We arrived in Langkawi not knowing what to expect. We hadn’t done any research on the island, which is extremely unlike us. After 5 days of exploring this rather large island, we have put together everything we have learned into this Langkawi Itinerary.
Although our Langkawi Itinerary consisted of 5 days, we could have happily combined all the activities into 3 days. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side for 2 or the 5 days, which meant a well-deserved rest with lots of eating and Netflix
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Where Is Langkawi Island 🗺️
Langkawi Island is the largest of the 99 Islands that make up the archipelago in the Andaman sea. The islands are located off the West Coast of mainland Malaysia, close to Penang. The island of Langkawi has great connections to the mainland with regular ferries and flights.
Map of Malaysia and Langkawi Island
How To Get To Langkawi 🧭
Our journey started in the best hub of Asia, Kuala Lumpur. We opted to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi for two main reasons. Firstly, the flights are generally very cheap, we managed to find a return flight for £48! The flights are direct and the travel time is only 1 hour, so for us, this was the best option.
If you are on a tighter budget don’t panic, we have a few more budget-friendly options for you. Unfortunately, with the cheaper modes of transport, the travel time dramatically increases. You can choose to take the train and a ferry across to Langkawi. This journey takes 8 and a half hours, we can’t comment on how comfortable the train is, we can only guess it isn’t the best!
The other option is a bus and ferry, this takes 9 and a half hours. You can find more details at 12Go. This is the best website to book your travel around Asia with.
All journeys are returning Per Person.
Fly – £48
Train – £34
Bus – £30
Our Langkawi Itinerary 📝
D 1: – Island Hopping morning tour, Pentai Cenang Beach, Duty-Free Shopping
D 2: – Seven Wells Waterfall, Black Sand Beach, Tanjung Rhu Beach, Eagle Square (Dataran Lang), Night Markets
D 3: – Sky Bridge and Cable Car, Dash Beach Club
Things To Do In Langkawi🚶
Rather than sticking to a strict time frame, we have written this Langkawi Itinerary in a way that allows you to mix and match, your activities each day. You might be an action Jackson, like Olly, or a sassy sunbather like Milly, we think we have got both types of people covered!
⭐The more stars means = Must See in your Langkawi itinerary ⭐
For each activity, we have included the amount of time we spent there (not including travel time), along with a star rating. This should help you plan out your days better.
Seven Wells Waterfall 💦-⭐⭐⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 3 hours)
The Seven Wells Waterfall or as the locals call it, Jalan Telaga Tujuh, is one of the top places to visit in Langkawi. Chasing waterfalls is one of our favourite activities whilst travelling, and the Seven Wells Waterfall didn’t disappoint. This spectacular piece of nature is located on the Eastern side of the island, high up in the hills close to the Telaga Harbour Marina.
We have written a full Seven-Well Waterfall Guide. This includes everything you need to know from how to get there. The best times to visit and what to take with you.
Temurun Waterfall 💦– ⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 1 Hour)
If you are a keen waterfall chaser then you should head over the Temurun Falls. This waterfall has three tiers and is the highest waterfall in Langkawi. It is a 20-minute ride from the Seven Wells Waterfall to Temuran Falls. Once you arrive there is a car park to leave your car or bike, with no entrance fee.
🚶🏽 From the car park it is a 5-minute walk to the waterfall. 🚶🏽
⌚ Temurun Waterfall opening times 7 am- 7 pm ⌚
Cable Car & Sky Bridge Langkawi 🚡 – ⭐⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 2 hours)
Langkawi is known for its Island Hopping tours, but the Langkawi Sky Bridge and Cable Car are the most famous landmarks on the island.
You can take the cable car / SkyCab 🚡 to the second highest peak in Langkawi. Here you will get a 360-degree view of the island. On a clear day, you can see southern Thailand from the top viewing platform.
3D Art In Paradise 🎨 – ⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 30 mins)
Next to the Cable Car and Sky Bridge is the Langkawi 3D Art Museum. This museum is the second largest 3D art museum in the world and the largest in Malaysia.
As you walk around you can interact with the artwork and you can end up with some amazing pictures. This is a great place to visit if the weather isn’t great.
Dash Resort & Beach Club 🍹- ⭐⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 5 hours)
Sassy sunbathers, this one is for you. DASH Beach Club is worth checking out for a full day of relaxing and dancing around the pool with some kind of fruity drink in your hand🍹
Equipped with an infinity pool, sunbeds in the middle of the pool and a swim-up bar, what more could you want. Did we mention the infinity pool leads onto the beach?
