square!

• My café rats, Melaka is full of little gems be it coffee roasters or cafés with the industrial chic personality to boot. I do believe if I had more time in the city I would have scoured some of the other ones on my list but we actually ended up going to AB Coffee Brewers twice instead. No regrets because not only were the flat white and filter coffee excellent, the furniture, the design were all there too! Go for the coffee, stay for the vibes. Another one on my list I hope to check out the next time? Sin See Tai.

• And finally, a solid dinner recommendation for Peranakan food would be the Peranakan Mansion. Think of an old Peranakan style house converted into a restaurant complete with artefacts and antiques that are actually reflective of the Peranakan heritage. So not only is it a beautiful ornately decorated restaurant, it actually comes through with excellent food and great service. I do recommend making reservations although we did walk in and got a spot soon after. 

• While things were awfully quiet Monday evening when we decided to walk from our dinner around the water area, we did enjoy watching it all lit up. Especially beautiful in the rain! We ended up going back to our hotel for a night cap but we did have some speak easies on our list that we did not make it to. Those include The Sandman, Budi and the Old Merchant which I definitely hope to check out the next time. Also a miss was the Baba and Nyonya Museum that was unfortunately shut on Tuesday like I mentioned. Additionally, we gandered around old school record shops and shops specialising in chinese lanterns and just soaked in the vibes of the old town shops in Kampung Jawa. 

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