"Kuah is the point of entry to Langkawi Island. A great duty-free shopping town, Kuah is a rustic town that has its own old-fashioned charms."
Kuah, the main town, is located on the southeastern side of Pulau Langkawi. It is the take off point to the neighbouring islands by ferry.
The name "Kuah" is a Malay word meaning "gravy" and involves an old legend of two battling giants who overturned a gigantic pot of curry at the spot where the town now stands.
Once a rustic town with a few streets, Kuah today is a thriving centre of modern hotels and shopping-cum-business complexes, but without the over-crowding and bustle of modern cities. Kuah is a duty free shopping haven with a wide variety of goods sold attractive prices. The multi-racial population produces excellent culinary delights, specially fresh seafood.
For more information, please contact the Langkawi Tourist Information Centre at 604-9667789.
Last viewed - May 17, 2008
Getting there
By Plane
Langkawi's airport is called the Padang Matsirat airport, located about 20km from Kuah town. Daily direct flights from Kuala Lumpur are available via Malaysia Airlines (Tel: 603-78463000 or 1 300 88 3000). Optionally Air Asia (Tel: 1 300 88 9933) also has regular flights to Langkawi.
By Rail
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) connects Kuala Lumpur to Alor Setar and Arau towns in Kedah. From these towns, you can catch a taxi or a bus easily to Kuala Kedah or Kuala Perlis respectively and catch a ferry to Langkawi. Please contact KTMB at 603-22747435.
Ferries are also available from Penang (Tel: 604-2631943)
By Road From the North South Expressway (NSE), head north to Kedah and take the Alor Setar Selatan exit (Interchange 177) onto the highway headed to Teluk Kechai and on to Kuala Kedah where you can catch a ferry to Langkawi island. Alternatively, you can also catch ferries from Kuala Perlis further north, accessible via the Jitra Selatan exit (Interchange 181) via Kodiang and Kangar on trunk road K3. This route is longer, at 48km from the NSE exit. You can easily catch a ferry from Kuala Kedah to Kuah Jetty on Langkawi island.
User recommendation
"it is really a wonderful place of shopping like in heaven."
