The tropical island of Langkawi and the surrounding archipelago, with its white sand beaches, sparkling waters and lush jungle, is Malaysia’s resort island for the middling rich to wealthy. Its Malaysia’s answer to Thailand’s famous resort islands of Phuket and Ko Samui although much less developed.
Wherever there are holiday resorts and two week holiday makers’, prices tend to sky rocket. So why are two backpackers even there? Luckily there are a few budget options left to accommodate those who don’t want to fork out a small fortune. Here’s how we did it.
Where to Stay on Langkawi
There are a few cheap accommodations on Langkawi for those on a backpackers budget. We ended up staying in Pantai Tengah. Pantai Tengah is home to several all-inclusive resorts, there is a small beach and it’s a 20-30 minute walk to the long golden stretch of beach at Pantai Cenang.
We chose to stay at Zackery Guest House which ended up being one of the best budget options we have stayed in on our travels so far. It’s no five star resort, but for £15 a night you really get your money’s worth. Our double room had air conditioning, daily cleaning and an en-suite, along with plenty of cold beers on sale for a very affordable 40p (2RM) a can, we really couldn’t complain. The lady who owns the guesthouse will go out of her way to help you enjoy your stay and there are many day trips on offer which she has negotiated considerably cheaper than what you pay at the resorts or travel agents. Overall, Zackary Guest house is a cheap, clean, friendly option and we can’t recommend this place highly enough if you are looking for a budget pace to stay.
Getting Around
Getting around the island can raise your expenses, particularly if you are a little out of the way. That problem was easily solved by renting a scooter for £4 (20RM) a day, as petrol’s only 20p per litre you can fill the tank for £1 and be on you way. Our guesthouse owner had plenty available scooters on hand for us to hire.
If riding on two wheels is not for you, small cars can be hired for £10 (50RM) per day.
What to Drink
Langkawi is a duty free island thus making it one of the cheapest places to buy drinks in the heavily taxed Malaysia. Spirits wines and beers can be bought hugely discounted from the Duty Free Shops around the island. One litre of Captain Morgan’s spiced rum cost us £7 (35RM).
Drinking in the many bars is more expensive but there are several popup beach bars near Pantai Tengah that serve cheap drinks, though they are probably illegal!
What to Eat
For local Malay food you can visit Siti Fatimah. For only £1.40 (7RM) you can help yourself to all-you-can-eat local dishes. The array of strong flavours, curries, fish and chicken dishes served with rice and noodles will certainly excite and fill you simultaneously. A drink is included making this one of the cheapest eats on the island. To get there you will need transportation, we went on our scooter but taking a taxi would be another option.
The cheapest places for food on the whole island are the night markets where hundreds of stalls serve local Malay street food. Just wandering around the stalls, the smells of grilled meats and fish barbequing, noodles frying and curries bubbling away in a mist of steam and smoke is a must see experience in itself.
The night markets are held at various locations around the island so you will need to find out in advance where to go. You will most likely need transport to get there. Our scooter came in handy once again!
All the food is wrapped to take way so we filled a bag full of food. You can get Nasi Goreng (fried noodles) for 20p (2RM,) and grilled chicken for £1 (5RM).
What we thought were 10p sausages on a stick turned out to be chicken necks, though very tasty, there is only is small bit of skin and fat wrapping the bony neck. I think the dog enjoyed them more than me.
What to Do
So for only £25 a day we are set up with everything we need, accommodation, food, transport and even drinks. That’s only £12.50 per person per day. The only thing left to do is explore this beautiful island.
Catch Some Sun on the Beach
The first thing that anyone wants to check out on a paradise island is the beaches and that’s exactly what we did.
Tengah Beach
This beach was very close to our guesthouse and the first place we visited on the island. It’s relaxed and secluded and for us it was the perfect introduction to the island.
Cenang Beach
Cenang beach is the longest and most developed on the island and for good reason. The sand is white and fine and the water a gorgeous turquoise.
There are water sports, island hopping tours and beach shacks along the sands, behind on the road there are restaurants, bars and shops. It’s easily the liveliest place on the island yet somehow it still retains a quite peaceful allure.
Tanjung Rhu Beach
Tanjung Rhu is located in the far north of the island, the location is well out of the way meaning it is an almost private retreat for guests of the nearby luxury resorts. Being so far away we never made it. We drove for an hour and were only just past half way there. The incessant clouds covering the north side of the island dampened our spirits so we turned round and went straight back to sunny Cenang.
Sky Bridge and Cable Car
The sky bridge is major attraction on the island. Walking through the Oriental village and waiting in the queue for cable cars you could quite easily mistake if for a theme park.
The cable car is reportedly the steepest in the world.
I would like to say the views were out-of-this-world but the weather was not in our favour. Despite the clouds it was still an enjoyable day out.
Water Fall Hunting
There are several waterfalls on Langkawi and you could spend a few days simply finding them all and swimming in the lush sparkling pools. We drove the scooter to Seven Wells Waterfall. After showing some alpha male aggression to some defensive monkeys we were allowed to enter the path leading to the cool, refreshing waterfall. Sweating in the heat we were disappointed to find pools full of stagnant water and a mere trickle dribbling down a rock.
Rather stupidly, we had failed to anticipate that visiting waterfalls at the end of the dry season would be a bad idea.
Island Hoping Tour
Joining a group island hopping tour is the cheapest way to see the surrounding islands. It is the number one thing to do while on Langkawi however we choose to see them a different way.
Jet Ski Tour of the Islands
Costing £100 (500Rm) for two people it’s considerably more than the island boat tour but sometimes it’s worth paying a bit more for. Our advice would be to shop around as resorts and travel agents will charge a lot more than the price organised at our guest house. We found out that the couple that came with us payed £140 (800Rm).
The freedom of speeding around the ocean between deserted tropical islands was simply amazing.
Our first stop was a small bay, where being a silly tw*t I jumped straight off the jet ski into four foot of water. At the bottom lay a very sharp and hard coral reef. The instant pain in the soles of my feet left me grasping for the jet-ski to get out the water.
Leanne obviously got a little worried as there were puncture wounds in my feet and a small puddle of bloody water was forming in the side of Jet Ski. Our guide ripped up an old t-shirt and I tied it round my feet to stop the blood and we continued the tour.
We sped across the sea to the Pregnant Maiden Lake where one of the staff noticed my ridiculous feet wrapped in old t-shirts and offered me first aid. The blood had stopped but my feet were cut and painful leaving me hobbling around for a few days.
We raced across the waves to Wet Rice Island, a little slice of paradise.
We snorkelled with fish and enjoyed the beach. Spending most of the time relaxing in the sand.
The final island on the tour was a secret uninhabited beach where we were able to park up the jet skis..
and walk along the deserted beach.
The pristine ocean and velvety sands were simply magical.
Snorkelling Tour
The snorkelling tour takes you to Payar Island Marine Park, the tour is relatively expensive and after recently going snorkelling at the Belize Barrier reef we felt we would only be disappointed, our guesthouse owner agreed.
Just Sit Back and Chill
There simply nothing better than just enjoying island life and relaxing. Langkawi was the perfect place to do so, making it one of the more difficult places for us to leave.