If you are staying in the Dash Resort, then you have free access to the pool and the surrounding luxury. If you are visiting for the day, you will have to pay a small fee for a bed and towel. In our eyes, it was worth it, as you do get your money’s worth. We ended up spending most of the day here enjoying the pool and of course plenty of cocktails and food.
Island Hopping Tour 1/2 Day – ⭐⭐⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 5 hours)
Langkawi Island is the largest of the 99 islands that make up the archipelago in the Andaman sea. Can you tell why Island Hopping is one of the most popular activities in Langkawi yet? When we arrived, we had no idea what the island hopping included, which was kinda nice as we had no expectations, as we have with other island-hopping tours around Asia.
This was one of our highlights whilst visiting Langkawi. You get to visit the following places.
Pulau Dayang Bunting (Tasik Dayang Bunting)-The Pregnant Maiden Lake
The first stop on the tour goes by many names but the most common is the Pregnant Maiden Lake. The locals say as you approach the island, the rock formation appears to be a pregnant woman laying down. Inside the centre of the island is a huge freshwater lake, which you can swim in for a small fee.
Eagle Feeding 🦅
The second stop is to an island called Pulau Singa Besar, which is also known as Giant Lion Island. This island is a wildlife sanctuary where the White-bellied Fish and Brahminy Kite Eagles live.
Pulau Beras Island
This little slice of paradise is by far the most picturesque part of the tour. It has everything that makes up the perfect tropical island. Crystal clear blue water, white sandy beaches, and a few palm trees dotted along the coastline.
Each Island Hopping tour is 5 hours long and normally has a return hotel transfer included.
Read our Island Hopping Tour Guide.
Duty-Free Shopping -⭐⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 1 hour)
Did you know the island of Langkawi has huge shops fully of duty-free goodies? The government original made the island duty-free to encourage tourists to visit the island, well it seems to have worked. You cannot buy cheap alcohol, chocolate and much more from these duty-free shopping centres. They are dotted all around the island in touristy areas. Airport rules apply, a pint at 9 am followed by Mcdonalds is perfectly acceptable.
Mangroves Tour Langkawi – ⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 5 hours)
The Langkawi Mangroves Tour encompasses Island Hopping, wildlife and exploring the Kilimanjaros Geo-forest Park. You get to visit the Crocodile and Bat cave before heading to a private beach for lunch, and a relaxing swim.
This tour includes a return transfer to your hotel.
This tour is longer than most and includes more stops, which results in it being slightly more expensive than the other tours. If you are on a budget, we recommend taking the half-day island hopping tour.
Langkawi Night Markets – ⭐⭐
(Recommended time spent at location 2 hours)
The Langkawi Night Markets take place every night between the hours of 17:30-22:00. Each night the markets are at a different location around the island. If you are travelling on a budget, then this is a place for you. You can buy a huge selection of street food and we promise you won’t spend more than £2-3.
You can also take a night market tour with a guide, they will help you choose some of the best local dishes.
Here are the times and locations for each Night Market
Best Places To Eat In Langkawi 🍲
Food is always one of our top priorities when planning a trip, our Langkawi Itinerary was no different. We normally aim to visit a wide selection of places to eat. Some are found through TripAdvisor, whilst others we just stumble across, or have recommendations from friends and locals. Either way, we are not shy when it comes to food.
From budget to slightly more expensive (depending on how delicious it looks), we are backpackers after all. We have sampled some of the best places to eat in Langkawi, to provide you with a guide.
The French Factory
Dessert
Thai Odyssey Cafe / Pom Pom Bar
Thai
⇢ Location 📍
Pizza Hut
We did say we are still backpackers at heart! How can you go wrong with a medium pizza which happily feeds 2, from Pizza Hut for £2.50? If you are on a budget then you might find yourself here more than once.
⇢ Italian
Dash Beach Club Food
Bar, International, Malaysian
⇢ Location 📍
Yellow Cafe
Image: Yellow Cafe Langkawi
Bar, Pizza, Cafe
Alhamdulillah Restaurant
Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Arabic
Mangoes
European, Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options
Best Places To Stay In Langkawi 🏨
When it comes to accommodation in Langkawi, you are spoilt for choice. From large luxury resorts to backpacker hostels, there is something for everyone. The main tourist town of Pentai Cenang is where you will find most of the mid-range to cheap accommodation. Further out of the tourist areas nestled in the jungle you will find the luxury resorts. Most of these come with their private beaches and tours.
For our Langkawi Itinerary we choose to stay in the same hotel for the full 5 days we were on the island.
Find the cheapest hotel using Agoda or Hostelworld.
