Langkawi travel blog — The fullest Langkawi guide for first-timers

It’s definitely not an overstatement to say that Langkawi is a tropical paradise of Malaysia. Considered to be the jewel of Malay tourism, this destination is home to 99 different large and small islands. About 30km west of the mainland, Langkawi is not only well-known for its potential in island tourism but also loved for its primeval forest system and abundance of plant and animal species. Let’s discover this beautiful and vibrant island through our Langkawi travel bog (Langkawi blog) — The supper guide for a Langkawi budget trip and travel to explore Langkawi island of Malaysia from Langkawi travel tips, Langkawi trip cost, unforgettable experiences, best places to visit in Langkawi, top things to do in Langkawi, and more with Living Nomads below.

So, today, let’s find out some necessary travel experiences which are extremely useful for a trip to Langkawi!

What is the best time to visit Langkawi?

The weather in Langkawi is quite similar to southern Vietnam, with a clear division of rainy season and dry season. The rainy season lasts from June to November with sudden rains, but does not last long. Therefore, during 12 months of year, you can always come here to visit, discover.

Langkawi trip cost: The costs for a trip to Langkawi

Transport cost

To get to Langkawi, you can choose to fly with cheap airlines from Tan San Nhat Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) or Noi Bai Airport (Hanoi) to Langkawi Airport. The two most popular airlines that tourists often choose to get to Malaysia are Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia. And if you were lucky enough to catch the cheap or free flight tickets, it will only cost you about 30 USD (less than one million) for a one-way ticket to Langkawi Island.

The second way to get to Langkawi is to take a flight to Penang then take the express train to Langkawi. This can save you money, but it is quite time-consuming for you because you’ll have to change the transport continuously and spend a long time waiting for the train.

Getting around Langkawi

After arriving in Langkawi you can rent a motorbike or taxi to explore this beautiful island. If you go in a group you should choose a taxi, if you just travel with a partner, the motorbike is definitely the best because while traveling by bike, you can really enjoy the cool breezes, the warm sun, and every other natural gift of Langkawi.

Taxi: The most convenient and easy way to travel in Langkawi Island. Taxis here are quite popular and are calculated in km so you can pay the price before going. Taxi is around $0.4 for 1 km, so you can see the map for the number of km and then calculate the amount to pay for easy before riding.

Motorbikes, cars: If you want to use motorbikes or cars to travel, you must rent a car or a motorbike. Motorbike and car rental services are also very developed, you can rent a car or motorbike at the hotel that you are living in or along Pantai Cenang street. Motorcycle rent ranges from $2.25 – $4.49 / day depending on type of motorbikes, while cars are $17.96 – $29.94 / day depending on type of cars.

Accommodation cost

There are two main areas that visitors often choose to stay when coming to Langkawi: Pantai Cenang and Kuah.

If you love leisure activities and water sports, Pantai Cenang is definitely No. 1 destination for you, as this place has a wide range of restaurants, bars, and innumerable motels.

Kuah is also a good option to stay when traveling to Langkawi. This area is the administrative center of Langkawi. That’s why Kuah lacks many entertainment activities, which makes it less eventful than Pantai Cenang. However, if you want to find some peaceful moments, this place will be perfect for you.

The price for a low-cost accommodation in both areas ranges from $18 to $22 depending on the staying time.

Food cost

Food cost in Langkawi is similar to one in Penang and somewhat cheaper than one in Kuala Lumpur. Once coming here, you should try the seafood, traditional Malay dishes such as Nasi Kandar (hot rice served with many buffet foods, but mostly curry), Koey Mooi Kee (similar to Nasi Kandar), Char Kuey Teow (stir-fried noodles), Hokkien Mee (stir-fried noodles with satay in Malay style) and of course satay skewers.

The price for each kind of eats is around MYR 3 – 5 and a hearty meal usually costs only MYR 10 – 15.

Langkawi travel blog (Langkawi blog): Some useful Langkawi travel tips for saving budget

Rent motorcycle

The average price for one mile when traveling by taxi in Malaysia is about MYR 3, but the taxi fare is also based on the number of passengers. So, if you just travel with a partner, the price of traveling by taxi in Langkawi will definitely not cheap at all. Therefore, a better solution is renting a motorcycle.

It may cost quite much but it’ll be very convenient for you to explore anywhere on the island. To rent a motorcycle, you just need to ask the staff of the hotel you stay and they’ll show you the way and the place to rent a motorcycle.

Book the tour and buy ticket of entertainment activities beforehand

Langkawi has 99 large and small islands, so the main kind of tour when coming here is visiting these islands. You can find the tourist information booth, pier or directly ask the hotel staff for an interesting island tour.

