Langkawi is made up of 104 islands and is 30 km off the north-west of Malaysia. The main island of Langkawi is pretty big, not overly populated and a lot of forest still remains. The island is duty-free, which makes it a popular with locals, as well as international tourists. There are a lot of activities on offer, such as parasailing, go-karting and snorkelling and the beaches are sandy and clean.
We only stayed on Langkawi for a few days either side of our trip to Koh Lipe in Thailand, so we didn’t manage to explore the whole island.
Getting there
Langkawi is easy to get to from all over Malaysia, especially due to its airport.
We travelled there by bus from the Cameron Highlands to Kuala Perlis (the nearest town on the mainland) and caught a ferry over to Langkawi. The bus took seven hours to Kuala Perlis, luckily it was comfortable! The ferry from Kuala Perlis cost about £3.50 and took around one hour. We then took a thirty minute taxi from the port to our hostel near Cenang Beach.
When we left the island, we caught a very cheap flight to Kuala Lumpur (it only cost £17 and took one hour, which was only a couple of quid more than the ten hour bus!)
Where to stay
We stayed at Two Peace House, which isn’t far to walk from Cenang Beach. The hostel was really comfy and affordable and the owner was super friendly. The two resident, fluffy cats were a bonus too.
Things to do
We only had a couple of days so we didn’t get a chance to explore much of the island. We spent time at Cenang Beach, which had beautiful soft sand, warm shallow water and incredible sunsets. Sometimes deadly jellyfish can be found in the water, so look our for warning signs on the beach. There isn’t any snorkelling off the beach.
As a belated birthday present for Ste, we spend a few sweaty hours at Skytrex – a high ropes, obstacle course in the forest, complete with zip-wires, flying foxes and swinging bridges. It’s very similar to Go Ape in the UK, but costs a fraction of the price at only £8 each. It was a great way to spend the morning and get some exercise (my arms hurt the next day!)
Places to eat
Our favourite place to eat was Kasbah. It’s set in amongst the fields, serves huge portions of delicious food, has a relaxed vibe, plays great reggae music and doesn’t serve plastic straws. They also offer an initiative to reduce plastic and Styrofoam from the nearby, weekly night food market – borrow their tupperwear to buy food and bring it back to eat in the restaurant whilst listening to live music. To top it off, they have weekly film nights and events. It’s only a fifteen minute walk from Cenang Beach.
Yellow Beach Cafe,on Cenang Beach also served good quality food, although it was more pricey. The Nest, the only rooftop bar, has great views over the beach, nice food and drinks. You can take your own booze up there too which makes it more affordable.
Next stop: Koh Lipe.
Adventures of Ailsa 