Why You Should Visit Langkawi
Updated 14th August 2020
Why You Should Visit Beautiful Langkawi
- The breathtaking beaches are a feast for the eyes Langkawi’s pristine beaches – namely Datai Bay, Pantai Cenang, and Tanjung Rhu are rated one of the ebst in the world . …
- Mouth-watering cuisine and local delights will tantalise your taste buds. Ikan Bakar, beef rendang, sambal…
- The strategic location offers numerous day-trip opportunities. …
- Natural landscapes here are truly alluring. …
- Wildlife diversity makes for fun-filled family outings.
- Superb Duty Free
We arrived in Langkawi from Manila, the Philippines via Malaysian airlines, one-stop off of 2,5hrs at Kuala Lumpur and booked via Momondo for the cost of 94 UK pounds which included 20kg check-in and two meals. Great value! and we have always wanted to visit Langkawi.
Check via online gives you the opportunity to pick you seating arrangements, so worth checking in A.S.A.P.
The flight was perfect with lots of legroom, meals were edible. Would I recommend flying via Malaysian airlines over the really cheap airbusses, such as Air Asia? Big thumbs up!!! As AA may seem cheaper when seeing the ticket price, however, add all luggage on etc.. More costly! Be cautious… Ok, If you have just a rucksack up to 7kg.
Hello Langkawi, you just have the feeling when your flying into the airport, if you have a seated window and you can see the beach approaching, that it’s going to be something special visiting Langkawi and it is. Another part of paradise found in a different country.
How To Get Langkawi
As mentioned we flew into Langkawi straight from Manila and on arrival, a no-hassle 3-month social pass. Malaysia just welcomes you with open arms in many ways and this is mainly the first of many great things for this country.check out our Malaysian destination page.
You can also get to Langkawi by ferry or plane from Kuala Lumpur, or from Penang and other States within Malaysia. All the worldwide Carriers fly into Kuala Lumpur which is a worldwide airport hub. So sometimes it’s cheaper to fly direct KL first, then make your way to Langkawi which is a few hrs away. Try our affiliated associates Skyscanner link, Booking.com link
Accommodation in Langkawi
We had already pre-booked for our accommodation in Langkawi as we always do, however, this is always a gamble before arriving, so we never book for more than a week in advance. Our main concern apart from having peace and quiet and a clean affordable place to LAY OUR HAT is the internet speed and reliability, as many times the speed may not match what you were told or reliability may be an on/off situation.
Don’t despond though! You can always find a solution and touch wood “a phrase, hope it never happens”, we have not been offline or had a really bad experience as of yet. Remember to have your mobile sim card (2) ready to tether! and data bought, do a speed check once arrived. This advice is mainly for Nomad travelers!
This time we choose an Hamara Home through AirBnB and came up trumps again. Affordable, clean and the internet speed surpassed what we needed, the host Hafidz is a great host and lives on this little development in a quiet village 2km away from the Canang beach! So we had the best of both worlds, peace and quiet and entertainment within walking distance.
Many reasons why you should visit Langkawi
1) Pulau Dayang Bunting – One of the 3 islands hopping
Well, this was a Sunday morning well spent, I just wish I had taken my Sony cam with me, this was a 4 hr trip at a cost of 30 Ringgit which included picking up from your hotel. Door to door service for the whole trip for less than a tenner.
Langkawi’s second largest uninhabited island is accessible via a 15-minute boat ride from Kuah Jetty. Its name literally translates to ‘Isle of the Pregnant Maiden’ as it resembles the silhouette of a reclined/horizontal pregnant lady from afar. Locals also believe barren women will become fertile/pregnant after swimming in the freshwater lake on the island.
We took a boat with no more than 15 people on board, with life-jackets and plenty of legroom. Surrounded by mangrove trees and a limestone formation, the freshwater lake, (known as Lake Guillemard) is great for swimming, which we did, while small shops nearby offer drinks, snacks, and souvenirs as well as paddle boats and life jacket rentals.
While the lake is fitted with several wooden decks, it has an average depth of 10 meters without any shallow area so life jackets are highly recommended for children and swimming novices.
The lake is a short walk and very scenic, watch your food though as the monkeys are a dab hand of relieving you of it! We had a one hour stay over at this beautiful island and onto wards the 3rd island, we stopped at Eagle island, where you can get amazing camera/smartphone shots of the eagles flying over you.
2) Bike hire and a trip to the beach Pasir Tenkgorak.
Filling up at the gas station, 5 ringgit gave us a full tank, bike – old scooter 25 ringgit plus deposit 50, supposedly you must have an international driving licence to show, they just took a few details and copied passport.
I asked what about if it gets nicked/stolen as they don’t provide a chain, he laughed and said” small island no one nicks/steals bikes.” Waterfall 30 mins from Cenang beach, free to get in on the road past the cable car/crocodile farm and 1. 5 kg from a great little gem of a beach Pasir Tengkorak where u can see the ex-convict prison in Thailand:
This small beach lies on the Northern Coast of Langkawi facing the Thai island of Tarutao which is just 5km away.