Bed Attitude Hostel – 🤑
Dash Resort and Beach Club Langkawi – 🤑 🤑
Datai Langkawi – 🤑 🤑 🤑
Best Beaches In Langkawi 🏖️
Langkawi is known for its white sandy beaches and emerald green waters. This was the main reason for us wanting to visit Langkawi, so we could relax. On one of our days on the island, we hired a car and went to explore as many beaches as possible.
A lot of the beaches we found were only accessible if you were staying at the resort attached to them. These tended to be the more secluded and nicer beaches. Below are the top beaches we visited that are accessible to the public.
Pentai Cenang – ⭐⭐⭐
This beach is probably the most visited beach by foreign tourists. It is found on the West Coast of Langkawi and stretches along the town of Kampung Lubok Buaya. You can enjoy water sports by day and drinks with fire juggling by night. This beach gets extremely busy.
Pantai Tengah – Dash resort beach ⭐⭐
A little further south of Pentai Cenang beach you will find Pantai Tengah Beach. This spot is a little quieter was a few hotels backing onto the waterfront including the Dash Beach Club Resort.
Black Sand Beach – ⭐
This beach is not on the tourist trail. Whilst out exploring we accidentally found this black sand beach, nestled away on the Northeast side of the island.
The beach is not the best on the island, nor is it totally black. But it is a cool place to explore and take a few pictures. They’re a few signs leading down to the water’s edge which explains why the beach is black.
Tanjung Rhu Beach – ⭐⭐
The Tanjung Rhu Beach was one of our favourites. It is a lot quieter than the other two main beaches on the other side of the island. It is also at the mouth of a river, close to where the mangrove tours depart from. In the car park at the beach entrance, there are a variety of stalls and restaurants to keep you going through the day.
Best Time To Visit Langkawi ☀️
For most of the year, Malaysia has hot and humid weather. However, there are good and bad times to visit the island of Langkawi.
We planned our Langkawi Itinerary strategically to avoid the rain. Typically, Malaysia’s peak season on the West Coast is between November and February, this is because it is a lot drier.
The wet/low season in Langkawi is between April and October.
✨TRAVEL TIP✨ To get slightly cheaper prices, visit just outside the peak season months.
Getting Around Langkawi 🛵
Scooter Hire
When we think of travelling in South East Asia, all we think about is blue water, sandy beaches and riding a scooter with the wind in our hair. There is something about the freedom you have, whilst exploring on a scooter that we love!
All around the towns you will see scooters for hire, these are on average £4-5 per day.
Remember to check your travel insurance to see if you are covered. We use Alpha Travel Insurance, if you are from the UK this company has you covered and is very competitive in their pricing.
Langkawi Car Rental
You can Rent A Car from the airport terminal. Either way, you are likely going to want to explore the island. So depending on the level of exploring you have planned will inevitably choose how you get about it.
Taxi 🚖
We used Grab Taxi to get around the island when we weren’t driving ourselves. This is an affordable way to get around the island and allows you to have a few drinks in the evening. You are on holiday after all.
Langkawi Airport ✈️
When you arrive at Langkawi Airport you have the choice of taking a local taxi to your accommodation or ordering a Grab Taxi as we did. The Grab taxis are slightly cheaper than the local ones. Alternatively, you can Rent A Car from the airport terminal.
If you are wanting to use grab you will need a Malaysian SIM Card which you can collect from the airport.
Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi 🚆
When travelling around Asia we like to use a company called 12Go. You can book all your travel whether it is a bus or a boat online and there is no need to print out your tickets.
To get from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi you can fly direct, or travel through the mainland of Malaysia like us. On the way, we stopped off in places like The Cameroon Highlands and Penang, both places we highly recommend visiting.
Langkawi to Koh Lipe 🛥️
Have you ever visited Thailand? At the end of your Langkawi Itinerary book the local ferry to Koh Lipe. The quickest and cheapest way to enter Thailand is by taking the bundhaya speed boat from Langkawi to Koh Lipe. This small but beautiful island is one of the best in Thailand. The journey will take you 30 minutes and costs £25 Per Person. The ferry leaves from the Telaga terminal which is located at the Telaga Harbour Marina.
We recommend booking a few days in advance as in peak season they can see out.
Pin Our Langkawi Itinerary For Later!
What Camera Gear Do We Use
- Main Camera: Panasonic G80
- Go To Lens: Panasonic 12-60mm
- Tripod: Manfrotto Adventure Tripod
- Camera Bag: Manfrotto Backpack
- Underwater Camera: GoPro Hero 8
- Drone: DJI Mavic Pro 2
- Power Bank: Anker Power Bank
- Hardrive: WD 1TB hard drive
