Is it worth having 15 hour stopover in KUL?

[dalereardon]

Hi,

My wife and I will be returning from Paris CDG to Melbourne via KUL business class with Malaysian. We can have either a 3 hour stopover which we would just spend in the lounge I imagine or we can have around 16 hours - from 6.30am till midnight flight.

Never been to KL - is the airport far from the city? Is it worth having a day in the city? Is there somewhere at the airport to store our luggage? The AA rewards desk said if the layover is longer than 12 hours that they normally require you to collect your luggage but she wasn't familiar with Malaysian policies. Will we just be too jetlagged? If you are going into the city for a day do you need a visa (we are both Australian passport holders)?

What do you think?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

Dale.

 

[markis10]

I doubt you would need to collect your luggage, and no Visa is required, in fact no paperwork! KLIA is a $10 train ride from town (28 minutes) and I would suggest it probably worthwhile to book a day use of a hotel room, freshen up, go for a swim, explore the city etc. If you are in to food, eating local is very worthwhile.

 

[casanovawa]

The city didn't do much for me on the 3 day visit i had in 2009 as I'm not a shop-a-holic (there do seem to be a million dept stores) so i would probably say no... I did go up the communicatin tower but not Petronas Tower, went to a zoo sort of thing at the base of the tower, went to the aquarium there, walked around a bit, but as mentioned i found it fairly sterile and not overly interesting...

What i have done a few times when staying in a city over night or for less than 24 hours, mentioned it one or two times on here, is just don't collect luggage from carousel and after an hour or so it will be collected by the airline's luggage office and stored and i've just come back the next day and gone and collected it prior to flying out... Seemed much easier than lugging it about or trying to find and pay for storage...

 

[Alanslegal]

Holders of Australian passports do not need a visa to enter Malaysia so feel free to go into the country without any fuss. From KUL you can catch the KLIA express train which takes around 30 minutes into Central, comes every 10 minutes I think, so its super convenient. I would get a hotel room for the day so you can rest for a few hours first (say 0800-1200), then head for lunch, explore a bit, hopefully get a late check out at the hotel and return to the airport around 2100hrs. Explore around Bukit Bintang (primarily shops, restaurants, cafes, etc), walk around the lake near the twin towers to observe the towers, there's the Batu Caves which is around 12kms outside of the city which has a pretty interesting shrine and walkway. If you are a foodie, then there will be loads of choices.

Having visited KL several times now, I would say do it. There is a first for everything, and if you do not enjoy the city, at least you can say you have been there!

 

[RB]

Even though I have quite enjoyed KL I would be opting for the 3hr stopover & then getting myself home. Despite the good airport/city connections I can see tiredness setting in & constant looking at your watch just hoping for midnight flight to get going. If it was the start of a holiday I would be thinking differently.
Also looks like you will have another flight on from Melb to get home?

 

[pippy]

I havent been to KL either and your question got me wondering what I would do.

I also think tiredness could set in and you may just want to get home, I guess it depends if you are committed to making the most of the time you have, no point getting six hours into your stop over and wishing you had just kept on travelling home, so if you do decide to have the stop over do some research first on what you will do in that time so you dont spend the first few hours deciding what interests you. I would agree about getting a hotel room or returning to the airport nice and early to freshen up for your next flight.

What would I do, I would have the stop over and check out the city with some well researched ideas of things I wanted to do.
What would Mr Pippy do.....he would probably say lets just go straight home, so thats probably what would happen, lol.

 

[mella2007]

I've stopped over via Europe to KL twice in the last year. For me personally it was good to break it up (stayed one night both ways) though as a city it didn't excite me much compared to other Asian cities.
The plus side is that collecting luggage and clearing immigration (if you choose this option) is very quick. Downside is that the city is a fair way from the airport (can be over an hour in traffic, or usually around 45 mins). During the day you can visit any of the shopping centres (very generic, nothing to rave over) the Twin Towers and the "night" markets are open and very quiet and desperate for a sale from midday onwards etc.
But I feel with KUL it is one of those destinations that you can definitely skip over and not be missing much, hence why I'm not going that route again during this year.

 

[NM]

Note that the KLIA Ekspress train delivers you to Sentral (Central). From there you basically have three choices to get to somewhere of interest (not much around Sentral). You can take a Teksi (fixed price from the booths near the exit from the train), you can take the Monorail (a short walk to the mono rail station then to places like Bukit Bintan previously mentioned), or take the MRT Putra Line to somewhere like Pasar Seni station near China Town or to KL Central (Petronas Towers). For shopping, try Bukit Bintan, including BB Plaza, Sungai Wang Plaza, and Low Yat (for tech stuff). Or head out to Mid Valley Mega Mall (train or Teksi from Sentral). Public transport is cheap and easy to follow if you do your research first and know which transport option to take to get to where you want to go.

Then again, I would take the daytime flight home rather than an overnight flight.

 

[fersea]

I would do the 16 hour stopover. As others have said you dont need a visa, the airport is about 75kms from downtown but you catch the KL express from the airport to Sentral (that spelling is right) and it takes 28 mins cost about 35MYR (about $11) and also has free wifi so by the time you check emails after a long flight you are in town. From there the rest of the train lines and monorail is easy to use and very frequent and you probably pay about 50c per trip.

Personally I would use the 16 hours to go exploring rather than worrying about a hotel as you will have had some sleep in business class and will get some on the way home. I found KL to be an amazing mixing pot of Chinese, Muslim, Indian and Western culture mixed in together. Spend the day exploring, perhaps do a city tour, go to the Chinatown markets early evening, have a great dinner for a dirt cheap price, catch the train back to the airport, spend an hour in the lounge and sleep well on the flight home.

