Melaka, also spelled Malacca, is an amazing city to visit with kids. Melaka is the Malay spelling of the name, and Malacca is the English spelling. With a quaint walking street, historical buildings, museums, and plenty of snacks and flashy attractions, Melaka has much to offer the whole family. Our family is currently living in Malaysia, and Melaka is a unique place to visit. It teaches not only about the history of Malaysia but also the history of much of the world, as Melaka was once a major player in the world of sea trade.
It is best to visit Melaka during the week as weekends bring a large number of both domestic and international visitors from nearby Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
There is a lot of English in Malaysia since it was once a British Colony, so getting around with English is easy while you visit Melaka.
A Brief History of Melaka
Melaka burst into the history books as one of the world’s major and most prominent shipping ports of history. Starting in the 1400’s, when the first Chinese merchants arrived in the area, Melaka grew from a small fishing town to a major trading center of Southeast Asia. As the fame of the spice islands grew in Europe, control of Melaka was important. Melaka was a Portuguese colony from the early 1500’s until 1641 when the Dutch seized control.
The Dutch continued to grow the port until the British claimed control of the region and trade in 1824. Melaka continued to boom as a major shipping port in the spice trade industry under the British empire. However, when Malaysia eventually gained its independence from the British in 1957, Melaka’s shipping port reputation diminished.
Recently Melaka has regrown and rebranded as a major tourist site in Malaysia after having gained UNESCO heritage status in 2008. Being a UNESCO heritage city has allowed Melaka to boom once again as a city rich in history.
Walking through Melaka really is like walking through the history books. Our family enjoys going to different parts of the city and seeing history left behind by the Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, British, and of course the Malay people. It is very unique to see such powerful forces all controlling one city.
Things to do in Melaka with Kids
There are many things to do in Melaka with kids. The history of the city is evident in the many museums scattered throughout the city for you and your children to enjoy. Beyond history, Melaka offers an array of other enjoyable attractions, from boating down the river, to upside-down houses to explore.
Information Center
Before you begin your visit to Melaka, we recommend you first stop by the Information Visitor Center. It is located in the center of town. However, it is easy to miss. To enter the visitor center you will descend the stairs at the public toilet and the visitor center will be on your right. It will not cost to get to the visitor center. At the visitor center you will be able to collect a few helpful maps and brochures of the area.
The public toilets, which have become an attraction to be seen in their own right. These public toilets are known as the Golden Toilets and will cost RM2 to enter. They provide toilet paper.
Other public toilets will cost around RM 0.50 and not provide toilet paper. All public toilets in Melaka will cost money, unless you are eating at a restaurant, which provide customers with restrooms.
Since Melaka’s introduction to UNESCO status, there has been a push to ‘go green’. Because of this, you will find a refillable water fountain in the downtown area near the Information Visitor Center.
Maritime Museums
Flor de la Mar (Muzium Samudera)
One of our family favorite things to do in Melaka is the Flor de la Mar. The Flor de la Mar was a Portuguese trading and battleship that sank off the coast between Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra in 1511. This boat is the one that first brought the Portuguese to Melaka to seize control of the city.
Because of the importance of this ship to Melaka’s history, they have built a life-size replica of it near the city center. The replica is along the bank of the river and houses a museum inside.
We all enjoyed being able to climb around the ship’s exterior and imagine what it would be like to be on one of these ships. Our kids really wanted to try and climb the ropes to the crows nest, but that was not allowed (by me). Probably frowned on by the museum also, but they didn’t have anyone policing rules.
The inside of the ship is not built to represent the inside of the actual ship but instead houses a museum. The museum shows old coins from different time periods of Melaka’s colonization. It has Chinese coins from the 1400’s, Portuguese coins, and a variety of others. It offers lots of signs to read about different maps of the time and has a wonderful display of different ships that would have visited Melaka over the history of the port.
