Langkawi Holiday Tips

Langkawi is one of the best places for sun, sand and beautiful beaches. A great value for money holiday paradise for sea lovers. The people are lovely, very friendly, perhaps we felt like family everywhere we walk in. If you are contemplating of visiting, think no more, book your tickets now, you wouldn't repent 😊

Accommodation

There are plenty of hotels and airbnbs that are great in Langkawi and few also with fantastic beach view. Since we were travelling with extended family, we chose an airbnb. This ensured we have independent bedrooms but a common shared living space to hang out and also spend time for games and fun.

Link: Airbnb

Getting around 

There is no public transport to get around in Langkawi, would highly recommend renting a car. If you decide to rent a car, would recommend prebooking and collecting from the airport or arrival and dropping off back upon return. You can save over 50% by pre-booking ahead of time.

Things to do 

Island Hopping - Mangrove - Naam Adventure 

We decided to book a 4 hour private tour island hopping covering private secluded island, mangrove, pregnant maiden island, bird (eagle) watching, mangrove tour. 

Tips: There are number of operators, make sure to check the reviews. We chose Naam adventure for a day of water adventure. Although Naam is a bit expensive, the quality, service and hospitality was exceptional, would definitely recommend them. 

Read our full Naam trip advisor review here

Langkawi comprises of 99 islands, + 5 small islands visible only at low tide. Naam owns a private island, called Paradise101, the 101st discovered island.  It is perfect for big groups to rent out the island for a day out of fun or wedding. We spent more than half a day there starting with a relaxing lunch at the beach followed by some drinks, water sports including jetski and rides. To watch the action checkout the video at the bottom of this page. 

Birds eye view of the Paradise101 island. 

Fun fact: The Island of the Pregnant Maiden got its name because it looks like a pregnant woman lying down. The myth goes that an eminent local fell in love with a fairy that lived on the island. She had their child but it died after seven days. When buried in the lake it turned into white crocodile.  The legend says that any woman who drinks in the fresh water lake at the heart of the island will conceive.

Sunset yacht 

Kuah town - Eagle square 

Eagle Square is the place that reflects origin of Langkawi's name. The square is marked by a massive 12-meter eagle sculpture which is poised to take off, it will blow away anyones heart.

Helang means Eagle in Malay, and Kawi stands for reddish brown stone for marking goods.  Langkawi also offers special eagle feeding and photography tours.

Sunset is an ideal time to visit the place, to get breathtaking view of the eagle both during the daytime and evening while lit up with fountains around. It was definitely one of the magical sunsets we have ever experienced!

Bonus tip: In Kuah town there's a duty free shopping mall Billion Duty Free Supermarket (Langkawi), stocking all duty free items, mainly chocolates, drinks and tabacs. 

SkyCab 

Skycab is a mindboggling experience of travelling in a cable car where one feels like travelling inside a drone with spectacular aerial view.

Time of visit: One of the must visit in Langkawi, and popular tourist attraction, this can have long queues so it’s a good idea to get there early in the morning.  

Tip: Panaromic glass bottom gondola has a immersive feeling of flying in air, would definitely recommend them though it comes with slight higher cost. One thing to note, there is only 1 glass bottom gondola for every 10 normal ones. The queues for VIP are separate hence shorter and given the low frequency of it, it evens the time.

 The total length is 2.2 km (1.4 mi), with a journey time from the base to the top of around 15 minutes. 

SkyGlide 

The SkyGlides, glide you down to the to the SkyBridge. Skybridge is slightly lower than the top station. 

SkyBridge

The cable-stayed bridge actually curves 125m around a single support, and one can feel it waver at that height with the winds. It is definitely a magical but the number of packed crowds can be a bit disturbing.

Fun fact for Bollywood enthusiasts: the last scene of the Hindi blockbuster Don was filmed here.  

The views of Mount Mat Cinchang from the Skybridge are truly worthwhile.

Where to eat? 

There are plenty of places to try out local cuisine. One place we found ourselves going back time and again during our stay was Hotel Malaysia Restaurant. Absolutely delicious home away from home style indo-malaysian food, set up by a very friendly owner. Inexpensive place.

TripAdvisor

Video Tour