Day trip to Langkawi

 
 
If you are living in or visiting a nearby place like Penang, Kuala Perlis, Kuala Kedah or even Satun of Thailand, you can plan to make a great day trip to Langkawi. Start early in the morning, take a ferry and reach Langkawi, visit many great attractions and get back in the evening. It takes only 1hr 15mins from Kuala Perlis to reach Kuah by ferry, 1hr 30mins from Kuala Kedah, 2hr 45mins from Penang and 1hr 15mins from Satun.  
 
 
You can also make a great day trip to the island from Kuala Lumpur, take a flight to reach Langkawi in the morning and get back by an evening flight. 
 
Itineraries in this page will also be useful for cruise ship passengers who get only few hours in Langkawi. 
 
 
Hi Raj, 
 
I came across your site and found it very helpful. You are literally doing a great job in guiding people to enjoy maximum in minimum. I will be visiting Langkawi for a day on Jan 4th '15 with my spouse. My plane will land on Airport at 8:30am and depart at 10:40pm. I'll be interested to see/do the following attractions . 
 
1.Kilim GeoPark and Mangrove tour 
2.Cable Car 
3.Eagle Square 
 
Question 1:KIndly suggest the order in which I should do all these three activities. 
 
Question 2 : Also mention a rough time calculation covering these activities. 
 
Question 3: I have chosen Kilim Forest Tour over island hopping tour on the basis of the fact that the former offers more unique and informative activities (bat and croc cave, fish farm, eagle feeding etc) than the latter. Please mention the difference between a full day Kilim Forest Tour(9:30 to 4:00)  and a shorter 2 hours tour. If we choose a shorter trip ,will we still be able to do all the activities  in 2 hours tour or miss out some? 
 
Question 4:Should we book one taxi for the whole day or take different taxis each time for different destinations? Which option would be economical? 
 
Question 5:What time should we reach at airport for our 10:40pm flight? 
Looking forward for your response. 
 
Sam Joseph (December 2014) 
 
 
Take 2/3-hour tour of Geopark/Mangrove (ideally charter a boat from Kilim Jetty). You can see most things in shorter tour but not all. If you charter a boat, you have better chances of seeing most in the tour as you control the timings. 
 
Visit Cable car next and then Eagle Square. If you don't have luggage, you can plan on point to point taxi. But you may not always get taxis immediately at all places. So if possible, keep the taxi with you. You should target to reach the airport 2 hours before flight departure. 
 
Raj (langkawi-insight.com) December 2014 
 
 
I plan to visit Langkawi on a day tour, or maybe a half day tour; I come from KL. That means I'll take bus from KL at night, and arrive at Perlis early morning. Then I'll take first ferry to Langkawi (07.00 AM). After I arrive at Jetty Kuah (08.30 AM or 09.00 AM), I plan to rent a motorbike. After I get the motorbike, I'll go to Oriental Village, to ride CableCar-SkyBridge. After that, I'll go to Pantai Cenang - Underwater World. After that, in the afternoon, I'll be back to Kuah, to send back the motor bike. During my time waiting for last ferry to Perlis (19.00 PM), I plan to go to Eagle Square-Legenda Park. And then I'll take last ferry to Perlis, and I'll go back to KL with bus. 
 
I'm sorry to say that I can't go to Langkawi by plane, due to expensive fare. I'm solo traveller, and backpacker/flashpacker; Maybe I look over-enthusiastic, and plan to visit and do many activities in a short time. Can I get to places I've mentioned above in a short-limited time like that? I know the consequences that I can't have enough relax time at every spot, but it's okay. 
 
Also I want to ask about renting a motorbike. I've heard so many bad reviews about renting a motorbike, like accident, bad tyre, bad helmet, buffaloes, etc. Is that true? Because I prefer to rent a motorbike rather than take taxi, because, you know, I'm budget traveller. 
 
And how about the crowd ? I plan to visit Langkawi on public holidays. (Chinese New Year, 19 or 20 Feb). Or maybe I should visit Langkawi on Sat 20 Feb or Sun 21 Feb ? Any suggestion or critics on my itinerary plan ? 
 
Wanriadi (February 2015) 
 
Hi, your plan is quite okay and you can do the day's itinerary quite comfortably. What you heard about motorbike rent is often true. So always rent a bike from a well known agency and ensure all paperwork is in place (insurance etc). Roads are quite good and problems of buffalo etc is rare. 
 
Try to avoid public holidays because there can be lot of rush and queues at the main attractions like cable car etc. 
 
Raj (langkawi-insight.com) February 2015 
 
 
 
Hi, I am travelling to Langkawi for a one day trip. My flight will be at 7.30 am on Saturday and flight back will be at 11.30 on Sunday morning. 
 
Do you think I would have enough time to go for Island hoping? I initially planned to go to the Oriental Village, Underwater World, Kuah Town (for some shopping), Dataran Lang, Tanjung Rhu and finally to Pantai Chenang where my hotel is. What would you suggest? I am travelling to Langkawi for photography purposes, is there any 
other place that you would recommend?  
 
