Getting to Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the federal capital of Malaysia and also the largest city in the country. The city shows the cosmopolitan characteristic where shopping malls, restaurants and hotels abound for tourists. As a major tourism destination in the World, Kuala Lumpur is well connected by airways, railways, roadways and sea routes.
The Main Terminal of KLIA is situated about 50 kilometres to the south of the capital city in Sepang and is the primary airport in the country. It is the result of $2.5 billion investment and became operational in 1998. KLIA is accessible by trains, buses and taxis.
KLIA Main Terminal is connected to KL Sentral transport hub by KLIA Ekspres trains, which run every 15-20 minutes non-stop taking less than 30 minutes to connect the two stations. KLIA Transit trains take 36 minutes for the same journey due their stoppage at Bandar Tasik Selatan, Putrajaya and Salak Tinggi. Ekspres and Transit trains run from different spots at both KL Sentral and Main Terminal. The first trains leave KL Sentral and Main Terminal at 4:33 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. respectively while the last trains leave both locations at 1:03 a.m.
Airport Coach buses run hourly. The first buses from SL Sentral and Main Terminal leave respectively at 5:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. while last buses leave the locations at 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. respectively.
Star Shuttle buses operate among Main Terminal, Pudu Raya and Kota Raya at regular intervals.
Only budgeted taxis and Airport Limo limousines can take passengers at Main Terminal. The coupons for taxis can be purchased at exiting the international and the domestic termini. Travellers should insist for budgeted taxi as they are not inferior in standard to so-called premier cars. Taxis are reasonable choice for families as train fare could be higher in total.
All taxis can take passengers to KLIA. Tourists must ensure that they travel on meter. However, drivers tend to evade plying on meter. In such situations, travellers have to ensure that driver agrees for RM80 to RM100 with the inclusion of airport surcharge and other tolls.
Drivers and agents try to convince tourists that better service and more affordable price than theirs is not offered in the city. It is recommended that they be simply ignored.
KLIA is about 65 kilometres from the city centre but is directly connected with North-South Expressway Central Link. It takes approximately an hour to reach the airport from city centre and vice versa.
Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) is used by Cebu Pacific, Tiger Airways and AirAsia. It is situate across the airstrip of Main Terminal, from where direct buses are available to LCCT.
No direct train is available to LCCT. Passengers can opt for ‘KLIA Transit to LCCT’, which includes transit to Salak Tinggi Station and free connecting bus service to LCCT.
Aerobus and SkyBus have half-hourly direct services between LCCT and KL Sentral. AirAsia offers non-refundable pre-booking of SkyBus tickets during flight booking.
Star Shuttle plies direct buses from Ipoh Teluk Bintan, Batu 3 Jalan Ipoh, Chinatown, Pekililing Bus Terminal and many hotels in Kuala Lumpur to LCCT and vice versa.
Also known as Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, it is closer to city centre than KLIA and not as congested either. It is the former main airport but is currently used by only 3 carriers; namely, Berjaya Air, Malindo Air and Firefly. Berjaya air has daily service from/to Redang Island and Tioman Island. It also flies 2 weekly flights from/to Ko Samui. Malindo Air provides jet aircraft services. Firefly has flights to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and peninsular Malaysia. It is a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines and is the largest service provider at Subang Airport.
Route U81 of Rapid KL touches Subang Airport en-route Pekan Subang and Mah Sing. It is available from Sultan Mohd Bus Hub near Pasar Seni station.
Taxis are the best means to cover 25-kilometre distance between Subang Airport and city centre.
Most of the major roads in Malaysia service Kuala Lumpur. The capital is about halfway on the North-South Highway, which exits for the city at Jalan Duta and Sungai Besi from the north and south respectively. Karak Highway connects Kuala Lumpur with East Coast Expressway, which stretches through Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. Federal Highway connects the city to Klang.
There are many bus termini in Kuala Lumpur. Several destinations in Malaysia are serviced by two or more termini.
The ultra-modern and vast Southern Integrated Terminal TBS offers bus services to Singapore, Johor Bharu and Malacca. Sri Petaling line of LRT, Rawang-Seremban line of KTM Komuter and KLIA Transit service TBS.
Transnasional is the largest long-distance bus service provider in Malaysia and plies economy class busses to Singapore from 8:45 in the morning to 11:59 at night.
Konsortium Bas Ekspres Semenanjung (KBES) plies several buses to/from Golden Mile in Singapore daily.
Due its central location, Pudu Sentral is not swanky and has confusing navigation and facilities. Tourists have to take elevator and lift to reach the ticket floor and find ticket counters there. Travellers have to bear the polluted air until the buses leave the terminus. Plaza Rakyat is the closest LRT station.
KBES has 2 departure services while Hentian Pudu Raya offers 3 services to Hatyai daily.
Bus services to East Coast use Hentian Putra, which is near Chow Kit and Putra station of KTM Komuter and PWTC station of LRT.
Many north-bound express buses of Transnasional use Hentian Duta, which can be conveniently accessed only by taxis.
Buses on route 109 and 115 of Rapid KL City Shuttle service KLRS bus terminus. Plusliner luxury bus services to hat Yai, Singapore, Johor Bahru and Penang ply from KLRS terminus.
Deluxe long-distance bus services and several routes of Rapid KL City Shuttle use Pekililing terminal. A number of local bus service ply from Pekeliling Bus Terminal to Temerloh, Raub, Bentong and Genting HIhglands. Rapid KL City Shuttle routes B101 – B104 and B109 service the terminus. Besides, Titiwangsa station is at walking distance from the bus stand.
Besides, Transnasional Executive Coaches use the location of Malaysia Tourist Information Complex or MATIC as terminus for services to Penang and Singapore. Transtar uses Pasar Rakyat terminus, FirstCoach uses Bangsar station of LRT for services to Singapore and Aeroline uses location of Corus Hotel as terminus for buses to Singapore.
KL Sentral is a hybrid transport hub and is the railway station for international and intercity trains that KTM operates. Both day and night train services are available from KL Sentral to Kota Bahru, Hat Yai and Singapore. KL Monorail also services KL Sentral. The fare of overnight trains is very reasonable and the coaches are comfortable with both open section sleeper compartments and 2-berth sleeper compartments.
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is no more a terminus but a stop for express trains of ETS en-route Ipoh. It is close to LRT station Pasar Seni.
Both the stations are serviced by trains of KTM Komuter and Kelana Jaya line of LRT. Taxis are available outside the railway stations and coupon system is the most reliable for tourists who are not aware of local transport fares. Taxi drivers try to exploit travellers to make odd money.
Kuala Lumpur has a vast coastline but it is deprived of sea route connections due to its geographical features. However, Port Klang offers services to Sumatra, Indonesia. Passenger Cruise Terminal is the ferry terminal and is situated at the junction of Federal Highway and the coastline. Boat services to Tanjung Balai Asahan and Dumai are regularly available from the port. Pulau Ketam is the only local destination that is serviced by boat services from Klang Port.
Star Cruise Terminal is used by cruise ships. The most convenient means of transport to reach Star Cruise Terminal is taxi.
Port Klang is the western end of Federal Highway, which connects it to Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam. An elevated expressway connects the North Port and the South Port to Shah Alam Expressway and thus to North-South Expressway.
Transnasional and its Cityliner bus services to Kuala Lumpur and Klang service the port. KTM Komuter and Klang Valley trains network service the ports.