Langkawi Islands

Known as the Jewel of Kedah, Langkawi refers to a cluster of 99 islands off the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia. All the hotels are on the main island of Pulau Langkawi, which at 193 square miles is big and harbors an attractive range of landscapes from palm-fringed beaches and coastal mangroves to rainforests and waterfalls. Langkawi's beaches are, in fact, among the best in Malaysia with mile-and-a-quarter-long Pantai Cenang offering the best range of accommodations at all price ranges. There are wonderful luxury resorts with their own private strips of sand in more remote corners of the island such as the Datai Langkawi and Andaman ...

Known as the Jewel of Kedah, Langkawi refers to a cluster of 99 islands off the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia. All the hotels are on the main island of Pulau Langkawi, which at 193 square miles is big and harbors an attractive range of landscapes from palm-fringed beaches and coastal mangroves to rainforests and waterfalls. Langkawi's beaches are, in fact, among the best in Malaysia with mile-and-a-quarter-long Pantai Cenang offering the best range of accommodations at all price ranges. There are wonderful luxury resorts with their own private strips of sand in more remote corners of the island such as the Datai Langkawi and Andaman Langkawi at Teluk Datai and the Four Seasons at Tanjung Rhu. Island hopping tours make it easy to visit many of the smaller islands such as Pulau Dayang Bunting, which has a beautiful freshwater lake surrounded by limestone cliffs and jungle. It goes without saying that this is also a great destination for diving and yacht adventures. With so much to experience outdoors the main town of Kuah is best saved for a rainy day when you can drop by its shopping malls for a spot of duty-free shopping.

About the Expert

Simon Richmond has written Rough Guides to Malaysia and Japan; Lonely Planet guides to India and Russia; and adventure travel guides for Frommer's on Australia, India, South America, and Southeast Asia.