These places are the main iconic destinations in Kuala Lumpur for anyone on a short transit in KLIA or KLIA2.
The list calculates the time taken from KLIA or KLIA2 to travel to the city using the KLIA Express Train, as this is the fastest route, with only 28 minutes of travel one way. Also considered is the walking time to the train platforms and so on.
If your bags are going all the way, you can just exit the airport and quickly visit Kuala Lumpur. If you must collect your baggage and re-check in, luggage storage services are available at KLIA and KLIA2 airports.
What To Do On A Short Transit in Kuala Lumpur?
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| KLIA2 is the budget terminal for Malaysia, where airlines like AirAsia will land. |
I have devised this super quick and almost flawless itinerary for those on a short transit, from six to eight hours at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport or KLIA2.
This includes visiting one iconic landmark in Kuala Lumpur and returning to the airport to catch your flight.
Please note that international flights require 2 hours of check-in before your flight, but you can get by with 1 hour and 45 minutes of check-in if it is not peak hour.
Below are some of the significant iconic places in Kuala Lumpur you can visit. Please note that the time does not include your 2-hour check-in at the airport, so you must plan your timing well.
The times given are based on general timing for an ordinary person, but you can cut the sightseeing time and save some time for your exploration.
If you plan to see multiple places in Kuala Lumpur due to a slightly longer transit, check out the KL Travel Pass, which includes all your train tickets.
A. See the Petronas Twin Towers and KLCC
This includes visiting one iconic landmark in Kuala Lumpur and returning to the airport to catch your flight.
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| At KLIA, you need to find this elevator that takes you to the KLIA Express platform. |
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| At KLIA2, the KLIA Express platform is located in the Gateway Mall. |
Below are some of the significant iconic places in Kuala Lumpur you can visit. Please note that the time does not include your 2-hour check-in at the airport, so you must plan your timing well.
The times given are based on general timing for an ordinary person, but you can cut the sightseeing time and save some time for your exploration.
If you plan to see multiple places in Kuala Lumpur due to a slightly longer transit, check out the KL Travel Pass, which includes all your train tickets.
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| The Petronas Twin Towers can be seen from the KLCC Park area. |
- Take the KLIA Express Train into KL Sentral (28 minutes travel time)
- Exit the station and look for the LRT Train Platform (KJ15) in KL Sentral
- Board LRT Train Magenta Line, heading to Gombak (20 minutes travel time)
- Exit at KLCC Station (KJ10)
- Walk towards the exit, and you will be outside the Petronas Twin Towers (10-20 minutes)
- Visit Suria KLCC Mall and the Dancing Fountain - Simfoni Lake (50-60 minutes)
- Return to KLIA/KLIA 2 the same way you came (50-60 minutes)
- Total Time: 3 Hours
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| Chinatown KL or Petaling Street Kuala Lumpur in the day. |
B. Visit Petaling Street and Central Market KL
- Take the KLIA Express Train into KL Sentral (28 minutes travel time)
- Exit the station and look for the LRT Train Platform (KJ15)
- Board LRT Train Magenta Line, heading to Gombak (10 minutes travel time)
- Exit at Pasar Seni Station (KJ14)
- Walk towards Jalan Sultan, then along Jalan Petaling (7-10 minutes walk)
- Arrive at the main Petaling Street shopping area (Spend about 1 hour here)
- Walk to Central Market along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lok (5-minute walk)
- Arrive at Central Market. (Spend about 30 to 60 minutes here)
- Walk back to Pasar Seni Station (5 minutes)
- Return to KLIA/KLIA 2 the same way you came (40 minutes)
- Total Time: 3.5 Hours
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| Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur at night. Photo by Straits Times. |
C. Visit Bukit Bintang Shopping and Jalan Alor Food Street Area
- Take the KLIA Express Train into KL Sentral (28 minutes travel time)
- Exit KL Sentral Station and walk to the KL Sentral Monorail Station (MR1) (10 minutes)
- Board Monorail Green Line, heading to Titiwangsa (20 minutes travel time)
- Exit at Bukit Bintang - AirAsia Station (MR6)
- Exit Station, and you are in the middle of the Bukit Bintang area
- Explore the shopping malls around here and also Jalan Alor food street (2 hours)
- Return to KLIA/KLIA 2 the same way you came (60-70 minutes)
- Total Time: 4 Hours
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| The famous Batu Caves in Malaysia. |
D. Visit Batu Caves (Only One Location)
- Take the KLIA Express Train into KL Sentral (28 minutes travel time)
- Exit the station and look for the KTM Komuter Platform (KA01)
- Board Komuter Gold Line, heading to Batu Caves (35 minutes travel time)
- Note that the train frequency is every 40 minutes
- Exit at Batu Caves Station (KC05)
- Walk straight into Batu Caves (5 minutes walk)
- Climb the 272 steps to the cave temple (2 hours)
- Return to KLIA/KLIA 2 the same way you came (1.5 hours)
- The allocation for train frequency is counted in the total time
- Total Time: 5.5 Hours
*Optional Batu Caves - If you do not climb the 272 steps to the cave temple, you can take minus 1 hour to 1.5 hours, depending on your fitness level.
