After a few days in Penang, we spent one week in Langkawi, Malaysia. We got on a quick 20-minute flight to Langkawi from Penang. They apparently have a ferry from Penang to Langkawi, but I could not find one running at the time we went. So flying was the only option. Langkawi is an island off the coast of Malaysia. We spent a week there, right on the beach.
It’s recommended that you rent a scooter or motorbike to get around the island, but since we don’t ride motorbikes, we just utilized Grab, which was easily accessible. We stayed pretty centrally right by Pantai Cenang at Cenang Plaza Beach Hotel. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but it was a great location. It was right next to the beach and across the street from the small shopping center. Otherwise, the room was fine. A bit small, and the bathroom ceiling leaked even when we told them about it. The air conditioning was also not great, and we had to turn it all the way down to be comfortable. Anyway, here is what we did while during our one week in Langkawi, Malaysia.
Tour the Kilim Geoforest Park
The Kilim Geoforest mangrove tour is one of the most popular things to do in Langkawi. When choosing a tour, make sure it’s an ethical one. You want to avoid ones that say you can feed the monkeys and eagles. The companies themselves do eagle feeding, but only the boat operator is allowed to feed them and they’re only fed at certain times. We were told that they do this to keep the eagles in that location so they don’t venture toward civilization and start being hunted.
The tour we booked included hotel pick up and drop off, lunch, and all other costs of the tour. While they did tell us not to feed the monkeys, we ended up having some not-too-smart individuals on the boat who brought food to feed them. During the boat tour, she held the food out to the monkeys even after being told she was not to feed them. One of the monkeys jumped on the boat, crawled onto her, and grabbed the food. It was pretty frightening. Basically, they shouldn’t be fed human food since it messes up the ecosystem.
Other than that drama, the tour was great! We visited the bat cave (nana nana Batmannnn), cruised on the boat around the turquoise water, had a decent lunch, and got to see all sorts of wildlife (a muddy mudskipper included). The trip had a stop at Tanjung Rhu Beach to be able to swim. We didn’t have much time there, so we didn’t swim but walked the beautiful beach. It’s one of the best beaches on the island.
Langkawi Sky Bridge and 3D Art Museum
We took a Grab to Langkawi Sky Bridge. We booked our tickets through Klook and tried to arrive around the time they opened (I think we got there around 9:30 or 10 AM). There are multiple tickets you can purchase. We opted for the regular cable car with the sky bridge, and that was all. That cost us around $11 USD per person.
There wasn’t a ton to do at the sky bridge, but you get some great views, and it wasn’t too crowded when we went. After the bridge, we went into the 3D art museum (included in the ticket). That was a whole ton of fun! You have a be a little goofy and a kid at heart to enjoy this – which we definitely are. They have scenes set up all over the room, and when you stand or sit in them and take a picture, it looks 3D. The place is pretty large, too; I think we spent around 1 hour there.
Telaga Tujuh Waterfall in Langkawi, Malaysia
After the Langkawi Sky Bridge, head over to Telaga Tujuh Waterfall. There are multiple levels of waterfalls here, and we only went to the area with the seven pools. However, if you’re physically fit, you can continue to the top. Anyway, the hike is up some steep stairs until you come to the pools, and then it looks like trail hiking after that. You’ll come to a fork where it continues up or splits to the left. If you go left, you’ll be at the first waterfall. If you continue up the stairs, you come to the pools. It’s easy to do both.
The pools are really refreshing, especially after a hot, humid climb up (make sure to bring plenty of water). Some areas act like natural slides in the pools, which is fun but also a bit painful when they scrape at your skin. Also, be aware of your belongings. We saw several monkeys looking through people’s belongings and taking things out or eating food. At one point, I tried to scare one off that was rummaging through someone’s bag. They were down near the bottom of the pools and weren’t able to get to their stuff in time. Thankfully, nothing was missing, and no one was hurt.
Enjoy Watersports in Langkawi, Malaysia
Langkawi is a great place to do water activities. The water is warm and clear. There are tons of vendors selling packages for different water activities. We did 30 minutes of jetskiing and then parasailing with Red Ray Watersports. It was really easy and a lot of fun. We just walked over and asked about pricing, paid by card and were on our way. They also have banana boats and other tubes they’ll take you out on.
Food in Langkawi
We couldn’t say the food in Langkawi was particularly amazing. We found some places we really enjoyed and returned to a couple of times. Yasmin Express had a great shawarma wrap. It was cheap and delicious. Red Tomato had some yummy pizza, and the Asian Tadka Indian restaurant was pretty good for Indian food. Otherwise, we were a bit worn out on Malay food, so nothing really stood out.
Additional Note: Make sure to walk Pantai Cenang beach in the evening for fire shows. Yellow Beach Cafe is a nice place to grab a drink on the beach. But you CANNOT miss the dancing Transformers on the little promenade area by the Cenang Beach sign. It’s just really silly and a good laugh!
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