Year of the Durian

2018 Durian Season Guide to Malaysia

63 Comments


The 2018 Malaysia Durian Season started while you weren’t looking. Or actually, I wasn’t reporting. It’s here, and this is a Red Prawn durian that I just ate, on April 23, on Penang Island.

I know you are ready to plan your trip and your durian munching escapades this summer. So I’ve made a little guide and update video to let you know the when and where of the 2018 durian season in Malaysia.

Use This Video To Plan Your 2018 Malaysia Durian Scarfing Trips

The D on the 2018 Malaysia Durian Season

It’s going to be a super awesome bumper crop. The last two years have been sad for durian lovers in Malaysia. There just hasn’t been that much durian to go around.  You Durianees on my tours haven’t noticed, because I’m pretty darn good at sourcing durian, but sometimes it’s been a struggle even for me and I’ve had to beg and whine and plead with my contacts to reserve their best durian for my groups. This year there’s enough to go around for everyone.

The quality should be super. When there is a lot of durian, it means you can be choosy and just eat off the top 20%, and since there will be more durian, durians in that top 20% are a lot less rare. In general, there will be more higher quality durians available this year.

Prices will be cheap(er). When there is an abundance of durian, economics decree that the prices must go down, meaning we durian lovers won’t have to pay so much this year. This is a super relief, because last year I paid up to 95 RM per kilogram ($25 USD per kg, or $12.5 per pound) for Musang King. Ouchies. That was expensive.  This year prices are already lower, just 25- 40 RM per kilogram (About $7.70 USD per kg, or $3.65 per pound) for even the upper tier varieties like Black Thorn and Red Prawn.

 Almost everywhere will have durian in July. July is going to be an amazing time to come to Malaysia. Almost everywhere will have durian available, meaning you can bop around the country tasting to your heart’s delight. That’s what we’ll be doing on my Malaysia Durian Tours.

But the peak season will be different in different places. July is definitely the best month to be traveling for durian, but the peak will be slightly different in different places thanks to microclimates and weather patterns and elevations and all those lovely regional differences that keep durian interesting.

Keep scrolling down to see lists of recommended durian farms to visit in May, June, July, August and September this year ↓ ↓ ↓

The Penang Durian Season will be extra long. This year, I got a ping on my WhatsApp on March 10 that there was durian dropping in Penang.  Whoa, I thought. That’s weird.

Durians normally begin flowering, not dropping as mature fruits, in early March. Me and everybody in the durian world worried that the trees wouldn’t flower normally while they were already bearing fruit. But they would and they did. As of right now, April 25, some of the trees are still flowering while they also have little tiny fruits and big fruits and durians ready to drop. It’s banyak crazy.

What this means is that durians will continue to drop from now until likely the end of August or even September. That gives Penang a 7-month-long season. WTF is happening.

Penang Durian Season will peak in late June and early July. There will be durians the whole April-August season, but not always a lot of them. The Penang Season will be in a lull through April until the end of May, when it will start again in full force (think quantity and cheapness) until the end of July. It’s unclear right now how many durians will survive to ripen in August, so stay in touch for continual updates.

Penang will have two special overlapping seasons. Since the trees have little bitty fruits and mature fruits on them at the same time, it means that there will be an unusual overlapping of typical Early Season varieties and Late Season varieties maturing at the same time.  In the third and fourth weeks of June you can get 604 and D11 and Little Red at the same time as late season varieties like Red Prawn, D14, Jackie Chan’s Wife, PG88, and more.

I’m feeling very lucky right now that I planned the Bao Sheng Durian Festival to be from June 19-26 this year. Click the link if you want to join us.

I wrote a book 

Oh yeah, I guess I should mention the fact that I finally finished a book about Penang’s durian and durian farms after more than four years of sleuthing and taking photos and being generally obsessive.

You can now find out more about the English-language Penang Durian Guide. The official book launch will be on June 24, when we will have a durian party in Penang to celebrate. You’re invited.

Just type your email in the box below to keep in the loop about the launch:

2018 Durian Farm Schedule

Here is a list of farms to visit every month of this coming durian season:


Mid-May to Early June: South Penang, Mainland Penang and Kedah


Mid-June to Mid-July: Penang, Melaka and Johor 

Mid-July to Early August: Perak, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Johor

Late August to September

Malaysia Durian Map

For more durian hunting inspiration, check out this sweet map of durian farms all around Malaysia. Each pin is connected to a blog post so you can see what I found there, where I stayed, and how I traveled there.

