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In this article we are going to share the best things to do in Langkawi in 2026. If you are in Langkawi don’t miss these amazing activities. We absolutely love Langkawi. This beautiful island is packed with natural beauty, adventure and amazing food. In this article we are going to recommend the very best things to do in Langkawi.
We have visited Langkawi several times AND we are super impressed with some of the new exciting activities that have opened here. Also, there are some activities which are no longer running. Therefore we are very keen to give you up-to-date and accurate information to help you plan your trip.
Langkawi is one of the top tourist destinations in Malaysia and this is located close to the border of Thailand. You may be trying to work out whether to visit Penang or Langkawi. If you don’t have enough time to visit both places check out our super helpful guide comparing Penang and Langkawi.
Don’t miss our STEB BY STEP 5 day itinerary for Langkawi
Summary of the best things to do in Langkawi
- Perdana Marine Park – artificial salt pool with lots of sea life
- Splashout Waterpark – fun waterpark with slides and pools
- Private pool villas – relaxing villas with private pools and sea views
- Sea kayaking – explore beautiful coastline
- Nasi Dagang – traditional Malay food at the rice terraces
- Langkawi aquarium – plenty of sea life and learning
- Sunset at Pantai Cenang – busy beach with good vibes
- Boat tour of the mangrove forest – see wildlife and amazing scenery
- Tanjung Rhu beach – very beautiful coast and activities
- Seashells restaurant – tasty local food in beautiful rice paddies
- Ride an ATV – get an adrenaline rush
- Scarborough Fish and Chips – English style food on the beach
- Trekking in the jungle – explore jungle trails, views and waterfalls
- Temurun waterfall – amazing waterfall with pool for swimming
- Pulau Payar – take an island hopping trip to snorkel and sunbathe
- Skytrex Langkawi – high ropes course
- Langkawi Skybridge – mountain bridge with amazing views
- Langkawi cable cars (Skycab) – scenic ride to the Skybridge
- Paddle boarding – fun way to explore the beautiful coastline
- Fresh seafood – don’t miss the tasty seafood in langkawi
Map of the best things to do in Langkawi
How do you get around in Langkawi?
Before we share these epic things to do in Langkawi we just want to say a word about getting around. Langkawi does not have a public transport system. This can make it quite difficult to get around in Langkawi for a good price. The cheapest way to travel around Langkawi is to use a car rental. This is especially true if you are planning to do a lot of journeys all over the island.
If you’re not able to rent a car or if you are planning to stay fairly local, we recommend using taxis to get around in Langkawi. You can get a good price taxi using the grab taxi app in Malaysia (find out more about using the Grab taxi app in Malaysia). This can be downloaded on to your phone for free, you just need to register with a local SIM card and then you can use data on the go to order taxis.
Don’t miss our FULL GUIDE on getting to Langkawi
TOP TIP make big savings with a one month Langkawi pass
You can save a lot of money across a range of Langawi attractions by booking a FLEXIBLE one month pass. This makes attractions cheaper and also saves you the complication of booking lots of different tickets for everything. Super simple and super savvy!
1 Visit the Perdana Marine Park
One of our favorite things to do in Langkawi is to visit the Perdana Marine Park. The Perdana Marine park is an innovative and ethical sealife project with loads of exciting and fun activities. There are several artificial salt water pools of varying depths. They host a range of different marine life including black tip reef shark, coral and an array of fish.
The deepest pool is a 5m pool with an artificial shipwreck, sea arch and plenty of fish including some giant grouper fish. Best of all you can rent a sea scooter in this pool and glide around with the fish. You can also have a taster dive. An instructor introduces you to the diving apparatus and will take you around the pool. The Perdana Marine park also has an aquarium education centre, a kids play area, plenty of food and drink options onsite and excellent facilities (changing rooms, showers and lockers).
2 Visit Splashout Waterpark
If you’re looking for fun things to do in Langkawi with kids, don’t miss the Splashout waterpark. This fun park is packed with slides, pools and activities for kids of all ages. We particularly love the giant tube slides – a genuine adrenaline rush. Splash out also has a large wave pool, a kids water play area and plenty of smaller slides and activities. The waterslides at Splashout are genuinely creative, unique and innovative. TOP TOP different slide zones are open at different times throughout the day. Make sure you stay long enough to try out all of the slides.
Here are the ticket prices for the Slpashout Waterpark.
- Children below 90cm: FREE
- Children 90cm – 12 years old: RM55
- Adults 13 – 59 years old: RM75
- Senior Citizens (60 and over): RM40
3 Stay at a private pool villa
Looking for luxurious and relaxing things to do in Langkawi? Why not book a stay at one of the resorts that offer private pool villas in Langkawi? There is a nice range of different styles of private villa resorts.