Information boards tell us how Tarutao was used as a prison in the early 1930s. The existence of crocodiles and sharks in the surrounding sea at that time ensured that only a few could escape alive and some bodies were swept by the current of the sea onto this beach, hence the name Pasir Tengkorak which translates as Sands of the Skull. The waters around Tarutao were also known for feared pirates who raided passing merchant ships and dumped bodies of their victims into the sea.
Nowadays there are no more pirates or prisoners here and hopefully not too many crocodiles or sharks either. A short coastal path and steps lead to a rocky cove. The water here is clear.
The beach has a wooded picnic area with gazebos, toilets and changing rooms. Everything a must and all free apart from feeding crocs and entrance. Love Langkawi
3) Walk around Cenang, Langkawi
Started our day off with a scrumptious regular breakfast at Panji Panji Tropical House with a full English breakfast and a cappuccino to die for 34 Ringgit in total = 6.80 UK sterling.
The staff are very informative about the Island and are lovely people, I will miss our chats and breakfasts!
Then we went for a lovely slow walk along the main Langkawi beach of Cenang and ended up at a hotel called Fave and this will be occupied by us for mainly the rest of our stay with us being around the pool at different times of the day and eating its delicious menu, Italian meatballs, cheese with rice and Iced Coffee, 30 ringgit or 6 UK Sterling. we felt the vibes of warmth, we were offered this view with pool. Big WOW!
4) Kuah and Kuah ferry terminal
If you want to leave Langkawi you can fly or catch a ferry, we decided on our next trip to Malaysia that we would see Penang. Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast by the Malaka strait.
Therefore we headed today 27-08-2019 to book a ferry from Kuah which is around 20km – 30minutes by car from Cenang where we were based in Langkawi. We used the reliable Grab service car and this cost 24 Ringgit. Once at the Kuah ferry port booking office past the KFC, which is located on the right when you enter the mass development of shops and ferry port. We headed for counter 5. The cost of the ticket was 70 Ringgit one way.
The terminal has everything you want, restaurants, shopping malls and duty-free. Be careful of the touts hanging around the ticket booths, as we couldn’t work out why they were asking where we going as we were right next to the ticket counter and it’s easy enough just to book by yourself and there is an information desk. Also a big must bring a copy of your passport, otherwise, it will be a wasted journey. luckily for us, we had it in google drive.
Also, you can see the very impressive Langkawi Eagle protecting the island of Langkawi.
5) Visit the Oriental Village and experience the cable car -3D art studio and riding with the dinosaurs.
Although we had a break in the weather, it was still very much a hit and miss with it being the rainy season, after arriving via grab to the Oriental Village which was 30 mins from our homestay. We bought the basic package which included 4 adventures, the skywalk was shut though, however still a great price for so much entertainment.
First, we went on the skycab and a must for any traveller to Langkawi, the views were very picturesque and ideal for taking videos and pictures shots, it was 6 people to a cab, which wasn’t uncomfortable, they will also accommodate if you want to enjoy it privately with just your friends or by yourself if it’s not that busy.
After the Skycab it was a chance to see Bugs Bunny and his mates, a nice little touch for the children.
This is the second-largest 3D art museum in the world and the largest in Malaysia. You can visit them at Langkawi’s Oriental Village and experience a whole new world without leaving paradise.
This is also part of the basic package within paying for the Cable Car and another must, once entering you must take off your shoes as the artwork is also featured on the floors as we walk around. It has many different styled rooms and art for everyone to enjoy. There are six zones in total and each one is spectacular
After this, we went for a meal. Oriental Village has many big name brands as well as a food court, we went for the German side cafe, which we ironically ended up having an Italian spaghetti bolognese for 19 Ringgit, wasn’t the best but we’ve had worse, just needed a bit more tomato flavour adding in our opinion and parmesan cheese
Our YOUTUBE CHANNEL, Where we have a full tour of the island in parts.
Overall feeling about Langkawi
I would put this Island in my top 5 places to lay a nest for the future!
Great people, great infrastructure, not too large with only a population of 90,000, but large enough to get lost in, very clean and seemed to be well organised, enough activities to keep you occupied with some beautiful unspoilt beaches and at the moment its 5 Ringgit to the Pound Sterling, so very reasonable. The Icing on the cake, the weather!! Even though we went in the rainy low season, you were always guaranteed some sun in-between the rain clouds.
General Information: Langkawi
Visa’s Uk citizens receive a 3 month on arrival and can be extended in Kl without leaving as told. ( Please check though with government website first.)
Transport:
Ferries available to and from many islands and neighbouring countries.
Buses available for hire and many tourist buses for all local attractions.
Taxis local and App taxis available in abundance.
Bye Bye Langkawi and Hello Penang
Population sixty per cent Chinese, thirty per cent Malaysian and the rest mixed foreigners, now these figures made me go wow!
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