And since it would be during the fasting month, should I be anticipating high traffic jams? 
 
Prabha (June 2015) 
 
 
You may just be able to squeeze in island hopping, but keep a close watch on your time. Start with island hopping (first boat is around 9am). Get back and make a quick visit to Underwater World (30-40 minutes) and head for Oriental Village/Cable car. On your way back visit Tanjung Rhu beach and then head to Kuah. For photography, a visit to Gunung Raya mountain and the forested area around would have been great. But you don't have time. Fasting month should not pose any problems with traffic. Try to avoid the Ramadan market area that sets up in Kuah, unless you want to savor local food. 
 
Raj (langkawi-insight.com) June 2015 
 
 
 
I am from Sri Lanka. Please advice me on my tour. Planning to visit Langkawi on 20th August 2015 by night train from KUL which arrives Langkawi on the next day morning. Our group consists of 6 and have to return to KUl on the same day evening. Can we cover the sky bridge,eagle square and duty free shopping during a day visit.  Pl. let me know how to arrange these 3 places to visit easily. Pl.also let me know whether there are any vehicles which can go 6 persons(eg. vans etc.). 
 
Thank you very much in advance for the great help you do for the tourists. 
 
Deepthini (July 2015) 
 
 
Hi, there is no direct train connection from KL to Langkawi. Once you reach Alor Setar or Arau, you will need to take a transport to the ferry dock and take an express ferry to Kuah town of Langkawi. Eagle Square is next to Kuah Jetty (once you come out, it's a minute's walk). From Kuah take a taxi (7 seaters are also available) to Cable Car at Oriental Village and visit the Sky Bridge. Get back to Kuah. Most duty free stores are located in Kuah including the Jetty Point which is located at the Ferry Jetty. Go through this link for stores in Kuah. 
 
Note: If you take an afternoon or evening ferry back, there is no way you can reach KL on the same day evening. Buses take about 8 hours. Your only option would be to take a flight back. 
 
Raj (langkawi-insight.com) July 2015 
 
 
Hi Raj, 
 
We are arriving on a cruise ship and planning to visit the cable car/sky bridge. Will we have time to visit the Kilim Geoforest on the same day. We only have 6 hours to spend in Langkawi. Please advise. Thank you. 
 
Tina (January 2016) 
 
 
Take a taxi and head straight to Kilim jetty (will take about 40 minutes). Take a chartered boat or a short shared cruise if available (2 hours max) to get around the geopark water area. Get to Oriental village for Cable Car ride and head back to cruise terminal. There can be long queues at the cable car. Keep the taxi with you, otherwise you can be in trouble. Book it for 5/6 hours. 
 
Raj (langkawi-insight.com) January 2016 
 
 
I plan to come to Langkawi from KL in Feb 2018. I plan to arrive by Bus and Ferry and go back the same way in the evening. I want to visit the following places : 
1. Eagle square  
2. Langkawi cable car 
3. Langkawi sky bridge 
4. Langkawi Arts in Paradise 3D museum 
5. Underwater world 
 
Is the trip possible in a day? I am ok with extending for a day if necessary, else would stick to my plan. Should I hire a taxi or just hail one? 
 
Thanks in advance for your expert guidance 
 
Leena (December 2017) 
 
 
Hi, this is doable but can get a bit hectic. Better split the plan in two days so that you can get enough time to explore and enjoy. If you split in two days, you can hail taxis and get to the places, otherwise you need to hire one for several hours. 
 
Raj (langkawi-insight.com) December 2017 
 
 
Hello ! i will be in langkawi ( by dream cruise from  Singapore cruise ) at 7:00 AM on port and approx 10 AM ON island and need get back to cruise at 4 PM i am planning to visit sky bridge , cable sky and take the ride do you think it possible in 5hours to complete this ? please guide 
 
Amit (August 2018) 
 
 
Yes, quite possible... take a taxi for few hours (you can hire on an hourly rate if you want). Note... cable car ride and sky bridge are the top two attractions everyone has in their wish list. So try to reach there early... the cruise passengers can create a long queue and you may end up wasting hours on the queue unless you buy express tickets. 
 
Raj (langkawi-insight.com) August 2018 
 
 
Hi, I am planning a day trip to Langkawi from KL with my family (5 adults and 3 kids). Our flight lands at 11:15 AM and i am planning to go directly to Kilim Jetty to charter a private boat for a 2 hour tour (12:00 PM to 2:00 PM). At 2:00 PM, we will leave for the oriental village, have lunch there and do the Sky cab (Im thinking of getting the 4:00 PM or 5:00 PM tickets). From the oriental village we leave directly for the airport. I want a suggestion if this  is a doable itinerary or am i stretching myself too much. I am also planning hire a taxi/minivan for the entire trip. Should i search something online or can i just hire one at the airport? 
 
Mariam Muneer (July 2019) 
 
 
Hi, your plan is doable depending on the time of your return flight. You can hire a taxi at the airport. 
 
Raj (langkawi-insight.com) July 2019 
 
 

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