Comments

  1. Cathleen Godinez says

    I loved this post! I read your blog fairly often and you are always coming out with some great stuff.
    I will shares this on my facebook, instagram and some of my loyalty followers.
    Great jobs! Keep work it with it.

    Reply

  3. Desmond says

    I will be traveling to penang on a short transit on 19 Dec 2018. Would like to check if there is any durian during that period.

    Reply

  6. peng chiew says

    where can i get my durian fix for the month of November? i hear that there is a season coming within this month. thanks

    Reply

  7. FZ says

    Hi, I’m deciding where to travel based on where Durian will be most available. Where do you suggest? Thailand or Malaysia, and also, where exactly in each country would Durian be most plentiful?

    Please help!

    Thanks

    Reply

    • [email protected] says

      Right now we’re unfortunately in a lull, come back in November! But right now the best option is probably Bilut Hills.

      Reply

  11. Eko says

    I will visit penang on mid november 2018. Will I get chance to taste good durian? Is it placed called bao sheng farm is good place to visit to get good durians?

    Reply

  14. Denis says

    Hi frends .i will visit kota kinabalu ,sepitag lawas from 10 -14 jenuariy and 24-29jenuariy .this rime good for get durian.??

    Reply

  15. Sally Chua says

    Hi
    Visiting Penang from 22 to 24 Sep 18. May I know whether there will still be durians in Sep.

    Thanks & Regards
    Sally

    Reply

    • [email protected] says

      Hi Sally,
      Sorry, the durian season will have ended for Penang durian in September, but you can still find durian brought over from the mainland.
      Hope that helps!
      – Lindsay

      Reply

  16. Andreas B. says

    Greetings Lindsay and everyone!
    I am going to be in kuching the first half of September and the second half in Kota kinabalu! Any chance chance of finding durians in my path? Is it a bad month?
    Thanks in advance!
    Andreas

    Reply

  17. Pang says

    My durian garden in mountain side is almost 30 ekar 30year more old tree contain D-24 D101 D88,99 and so on is almost flowering now , we can harvest on above november

    Reply

    • EJ says

      I’m trying to find a durian farm for the week of 13 Aug but it seems all farms don’t have durians anymore. Any farms still have durians on that week?

      Reply

  21. chan says

    Durian trees are spotted to have flowers and a few small fruit in Sipitang area, Sabah. Hopefully durian lovers will be able to taste the fruit by early or mid august.

    Reply

  28. Jayantha Rupasinghe says

    Dear Sir,

    Hope to visit few farms in Durian Season. Could you please send me convenient and most suitable dates to visit there for have nice durian fruits and more enjoyable holidays at your farms. our team consist around 15 members including kids and adults. only two to three days in Durian lands and other three days wish to stay in Kulalupur city.

    Reply

  29. Shaun Chooi says

    hi, I have a relative visiting Malaysia after mid August. Has durian season ended by then? He would like to go on a durian trip but I told him it might be too late. What is your opinion on the timing?

    Reply

    • [email protected] says

      The durian season will be over except in Perak and Pahang highlands and East Coast (Kuantan area)

      Reply

  31. Konrad Markham says

    Thanks for your great posts.
    I will be visiting Kuching in mid June and thought I’d check if the season differed significantly there from the above in Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand

    Reply

    • [email protected] says

      Hi Konrad, yes the season in Sarawak is different than in Penang. I don’t expect there to be much of a season until late December or January. Perhaps some in August/September.

      Reply

      • Choong wong says

        Hi everyone, I am writing from lundu Sarawak…. There is indeed season in late June and July…. Come and experience the uniqueness of the ancestral durians of the bidayuh tribe in the Kuching division of Sarawak

        Reply

  32. Future says

    We waited and waited for this post…and it was worth it. Tickets booked for end of June to Penang so…the D Gods have blessed us..your presaging work is much appreciated.

    Reply

      • Future says

        Mad respect for your publishing another book. Just purchased. I travel to Penang on June 28th so the June 24th download will be right on time…will I get notification it is available to download?

        Reply

    • cikgukamal says

      Yan Festival Durian July to Sept 2018
      Manggis Chempedak Rambutan also fresh from small orchards
      taste of variety durian Yan as raja kunyit ,buaya,kucing tidur ,ganja,botak etc.
      info cikgu kamal 0194107069

      Reply

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