Langkawi, what a beautiful surprise. When you travelled to Penang first ( especially Georgetown ) you will instantly feel the quietness and relaxed atmosphere as soon as you set your foot on this amazing Island. Langkawi in a few words: Paradise, remote white beaches, tropical relaxation and stunning nature.
How to travel to Langkawi
You can travel to Langkawi by plane or by boat. We travelled by boat from Penang, which took us around 2.5 hours. The boat ride can be quit bumpy so if you are not that good with boats and bumpy waves, you might take some precautions as in seasick tablets or anything.
Where to stay in Langkawi
Kuah is the entry point for those coming by ferry from Penang or the mainland of Malaysia. From the Boat jetty in Kuah it`s only 5 minutes to the Bayview hotel, where we stayed. This hotel is located in the heart of Kuah and from the rooms will treat you with wonderful views over either the bay or the mountains. The Bayview hotel also has a really nice refreshing swimming pool overlooking the bay. For more about the The Bayview hotel click here.
With Kuah being the entry point for ferry passengers to Langkawi, it developed to a nice cosy town with many shopping and dining opportunities. It`s not really famous for his beaches though. But Langkawi is only a small Island and you can easily drive around it in 1 day with a rental car, or have Kuah as you home base and explore from here.
Where can you find Langkawi’s best beaches
If you are coming to Langkawi to enjoy a beach holiday , Kuah might not be your best shot, but you will find where you are after at the following places:
Pantai Cenang | The busiest beach town on Langkawi , where you can find a diverse range of café`s, bars, restaurants and shops. A bit out of Pantai Cenang you will find the big all-inclusive resorts, ideal for families who don’t want to worry about anything during their holiday. Look at www.agoda.com for a wide range of options.
Tengkorak Beach | A secluded beach at Langkawi’s north western coastline, and is really popular by the locals as it`s quite far from Langkawi`s main beaches and tourist attractions, and the location is not easy to find ( you ll drive past it before you know ) so his beach is not packed by tourists and it`s ideal for families as there are plenty of picnic tables, bathrooms with showers, prayer rooms and you will find some food stalls as well at the main entry. If you are lucky and it`s a clear day you can even get a glimpse of one of the Islands of Thailand.
Where is the best place to get lunch in Langkawi
Wherever you decide to stay in Langkawi, the island is pretty small so you can discover it all by rental car. The roads are pretty good and it’s not busy at all at the island, which makes driving around easy. We did a big lap around the island in 1 day, which is pretty doable. Make sure you arrive around lunchtime at the Perdana Quay in Telaga Harbor. We found an amazing tapas restaurant here named TAPAZ. It`s famous among locals for its great tapas menu and wine selection. They have a great Mediterranean style menu and its located at the waterfront. The outside area is decorated with lots of colour, staff is really friendly and the food is divine!
Charter a boat to sail around Langkawi
Another fun thing to do is to charter a boat with a skipper and you basically decide where you want to go. Langkawi has lots of small islands around her and there are many fishing opportunity’s as well. Just step into your local tourist excursion office and they offer lots of different packages. They also do group tours, but we decided to charter our own boat with skipper for more freedom.
How to travel from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur
When we travelled back from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur we took the the ferry and the bus. It took us quit a long time because of an accident and bad weather.
We took the ferry from Langkawi to Kuala Perlis, which is very close to the Thailand border. This ferry ride took around 1.5 hours. Then from 11.00 – 20.00 in the bus from Kuala Perlis / Kangar to Kuala Lumpur. ( normally around 6-7 hours ) but the luxury and the comfort of the bus made up for it all. We could just, eat, sleep, relax, read, write on a very comfy seat. And just for the record, those tickets only costed us around 50RM per person!
Click here to read our Kuala Lumpur short stay itinerary.
