Sharon Gourlay

Sharon Gourlay

Founder of Dive Into Malaysia

Expertise Malaysia travel, travel planning, travel booking

Education Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies from Griffith University, Certificate III in International Travel Sales from AFTA Education and Training, Graduate Diploma of Education from Monash University

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Highlights:

  • Featured in many publications including USA Today, Qantas, Families Magazine Australia, Daily Mail and more
  • Speaker at numerous travel blogging conferences including Travel Blog Exchange (Tbex), Travel Blogging Summit and Travel Massive and is well known in the travel blogging community
  • Holds a BA in Asian studies including the Malay language, teaching and travel agent qualifications

Experience:

Sharon first fell in love with Malaysia in 2004 when she travelled up the west coast, eating everything available. This was further affirmed in 2015 when Sharon and her family, including two young kids, moved to Penang for a year. She doesn’t think anywhere could be better to live.

Sharon has travelled to 98 countries and spent many years of her life exploring the globe. This has lead to many skills from quickly working out the best way to travel from A to B to finding the best hotel. These days she primarily travels with her 3 children currently aged from 7 – 13 years old so she also has many family travel kid wrangling skills!

Sharon completed an arts degree majoring in Asian Studies at Griffith University. This included studying the Malay language and she loves learning more about the history and culture in this part of the world.

Her favourite part of Malaysia is Penang, closely followed by East Malaysia or Borneo as it’s often called.

When not writing for this site, Sharon is out exploring the world and everything Malaysia.

Education:

Sharon’s educational background enables her to share and teach you how to plan your own trip to Malaysia as easily as possible. Her travel qualification enables her to work as a qualified travel agent and has meant she has learned many tips and tricks for booking travel. Her teaching qualification helps her explain it all to you here.

Her humanities degree has helped her love of everything history, language and culture and grown her appreciation for this part of the world.

You can read more about Sharon and her family here.

Sharon’s Guides To Malaysia

Cherating beach

10 Top Things To Do In Cherating

Going on a Cherating trip and want to know all the best things to do in Cherating, Malaysia? We have…

Airport Stopover? Sama Sama Hotel Review KLIA

Airport Stopover? Sama Sama Hotel Review KLIA

Thanks to being huge Malaysia fans and huge Air Asia fans, we often find ourselves stopping over in Kuala Lumpur.…

how to go port dickson from singapore

How To Travel From Singapore To Port Dickson – Car, Bus, Plane, Train And Taxi!

Looking for a beach getaway convenient to Singapore? Look no further! It’s easy to visit Port Dickson for water fun,…

best resort in malaysia for family

7 Reasons Why I Loved Living In Malaysia (And 3 Why I Didn’t)! Living In Malaysia Pros And Cons

We spent a year calling Penang, Malaysia home. It was a fabulous year and we are always talking about the…

Labuan Square

16 Top Things To Do In Labuan, Malaysia

Going on a Labuan trip and want to know all the best things to do in Labuan, Malaysia? We have…

Kuala Lumpur Airport Sama Sama Express Hotel entrance

Sama Sama Express KLIA Transit Hotel: Full Review

Got a longer transit in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and wondering where to spend it? I have the perfect…

Plaza Premium Lounge KLIA2 free access

Plaza Premium Lounge KLIA2 Review: Pick The Perfect Lounge!

If you are looking for a lounge at KLIA2, you are most probably going to end up in one of…

Port Dickson Water Park

Looking For A Port Dickson Water Park?

Heading to Port Dickson and looking for some water fun in Port Dickson that goes beyond splashing around in the…

Rawa Island Johor

Why Travel To Malaysia? 10 Reasons To Travel To Malaysia Next!

Trying to work out what to do with your precious vacation time and wondering if you should spend it in…

Angry Birds Activity Park Johor Bahru

Angry Bird Park Johor Review + Cheap Tickets

NOTE: Unfortunately, this park has permanently closed. The Angry Bird Park Johor Bahru is the first of its kind in…

plaza premium lounge klia2 airside gateway

Short Stopover at KLIA2? Plaza Premium Lounge Transit Hotel KLIA2 Review

Transiting in KLIA2 and what somewhere to nap, shower and eat? Then you should definitely consider the Plaza Premium Lounge…

Cherating

Top 10 Best Hotels In Cherating [Book Them Now]

Heading to Cherating?  Lucky you! It’s a beautiful part of the world and there are some great beaches and resorts…

Kuantan, Malaysia

Top 10 Best Hotels In Kuantan [Book Them Now]

Heading to Kuantan?  Lucky you! It’s a great part of the world and there are some great beaches, city hotels…

grand lexis in port dickson outside

Grand Lexis Port Dickson Blog Review

If you are looking for the perfect resort for relaxtion in Malaysia, the hotel Grand Lexis Port Dickson definitely deserves…

PD Ostrich Farm at port dickson one day trip

PD Ostrich Farm

The Port Dickson Ostrich Show Farm is a fun and popular attraction in Port Dickson, especially for families. Ostriches are…

avillion pd water chalet

Avillion Port Dickson Review Blog

If you are looking for the perfect resort in Port Dickson, by a great beach where you can relax with…

Grand Puteri Hotel Kuala Terengganu Malaysia swimming pool

Grand Puteri Hotel Kuala Terengganu Review

Once we decided we weren’t going to miss out on exploring Kuala Terengganu on our way to Redang Island, our…

DoubleTree By Hilton Rooms

DoubleTree Hilton JB Review: Great Choice

When we were looking for the best place to stay in Johor Bahru for us, one place kept coming up…

Club Med Cherating Beach adults only pool

Heaven On Earth? Club Med Cherating Review

We wanted a vacation. A place we could rest and enjoy with our kids and no stress. So we decided…

Scuba diving on coral reef in sea

Best Diving In Malaysia: The Best Malaysia Dive Sites

Malaysia doesn’t just have awesome beaches – it’s also a great place to be under the water! If you are…

Capri By Fraser Changi City

Capri By Fraser Changi City Review: Great Choice For A Hotel Near Singapore Airport

On our recent Malaysia trip, we were stuck spending a night in Singapore on the way home. It wasn’t for…

Hotel Jen Puteri Harbour rooftop infinity swimming pool

Hotel Jen Puteri Harbour Review

Hotel Jen Puteri Harbour is a fantastic 4 star hotel, which is part of the Shangri-La hotel group.  From the…

Port Dickson Army Museum for port dickson 1 day trip

Army Museum Port Dickson

The Army Museum Port Dickson (also known as Muzium Tentera Darat) is an interesting and popular attraction in Port Dickson, especially…

From one corner of the SATS Premier Lounge

SATS Premier Lounge At Singapore Changi Airport [Review]

Flying out of Singapore Changi and looking for a lounge to relax in before your flight? Are you a priority…