Living There
Langkawi is a little tropical paradise with clean unspoiled nature, where you can enjoy secluded vacation far away from the big industrial cities. But is it really so good and perfect in Langkawi? Let’s look without fear or favor at major pros and cons of spending a holiday in Langakwi island.
Langkawi Cons
Langkawi is an expensive resort
Let’s face the bitter truth, Langkawi is rather an expensive resort. Even The Ministry of Tourism of Malaysia considers the island as a holiday destination for wealthy tourists. Here you’ll find an impressive concentration of 5 start hotels on such small territory of the island. Prices differ, but in general start from 200 USD/day for the cheapest apartments and only if you book it beforehand, otherwise prices might be much higher.
Unfortunately, budget travelers in Langkawi don’t have a huge choice of cheap hotels, but still it’s possible to find affordable accommodation. First, you should take care of booking apartments in advance to get cheaper rates.
Secondly, pay attention to the fact that Langkawi is very popular among the Malays, and therefore the island is crowded during national and school holidays.
Other significant expenses are related with purchasing air tickets. For instance, if you are traveling from Europe, then one way air ticket will cost you approximately 700 – 1200 USD. The Langkawi International Airport is connected by regular flights with Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Phuket and during the high season, there are also flights from Hong Kong, Guangzhou and even Helsinki.
Langkawi doesn’t have many historical and cultural attractions
This statement is pretty self-explanatory. At the beginning of the 70’s the population of the island was only about 2,000 people. Most of them were fishermen and peasants.
The situation changed in 1987, when Malay government gave Langkawi the status of the island of free trade. Today, the island of Langkawi has become a world center of luxury tourism with the population of more than 60 thousand people. As you can judge for yourself, the real life of the island started only in the end of 20th century. So, you won’t see any significant or outstanding historical monuments.
Langkawi Pros
Amazing purity of nature
Langkawi Island is famous for its magnificent scenery, clear blue water, unique nature and fauna and rich underwater world. In 2007, UNESCO officially gave the Island a status of geopark. Here are preserved rare plants and animals, thick forests of rare tree species, mysterious caves with lots of stalactites and stalagmites. Even sand of the island is unique and has healing properties thanks to a high content of minerals.
Even now, when the island has become very popular and is visited by thousands of tourists each year, the jungles of Langkawi are still full of life. Here it’s possible to meet a little charming mouse-deer (also known as chevrotain) hiding among the trees and thousands species of butterflies enjoying pleasant sun beams. You can also become a witness of birds mating courtship rituals or to watch dozens of funny monkeys swinging on vines.
By the way, there are two species of monkeys. First ones have reddish brown fur and are well-known as big lovers of human food. Sometimes, they even can still your bags or to throw your belongings around in search of something tasty. Other kind of monkeys is black with white fur around eyes. They are modest, rare and very cautious. Such monkeys prefer to watch people while hiding on the highest tree branches.
Langkawi has the best conditions for a beach vacation
In Langkawi, there are almost no seasonal changes in climate. Air temperature is ranging from +26 °C in December to +31 °C in August and the temperature of water – from 23°C to 25°C. On the whole west coast of Malaysia including Langkawi, Penang and Pangkor, rainy season lasts from April to May and from October to December. You shouldn’t be afraid of rainy season, because showers are brief and you can visit Langkawi literally during any month you wish.
Beaches on Langkawi and the neighboring small islands of the archipelago are very clean and cozy. There are also a lot of secluded beaches, where you can enjoy being alone with yourself away from prying eyes.
Pantai Chenang located in the west part of the island is considered the most popular beach in Langkawi. Here five starts hotels stand next to budgetary guesthouses and noisy bars are located near the duty-free shops.
If you are looking for a romantic getaway, then pay attention to Pantai Tengah beach, which is seemed to be specially created for a quiet family holiday. Here you won’t find bars, discos working around the clock as on Pantai Chenang, instead, you’ll get an opportunity to enjoy pleasant and calm atmosphere of the luxury restaurants.
Langkawi is rich on natural attractions
Attractions in Langkawi are represented mainly with interesting natural formations, including mountains, waterfalls, parks, hot springs and others. Most of them are scattered throughout the territory of the island and located far from each other and tourist areas.
Taking into account the fact that there isn’t public transport on the island, you’ll need to search for a cheap rental vehicle. The best thing you can do in order to economize on car rental is to book a car in Langkawi Airport in advance online.
In this case, you can easily and comfortable visit all attractions o the island among which are Telaga Tujuh Waterfalls, Langkawi Cable Car and Sky Bridge, which by the way has become one of the symbols of the island, Telaga Air Hangat, UnderWater World considering one of the largest aquariums in Asia.
Summarizing, it should be noted that vacation in Langkawi will suit either people who can afford spending 2,000 USD on holiday or that unique type of people, who can always get the cheapest air tickets, find very cheap and sometimes even free accommodation and who aren’t afraid to travel to another part of the world with a little money in the pocket.
In addition, you should remember that first of all Langkawi is beach resort, where major attractions are different water activities, hiking and boat tours throughout the archipelago.
Author Bio: Lily Berns is a wanderlust who loves to explore and observe. She likes to write and takes photos of special places.
