Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur
How to Travel by Ferry, Bus, Train, Flight

Last Updated: 2020-07-24

There are several options to get from Langkawi to KL (Kuala Lumpur).

Which one you take depends on your budget and the amount of time you want to spend travelling.

For information on the best way to travel in the opposite direction from KL to Langkawi click here >

Langkawi ferry >

Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur Ferry

Pulau Langkawi ke Kuala Lumpur Feri

There is no direct ferry service operating between Langkawi Island and Kuala Lumpur.

The only passenger boats that operate between KL and Langkawi are luxury cruise liners.

The only ferry services from Langkawi Island to the Malaysian mainland depart from the Kuah Jetty for Kuala Perlis and Kuala Kedah.

The other ferry service heading south is to Georgetown on Penang Island.

If you want to travel overland to KL, you will have to use one of these services.

Langkawi to KL Bus / Train

Bas / Keretapi Langkawi ke KL

Via Kuala Perlis Jetty

Bus from Kuala Perlis Jetty to KL:

A popular route to travel to KL overland is to first take a ferry to the port of Kuala Perlis as this has the easiest bus connections.

From the ferry terminal (jetty) it is just a few minutes walk to get to Kuala Perlis Bus Terminal.

Kuala Perlis bus station

Long-distance buses depart from Kuala Peris all the way to Kuala Lumpur's TBS and Hentian Duta bus terminals with the duration of the journey at around of 7 hours.

If the buses to KL from Kuala Perlis are full, another option is to take a MYBas Perlis bus to Kangar Bus Terminal (Bukit Lagi) where you can find more departures to KL.

Ferry timetable from Langkawi to Kuala Perlis jetty >

Taxi or Bus, then Train from Arau Railway Station:

Seats on an ETS train to KL

If you want to take a fast ETS train from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur (via K. Perlis) you can take a taxi or bus from Kuala Perlis Jetty to Arau Railway Station (around 18 km).

To go by cheap bus, you take a MYBas bus service from Kuala Perlis to Kangar, then change buses for another MYBas bus to Arau Train Station.

For more information about the MYBas services in Perlis:

Visit their official website here >

From Arau Station there are a number of ETS trains a day to Kuala Lumpur / KL Sentral.

For the latest timetables and train fares from Arau to KL click here >

To see the full ETS timetable to travel by train from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur click here >

If you want to visit the official KTMB (Malaysian Railways) website click here >

Via Kuala Kedah Jetty

Bus from Kuala Kedah to KL:

The other option to travel by bus from the mainland is to first take the ferry from Langkawi to Kuala Kedah.

Ferry timetable from Langkawi to Kuala Kedah jetty >

From Kuala Kedah Jetty you will now have to get to Alor Setar Bus Terminal (around 13 km).

You can take a taxi or a cheap local bus from just in front of the ferry terminal building that travels through Alor Setar city centre, then onto the bus station.

Buses from Alor Setar's Shahab Perdana Bus Terminal take around 6 and a half hours to get to KL.

To check for bus times and fares from Kuala Perlis or Alor Setar:

Visit our bus booking page here >

Train from Kuala Kedah to KL:

To take the train from Kuala Kedah Jetty to Kuala Lumpur you will have to first travel to Alor Setar Railway Station (around 12 km from the jetty).

For ETS train timetables and fares from Alor Setar to KL click here >

Take a taxi or the same local bus that goes to the bus station.

You will have to get off the bus in the city centre (ask the driver to let you off at the nearest stop to KTM Alor Setar).

The walk to the train station is around 10 minutes.

Flying from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur

Penerbangan dari Langkawi ke Kuala Lumpur

By far the quickest way to travel from Langkawi to KL is to take a flight.

The flight time to KL is a little over an hour and you can choose to fly from LGK to either KUL (Kuala Lumpur International Airport - KLIA) or SZB (Subang Airport).

Another slightly cheaper option is to fly from Alor Setar Airport (AOR) to KUL or SZB.

To find cheap flights click here >

KLIA is connected to the city centre by the fast KLIA Express Train service or a cheaper (but much longer) bus service.

Subang Airport is connected to KL Sentral transport hub by cheap KTM Komuter train services.