1st Jan. is a peak period but boats are aplenty there. Normally island hopping is about RM200 per boat which can take 10 pax but at times you will charge you by per head and at peak periods if you go thru hotel or agents they will charge RM60 per head. Normally if you go to the jetty, they will ask you for island hopping. If you go to the jetty one day earlier to book a whole boat you ccan bargain with the boatman. Normally they take you Pulau Dayang Bunting first and then Pulau Singa Besar where there is an animal santuary. They will take to to the third island  Pulau Bras Basah) only if you want to go for water sports like para sailing or banana boat ride.

You can try looking up a Mr.Ooi from Fuju Maru Cruiser in Kuah. His address is Pesiran Bunga Raya in Kuah and book island hopping with BBQ lunch in P.Singa Besar. Awana has limited boats for hire. Mr. Ooi is a better bet and if you want to, the boat can pick you up in Awana jetty. Don't ever commit yourself at the ferry jetty, very expensive!

have a nice trip.

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Added on November 14, 2009, 3:25 am

Room is OK for the beach. My guess is Underwater World is your first place and Zone Plus beside it for shopping. They are located along the the same road as your hotel. other places to visit is,
Cable car ride in Burau Bay ( recommended ), Horse riding at the same place , Eagle feeding and mangrove tour ( recommended ) Island hopping , Pulau Payar marine park ( alot of complaints though, because the ferry leaves at 9.00 am , reached about 10.30 and by the time you start to snorkel it's noon. Lunch and then at 3.00 pm you are asked to board the ferry back to main island ), Black Sand Beach, not anymore though , Crocodile Farm,  Galleria where all souveniers and momentos presented to Tun Dr. M is displayed there, Bird Park ( lousy place to visit ) and the rest is boozing and makan.
One nice tip is, if you are renting a car, take a drive up Gunung Raya. You have to pay a small toll at the base of G.Raya. It's only 13 kms. to the peak and fantastic view at the top. Tourist usually don't go as it is not advertised.
You can also rent Go-carts at the Mofaz Go cart circuit near the airport.

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Added on November 14, 2009, 3:38 am

Definately Pelangi because it is a 5 star resort where else Frangipani is 3 star. Frangipani is chalet type of lodging . If you can afford Pelangi than definately Pelangi. Also along the same road is Casa something ( just beside Pelangi ),Holiday Villa , Federal Lodge (managed by Holiday Villa but cheaper than Holiday Villa ) and the last end is Awana Porto Malai.

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Added on November 14, 2009, 4:10 amSince so many are planning to go Langkawi this holiday, I might as well say it all. To some of you who are gamed, there's another fantastic  activity. Ever heard of Pulau Adang & Pulau Lipe? It is noth-east of Langkawi island 1 hours fast boat ride from Pantai Cenang. One word of caution though, it is in Thai territory. There's one Ahmad Boating Services in Jalan Kedawang( near P.Cenang ) who used to do this trip. They leave in the morning and comes back in the evening and for some who wants to overnight there, there are basic chalets there and the boat will pick you up the next day. The sea is super-tastic there, beaches and sea are better than P.Redang in Trengganu. Once there, you have to hire Thai boats to do snorkelling or swimming there. fresh seafood can be found there. Reminder, it is at your own risk, talk to Ahmad first.

Scuba diving is actually fantastic there in Langkawi. If you have more than enough divers, you can speak to East Marine or Pro Dive to take you to Pulau Segantang which is also part of the marine park of Pulau Payar. Normally they don't take you there because it is another 30 to 40 minutes boat ride from P.Payar. Diving in P.Payar is also not bad if the visibility is good. Divers Den used to have their certification done in P.Payar when the Trengganu side is facing monsoon.

Fishing, if you are an ardent angler, there is a sunken wreck 10 nautical miles south of P.Singa. The depth is about 130 feet and if your luck is good, you can get barracudas, sharks , GT, groupers and sometimes Jenahak. What we did was we leave in the evening and scoop for squids all night with a little fishing by the side. The squids are left alive in the bait well. At dawn, we live make our way there and use the squids as bait. No guarantees though , we do encounter no bites at all. I think the only person willing to do such trip is Mr.Ooi of Fuji Maru Cruiser as he has the co ordinates for the GPS of the site.

1st Jan. is a peak period but boats are aplenty there. Normally island hopping is about RM200 per boat which can take 10 pax but at times you will charge you by per head and at peak periods if you go thru hotel or agents they will charge RM60 per head. Normally if you go to the jetty, they will ask you for island hopping. If you go to the jetty one day earlier to book a whole boat you ccan bargain with the boatman. Normally they take you Pulau Dayang Bunting first and then Pulau Singa Besar where there is an animal santuary. They will take to to the third island  Pulau Bras Basah) only if you want to go for water sports like para sailing or banana boat ride.

