The Melaka River Cruise is a great way to spend an evening in Melaka (a.k.a. Malacca). The 45-minute long cruise is available from 9am to 11:30pm and departs roughly every 30 minutes. While the sights are easier to see during the day, the nice part about cruising in the evening is that you get to see colourful illumination of the buildings, bridges and other attractions along the river. The evening breeze is nicer too.
The Melaka River played a big role in Melaka’s history, but in the past, the waterway was not clean and the buildings along it was never maintained. In recent years, the river has undergone a major revamp. The waterway has been cleaned up and quite a lot of effort has been taken to preserve many of the historic buildings and bridges along the river.
The cruise starts at Muara Jetty near the easily recognisable replica of the Portuguese ship, Flor de la Mar. It first passes by Casa del Mar (first picture) where the lights reflect beautifully on the river. After which, the cruise passes Jonker Walk, a Pirate Park with a ferris wheel, and many nicely illuminated buildings.
In addition to the illumination, we enjoyed looking at colourful murals painted on the the buildings along the river.
The Melaka River Cruise also passes by new houses as well as a Malay village called Kampung Morten (picture on the right below). Through the commentaries, we learnt that Kampung Morten is available for a home stay. It can be booked online through Booking.com.
At RM15 for adults and RM5 for kids, the Melaka River Cruise covering a distance of 9km long is definitely worth it. You can also take the river cruise from Taman Rempah Jetty which has a large car park that offers free parking.
Accommodations
We stayed at a charming and historic Peranakan house called Hotel Puri Melaka. We booked it through Agoda – Hotel Puri Melaka. You can also check out other accommodations in Melaka.
