Who wouldn’t be excited to spend the New Year holiday in Langkawi with family? Langkawi lies amidst over 100 mountain islands just off the coast of mainland Malaysia. The interior of the main island is a fusion of paddy fields and jungle-clad hills. Despite attracting luxurious 5star hotels, the island has managed to maintain an idyllic rural Malaysian island vibe.
Getting there…
We travelled from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, spending two incredible nights visiting street markets and temples such as the Batu Caves – an iconic Hindu temple and shrine.
Langkawi is just a short 2hr flight from KL. An alternative route is via Thailand. Ferris, from as little as £20 sail from KohLipe Koh Lanta and some of the other southern islands of Thailand.
Langkawi…
Waking up on our first morning to beautiful white sandy beaches, it was hard to drag ourselves away, so Day 1 was spent literally lounging around.
Feeling rested, we visited local shops, restaurants, craft stalls and our favourite night market in Pantai Cenang.
Visit Cenang for local food, cheap massages, reflexology and local gifts to bring home.
Most of the beach front hotels collect their fish deliveries every morning from local fishermen. We were able to pick our fish straight from the boat and book our table from the beach.
A not to be missed attraction is the Langkawi SkyBridge; the longest free-span and curved bridge in the world! The SkyBridge can be accessed via a cable car ride 2.2km up to the Mount Machinchang escarpment to the summit at 708 metres above sea level to see the incredible views of the island and UNESCO Geopark.
Explore some of the beautiful beaches. We recommend visiting the Tanjung Rhu beach located in the north of the island and our the idyllic beach at the Datai Bay with white sands and crystal clear waters. Take lunch at the Andaman Hotel or The Datai and visit the Geo Spa at the Four Seasons hotel on Tanjung Rhu.
If you are looking for activity and water sports then head to Chenang Beach where you can find all the usual water sports, including a jet ski adventure that takes you through some of the island caves, mangroves, eagle feeding and dophin spotting. The only way to see some of these cast away beaches is by jetski or boat, so you really need to book on a local trip and go see.
Play golf at the The Els Club Teluk Datai, arguably one of the best courses in Malaysia. We had to chase monkeys from the greens before putting out, and a friendly dog kindly chased off a monitor lizard from the fairway! Where else can you find animal adventures on a golf coast?!