In the unlikely event you have to pick up luggage they will have a storage service for minimal cost.

I reckon you are mad not to do it.

 

[Keith009]

KL is my fave shopping destination in SE Asia. Head to Pavillion Mall and across the road Starhill at Bukit Bintang. I could spend all 16 hours there if not for the OH dragging me away when the credit card gets white hot.

Moreschi boutique at KLCC great for restocking the shoe room for the coming season but otherwise Bukit Bintang is all you really need. I find KLCC super busy with tourists and most of the stores have a limited range.

Great French food at Frangipani with a reassuringly expensive wine list.

No visas required for Aussie passports for stays of up to 90 days.

Klia Express is great if staying around KL Sentral station. Anywhere else I'd recommend a cab or basic hotel car which doesn't cost much more in real money as you'd otherwise require another transfer by cab at Sentral. But for such a short stay it's probably worthwhile simply staying at Sentral (Hilton or Le Meridien are both decent choices).

 

[markis10]

Klia Express is great if staying around KL Sentral station. Anywhere else I'd recommend a cab or basic hotel car which doesn't cost much more in real money as you'd otherwise require another transfer by cab at Sentral. But for such a short stay it's probably worthwhile simply staying at Sentral (Hilton or Le Meridien are both decent choices).

Dont forget Aloft is now an option at Sentral for around $100:



Aloft as viewed from the Hilton Executive Lounge.


I also found it very easy to transfer to the LRT at Sentral which is easy and hassle free travel to the Sheraton, IC or Doubletree.

 

[Keith009]

Ahh Aloft - junior W! Haven't stayed at one myself (seems pretty budget? I heard that they use wall mounted dispensers for the bathroom Bliss for instance... ) but be interested to hear from anyone who has.

Got a return visit to KL planned when the W KL opens in 2016.

I'd avoid the LRT or monorail if traveling with heavy luggage. Other than my aversion to public transportation I've always got a min of 2 suitcases per pax - and more on the way back after the fantastic shopping in KL. A hotel car (MYR110 for a basic car usually a camry or minivan, or about MYR300ish for a nice S class at the Ritz Carlton) goes from door to door. Taxis could be ok if you avoid the budget Proton ones (death traps). Remember, transportation options are pretty cheap in KL when converting MYR back to real money.

 

[markis10]

I'd avoid the LRT or monorail if traveling with heavy luggage then again I just have an aversion to public transport. I've always got a min of 2 suitcases per pax - and more on the way back after the fantastic shopping in KL. A hotel car (MYR110 for a basic car usually a camry or minivan, or about MYR300ish for a nice S class at the Ritz Carlton) goes from door to door. Taxis could be ok if you avoid the budget Proton ones (death traps). Remember, transportation options are pretty cheap in KL when converting MYR back to real money.

I had no issues with the LRT travelling with two suitcases Tuesday around 9AM and Sunday afternoons, helps that the side you board on at Sentral is not the side you disembark from for all the stations after Sentral to Ampang Park.

 

[amaroo]

Another that would opt for the 15hr sortie.....really like KL.

If you decide to do it - I'm willing to wager that you'd never regret it.

 

[Keith009]

I had no issues with the LRT travelling with two suitcases Tuesday around 9AM and Sunday afternoons, helps that the side you board on at Sentral is not the side you disembark from for all the stations after Sentral to Ampang Park.

We've got different ideas of comfort but the idea of faffing around on a commuter train seems way too much hassle for me in any circumstance let alone with suitcases. Plus seating isn't guaranteed. Door to door service and someone else to worry about suitcases which magically appear in the room after check in = simples. Incremental cost is next to nothing in real money in a place like KL even taking tips into account.

 

[fersea]

They won't have suitcases they are in transit and even if they do have to collect luggage surely they would use the luggage storage service at the airport. If all you are going to do is go to a hotel you may as well take the three hour stopover and go home and sleep in your own bed.

 

[coolumbla]

i have the choice coming home from Colombo with Malaysian of a 3 or 15 hour stopover in KL
If i have the 3 hour stopover i need to spend the night in Sydney so it doesn't affect my overall travel time or cost
Plan was a day rate at the hilton sentral , and then go get lost for a few hours , and can have a shower +/- nap before catching another plane
If theres a tower i have to go up it!
STill have the family record of highest beer in a building!
Brother has highest altitude beer record!

C

 

[Keith009]

Skybar at the Trader's offers a spectacular view of the twin towers though I'm not sure if you'll break any altitude records.

 

[Cecil]

Hi,
KL has a a great airport hotel with jungle pool, good food and gym. Rooms are large and attractive and it is only a bridge from the terminal.
Cheers

Hi,

My wife and I will be returning from Paris CDG to Melbourne via KUL business class with Malaysian. We can have either a 3 hour stopover which we would just spend in the lounge I imagine or we can have around 16 hours - from 6.30am till midnight flight.

Never been to KL - is the airport far from the city? Is it worth having a day in the city? Is there somewhere at the airport to store our luggage? The AA rewards desk said if the layover is longer than 12 hours that they normally require you to collect your luggage but she wasn't familiar with Malaysian policies. Will we just be too jetlagged? If you are going into the city for a day do you need a visa (we are both Australian passport holders)?

What do you think?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

Dale.

 

[timster]

15 hours is too short to justify the hassle, except perhaps in an airport hotel. If you had a couple of days I would say do it. Indeed I never travel between Europe and Australia without at least a 24 hour stop somewhere interesting in Asia (thanks Qantas for removing most of those options from your European schedule). KL is not the most exciting city in the world, but enough to fill a few days. It does have possibly the worst taxi extortionists in the world. And the airport is a long way from the city.