If you have a day layover in Kuala Lumpur and need a fast and easy guide to make your time well spent, then this will be helpful for you! This city is quite cheap to get around and do things, so it’s well worth leaving the airport if you’re up to it!
BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE AIRPORT
- Know that KL is hot AF! And it thunderstorms almost every afternoon. Make sure you have some loose-fitting clothing, sunscreen, water and an umbrella (We went in April– the end of monsoon season).
- Download the app “Grab”. It’s the rideshare of choice in KL. Be sure to get the driver to agree to the fare before jumping in the car and have cash on hand to pay. It takes about an hour to get to the city from the airport and will cost around USD 25 for an hour trip. Not bad eh!
Our open tip: It does take about an hour via taxi to get to KL from the airport, so keep that in mind when you’re planning your trip. Also, keep the rush hour traffic in mind (between 5-7 pm), so you will be delayed even more so if you’re traveling via those times.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is cheap as chips too! About USD 25 a night.
We stayed at The Robertson Residences Bukit Bintang on Airbnb, which had a rooftop pool and spa — yes we soaked up every minute of that spa.
FOOD
Jalan Alor Night Market.
Our Open Pro-tip: Be prepared to be haggled to eat at the many different food places here. If you are incredibly tired or hangry like we were, you may want to come back later when you’re in a better mood!
Bean to Bar Chocolate & Café — Seniman Kakao
Seniman Kakao was by far one of the coolest places we have ever been to, and we highly recommend checking it out…ESPECIALLY if you love chocolate and/or consider yourself a chocolate connoisseur.
PLACES TO SEE WITH TIME CONSTRAINTS
BATU CAVES
Get greeted by the colossal statue of Lord Murugan and the rainbow stairs up to the caves. Check out our post about our visit for more tips here!
KL FOREST ECO PARK
Explore the tropical forest located right in the middle of the city! This nature reserve is one of the oldest protected jungles in Malaysia, and you’ll never know you are even in the city until you head onto the canopy walk. Yes, the canopy walk is a MUST…I mean….look at the views!
15 Comments
Sarah
February 20, 2020 at 11:10 amKuala Lumpur is a place I never thought about visiting, to be honest. I how you described the accommodation as being “cheap as chips” as this is probably the first time I have ever heard this expression. This is such an amazing write-up and I love the fact that you included food into this, as many seem to forget food is important part of culture. Now that I read your blog post, I think I want to visit Kuala Lumpur.
Cherrod and Matt
February 27, 2020 at 12:34 pmMatt here,
I am sure you can tell that I wrote this post with some of the Australian sayings. haha I am so glad that you enjoyed this post…we believe that food is very important to culture as well and we are so happy that someone else can relate! Please do visit KL…it’s a bit underrated compared to other Asian cities but pretty awesome to explore!
April Key C. Rode
February 20, 2020 at 12:15 pmWe’ve been to Kuala Lumpur and I love your guide and I wanna come back and visit some of the major attractions there. Eco Park looks like a fun place to visit.
Cherrod and Matt
February 27, 2020 at 12:31 pmEco Park is like a hidden oasis. You should totally go visit it next time around!
Jackie S.
February 20, 2020 at 3:41 pmWe loved our time in KL. Hopefully, you can go back to spend more days there as one day isn’t enough! The Jalan Alor Night Market is a bit overwhelming with the amount of food there. We stopped by the dim sum place which we saw in your video!
Cherrod and Matt
February 27, 2020 at 12:30 pmOh really?!?! That’s awesome! We definitely want to go back…we had quite the experience that trip, and we hope that next time it will go more smoothly. haha
Iuliana Marchian
February 20, 2020 at 6:50 pmIt is amazing how many great things you can see in such a limited amount of time. Jalan Alor Night Market looks great and I recall the memories from my trip to Thailand. I loved the night markets and I was always attracted to the colorful mosaic of foods and beverages.
Lisa
February 21, 2020 at 4:36 amIt’s been a long time since I was last in Kuala Lumpur, and it was just for a stopover. You’ve listed some great tips which i will use if i ever go back!
Cherrod and Matt
February 27, 2020 at 12:26 pmDid you have a chance to explore the city on your stopover?
Aditi Sharma
February 21, 2020 at 6:52 amI really appreciate this guide as we will soon be traveling via Kuala Lumpur and I’d love to explore it over our short layover. Would love to visit the Batu Caves and that canopy walk in the forest Eco Park looks like an incredible experience. Thanks for the tip regarding the duration it takes to travel between the airport and KL via taxi.
Cherrod and Matt
February 27, 2020 at 12:26 pmYou’re welcome! We thought we would share the travel time from the airport because it definitely does take a big chunk of time out from a layover trip!
Christopher Mitchell
February 24, 2020 at 8:35 amThis brought back some great memories for me! I actually haven’t been back here in years, and this makes me want to head back This is also a kind reminder that you can see a lot in just 24 hours!
Cherrod and Matt
February 27, 2020 at 12:24 pmWere the Batu stairs painted then? You definitely need to go back if you haven’t seen them painted!
Justine Kimoden
February 26, 2020 at 1:40 amI am a chocoholic so I would love to go to Bean to Bar <3 Also I would spend every minute at the spa just like you did!
Cherrod and Matt
February 27, 2020 at 12:23 pmThat place was soooo amazing. I would so recommend it. I haven’t found a drink like the one in the photo anywhere else!