All Aboard the Langkawi Express

A weekend trip from KL to Langkawi island is not only easy and affordable, but a definite must for anyone who likes beaches, relaxation, good food, and fun.

Langkawi is a collection of around 99 islands off the Northwest coast of Malaysia (right on the border between Malaysia and Thailand). On top of powdery soft white sand beaches and clear aquamarine water, Langkawi has stunning mountains – which make for great hiking and waterfalls.

Getting There

There are three options to consider when determining how to get from KL to Langkawi: plane, bus and train.

Plane: AirAsia is the best bet, and routinely offers promotional fares to Langkawi. However, if you don’t book well ahead, the price is usually 3-4 times the price of the bus or train, so it’s by far the most expensive option. With that said, it is also the fastest, with a flight only taking about 45 minutes from KL.  As Langkawi has an airport, this also saves you from the less-than-comfortable ferry ride to mainland Malaysia.

Bus and Train: There are many busses, and one train (the Langkawi Express) that takes you from KL to Langkawi. Both the bus and the train can drop you off at one of two locations: either Alor Setar or Kuala Perlis (as both towns have ferries to Langkawi). Alor Setar is closer to KL, but the ferry ride is longer and more expensive. Kuala Perlis is right at the border with Thailand (so farther from KL), but the ferry ride is shorter (1 ½ hours).

From what I researched, the bus takes between 7-8 hours. There is a bathroom on the bus, and most busses provide a simple dinner or breakfast (usually a sandwich and drink). However, check with each individual bus, and bring your own food if necessary. The bus is nice in that it drops you directly at the jetty, so there is no need to take a taxi. 

The train leaves from KL Sentral around 10PM (if I can remember) and the ride takes around 10 hours. There are three levels of seating choices – upright seats, personal beds, or a private room (comes with 2 beds).  The upright seats are the cheapest of course, but are by far the most uncomfortable (which I will discuss in greater detail in my blog on Singapore). I think the seats are RM 35. For an overnight journey, I would highly recommend that you avoid this option, unless you purposely want to torture yourself with no sleep. The sleeping car has bunk beds, with the upper bunks being slightly cheaper than the bottom bunks.  If I remember correctly, the beds are around RM 45 for the upper bunk and RM 50 for the bottom bunk – only slightly cheaper than the chairs. I would recommend the sleeper car, as this will be your bed for the night. The third option, a private compartment, is of course the best option, but double the price of a bunk.  It’s around RM 100 per person, so about RM200 for the room.  For this, you get your own door, and may even get your own bathroom – which would be a plus, plus your own sink and large window. As a note, don’t worry about missing your stop because the train conductors come around yelling loudly the stops as they come.  They also turn on the lights, as most people get off at Kuala Perlis (if you choose Alor Setar it will be an earlier stop, and the lights do not go on, so set your alarm to make sure you don’t miss it). Once you arrive, the train station is about a RM25 ride to the jetty.  I would suggest talking to others getting off the train so you can share a taxi ride – since pretty much everyone on the train is heading to Langkawi anyway.

I decided to take the night train so I could sleep on the train Friday night and Sunday night – only requiring one night of hotel in Langkawi for 2 days on the island.  As such, I upgraded to the sleeper car, which allowed my husband and I to each have our own bed (less than RM50 each way per person). I definitely liked my choice, as with a bed, I was able to get a better sleep than on a bus. Plus, you get your own private curtain so you can change into more comfortable pyjamas, and the sheets are changed after every use, so it felt clean. As a note, it’s important to bring ear plugs, as some people on the train do not understand the concept of not making noise at night. Also, there are not any good food options on the train (rumour has it that there is a snack car with egg and sardine sandwiches) so it’s best to bring some snacks and drinks in case you get hungry on your journey. One HUGE DOWNSIDE is that the bathrooms are pretty much unusable.  Many people ‘miss’ when they use the toilet in the train, so walking into it pretty much feels like walking into a port-o-potty. So be advised, just don’t drink anything before you go onto the train, and try not to use the bathroom until you reach the jetty.

At the jetty: Once you arrive immediately go to buy ferry tickets, as the tickets are timed, and sell out fast on weekends and holidays.  When I was there, we had to wait 1 ½ hours for the next ferry because the time we wanted was already sold out (seats are assigned). After you purchase tickets, you can go across the street to get food at one of the many hawker stalls.  We had roti cani (flaky bread in the shape of a pancake served with curry sauce to dip) with teh tarik (sweetened milk tea –Malaysian specialty). My husband had mee goring (like lo mien or stir-fried noodles). There is also a KFC for those with more Western palates.

