The island of Langkawi is a tropical paradise in Malaysia. With its pristine white beaches, marine life and stunning scenery, Langkawi is an absolute must on any visit to Malaysia. In this guide, I’ve explained how to get to Langkawi.
Langkawi will likely be your first or last destination on your Malaysia itinerary. If you’ve travelled up from Kuala Lumpur, it’s the last place to visit before continuing your trip to Thailand or heading back to Kuala Lumpur. If entering Malaysia from Thailand, Langkawi will be your first destination.
As Langkawi is a little further away from tourist destinations in Malaysia, navigating how to get there isn’t always the most straightforward. Langkawi has an airport and a ferry port. Depending on where you’re travelling from will decide the best way to get there.
Here are the different options for travelling to Langkawi.
Flying to Langkawi
Langkawi has a small airport with flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore. Flying is by far the easiest way to get to Langkawi, but it may not always be the cheapest.
If you’re heading to Kuala Lumpur from Langkawi, you might find it’s best to fly and avoid the ferry ride and long coach.
The flight from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur is just under an hour. I found Air Asia the cheapest airline and paid less than $30USD for my flight.
If flying to Langkawi is out of your budget or doesn’t fit in with your Malaysia itinerary, the below guide shares other ways to get to Langkawi.
Travelling to Langkawi from Koh Lipe, Thailand
Travelling from Koh Lipe to Langkawi is a popular Southeast Asia backpacking route between Thailand and Malaysia.
Langkawi lies on the Thai border and is a simple 90-minute ferry journey away from the stunning Thai island of Koh Lipe. The border crossing process is very simple and well-managed.
I recommend using Tropical Charters to book your ferry between Langkawi and Koh Lipe. You can do this through 12Go, Asia’s top transport booking service. The ferry departs from Bundhaya Beach in Koh Lipe and arrives at the Kuah Jetty in Langkawi.
When travelling from Koh Lipe to Langkawi, you will need to have your passport stamped by Thai immigration services to get your exit stamp. After this, your passport is handed over to the boat captain and returned to you on the boat. This process is similar when travelling from Langkawi to Koh Lipe except you’ll get your passport back once you arrive in Koh Lipe.
I can’t recommend using Tropical Charters to book your ferry between Koh Lipe and Langkawi enough. The staff explained every step of the process to us and made it very simple.
Note: it is not possible to fly from Koh Lipe to Langkawi as there is no airport in Koh Lipe. As of January 2024, there are no direct flights between Langkawi and any airport in Thailand.
It’s also possible to travel from Satun, Thailand to Langkawi. This route isn’t as popular for visitors as Satun isn’t really on the tourist trail.
How to get to Langkawi by ferry
Langkawi is well connected to the mainland of Malaysia by ferry. There are two ferry ports which run boats to Langkawi: Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis.
If you don’t want to fly, heading to one of these ferry ports will be your best option when travelling from other destinations in Malaysia. This includes Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown (Penang).
Deciding whether to go from Kuala Kedah or Kuala Perlis is where it can get a little bit confusing.
Kuala Perlis: this port is a little bit further north so it can take you a bit longer to get there. The bus drops you off right at the port so you don’t need to worry about getting to the ferry terminal. The ferry between Kuala Perlis and Langkawi normally takes just over an hour.
Kuala Kedah: if you go from Kuala Kedah, the bus will drop you off in the town centre. This means you’ll need to get a taxi or TukTuk to the ferry terminal. If coming from Penang, you might find this route easier. The ferry between Kuala Kedah and Langkawi takes a little bit longer at around 90 minutes.
The easiest way to work out which town to go from is to look at your bus route options and the arrival times and compare them with the ferry times.
To compare ferry times and book your ferry tickets to Langkawi, use the Cuti Cuti Langkawi app.
The website shows the availability for each ferry and the departure times.
Note: if travelling at the weekend or during the peak season, it’s highly advised to book your ferry in advance using the Cuti Cuti app. Langkawi is a popular destination for visitors and locals alike and it’s not uncommon for the ferry to completely sell out.
Once you arrive in Langkawi, you will need to get a taxi or Grab to your hotel.
How to get to Langkawi from Kuala Lumpur
The best way to get from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi is to fly. The short one hour flight avoids the need of taking a long coach and ferry.
If you don’t want to fly, I would suggest taking the coach to Kuala Kedah. This takes fives hours and can be booked through 12Go Asia.
You can also travel between Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Perlis, but the bus takes a little longer.
There is also a train from Kuala Lumpur’s KL Sentral Station. This takes you to Alor Setar where you can get the bus to Kedah’s ferry terminal. This feels like a bit of a hassle than just taking a direct bus, even if it is a little quicker.
How to get from Penang to Langkawi
Flying is the easiest way to get from Penang to Langkawi. The flight only takes 30-minutes and avoids the need of getting the coach.
As I was booking last minute, I found the flight to be too expensive so ended up taking the coach then ferry to Langkawi.
If you don’t want to fly, take the bus to either Kuala Perlis or Kuala Kedah. Most of the busses go from Terminal Sungai Nibong in Georgetown. From there, you can go to the relevant ferry port and jump on the ferry.
Despite information on some websites, there is currently no ferry between Penang and Langkawi (Jan 2024).
Is there a train to Langkawi?
It seems that in the past, Langkawi once had a train station. This is not the case in 2024. To get to Langkawi, you will need to either fly or take the ferry.
If coming from Kuala Lumpur, you can use the train to get to Alor Setar. From here, there’s a bus to Kuala Kedah.
Is going to Langkawi worth it?
Langkawi is absolutely worth visiting. It’s the perfect place to relax for a few days and see a different side to Malaysia. It might be a little further and more complicated to reach, but it’s well worth it.
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