Hi, I am planning to visit Malaysia - this November.<BR><BR>What would be the recommended way to visit Penang and Langkawi from Kuala Lumpur?<BR><BR>I am open to any option - Drive or Train or Air? Would prefer self driven Car as I would love to see country side.<BR><BR>-Hitesh

well from KL too Georgtown, Penang. a super luxery bus will be good.. try too find an express... the bus will take the highway though.. but a pluss is that it leaves you in the city as opposed too the train that leaves you on the main land and you have too look for the ferry onto the the island..

If you want to drive up from KL to Penang you could. Though you would be driving on a more than adequate road, it would be a long drive. There'a bridge crossing the Straits from mainland Malaysia to Penang. See how long the train takes and make your decision.<BR><BR>You could take a train from KL to Butterworth and then take a ferry to Penang. The train ride would take six hours. The trtain station is right near the Ferry terminal. Then the ferry from Butterworth to Penang would be 20 minutes. During the day the ferries run every ten minutes. Then you need to hire a taxi to get you to your hotel.<BR><BR>You could fly from KL to Langkawi or to Penang. I flew to Langkawi from KL, maybe an hour and change. <BR><BR>The choices between Penang and Langkawi are a 4 hour boat ride or a forty minute flight.<BR><BR>I'd fly to Langkawi, and rent a car there for a day and see the island. Then hire a boat to take you to some of Langkawi's smaller islands.<BR><BR>The flight to Penang from Langkawi is very brief (40 minutes). I don't think the plane went higher than 9,000 ft. The airport in Penang is in the Southeast of the island, and most people stay in Batu Feringhi on the North Coast of Penang. It's a 45 minutes drive up to Batu Feringhi from the airport.<BR><BR>Michael in New York

unless you have lots of time---fly...spend extra time driving around langkawi---you can do it all in one day but a couple of days would be better...i had a deal from malay air---they have an office in CA, i think...gave me several segments for a set fee---called around malaysia or something similar...everything we read said penang was too commercial so we skipped it....eat at bon ton in KL and in langkawi---near town

The drive from KL to Penang is about 3 hours if traffic is at a minimum. I'd fly. Air Asia has had CHEAP flights lately - so cheap you wonder how they afford it. They have a website, but I'm not sure of the URL - just do a search. I'm not sure if they fly Penang to Langkawi, though.<BR><BR>Busses would be okay for KL to Penang, too. Just look for an express one and bring a sweater - they LOVE air/con.

Hi Hitesh,<BR><BR>I would recommend that you take a bus to Penang. Take either of the these :<BR>"Plusliner" RM25 one way to Penang<BR>or<BR>"NICE" RM50 one way to Penang. The difference is that NICE have 21 seats only and they are comfortable/reclinable like airlines's<BR>business class seats (very large) and very clean whereas Plusliner have more seats and equally clean and comfortable. The journey to Penang will take 4 1/2 to 5 hrs max and the bus takes you into the heart of Penang (Garden Inn hotel). <BR>Website : www.plusliner.com<BR>email : [email protected]<BR>In Kuala Lumpur (KL), their head quarters and bus station is at the old train station so from the airport, take the train the KL Sentral and take a taxi to the old train station (in Malay, Stesen Kereta-Api. The departture times for NICE are 9.30 am/11.30am/1pm/4pm/6pm or 7.30pm and the return from Penang is exactly the same schedule.<BR>From Penang to Langkawi, fly there and rent a car to drive around. Dont bother with the ferry service as the water can be choppy this time of the year and unless you dont get seasickness..dont try. I puked all the way there on my last trip. BTW, I live in KL.<BR>Happy trip