- If you’re looking for a stay in the beautiful jungle check out Datai Langkawi on the north coast jungle of Langkawi. You can reserve Villas at the Datai on Agoda. You can also reserve the Datai on booking.com.
- If you’re looking for superlative luxury then check out the private pool villa at Four Seasons resort. Find out more about the Four Seasons on Agoda. Alternatively check out the Four Seasons on booking.com.
- Alternatively, if you’re looking for private pool villas with breathtaking sea views then check out the Ritz Carlton Langkawi. The best value for money pool villas can be found at the Ambong Pool Villa resort. You can book the Ritz Langkawi on Agoda. Alternatively book the Ritz Langkawi on booking.com.
4 Try sea kayaking
Langkawi has miles of stunning coastline and beaches. This is a great place to have a go at sea kayaking. There are several areas around Langkawi where you can rent sea kayaks. For example, you can rent sea kayaks from Tanjung Rhu (on the north coast) and explore some of the stunning coast in the area. You can rent a double sea kayak for RM50 per hour and a single kayak for RM30 per hour.
Safety advice: Always make sure that you have appropriate skill and competence in the water and that you take every measure to protect yourself (e.g. life jackets). Always assess the conditions carefully and if required get an instructor or guide.
5 Have traditional Malay food at the rice terraces
If you’re looking for authentic local experience in Langkawi make sure you visit Nasi Dagang Pak Malau. This is a local restaurant serving authentic Malaysian food set amongst scenic rice terraces. Food prices are very good (although slightly more expensive than average street food). We were very impressed with the quality of food here. We particularly recommend the Nasi Dagang – a rich creamy and spicy fish curry. Seriously tasty. Nasi Dagang Pak Malau is open daily from 8am – 2pm.
6 Visit the Langkawi aquarium
If you don’t visit the Perdana Marine park you can still gaze at some weird and wonderful fish. Langkawi has an aquarium located on Cenang beachfront. This is the most popular and busy tourist spot in town. The aquarium is called Underwater World Langkawi. They have an underwater tunnel, sharks, rockhopper penguins, Giant stingrays, Grouper fish, turtles and much much more. Underwater World is open 10am – 6pm daily. Adult tickets cost RM53 and child tickets cost RM42 (3 – 12 years old).
7 Watch the sunset at Pantai Cenang
If you’re staying in Langkawi make sure you watch one of the stunning tropical sunsets. The best sunsets happen on moderately cloudy days – we love the intense array of colours at sunset time. Why do we recommend Pantai Cenang? (Cenang beach) This is one of the busiest locations to enjoy sunset. We love the good vibes of this beach in the evening. However if you’re looking for a quieter sunset location head south to Pantai Tengah.
Don’t miss our FULL GUIDE on Langkawi beaches
8 Take a boat tour of the mangrove forest
One of the best things to do in Langkawi is to take a boat tour of the Mangroves (the Kilim Geoforest Park). This is a way to experience the stunning scenery of this unique ecosystem and also try spotting some local wildlife. Tours normally visit the mangroves, bat cave and crocodile cave. Watch out for eagles, macaque monkeys or the more elusive dusky leaf monkeys. The start of the Mangrove tour is located next to Tanjung Rhu car park.
To get the best prices just rock up and book your ticket at the entrance. If you book at the entrance expect to pay around RM350 – RM500 per boat depending on the tour. If you pre-book with a local tour operator expect to pay around RM120 – RM150 per adult and RM80 – RM100 per child. . You can get shared trips from the entrance for around RM90 per adult and private tours as little as RM200. So the amount depends where you book, which tour you would like and whether you barter.
9 Visit Tanjung Rhu beach
The most beautiful section of coastline in Langkawi is located on the northeast of Langkawi. From Tanjung Rhu beach you can enjoy stunning views of small islets and steep jungle cliffs. The landscape in this area is very similar to some of the famous sections of coast in the south of Thailand – such as Ao Nang Krabi and Koh Lipe. Tanjung Rhu beach is more remote than other beaches in Langkawi – this is a peaceful and beautiful corner of Langkawi.
10 Try some local food at Seashells restaurant
If you’re looking for some great local Malay food in beautiful surroundings, check out the Seashells restaurant (north of Cenang bay). This lovely restaurant serves large platters of Malay food on a banana leaf. We love the surroundings of this restaurant. Sit and eat in wooden terraces amongst rice paddies. Seashells restaurant is on the expensive site – however for a beautiful location in a tourist area – it is reasonably good value for money. Most platters range between RM50 – RM100 and can feed 2 – 4 people.
11 Ride an ATV
If you’re looking for adventurous things to do in Langkawi why not rent an ATV (all terrain vehicle)? This is a fun way to explore the beach and enjoy an adrenaline rush. You can rent an ATV on Tanjung Rhu for around RM70 for 25 minutes. Just rock up to the beach and you will see local tour operators.