However, these kinds of tours are often not uniform in price and uncertain in quality. Therefore, you should find out the tour information or the destination you want to visit, then book your ticket (if possible).

In this way, you may ensure the quality of your tour, and don’t have to worry about any additional charges when enjoying your trip in Langkawi.

Enjoy street foods

Prices for meals with popular dishes like Nasi Kandar is only about 3 MYR, quite cheap but can make you feel extremely full. The street foods here can also give you a great variety of options such as chicken, beef,…

Besides, the way they combine the ingredients will also make you fall in love with the unique cuisine of this island. So, if you want to take a trip to Langkawi but don’t want to spend so much for the food cost, don’t ignore the street foods here!

Limit wine and alcoholic drinks

Malaysia’s religion is Islamic so the rules on drinking are quite strict here. That’s why the cost of the alcoholic drinks like beer, wine, cocktails,… is very expensive. And therefore, you should limit the amount of money spent on the alcoholic drinks because it will make your money run out very fast.

Langkawi blog: Where to stay?

Below are some best cheap, budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews you can refer to.

• Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa, Langkawi (Address: Pantai Cenang, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-952 8888), 5-star hotel with room rates from $126/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• Bayview Hotel Langkawi (Address: Jalan Pandak Mayah 1, Pusat Bandar Kuah, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-966 1818), 4-star hotel with room rates from $36/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• G Langkawi Motel (Address: Lot 403 (Plot C), Kampung Kelibang, Kuah, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-966 6001), 2-star hotel with room rates from $20/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• Berjaya Langkawi Resort (Address: Karung Berkunci 200 Burau Bay, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-959 1888), 5-star hotel with room rates from $95/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• Adya Hotel Langkawi (Address: No 1 PT 4001 Mukim Darul Aman Persiaran Mutiara 2 Mukim Kuah, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-960 8000), 4-star hotel with room rates from $34/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• Cenang Plaza Beach Hotel (Address: Lot 2606, Jalan Pantai Chenang, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-955 8228), 2-star hotel with room rates from $39/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• Camar Resort Langkawi (Address: 60183, Jalan Pantai Tengah, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-952 4111), 4-star hotel with room rates from $70/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• Vivanta Rebak Island, Langkawi (Address: Vivanta Rebak Island Resort, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-966 5566), 5-star hotel with room rates from $121/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• The Andaman, a Luxury Collection Resort, Langkawi (Address: Jln Teluk Datai, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-959 1088), 5-star hotel with room rates from $174/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• Casa del Mar Langkawi (Address: Jalan Pantai Cenang, Mukim Kedawang, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-955 2388), 5-star hotel with room rates from $225/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
• The Smith House (Address: Jalan Pantai Cenang, Mukim Kedawang, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia / Phone: +60 4-955 2388), 3-star hotel with room rates from $44/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

You can find, check rates, reviews & availability for Langkawi hotels on Agoda.com or Booking.com or Airbnb.com.

Langkawi travel guide: Experiences not to be missed, top things to do, activities, best places to visit when traveling to Langkawi

Visiting the islands

“Island hopping”, which means visiting many islands in the same journey, is probably not strange to tourists who used to travel to the countries that have many islands. In Langkawi (where there are 99 islands) you can choose from visiting 3, 5 or 7 islands in one tour. These island tours will depart from the harbor, and take you around the large islands on quite comfortable ships.

Besides, you can also experience the fancy activities here such as swimming in the crystal sea, watching the eagle hunting, scuba diving or watching the sunset,… if you choose the island tour packages that include those activities.

Exploring Pantai Cenang Beach

Pantai Cenang is the most popular and well-known beach in Langkawi. This beach seduces tourists by its blue water like jade, fine white sand like vanilla ice cream and fresh palms.

Also, in this tourist destination, you can easily find all kinds of entertainment, from the bars to the sea-view restaurants and local specialty shops. This place also has good facilities and many modern hotels which will be perfect for you to stay.

Visiting the Eagle statue

Langkawi means eagle in the local language, so it is no wonder that the giant eagle statue was erected to be a symbol of the city. You can visit and take photos with this statue in the square, which is completely free of charge.

Discovering Pantai Tengah beach

As another version of the Pantai Cenang, Pantai Tengah owns a long sandy shore. The colors of the sand and of the sea water here look almost like ones in Pantai Cenang. Therefore, if you love the beauty of Pantai Cenang but don’t want to hustle in a mist of a press, then you definitely should go to Pantai Tengah.

This destination also offers many leisure activities such as spa, massage and island tours which will absolutely satisfy tourists who wish to enjoy the real relaxation.

Visiting Pulau Payar

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