The ferry is not anything you would picture when you think of vacation, and is the least pleasant part of Langkawi.  There is no outer deck to feel the ocean breeze, and in some of the boats there are only tiny porthole windows that are so high on the wall and so far between that you can barely see out of them.  Additionally, on one of the ferries we took there were small coach roaches crawling up the walls.  Yes, it was pretty much disgusting!  In addition, if you are unlucky enough to get seats assigned in the bottom hull of the ship (which happened to me both ways) their air feels stifling until the boat starts moving (which can take up to 30 minutes while passengers are loaded) and it take forever to exit the ship, because hundreds of people are lined up to go out of one, and only one door (both the upstairs and downstairs passengers).  Honestly, I don’t know who designed these ships…. (In the first boat, to be honest, the windows were large and the air conditioning was fine – so these complaints only relate to my journey back).

Where to Stay

We decided to go to Langkawi at last minute. In looking online everything cheap was booked, and all that was left was expensive options. I read on blogs that you can arrive in Langkawi and walk from hotel to hotel to find a place at much better rates that those online, so we decided to take a chance and do it that way. What a great idea!

Don’t stay in Kuah because there are not any beaches there are you are far from all the attractions (unless the only thing you want to do is shop, then Kuah is fine). We arrived in Langkawi and took a taxi to Pantai Chenang (a.k.a. Chenang Beach).  There are so many options there.  We literally walked from place to place and ended up finding a motel (ABC Motel) right on the beach for RM100! Super-good deal! Plus, there was a travel agent right across the street that was selling different tours for great prices – including Island Hopping Tour which is a must (discussed below).

Lesson learned – book ahead if you really want to stay at a particular place or if it’s a holiday weekend (like Chinese New Year) and you know it will be full.  Otherwise, try your luck and you can definitely get a good deal.

Must-See Attractions

My favourite thing was the Island Hopping Tour which was over $100 USD online, but only RM 25 if you buy it in Langkawi.  This tour really made me feel like I was on holiday. The eagle feeding was something I’ve never seen before, and we even got to ride on a paddle boat in the fresh water lake on one of the islands.  (See attached pictures).  Totally worth the money and a MUST do!

The other must do attraction is the cable car.  My husband loved it way more than I did, because I’m scared of heights. The view was so amazing, and you really get to appreciate how great Langkawi is from up that high.  It’s totally worth the money as you get to walk on the highest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world and even can see Thailand on a clear day. After you get back onto lower ground, look out for the yummy ice cream vendor that is near the entrance.  Their prices were really good and the ice cream was delicious. The cable car is located in the Oriental Village.  There really isn’t anything special to see here, so again, unless you really want to shop, don’t waste your time in the shops and head back to the beach.

The Seven Wells waterfall is also really nice. We actually did the 45 minute hike up to the top, where we found that the top waterfall had already dried up (hike was still nice, but ask people coming down if the waterfall is active before going, unless you just want a hike).  However the lower falls were still running so it was really cooling to put our feet in the water and watch other swim (we would have to if we had more time).  This is a great place to relax mid-day and have a picnic (local restaurants are at the entrance).  Also, do take both hikes (the short and long) as the short shows you the base of the falls and the long takes you up the falls.

The beach is a must do in the morning or evening – during the day the sand burns your feet and is only tolerable for the most avid beachgoer. I read online that some people complain about the jellyfish there. But, when I was there in mid-February there were not any jellyfish to be found (so I guess it’s seasonal).

Eating

We had a hard time finding anything open for breakfast. It seems that everyone sleeps in late there. So if you need to be up early (like for the 9AM Island Hopping Tour) then don’t waste your time roaming around. Instead, go to the restaurant right next to the ABC motel, as it was the only one open.

For lunch and dinner just walk up and down Jalan Pantai Chenang. There you will find everything from western to Indian and Malay.  We found this great place at the end of the street (on the right-hand side if the beach is on your left) that served fresh seafood. I ordered a recently caught tuna fish that was grilled over a fire.  It was simply to die for an only RM 3!  What a deal.

If You Have the Money

You can also take ferries from Langkawi to the popular Thailand islands such as Phi Phi and Phuket (passport permitting). So if you have the time and money, consider adding that to your journey as the ferries are all less than RM 200 and take you direct.

Things You Can Miss

Although I haven’t been there myself, a friend told me that the volcanic black sand beaches on the northern tip of the island are definitely not worth the trek. Apparently, the beach is covered in trash, debris and driftwood.  As it’s not maintained, and it’s well out of the way from all other attractions, I would skip it unless you are in the area.

As usual, if you have any questions on heading to Langkawi, send me a comment and I can try my best to answer your questions.