You can try looking up a Mr.Ooi from Fuju Maru Cruiser in Kuah. His address is Pesiran Bunga Raya in Kuah and book island hopping with BBQ lunch in P.Singa Besar. Awana has limited boats for hire. Mr. Ooi is a better bet and if you want to, the boat can pick you up in Awana jetty. Don't ever commit yourself at the ferry jetty, very expensive!

have a nice trip.

---

Added on November 14, 2009, 3:25 am

Room is OK for the beach. My guess is Underwater World is your first place and Zone Plus beside it for shopping. They are located along the the same road as your hotel. other places to visit is,
Cable car ride in Burau Bay ( recommended ), Horse riding at the same place , Eagle feeding and mangrove tour ( recommended ) Island hopping , Pulau Payar marine park ( alot of complaints though, because the ferry leaves at 9.00 am , reached about 10.30 and by the time you start to snorkel it's noon. Lunch and then at 3.00 pm you are asked to board the ferry back to main island ), Black Sand Beach, not anymore though , Crocodile Farm,  Galleria where all souveniers and momentos presented to Tun Dr. M is displayed there, Bird Park ( lousy place to visit ) and the rest is boozing and makan.
One nice tip is, if you are renting a car, take a drive up Gunung Raya. You have to pay a small toll at the base of G.Raya. It's only 13 kms. to the peak and fantastic view at the top. Tourist usually don't go as it is not advertised.
You can also rent Go-carts at the Mofaz Go cart circuit near the airport.

---

Added on November 14, 2009, 3:38 am

Definately Pelangi because it is a 5 star resort where else Frangipani is 3 star. Frangipani is chalet type of lodging . If you can afford Pelangi than definately Pelangi. Also along the same road is Casa something ( just beside Pelangi ),Holiday Villa , Federal Lodge (managed by Holiday Villa but cheaper than Holiday Villa ) and the last end is Awana Porto Malai.

---

Added on November 14, 2009, 4:10 amSince so many are planning to go Langkawi this holiday, I might as well say it all. To some of you who are gamed, there's another fantastic  activity. Ever heard of Pulau Adang & Pulau Lipe? It is noth-east of Langkawi island 1 hours fast boat ride from Pantai Cenang. One word of caution though, it is in Thai territory. There's one Ahmad Boating Services in Jalan Kedawang( near P.Cenang ) who used to do this trip. They leave in the morning and comes back in the evening and for some who wants to overnight there, there are basic chalets there and the boat will pick you up the next day. The sea is super-tastic there, beaches and sea are better than P.Redang in Trengganu. Once there, you have to hire Thai boats to do snorkelling or swimming there. fresh seafood can be found there. Reminder, it is at your own risk, talk to Ahmad first.

Scuba diving is actually fantastic there in Langkawi. If you have more than enough divers, you can speak to East Marine or Pro Dive to take you to Pulau Segantang which is also part of the marine park of Pulau Payar. Normally they don't take you there because it is another 30 to 40 minutes boat ride from P.Payar. Diving in P.Payar is also not bad if the visibility is good. Divers Den used to have their certification done in P.Payar when the Trengganu side is facing monsoon.

Fishing, if you are an ardent angler, there is a sunken wreck 10 nautical miles south of P.Singa. The depth is about 130 feet and if your luck is good, you can get barracudas, sharks , GT, groupers and sometimes Jenahak. What we did was we leave in the evening and scoop for squids all night with a little fishing by the side. The squids are left alive in the bait well. At dawn, we live make our way there and use the squids as bait. No guarantees though , we do encounter no bites at all. I think the only person willing to do such trip is Mr.Ooi of Fuji Maru Cruiser as he has the co ordinates for the GPS of the site.

I don't know whether you are asking Koh Lipe or Langkasuka is a resort. Langkasuska is definately a resort, although a bit run down now. It's still classified as 4 stars but 3 star pricing. No beach because muddy.  Further 1 km further away there's Langkawi Lagoon Resort. It belongs to MK Properties and rated 5 stars and quite new. Don't know about the rates though but I have seen the room. It's nice and there are water chalets there.

As for Koh Lipe. it is a fishing village. When you say 'Koh' I assume you know about this place. There's an island there where the beach is full of uniform sized black rocks. Looks tempting for aquarium or garden but don't pick it back. I don't know but a lot of tourist fall sick after doing that.

Hi sifu-sifu of Langkawi,

I am going to Langkawi in early January but I am headed to Koh Lipe from there. I understand there are 2 ferry services from Langkawi to Koh Lipe.

Has anyone here ever taken the ferry service? Especially the Telaga Harbour one? I need to find out personal experience on this.

Regards,
David