Transport in Kuala Lumpur

Getting around Kuala Lumpur is incredibly easy. Their public transport and infrastructure is as good as many first world cities and it’s convenient and cheap.

From the Airport

Train - By far, the best way to get to and from the airport is  one of the two trains. It is fast, clean and cheap. In fact it’s faster than a taxi and about a third of the price. It takes around 30 minutes, costs about RM35 (US$10) and can take you right to central station – accross the road from the Hilton and Meridien hotels. You can catch a taxi from central station to any other part of the city for about RM10 ($US 3). The two available trains are KLIA Ekspress or the KLIA Transit (three stops) which both terminate at Sentral. Trains leave the airport about every 15 to 30 minutes.

Bus - The cheapest and slowest option is to catch a bus from the airport. You can get a bus rom level 2 of the airport to Sentral Station in the city for about RM10 (US$ 3). It will take about 90 minutes. Various buses go to other parts of the city such as China Town or certain hotels.

Taxi - You can buy a ‘ticket’ inside the international arrivals terminal for a taxi which will take you right to your hotel. The cost is about RM120 (US $35) from the airport to the center of the city and takes about 50 minutes if there is no traffic.

In the City

Taxi - While every taxi driver is theoretically supposed to use the meter when driving, in reality it works like this. If the taxi is a nice, shiny blue one – the driver will always use the meter – no bargaining required. If the taxi is any of the others (generally yellow and red) then you should negotiate your price before you get in. If you are travelling anywhere within the city, then RM10 (US$ 3) should get you most places. Bargaining usually starts around RM20 and if you’re an exceptional bargainer you can probably get it down to RM6 or 7. Though 10 is a fair enough price.