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Beaches

Pantai Tengah

This beachfront is chock-full with hotels, resorts and a variety of restaurants. One particular place to go for some good Mediterranean and Malaysian food is The Lighthouse Restaurant & Beach Bar. A semi open-air concept restaurant, The Lighthouse is ideal for evening drinks and sunset dining. What's more interesting though is an old kampung house right next door which offers an experience to learn a few tips on how to cook Malaysian dishes with Chef Shuk. If that's not enough, guests may also have their own private dinner functions here. For details and reservations, call (6)04- 955 2586.

Not far is the Langkawi Underwater World where large aquariums make permanent homes for about 5,000 types of marine life - local and from 1000's of miles away. Open daily from 10.00am to 6.00pm. Adult: RM18 Child: RM10. For more, call at 04 - 955 6100

Pantai Cenang

The main attractions on the island are the long stretches of white sandy beaches. The most frequented beaches are in the south-western part of the island. Pantai Cenang, is the liveliest place to be and is about 18Km from Kuah town. Accommodation here are catered to suit all types of travel budgets from A-hut chalets to international resorts such as the Pelangi Beach Resort, an ever popular and well-established resort.

A variety of restaurants line the road serving all types of cuisine from local to Italian to fusion. The Red Tomato Garden Cafe is a good place to stop by for your English breakfast of toast and coffee or settle for fresh garden salad and pasta for a pretty reasonable price. Beats having the complimentary breakfast buffet provided by your hotel!

The A-huts lining parts of the 2km beach go for around RM45 per hut per night with fan and attached bathroom. The beach frontage along Pantai Cenang, Pantai Tengah and Teluk Baru is narrow. With such limited space, the A-huts are packed closely together and can get a little claustrophobic, especially the ones further back towards the road. In the past 2 years, many of the small budget chalet operators have had to make way for resorts so don't be too disappointed if you can't get a reasonably priced place to stay.

There are mid-range accommodations available along the beach. The Beach Garden Resort gives one a feel that the owner has travelled far and explored widely these parts of the world, bringing with him an eclectic atmosphere of the East and the West. The resort run by a German couple is a favourite with Germans (even the reception staff are conversant in the German language) and the bistro is a good place to go for western food - pizza, salad, soups, steaks etc. This resort can get very busy during peak seasons especially during the Christmas period all the way through to February. But the beach on this northern side of Pantai Cenang is cleaner and the white sand is as fine as caster sugar. There's much more space to stretch out too!

Further up from the Beach Garden Resort, is BonTon. BonTon serves fusion food and is pricey for budget travellers. There is a wide selection of fine wines, which is ideal for a long, quiet evening to indulge in good food, good wine, good company and an appreciation for subtlety. Unlike the first BonTon outlet in KL which is housed in a colonial brick house, the BonTon here is set kampung style with a heavy lean towards the breezy, nothing to do but laze by the pool feel. There are also 6 old Kampung houses to stay . These old village houses are a collection from the age of 40 to 100years. Personalised touches are added to the decor to provide guests with a homey feel. BonTon also has yachts for rental to explore the waters around.

Pantai Kok

perdana quay at night

Here sits the new Perdana Quay, another attempt at reviving the Oriental Village concept (which failed miserably and now is home to souvenir shops, several restaurants and bistros - the branded shops have all gone and the speciality restaurants have closed except for a Japanese Restaurant, a Thai Restaurant, a Chinese Restaurnat and a few other bistros). Here again is the same concept but with a little marina thrown in so that the sailing and yachting crowd can moor their boats whilst they shop and eat ath the Quay area. Housing a variety of speciality food outlets and branded names such as the Mare Blu Italian Ristorante, The USSR restaurant , Bom Brazil Churrascaria (Brazillian Barbeque) and many more..

Burau Bay Resort went under a new management some years back. Realising the importance of eco-tourism, Burau Bay is giving it a go at making Langkawi a naturalist's paradise. And rightly so, Langkawi has the oldest rainforest track in Malaysia and that is worth preserving. At Mutiara Burau Bay itself, there lives a lizard specie called the butterfly lizard ( Leiolepis belliana) which can be found basking on the lawn by the pool. It is found in the Mekong Basin of Indochina, and in coastal areas of Thailand, West Malaysia and Sumatra. Don't bother trying to trap them though as it is a protected specie and the resort is very strict on regulations regarding harming,trapping or destroying the wildlife habitat within their grounds.

Tanjung Rhu

For others who prefer a more adventurous introduction to the islands, a 3-hour boat trip around the mangrove swamps and nearby islands is a good start. Not too strenuous and not too commercial..at least not for now anyway. We begin our trip at Tanjung Rhu, a beautiful secluded bay of white sand on the northeastern tip of the island. Casuarina trees line the beach, caressed by the gentle breeze blowing in from the vast Indian Ocean. The exclusive Tanjung Rhu Resort, set on its edge is the only resort on this bay and is ideal for some time away to relax and be thoroughly pampered. For more on the mangrove swamp trip, click here.

The latest edition to an expanding list of exclusive resorts in Langkawi is the Four Seasons Hotel. On the same stretch of beach as the Tanjung Rhu Resort , the Four Seasons has a beautiful view of the Tanjung Rhu Bay.

Teluk Datai

The Datai Bay sits on the Northern tip of Langkawi and is seemingly, the most secluded area in Langkawi. The drive into the bay is long and in some areas, a little winding. But once there, it's peace, serenity and privacy. The exclusive hotel, The Datai and its more affordable, The

the Datai

Andaman sits along the private beach of Datai. The Datai itself is worth a visit, just for a drink or a meal at its unobtrusive restaurants or even just to browse around at their resident shops. The most fun is a trip out into the jungle with Ishak, the resident Naturalist. It's worth all that and multiplied by 10. For more on the trek at Datai, click here.

An 18-hole golf course is another carrot on the stick at the Datai. The golf course is built within the forest itself.

Pantai Pasir Tengkorak (Beach of Sandy Skulls)

Tucked away from the usual mainland holidaymakers is the Beach of Sandy Skulls. This is a favourite with the islanders for a spot of picnic during the weekends. But during weekdays, it is a nice stretch of public beach to indulge in a bit of quiet time. Not far from the beach is the Ibrahim Hussein Art Gallery (entrance fee: RM12 for adults, kids admittance is free) set on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.

Ibrahim Hussein is one of Malaysia's finest contemporary artist and is a household name amongst local and foreign art collectors. The studio is also open to artists interested in showcasing their work and aspiring artists are enthusiastically encouraged to utilise the gallery to participate in any related fields of art and music. In the grounds of the gallery is a nature walk trail that winds into the Pasir Tengkorak Forest Reserve.