Cost
Cost inclusive of all three different museums. They are different museums, operated separately, and in different buildings (Flor de la Mar, Maritime Museum, Navy Museum). But one cost with receipt being entry into all three (so don’t lose receipt)
Foreign
Adult: RM20
Child/Senior: RM10
Malay
Adult: R10
Child/Senior: RM5
Hours
9:00am-5:30pm
Closed Monday
Maritime Museum
The Maritime Museum is right next to the Flor de la Mar Museum. You can easily walk from one to the other. The Maritime Museum is a museum that specifically talks about the history that happened on the sea. It starts off talking about different battles that were fought off the coasts of Malaysia. Then it informs about different major ships throughout history and has some pretty impressive models on display with information about them. We enjoyed seeing the model of an ancient Korean armored battleship. It continues on to talk about different important historical sailors of the world.
The final half of the museum is about environmental issues and how we need to strive to save the sea and marine habitats.
Cost Included in the cost of Flor de la Mar. You must show your ticket to enter.
Navy Museum (Muzium TLDM)
The Navy Museum is an attraction for those who love military things. It showcases a Navy helicopter, many different uniforms and badges worn by the Malaysian Navy. It walks through the history of the Malaysian Navy and talks about many of the major leaders and important individuals of their Navy.
There are lots of different weapons on display inside, which you are not allowed to touch. However, they also have many weapons on display outside, which, to my kids’ delight, we were allowed to touch. There is also a ship on display outside, which was closed during our visit.
This museum does not require a lot of time, unless you or your children want to read about naval history. Our kids were more interested in pretending they were shooting the guns.
Cost
Included in the cost of Flor de la Mar.
You must show your ticket to enter.
Stadthuys Museum
The Stadthuys is the oldest Dutch building in Melaka. It is part of the Dutch square along with Christ Church. The building is painted a pinkish/red color, the same paint used to color the entire area surrounding it.
The Stadthuys was a government building used by the Dutch, but it has now become home to multiple museums. One price covers entrance to all the museums. They are definitely museums and not hands-on exhibits, so be prepared for lots of information and displays. It is not designed for young children, and in fact, we decided to split up for this one as the teen REALLY wanted to visit the museums, but her brothers were not so keen on it. The teen was able to spend around 2 hours looking at all the museums that were open at the time. The younger brothers wanted to ride the trishaws (read about them below!)
Cost
Cost is inclusive of all 5 museums: History and Ethnography, Literature, Education, Democratic Government, and Cheng Ho’s Gallery.
Foreign
Adult: RM20
Child/Senior: RM10
Malay
Adult: R10
Child/Senior: RM5
Hours
9:00am-5:30pm (last ticket purchase 4:30)
Closed Monday
History and Ethnography Museum
By far the largest museum of the 5, the History and Ethnography Museum goes through each of the different ethnicities that call Melaka home and how the cultures have blended through history.
There are house displays, ethnic clothing, and transportation, along with historical artifacts.
We strongly recommend this museum for a great overview of Melaka, its history, and its people.
Literature Museum
The Literature Museum is housed in another building behind the Stadthuys building. It highlights Malaysian authors throughout history and what their contributions to Malaysian literacy has been. The only displays are of their books. Young children may not enjoy this museum.
Education Museum
The Education Museum is in another building next to the Literature Museum and gives a brief history of the education system through the different eras of Melaka’s history. There are a few displays and artifacts. This museum has a lot of information to read and if your interest is in education systems, it’s definitely worth a visit!
Democratic Government Museum
The Democratic Government Museum was closed the day we visited, so we were unable to visit. This museum is up the hill behind the Stadthuys building near the ruins of St. Paul’s church. It used to be the state legislative building but now houses the government museum.
Cheng Ho (Zheng He)’s Gallery
Cheng Ho’s Gallery is a museum on the top floor of the Stadthuys building. To enter, go up the stairs in the History and Ethnography Museum. It is small but very informative. It takes you through the life of Chinese explorer, Cheng Ho. He is well known in Asia as a famous explorer, equivalent in level to the European explorers such as Ferdinand Magellan and Christopher Columbus. He visited Melaka several times and created trade between the area that is now Malaysia and China in the 1400’s.
