Langkawi, the ‘Jewel of Kedah’, is a stunning archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea which takes a special place on most travellers’ bucket list. Which is why you will find lots of information available to help you plan your most suitable Langkawi travel itinerary. And, that is actually how we had planned ours as well – no need for any travel packages!
A trip to Malaysia without Langkawi is definitely incomplete. Nestled off the northwestern coast of Malaysia, Langkawi is actually closer to the Thai islands than it is to the Malaysian-mainland. And the beautiful scenery of Langkawi is more reminiscent of a tropical island than anywhere else you might find in the country.
Although you can easily spend a week or even 10 days exploring the Langkawi, but if you have time limitations, 3 or 4 days is good enough. We felt 3 days in Langkawi is the perfect amount of time needed to enjoy the sights and delights of this Malaysian archipelago.
In this blog post, we will share with you our 3-day Langkawi travel itinerary. We are sure this will help you plan your trip in the aptest way possible.
Our Langkawi Travel Itinerary
Let’s start this with a quick summary of our 3 days in Langkawi – Things to do in Langkawi
Day – 1
Langkawi Cable-Car and Sky-Bridge
3-D Art Museum
Kok Beach
(Pantai Kok)
Pekan Kuah Night Market
Day – 2
Langkawi Mangrove Tour
Black sand beach
Durian Perangin Waterfall
Pantai Cenang Beach
Day – 3
Duty-free shopping at Billion
Eagle Square
Island hopping tour
We had taken an early morning flight from KL so we reached Langkawi by 9 am itself. Although it was a bit hectic to wake up very early in the morning to catch the flight, but as a result, we could have the entire day to start our Langkawi travel on a high note. Also, on the third day, we took a late afternoon flight so that we could enjoy Langkawi, a natural beauty, in the morning and KL, a man-made beauty (with all its glittering lights), in the evening!
DAY 1
Breathtakingly scenic landing at Langkawi Airport
Just like any other archipelago, landing at Langkawi is a scenically spectacular affair. Make sure you have the window seat on your flight from KL to Langkawi. Turquoise waters, white sand and greenery of tropical islands – a perfect picture!
Once you disembark your flight and come down, you will experience something strange. Or at least it was strange to us – the terminal is more like a marketplace than like an airport. A marketplace of tour operators, travel agents and car-rental services. But it’s actually good – you can hop from one vendor to another and get quotations for popular tours like island hopping, Geoforest Park, Pantai Cenang etc.
We on the other hand got very lucky. As we had booked an Airbnb apartment for our stay and the owner of that place happened to be a tour operator, a wonderful person who offered us cheaper rates compared to the other tour operators and the guy himself came to pick us up at the Langkawi airport and chose to be our guide to take us on route our very own Langkawi travel itinerary.
Langkawi Sky-Bridge and Cable-Car
Undoubtedly it was the first of the many places to visit in Langkawi on our trip plan. Famous for a lot of things but we as visitors from the land of Bollywood were more excited as it is the spot where the last scenes of the movie Don (the one with Shah Rukh Khan) were shot! Our guide was very kind to offer to stand in the queue at the ticket counter for us. It gave us time to click loads of pictures and gather more information about that place. There are a lot of spots for the perfect Instagram picture of the day or just a romantic selfie with a picturesque background. We surely had our share of that experience and even interacted with some outgoing organisms along the way.
Even before receiving our tickets (improvised as wrist bands so no one loses it) we were already in queue for the steepest (42 degree gradient) cable car ride in the world – The Langkawi SkyCab. It is merely a 15-20 minute ride to the top but depending on the rush it can increase a bit. You can choose between a full glass cable car and the one with lesser glass and families are always seated together. The management around the operations of that place is really commendable and the glass cabins are perfectly safe to make you just enjoy the spellbinding 360 degree scenes around. While we rode uphill we let ourselves soak in the vibes of the waterfalls and jungle beneath rich in flora and fauna and the views of the Pantai Kok along the Telaga Harbour with Mount Raya in the backdrop
At the end of the cable car ride lays a few more steps to the 125 meter pedestrian bridge hanging along the Mat Cincang peak (708 meters ASL) as a true engineering masterpiece – The Langkawi SkyBridge. And once we reached there, the panoramic views till the horizons were simply astounding. On a clear day one can even see Thailand from up there. However, the trail of steps do not end at this bridge as one can climb up till the very top of the mountain and enjoy the top view of the Langkawi SkyBridge with all the beauty around it. We surely did not miss that opportunity. After taking a lot of pictures we went for a short hike into the Geoforest under the cable cab ride and once we were completely soaked in the vibes of the first place on our Langkawi travel itinerary we rode down the Langkawi SkyCab enjoying the mesmerising views of the hilly archipelago.
