Langkawi
Langkawi is a island located 30km off the mainland coast of northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. The island is part of Malaysia's Kedah. Langkawi well know as a duty-free island, it was one of the attractive point for visitor as well. Langkawi was surounded by different beaches, tourists may enjoy the white sand and crystal clear water here.
Time to visit: You may visit Langkawi island anytime of the year. The weather here is 26'c to 33'c.
Langkawi Landmark
Langkawi Hiliday Villa
Langkawi Cenang beach
Langkawi lagoon
Contents
Getting To Langkawi
By Air The Langkawi International Airport at Padang Matsirat is situated about 20km from Kuah. Malaysia Airlines provides daily air services to Langkawi from Kuala Lumpur and Penang(Kedah's neighbouring state). The budget carrier Air Asia operates daily flight to Langkawi from Kuala Lumpur. In addition, the Firefly airline operates daily flights to Langkawi from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang as well as from Penang. From Singapore, flights to this island are available via Silk Air.
By Sea Visitors who are in mainland Kedah can make their way to Kuala Kedah, to board the express ferry to Langkawi. The journey takes about 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on tide conditions. Ferry service to Langkawi is also available from Kuala Perlis(situated in the neighbouring state of Perlis), as well as from Penang. Visitor from Thailand can sail into Langkawi from Satun.
Getting Around
Self-Drive The network of roads around the state make driving convenient and easy. Car rentals are available at the airport.
Busses and Taxis Shahab Perdana in Alor Star, is the main terminal for local buses, outstation buses as well as taxis. The buses and taxis here connect visitors to various towns in Kedah as well as to major destinations in Malaysia such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Melaka, Kuantan and Johor Bahru. Tickets must be the bus and taxi terminals are situated in Jalan Kuala Ketil(near to the Seri Malaysia Hotel).
Do
- Islands Hopping - For about RM40 (about USD12) you can join the islands hopping. You will be brought to several islands around Langkawi, usually the Pregnant Maiden Island and Pulau Beras Basah. You will also have the chance to feed the eagles along the way. The island hopping takes about 6 hours. This is a very popular and sought after service, inquire from the hotel. They have pick-up service from your hotel.
- Birdwatching - there are over 200 species of birds to spot.
Langkawi cable car
Take the Cable Car to the summit of Gunung Mat Cincang at 700m to walk across the sky bridge and have a spectacular view of the islands including neighbouring Thailand. Valuable Trip. RM25 per adult. Doesn't operate in bad weather, so call 04-9594225 to check if they are open.
- Countryside Biking. You may rent bicycles in many of the hotels. Expect to pay between RM10 to RM30 per day
- Sailing- popular activity with first-class marinas providing berth for many international yatchs.
- Jungle trekking.
- Mangrove Cruise. They have special group tour to the mangrove area. Ask around the hotel you are staying, mostly will offer between RM60 to RM100 per person. They will provide English speaking guide. Even if the guide is not English speaking, you will probably will share the travel with many Malaysians who has decent English. Ask them nicely and they will help.
- Mangrove River Safari & Dinner.
- Mangrove Kayaking.
- Nature Walk.
- Scuba diving and snorkeling around Pulau Payar Marine Park(20km south of Langkawi) - there is a viewing platform for relaxation between underwater adventures.
- Feed the sharks.
- See the island from a bird's eye.
Eagles feeding-in Langkawi island, eagle-feeding trip is most popular tours. Tourist will taken by a small motorboat stopping at a fish farm where you can feed stingrays and at bad caves, where thousands of bats hang upside down from the ceiling. At the tour's culmination, tourist can watch as the sky fill with dozenz of white-capped Brahminy Kite angles, who gracefully dive-bomb the water for pieces of meat.
Langkawi bridge
Walk above the clouds - walking across the suspension bridge is scary but great fun. The 1.8m wide bridge had two 3.6m wide triangular platforms that provided a spectacular viewing area for visitors. Tourist able ti view Andaman Sea and Thailand's Tarutao Island as well.
- Go-Kart - Morac Int. Go-Kart, near the airport. RM34 for 10mins.
- Underwater World 604-955 6100. Every day 10AM-6PM. Try to catch all the feeding time (be there by 10.45am)
- Feed the Eagles - near Tanjung Rhu.
- Relax on one of many beaches!.
- Airtrekking-flying through Langkawi's rainforest!.
- Seven Wells (Telaga Tujuh) - This waterfall is named after the seven natural pools along its path. Legend has it that fairies used to come down to the pools to bathe and frolic. There are 2 viewing areas at Telaga Tujuh. The lower area is at the base of the waterfall and the higher area is where the 7 pools are. Be warned, to get to the 7 pools, you would have to climb 300+ steps which can get quite slippery when wet. As with most Malaysian tourist sites, the toilet facilities are not maintained and rubbish is strewn everywhere.
- Play Smart-Free playland for kids at Harbour Park.
- Koh lipe The only inhabited island in the Tarutao National marine park - Koh Lipe is a small island about 2km long in the Andaman sea, which is on the west coast of Thailand. The only inhabited island in the Tarutao National marine park, Koh Lipe is part of Satun province near Thailand's southern border just a short speed boat ride from Langkwai. The islands around Koh lipe[1] offer some of the best dive and snorkeling sites around
Buy
Langkawi is the only one duty-free island in Malaysia. It offering an attractive range of goods. Hotel tariffs and retail goods are exempt from government duty. Visitors with more than 48 hours stay in Langkawi are exempt on items like wines and liquor (1 liter), tobacco (200 cigarettes), apparel, cosmetics, souvenirs and gifts, food and food preparations and portable electronic items (one item). Video cassettes require clearance from customs.
Shop around before buying: the airport is probably the most expensive place to buy anything. Shop in Kuah town for batik, tobacco products and chocolate confectioneries.
- Kuah Town night market. The local market is held once per week. Walk through the market to enjoy the sights, smells and tastes. Well worth a visit.
- Duty Free Shop. Tourist can find Duty Free Shop easily in Town. Opens from 9am - 8pm.
Enjoy your great time in Shopping.
Eat
Practically all resorts have their own restaurants and most tourists choose to eat in, but there are a few other options as well. Be adventurous and strike out on your own to savour the numerous foods at the stalls and restaurants all over Langkawi. Try one of the many seafood restaurants. Having said that, beware of certain restaurants advertised in the brochures targeting tourists. An example of such restaurant is the 'Coco Beach Restaurant', close to the airport.
Langkawi island is famous in sea food. If you choose lobsters or crabs in a seafood restaurant, take note if the price is by weight or by a set price for the dish. The unwary can be hit with a much larger bill than expected. Also, beware of staffs fooling you that they only have the bigger size lobsters available when you ask for a smaller one, as that is what they tell everyone (a common practice at Coco Beach Restaurant). When your lobster or crab is served, you will discover that you will definitely be paying for 900g of shell instead of meat!