River Cruise
The Melaka River Cruise was one of our family’s top Melaka experiences. The ride starts and ends at the river between the Flor de la Mar and Christ Church. The ride was approximately 40 minutes long, going upstream for 20 minutes and then turning around at the Melaka River Cruise Jeti Taman Rempah.
We were not allowed to get off at that Jeti. The views of the town during the ride were a highlight. We enjoyed seeing all the brightly colored buildings and artwork along the way.
Cost
Foreign
Adult: RM38
Child: RM33
Malay
Adult: RM33
Child: RM23
Hours
9am-10pm
Price is negotiable. A driver saw us talking about who was going to ride and took us aside to negotiate a price. Paying with cash got all 8 in our party to ride for RM150. 4 people would have been RM100. So, prices are negotiable.
Included in the river cruise ticket is entrance to the Sigua Mini Park. Here you will find an upside down house you can enjoy along with a VR game. This is different from the Melaka Upside Down house listed below.
Trishaw
Taken from the traditional rickshaw that was used in the Melaka area, the trishaw was reintroduced as a unique Mekala attraction for kids and adults alike. Their bright colors and blaring music are hard to miss. Our boys wanted to ride the Pokemon trishaw.
Cost RM 25 for a 15 minute ride. Cost is per trishaw not per person and they allowed our three boys to all be on together. The 15 minute ride our boys got was in all actuality 9 minutes in length, but they were happy with that length of time.
Upside Down House
The Upside Down House is a unique experience and set up as a photo opportunity. You can pose while trying to ‘sleep’ on the ceiling, or reach up to touch the table. When it comes to Melaka attractions, this one is a good change from the museums and history and a fun one for the family.
Cost
Foreign
Adult: RM22
Child/Senior: RM 22
Malay
Adult: RM 18
Child/Senior: RM12
Hours
Monday-Thursday: 10am-7pm
Friday-Sunday: 10am-9pm
Melaka Tower (Taming Sari Tower)
For a good overview and scenic overlook of the city, head to the Melaka Tower. Also known as the Taming Sari Tower, this is a good thing to do in Melaka with kids. The tower will take you up 80 meters (260 feet) and give you a 360-degree overlook of the city. From up high you can get excellent views of the river
Cost
Foreigner
Adult: RM26
Child: RM18
Malaysian
Adult: RM20
Child: RM15
Hours
Monday-Thursday: 9am-10pm
Friday-Sunday: 9am-11pm
Christ Church
Built in 1753, Christ Church Melaka is the oldest functioning Protestant Church in Malaysia, meaning it still holds services. If you are in Melaka on a Sunday you can attend service if you wish. It is located directly in the center of the historic downtown, right next to the majority of Melaka attractions.
Christ Church is different from all the other Melaka attractions because it is free. Our family loved walking through the church and reading the tombstones. We also enjoyed seeing the very long list of all the chaplains that have served the church since it first opened its doors.
Cost
Free
Hours
Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Saturday: 9am-4:30pm
Sunday: 8:30am-4:30pm
Note that there is an English service at 8:30am and Mandarin service at 11am if you choose to visit on Sunday.
Church of Saint Paul
The Church of Saint Paul is located directly up the hill from Christ Church. This historic church is now in ruins, but it is worth visiting with kids. When it comes to doing Melaka with kids, having attractions that are free are nice. This church was fun for the kids because it offers excellent views of the town. From the hill you can look out over the river and see many cool things.
The church has a long history. You can read some history on plaques outside the church. However, it lacks detail.
In front of the church there is a statue of Saint Francis Xavier, who was a Portuguese monk who did extensive work in India, Malaysia, and China. He was buried in the Church of Saint Paul temporarily during 1553. Now his tomb is open and excavated so you can see inside where his body used to be.
There are also lots of other very old headstones on display which are fun to read.