SkyDome and SkyRex
These two attractions at this locale gave us more than a three-dimensional experience. The beautiful journey through the universe inside the SkyDome was incredibly soothing while the breath-taking journey through the world of Dinosaurs amidst T-Rex wars surely tested our adrenaline glands. For a moment I forgot it was a simulation. One should definitely go for these experiences as part of the combo tickets along with the 3-D Art Museum as package deals.
Note: Having the MyKad earns you a hefty discount when you show it at the ticketing counter.
3-D Art Museum
Adjacent to the SkyRex is this amazing 3-D Art Museum where we had the best optical illusion experience of our lives by far. Every piece of art is made in such a way that from one particular viewpoint the artwork comes to life and one can pose as if they are a part of that lively picture in the aftermath. We tried to be as creative as we could.
Kok Beach a.k.a Lighthouse beach (Pantai Kok)
Though this Lighthouse beach was not on our Langkawi trip plan when we saw this beautiful beach behind the Telaga harbor from the top of the Langkawi SkyBridge and even during the cable car ride, we decided we just had to visit it. This is one of the best things to do in Langkawi. Our guide was kind enough to drive us as close to the beach as he could and once we reached the Kok Beach the views of the turquoise waters with small islands in the distance and boats docks at the beach with the gorgeous Lighthouse in the backdrop were literally jaw dropping. This forces us to suggest you to add it to you Langkawi travel itinerary whenever you are there. We spent some time there before bidding adieu to Kedah – the north-western part of the main island in Langkawi and a natural habitat for many endangered and rich species.
Pekan Kuah Night Market
Nights in Langkawi are serene and pretty tranquil except for the Night Markets. Busy and eventful market streets crowded with people teeming over the shops with the variety that it has to offer. Among all the Night Markets in Langkawi, the Pekan Kuah Night Market was on our Langkawi things-to-do list. As expected our experience included a plethora of delicacies and the entire spectrum of colours, wonderfully arranged in the narrow packed streets of the night market. The shops even sell local goods and souvenirs at very reasonable rates and while enjoying some of the local delicacies we kept observing what to buy in Langkawi. While returning we asked our host/guide/chauffeur about what to do in Langkawi for the rest of our stay and verified it with our very own Langkawi things-to-do list. So by the end of day one of our 3 day Langkawi trip plan, we had a rough idea of how much to spend in Langkawi.
DAY 2
Langkawi Mangrove Tour
If you ask any local about what things to do in Langkawi then they will definitely suggest you to include Langkawi Mangrove Tour in the itinerary. Nestled inside the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park there is this wonderfully pristine boat ride experience through the mangrove waters of the Kilim River with natural eagle feeding spots which left us all enthralled. There are even a few places where we got down and had a first-hand experience of the natural beauty of this location’s topography as well as a variety of flora and fauna. Huge fruit bats in the Bat Cave, colourful fishes, lobsters and sting rays at the Fish Farm and the sight of the birds of prey (the White-bellied Fish Eagle and the Brahminy Kite which gives Langkawi its name) that dominate the skies of Langkawi swooping down and feeding on the helpless fishes left us in awe of the adventurous vibe of the naturally built environment of this well preserved Geoforest. The very sight of the mangrove lined mountains of huge rocks emerged at right angles from the water was daunting enough to leave a massive imprint of the entire experience on our memory receptors.
Black Sand Beach
After our overwhelming tour of the mangrove waters, we wanted to relax and let our experience sink in. So our guide drove us to the Black Sand Beach of Langkawi which has a lot of myths surrounding the dark color of the sand in that region. However, this pristine beach with almost no human activity and the scenic views with the Andaman Sea touching the horizon was the perfect soothing experience we were looking for on the Langkawi itinerary 3 days. Before leaving we even bought a few souvenirs from the shops along the way that leads to the beach and adjacent to the parking lot.
