Transit Destination Guide in Kuala Lumpur: Experience Culture, Nature and History in 8 Hours

Traveling and is transiting in KLIA/KLIA2 in Malaysia? Feeling restless and not sure what to do during your long wait for the next flight? Why not explore Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia during your transit? Kuala Lumpur, the sleepless and bustling city is a wondrous place and have plenty of tourists attraction that could awe you without burning a huge hole in your pocket.

My family and I played tourist for a day in our own country a couple of weeks back and discovered that there’s plenty of fun places you can visit in Kuala Lumpur in just 8 hours.

Here’s what you can actually do in an 8 hours daytime transit in KLIA/KLIA2 as per adviced from Tourism Information Centre in KLIA if you are traveling in small group or traveling with family and small children; National Mosque, Islamic Arts Museum, KL Bird Park and Kuala Lumpur City Gallery. Mode of transport that’s recommended for these destination is by taxi and by foot/shuttles.

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Taking taxi can be quite a hassle in some situations, but chartered taxis are easily available in KLIA/KLIA2. All you need to do is just head over to the taxi counter and buy your preferred destination coupon. In this case, from KLIA to Kuala Lumpur. Regular taxi fares from KLIA to Kuala Lumpur costs about RM75 for one way while premium taxi fares costs about RM120 for one way. A regular taxi could accommodate about 4pax, so if you are traveling in groups, taxis could save you much more in comparison of taking the ERL of KLIA express. The journey from KLIA to Kuala Lumpur by taxi takes about 45minutes to 1 hour, depending on the traffic.

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So here’s our route: KLIA-National Mosque-Islamic Arts Museum-KL Bird Park-KL City Gallery. We departed from KLIA via taxi to Kuala Lumpur at 9.15am, explore Kuala Lumpur in stipulated time and went back to KLIA by 6pm.

Yes. It is possible to visit these 4 attractions in Kuala Lumpur in just 8 hours and still be in time to catch your flight. All you need to do is plan your time well and here’s a brief guide on how you can accomplish it:

First destination; the National Mosque. Recommended visit time allocation for transit passengers: 45mins to 1hour.

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National Mosque is a place of worship for Muslims. But apart from being a place of worship, it is also a commmunity centre where plenty of religion related activities and events is held.

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Apart from the 5 times daily prayers, common events that’s held daily over here are Quranic classes and solemnization of marriage. National mosque is open to public’s visit at certain hours during non prayer time. More about National Mosque in detail HERE.

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Once done visiting National Mosque, head over to Islamic Arts Museum. It is located opposite of National Mosque and is just 5-10 minutes walk away. Recommended time to be allocated during the visit to Islamic Arts Museum for transit passengers is 1 hour.

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The museum is the largest museum of Islamic arts in South East Asia with more than seven thousands artefacts from the Islamic world. Read more about Islamic Arts Museum in detail HERE.

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Feeling overwhelmed with all the artefacts? Free your mind and get close to nature in KL Bird Park. KL Bird Park is just 15 minutes walk away from the Islamic Arts Museum. Recommended time allocation over here for transit passenger is 2 hours.

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It is the home to more than 3,000 birds of approximately 200 species of local and foreign birds. Read more about KL Bird Park in detail HERE.

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Final destination of the day was the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery. Located in Dataran Merdeka, it is about 20minutes walk away from KL Bird Park. Kuala Lumpur City Gallery is an interesting tourist information centre with a collection of paintings and photos of KL’s history, plus miniature mock ups of famous city landmarks. Recommended time allocation for transit passenger in Kuala Lumpur City Gallery is 40 minutes.

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Set in a 114-year old, colonial-style building just beside Dataran Merdeka, this free museum is great if you want to find out a little bit more about the history of Kuala Lumpur. You may read about Kuala Lumpur City Gallery in detail HERE.

Once done visiting the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery, hail a metered taxi from Dataran Merdeka and head back to KLIA. Fare estimation from Dataran Merdeka back to KLIA is RM75 for regular taxi and RM125 for premium taxi.

Transiting in Malaysia, especially if you are transiting at KLIA/KLIA2 does not have to be boring. There’s plenty of interesting places in the vicinity of the airports and Klang Valley to visit. Moving around in public transport is pretty easy. So, if you’re ever transiting in KLIA/KLIA2, be sure to step out of the airport and have fun exploring.

11 comments

  1. Emily says:

    Great guide here, Ellie. I once was on transit ion KL for 14 hours but spent most of the time resting in the hotel that was provided for me. I needed to catch up on sleep because I had a 12-hour red eye flight and that not easy to endure.

  2. Shivani says:

    What a lovely guide dear- thank you for the listing. There are certainly a lot of places to visit here and its always fun to explore around.

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