Cost
Free
Hours
24 hours
City Ruins
Also free and fun for the kids while walking around Melaka are the city wall ruins. Scattered throughout the downtown area, excavated remnants of the old city wall are visible. They are fenced off and labeled as to what the walls used to be. Our family enjoyed looking at these and trying to imagine what it used to look like.
Cost
Free
Masjid Selat Melaka (Melaka Straits Mosque or Floating Mosque)
This mosque is slightly further from the city center, maybe 10 minutes by car, but we enjoyed spending a few minutes here in the evening. The floating mosque is best viewed during sunset, and it draws a good crowd of people trying to find a good sunset view.
There is a pier to the side of the mosque which gives excellent sunset views. If you are looking at the mosque, go to the left and you will find a small path leading to the pier.
Also, there is a small section of sand that our little boys enjoyed playing in while watching the sunset. You are also allowed to go inside the mosque but be prepared to dress modestly. If you are not properly dressed, you may rent proper attire.
There is an evening Muslim prayer that happens close to sunset, so if you wish to visit inside you will want to come earlier to get in and look around. We chose to not go in as we wanted to see the sunset anyway.
The sun sets around 7:30, so getting there a bit before that is recommended so you can find your spot. There is plenty of parking in the shopping complexes nearby.
Cost
Free
RM5 if you are asked to rent attire when you enter mosque
Walk the Streets / Eat the Food
Obviously when it comes to traveling off the beaten path with kids, we are in favor of walking a lot. Walking is a means to seeing the city well and understanding it. Melaka is a good city to walk, especially the downtown area. The streets are pretty and as it is a UNESCO site there is an attempt to maintain its authenticity and historical look.
When we were walking we ended up eating at a small Restaurant called Hari Aum in the little India section of town. The food was good and very reasonably priced.
Cost
Free
Getting To and From Melaka
Melaka is strategically located between Kuala Lumpur 2 hours to the North and Singapore about 3 hours to the South. You can get to Melaka by driving on the AH2 highway.
If you have a vehicle, driving is very easy as the road system in Malaysia is very good. Most major highways in Malaysia are toll roads, so if you have a vehicle you will need to be able to be equipped to pay for the tolls. Cash is not accepted at most toll plazas. You can pick up a cash card called Touch ‘n Go at most Watson stores around the nation. These can be used at Malaysia toll booths. Find a Watsons store locator.
If you have a rental car you should check with the company to see how tolls are handled. From Kuala Lumpur, Melaka is a doable day trip, but it would end up being a very long day and not recommendable with kids.
You can also take a bus to and from Melaka. Most buses will drop you off at Melaka Sentral.
If you do not have a vehicle, once you are in Melaka you can easily get around using the GrabApp. We recommend you sign up and register if you will be traveling around Malaysia and need a taxi service.
Where to Stay in Melaka with Kids
There are plenty of options of places to stay when you visit Melaka with kids. You can choose to stay at fancy places along the river, cheap backpacker hostels, or you can choose to stay in nice high-rise apartments a little further from the city center. Our family chose to stay in the apartments as it allowed for us to all to have more space and have an evening together that hotels and hostels often do not allow.
We had a vehicle so being able to stay a little further away was fine because the cost goes down a lot if you stay further from the city center. The Atlantis Residences apartment we chose was an amazing 3-bedroom apartment with a living room. It was perfect for our family as we could cook food and play games in the evening.
These high-rise apartments are only a 5-minute drive from the downtown area. They offer good views and allow for large groups or families to stay together in an apartment. The prices are very good, we paid only RM200 for 1 night for 8 people.
This hotel is right in the center of everything. Right on the river near where the River Cruise starts, the views and location are amazing. Expect to pay more as this is a higher class setting.
This location is a good balance of being close to the center of the city, allows for families to stay, and is a reasonable price. The location does not offer a nice view, but this is offset by the location.
Final Thoughts on Melaka
We enjoyed exploring Melaka with kids. The city offered enough variety to keep us entertained. The city is small enough that traveling around it is not difficult. The history was fascinating and allowed for hours of learning and good discussions.