Durian Perangin Waterfall
Durian being the national fruit of Malaysia and a very popular mode of income for the local farmers can be often seen on almost every street and market in Langkawi. And once we got to know there is an entire durian forest and a waterfall running through it with hikes on either side of the waterfall and bridges connecting them; we just had to include it in our Langkawi trip plan. This place has a mystical atmosphere and is well preserved in the lap of a hill and the sound of water flowing and the birds singing put us in a trance while we hiked up to the top. It is a haven for all nature lovers and an inspiration for those who are blind to its incredible beauty.
Pantai Cenang Beach
Langkawi trip plan only feels complete once you see the sunset from the Pantai Cenang/Beach. So we made sure we were already there at least an hour before the sun kisses the horizon and eventually hides behind it. It was definitely worth it. And so was the dip in the cool turquoise waters swimming with the tides that broke on the soft sandy beach. One can even participate in Parasailing activities that the tour operators have to offer. And just around sunset the entire backdrop changes into a spectrum of red and orange colours and the picturesque views that follow are simply breath-taking.
DAY 3
Duty-free shopping at Billion
Apart from beautiful beaches and mystical geoforests Langkawi is also famous for the Duty-free shopping opportunities it has to offer. And our ladies strictly wanted that on our Langkawi travel itinerary. Billion seemed to be the best possible option that we could have availed of or as a matter of fact, that anyone should avail of. We spent a couple of hours in this huge supermarket with great quality and branded goods at cheap duty-free rates. You can find all sorts of things here, ranging from chocolates and souvenirs to cigarettes and alcohol (however check with your airline operator on how much duty-free alcohol you can carry). After spending two days on the main-island we had already made a list of what to buy in Langkawi. So we tried to quickly strike off every item off that list so that we can use the rest of the day efficiently before finally embarking on our return journey from this whimsical paradise in the Indian Ocean.
Scroll more to check out things to do in Langkawi!!!
Eagle Square a.k.a Dataran Lang
At walking distance from the Kuah Jetty, CHOGM Park, and the Billion supermarket (as well as a few other duty-free shopping malls), the Eagle Square boasts of a 12 meter tall monument of the reddish-brown eagle looking over the Kuah Bay and acting as a welcoming sight for ferries as the symbol of Langkawi. As per folklore, it is this mighty bird that gives the archipelago its name (helang – eagle, kawi – reddish-brown). The area is open for 24 hours but dawn and dusk would be the best times to be there. It is one of the top things to do in Langkawi and the beautifully designed courtyard and park surrounding the monument provides for the impeccable background for a postcard-perfect picture. Hence being photography enthusiasts, even though we had visited this place the night before, we checked it out again after our tour of the Billion supermarket.
Island hopping tour
Once we were done with Kuah we had enough time to include the Langkawi island hopping tour in our self-curated Langkawi tour package itinerary. It had started raining while we were on route to the Teluk Baru Jetty. The weather in Langkawi in July can be a little unpredictable with light showers but it only enhances the views after the rains clear out and we were lucky enough to experience that as by the time we reached the jetty, the sky had already cleared out. We did not have any prior bookings and that is not necessary as well. Though there are a lot of tour operators, typically tours only operate twice a day (one at around 9am and the other at around 2pm). You can go through our Langkawi island hopping tour blog for more detailed information on it. It is a part of the Langkawi trip blog series.
Return flight to KL
Well, all things come to an end and so did our Langkawi experience. After striking off every place on our Langkawi travel itinerary we were finally back at the airport where it all started. As we approached the boarding counters, the creatively designed murals and wall-art on one side all the alley made us revise our entire Langkawi trip plan. Even after boarding, we were ruminating on all the incredible experiences we had and hence we definitely suggest you have a similar list of places to visit in Langkawi in 3 days. As we had a late afternoon flight the stunning dusky views just after take-off was the best conclusion to our Langkawi trip plan that we could have gotten. Since our 3 day trip to Langkawi cost for 5 adults was not heavy on the pockets this itinerary can be considered as a Langkawi trip budget. However, what we personally felt is that any amount you spend here will always be worth it.
Yes it’s very nice place..We enjoy very much….. Super photography n writing extra ordinary… Keep it up..