Generally, a decently healthy person takes 20 to 30 minutes to walk up one way. This means you can just visit the foot of the entrance and explore the art cave and surrounding areas.
KL Sentral is quite huge and is the central train hub for Malaysia. You can find the MRT, LRT, Monorail, ETS and all other trains here. There are only the KLIA and KLIA2 airport bus terminals located at the lowest level for buses.
When you take any train from the airports, they will all arrive here, and you can change to other train services from here. KL Sentral is also connected to Nu Sentral, a modern lifestyle shopping mall.
What to do around KLIA Airport?
You may want to avoid risking it and prefer to see what to do around KLIA or KLIA2. And let me be honest: there is little to do regarding fun and excitement.
Fear not, as I included what you can do for a short transit around the airport. They are limited, but you can still exit the airports and explore around here.
E. Visit Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA
This is a factory outlet park located six kilometres from KLIA and KLIA2. There are shuttle buses to the outlet park at 20-minute intervals from both airports.
It also takes 10 minutes from KLIA and 20 minutes from KLIA 2 to travel to Mitsui Outlet Park.
At Mitsui, you can walk around the massive outlet park, which offers over a hundred stores in an air-conditioned environment. The outlet park also has four zones, including a Japanese zone.
Cafes and restaurants that sell local and international food are available. This place is based on the concept of the standard factory outlet mixed with a mall, and you could buy some items for a good deal here.
Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA
Opening Hours: 10.00 AM to 10.00 PM
Shuttle Service: 8.30 AM to 11.10 PM daily
Ticket: Free Service
F. Visit Gateway @ KLIA2
KLIA2 airport has a lifestyle mall connected to the main terminal. KLIA2 is Malaysia's budget airline airport, and several airlines like AirAsia are based here. If you are connecting on most budget airlines, you will transit here.
For those who connect on fully serviced airlines like Malaysia Airlines, Garuda, KLM, Emirates and so on, you will transit at KLIA airport.
You can take the free shuttle bus from KLIA to KLIA2. It takes less than 10 minutes to transfer from airport to airport.
Gateway @ KLIA2 was created to incorporate a lifestyle shopping mall concept, which has worked exceptionally well with the passengers.
Many fast-food joints, coffee cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, general retail outlets and even a vegetarian restaurant are available here.
While KLIA offers a choice of shops, cafes and restaurants, Gateway @ KLIA2 is much better at window shopping. The mall operates for 16, but some cafes and restaurants do work much later hours.
Gateway @ KLIA2
Opening Hours: 8.00 AM to 12.00 AM (16 Hours)
Shuttle Service: Transportation Hub at both airports
Ticket: Free Service
While you are at KLIA or KLIA2, the area is known as Sepang, a Selangor district. Apart from visiting the old town of Sepang, where several budget hotels are found, along with the general small-town shops, there is nothing else to do here.
If you want to explore, visit Mitsui Outlet or Gateway @ KLIA2 for those with three or four-hour transits.