12 Have dinner at Scarborough Fish and Chips
It may not sound like an authentic local activity – but we just wanted to mention this one. Langkawi actually has a British style fish and chip restaurant located on the north coast. The Scarborough Fish and Chip restaurant serves fish and chips with a range of tempting drinks. The seating area is located on the beachfront with stunning views of the beautiful coast. This is one of the more expensive restaurants in Langkawi – but it is worth a stop if you’re on the north coast and wish to try some tasty British food.
13 Go trekking in the jungle
If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the natural beauty of Langkawi – why not try some jungle treks? There are several great spots for jungle trekking in Langkawi. One great area for jungle trekking is to start from Telaga Tujuh Waterfall car park. From here you can trek up the jungle hill to the waterfalls. Always stay on the main trail if you are trekking in the jungle. We also recommend using a phone with offline maps and GPS capacities. Wear appropriate footwear and be aware of wildlife.
14 Visit the intrepid waterfalls
Langkawi also has some amazing waterfalls to visit. Don’t miss the impressive Temurun waterfall located on the north coast of Langkawi. This is a massive sheer drop waterfall with a beautiful plunge pool. This is a great spot for swimming and paddling. It is FREE to visit the Temurun falls and there is a small car park at this location.
15 Take an island hopping trip
One of the most expensive things to do in Langkawi is to visit the Pulau Payar marine park. This is a great area for snorkeling, diving and seeing some beautiful coral reef and fish. This is also a popular area for seeing black tip reef shark. The Pulau Payar marine park is located around 35km south of Langkawi and island hopping trips are relatively expensive. Shared tours cost around RM450 adults and RM250 children. There are now limitations on the number of people who are allowed to visit this marine park. If you are wanting to go snorkeling in Langkawi we recommend the Perdana Marine park – much cheaper and also more environmentally conscious.
16 Visit Skytrex Langkawi
If you’re looking for adventurous things to do in Langkawi check out the Skytrex high ropes course located near the cable cars. There is an impressive range of canopy bridges, bars, suspended tunnels, walkways and ziplines. Obstacles are designed to test your endurance, strength, stamina and confidence. Of course, every obstacle is completed with a harness and safety rope. Skytrex costs around RM80 – RM100 depending on which package you choose. Book online for discounts. Packages take around 2 – 3 hours. Skytrex is open daily from 9am – 3pm.
17 Checkout the Langkawi Skybridge
The panoramic Skybridge is 125m in length. This is the longest freespan curved bridge in the world. To visit the Skybridge Langkawi you will need to purchase tickets for the cable cars. Once you reach the top station, you need to either walk up some steps to the sky bridge (around 10 minutes walk or 300 steps). Alternatively you can take the Skyglide cabin – like a scenic elevator – which runs up to the Skybridge. Unfortunately the Skyglide can have quite a long slow queue – so it may be faster to walk. The Skyglide costs RM16 per person, and it costs RM6 per person to walk up to the Skybridge and RM4 for children.
18 Ride the Langkawi cable cars (Skycab)
One of the most popular and impressive things to do in Langkawi is the Skycab. If you don’t plan to visit the Skybridge, you can just ride the Langkawi cable cars to enjoy the stunning scenery. The Langkawi cable cars are one of the most popular attractions in Langkawi.
We recommend arriving around 30 minutes before the cable cars open to avoid long queues. The cable cars open daily at 9.30am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and at 10am for the rest of the week. Alternatively book packages in advance online and you will be given an arrival time – you still need to queue but this can reduce waiting times. Most people who ride the cable cars also visit the Langkawi Sky Bridge. The main disadvantage of the Langkawi cable cars is the price. It is genuinely quite an expensive activity for Malaysia.
- Packages range between RM45 – RM120 per person to ride the cable cars. Packages include additional experiences such as Skydome, Skyrex and the 3D art museum.
- You can ride the glass bottom gondola for RM105 (roughly £20)
- Private gondolas cost around RM550
19 Try paddle boarding
If you’re in Langkawi and hoping to try something new, why not have a go at paddle boarding. You can take a paddleboard out onto the ocean during calm weather. Paddle boarding is a long and relatively stable board – you can stand up and row to get around. This is a particularly lovely activity for sunset. Paddle boarding costs around RM80 for 1 hour. You can rent paddle boards at Tanjung Rhu beach.
20 Try some fresh seafood
AND last but not least – if you’re in Langkawi you should definitely enjoy some of the delicious, fresh seafood that this island has to offer. Check out the Kuah Town Seafood Restaurant for some of the best seafood in Langkawi. The cereal prawns and stingray are amazing here – oh yeah and we definitely recommend the seafood soup. Expect to pay around RM10 – RM25 for most of the dishes here.
