While planning for our Langkawi trip, we were browsing through various things to do on the island. That’s when we came across both these activities – the Mangrove Tour and Island Hopping Tour. In the beginning, both of them looked similar – speedboat cruise. But as we read deeper, we started to understand the difference between them. And after a lot of browsing, reading and research, we finally decided that if we’re doing any one of these (due to lack of time), we will do the Mangrove tour. But, since we ended up doing both of them, we thought it will be good to compose a comparison of Langkawi Mangrove Tour vs Island Hopping Tour.
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To start off, here is the summary in 1 line – if you have time to do only one of them, we recommend the Mangrove tour. And below are the reasons why we recommend it.
Important: At PLACESINPIXEL, we don’t sell either of these tours and hence we don’t stand to gain if you purchase one of the tours over the other. This is our personal and honest opinion just to assist you out with your travel planning and help you to choose between Langkawi mangrove tour or the island hopping tour.
In this blog post, we have compared Langkawi Mangrove Tour vs Island Hopping Tour and you will find:
Our personal experience from both the tours
Although our initial plan was to do the Mangrove tour only, since we saved some time here and there, we ended up doing both the tours. Sometimes, not doing advance booking gives you additional advantages of flexibility!
We drove to the Teluk Baru Jetty (Google maps location) – this is from where the island hopping tour starts. After bargaining with a few tour operators, we finalized one of them for RM 200 for a full boat (5 adults). Just like most island hopping tours, ours also had 3 stops – Pulau Dayang Bunting (Pregnant Maiden Lake), Pulau Singa Besar (eagle feeding/watching), and Beras Basah Island (tropical island for relaxing).
The first stop was a wonderfully scenic fresh-water lake surrounded by mountains that are covered with dense forests. There’s a short walk/hike up the long flight of stairs to go up the mountain for a beautiful panoramic view. And the last stop is a picture-perfect island with far-reaching views of the sea and wonderful soft white sand. It’s a great place for beach lovers and swimmers.
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ALSO READ:
? All you need to know about Island hopping in Langkawi – Our detailed guide
As for the mangrove tour, we drove to the north-west corner of the main island and reached the jetty (Google maps location). After negotiating a bit, we booked our speedboat tour for RM 200. The tour included some really interesting stuff like Bat Cave, Fish Farm and Floating Restaurant, Yacht Park (photo-spot), Eagle watching, Mangrove Sightseeing, Crocodile Cave, Andaman Sea Tour and Kilim Geoforest Park Icon (photo-spot).
Trust me, never before I had seen so many eagles swarming, hunting and flying around in just one place.
ALSO READ:
? Langkawi Mangrove Tour: Malaysia’s Spectacular Ecotourism – Our detailed guide
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One of the primary reasons why we recommend the mangrove tour over the island hopping tour is that the popularity of the island hopping tour has made it more touristy. And, just like many other ‘tourist’ places around the globe, with heavy tourist inflow comes indiscipline and artificialness. You will find a lot of plastic junk everywhere on the beaches that you visit during the island hopping tour. And, you will also notice that the boatmen enticing the circling eagles with raw pieces of chicken so the tourists can get a closer view. The problem with this artificial feeding behaviour is that the eagles have almost given up on their natural hunting skills.
If you have to choose one, then…
Langkawi Mangrove Tour ‘vs’ Island Hopping Tour
You should choose the Mangrove tour if want to…
You should choose the Island hopping if want to…
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Cost Comparison:
From a price point-of-view, both are similar. In fact, for us (a family of 5 adults) it was exactly the same. In both the tours, we hired a boat for RM 200.
On a sharing basis, average cost of island hopping tour in Langkawi is around RM 45-60 per person. And that of the mangrove tour is around RM 50-70. There are plenty of tour providers around the jetty area – you can easily bargain among them.
Advanced Booking and Transportation:
During the non-peak months, it’s better not to book in advance. You can go there and negotiate/bargain directly with the tour operators. But during peak season, it might be a good idea to book in advance.
Since the starting point (jettys) of both the tours are quite far from the main city, you also need to arrange for transportation as well. Just keep in mind – if you book in advance, many tour operators provide and include hotel transfers also in the tour costs.
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In the end…
We hope this blog-post helps you to choose between Langkawi mangrove tour and the island hopping tour. In the end, we would like to say that both tours are well organized and kids friendly; providing you with beautiful and scenic views of Langkawi’s natural beauty. And they have their own USPs.
Whether its the mangrove tour or the island hopping tour, please travel responsibly. It’s our responsibility as travellers to bring back our own trash and keep the beaches, forests and natural reserves clean!