Otherwise, you can just chill out at your airport before catching your connecting flight. There are quite a lot of duty shops at KLIA worth exploring.
Some Premium Lounges at KLIA and KLIA2 are worth checking out as they have good facilities. This, of course, caters to premium lounge fans.
Generally, a decently healthy person takes 20 to 30 minutes to walk up one way. This means you can just visit the foot of the entrance and explore the art cave and surrounding areas.
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| When you arrive at KL Sentral, look for the KJ15 train platform to move around Kuala Lumpur. |
KL Sentral is quite huge and is the central train hub for Malaysia. You can find the MRT, LRT, Monorail, ETS and all other trains here. There are only the KLIA and KLIA2 airport bus terminals located at the lowest level for buses.
When you take any train from the airports, they will all arrive here, and you can change to other train services from here. KL Sentral is also connected to Nu Sentral, a modern lifestyle shopping mall.
 |
| Many fast-food chains are available at KLIA2 and at KLIA airport. |
You may want to avoid risking it and prefer to see what to do around KLIA or KLIA2. And let me be honest: there is little to do regarding fun and excitement.
Fear not, as I included what you can do for a short transit around the airport. They are limited, but you can still exit the airports and explore around here.
 |
| Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA. Photo from Mitsui Outlet Park. |
This is a factory outlet park located six kilometres from KLIA and KLIA2. There are shuttle buses to the outlet park at 20-minute intervals from both airports.
It also takes 10 minutes from KLIA and 20 minutes from KLIA 2 to travel to Mitsui Outlet Park.
At Mitsui, you can walk around the massive outlet park, which offers over a hundred stores in an air-conditioned environment. The outlet park also has four zones, including a Japanese zone.
Cafes and restaurants that sell local and international food are available. This place is based on the concept of the standard factory outlet mixed with a mall, and you could buy some items for a good deal here.
Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA
Opening Hours: 10.00 AM to 10.00 PM
Shuttle Service: 8.30 AM to 11.10 PM daily
Ticket: Free Service
 |
| Gateway @ KLIA2 Airport. |
KLIA2 airport has a lifestyle mall connected to the main terminal. KLIA2 is Malaysia's budget airline airport, and several airlines like AirAsia are based here. If you are connecting on most budget airlines, you will transit here.
For those who connect on fully serviced airlines like Malaysia Airlines, Garuda, KLM, Emirates and so on, you will transit at KLIA airport.
You can take the free shuttle bus from KLIA to KLIA2. It takes less than 10 minutes to transfer from airport to airport.
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| FOS at KLIA2. |
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| Jaya Grocer Supermarket at KLIA2 Gateway Mall. |
Many fast-food joints, coffee cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, general retail outlets and even a vegetarian restaurant are available here.
While KLIA offers a choice of shops, cafes and restaurants, Gateway @ KLIA2 is much better at window shopping. The mall operates for 16, but some cafes and restaurants do work much later hours.
Gateway @ KLIA2
Opening Hours: 8.00 AM to 12.00 AM (16 Hours)
Shuttle Service: Transportation Hub at both airports
Ticket: Free Service
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| There are many coffee cafe choices at KLIA2 Airport. |
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| Starbucks offers a really massive outlet at KLIA2. |
If you want to explore, visit Mitsui Outlet or Gateway @ KLIA2 for those with three or four-hour transits.
Otherwise, you can just chill out at your airport before catching your connecting flight. There are quite a lot of duty shops at KLIA worth exploring.
Some Premium Lounges at KLIA and KLIA2 are worth checking out as they have good facilities. This, of course, caters to premium lounge fans.
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| Nu Sentral Shopping Mall at KL Sentral. |
For anyone connecting to the local Malaysian FireFly Airlines that flies domestically, I have done a guide on how to go to Subang SkyPark airport, which is located in Petaling Jaya.
Conclusion
This article was created for anyone who wants to know what to do on a short transit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
There are also business travellers or those visiting Kuala Lumpur who may have an extra day to spare, and I have written an article for those who need to know what to do in Kuala Lumpur in one day.
If you are on a long journey in Malaysia, this is also handy. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I hope this article is convenient for you.