9 BEST Things to Do on Your First Visit to Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia, meaning it is the biggest and most populated city - nearly 1.7 million people! In addition to being home to the world's tallest Twin Towers, it is now considered one of the "New 7 Wonders Cities." Not only that, but Malaysia is home to the only elected, rotating monarchy in the entire world - meaning they have a King! Who - you guessed it - lives in Kuala Lumpur! With plenty of unique things to do, if you're planning to stop here for vacation, or on the way to vacation, then there's a few things you might want to know to make your first visit as easy as possible.

Our Essential Travel Resources :
​There are a lot of travel companies out there, but some are better than others. These are our favorite websites and resources to help you plan an incredible trip.

For flights, we recommend using WayAway or Hopper to compare the cheapest dates to travel to your destination.

Car rentals comparisons are best through Discover Cars - just make sure to bring your international driver's permit with you if you're heading somewhere international!

We always use AGODA for hotels. They have an easy-to-use platform where you can compare the best rates.

To keep cell phone service if you're traveling internationally, we always use Airalo’s easy to purchase eSIM’s (no installation required), and always use NordVPN to stay safe while connecting to different wifi connections.

For fun things to do, we always recommend Viator to find the best tours in the area, otherwise Klook also does the trick, especially for tours in Asia.

Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use for travel insurance.

Lastly, my packing list for your international or domestic travels.

First Time Tips for Kuala Lumpur

• Where to stay? - To make things easy, especially for a first trip to Malaysia, we recommend staying close to downtown Kuala Lumpur. We stayed at the Santa Grand Signature, which was fairly cheap and within walking distance to the Petronas Towers. They even had a rooftop pool with a view of the KL Tower and included breakfast!
• How to get around? - Because our hotel was so close to downtown, we typically walked around or took a ride on the public metro! With a pretty user-friendly system, each ride can cost about $0.25-$2.00, or about RM15 ($3.23 USD) for a one day pass from mrt.com.my. If you're looking for something even easier, we recommend using Grab, which is Asia's equivalent to Uber.
• Is it expensive? - Malaysia uses the Malaysian Ringgit, which equals about $0.22 USD. The cost of food was much cheaper than the US, averaging about $5 per meal. Our hotel also cost about $49 a night for a very central location!

We stayed at the Santa Grand Signature in Kuala Lumpur and loved that it was within walking distance of the Petronas Towers!

Our Favorite Tours near Kuala Lumpur : 
- Fireflies & Blue Tears Night Tour
- Genting Highlands & Batu Caves
- Half Day Batu Caves Tour

9 Best Things to Do in Kuala Lumpur

Whether you're planning to stay in Kuala Lumpur for a few hours or a few days, you'll find that there is plenty to do! Here are our top 9 recommendations for the best things to do on your first visit to Kuala Lumpur!

• Batu Caves - The Batu Caves are an iconic stop when in Kuala Lumpur. Built out of limestone that's thought to be 400 million years old, this free stop is a must for anyone new to Kuala Lumpur. You can read our entire guide to the Batu Caves here!
• Chinatown - Although every city has a Chinatown, not every city has a Chinatown like Kuala Lumpur. Located on Petaling Street, this colorful, vibrant, and busy area of town has plenty of local markets for shopping and street food as well!
• ​Pasar Malam Taman Connaught - This list wouldn't be complete without including at least one night market. Pasar Malam Taman Connaught is said to be the best in Kuala Lumpur and has over 700 stalls! Make sure to plan ahead though, it's only open on Wednesdays from 5:00 pm to 1:00 am.

• Selangor Fireflies - When we shared that we were going to Kuala Lumpur this was the most recommended activity we got. Apparently Kuala Selangor is known to have some of the best firefly viewing in the entire world, and takes about a 2 hour drive from Kuala Lumpur, however you can read our full review here.
• Genting Highlands - An area outside the city with lots of theme parks and casinos, many people take a trip here to "get away" from the chaos of the city. Although we weren't able to make it ourselves, this area has plenty of skywalks, cave temples, and even a cable car to keep you busy.
• ​Thean Hou Temple - A beautiful 6 tier Chinese temple with stunning views of Kuala Lumpur! As one of the oldest and largest Buddhist temples, with no entrance fee, we highly recommend a stop here!

• Petronas Towers - Another iconic stop when in Kuala Lumpur is the Petronas Towers, which are also the tallest twin towers in the world! In order to go all the way up to the Skybridge you'll have to purchase a guided tour for just over $20 for foreigners. The bottom of the Petronas Towers are a huge mall and food court, however there's also a chance to catch the Simfoni Lake Water Show twice a day. We recommend the night show at 6:00 pm to really see all the colors!
• Shopping - Although we aren't shoppers ourselves,​ we immediately learned that the people here are. With malls seemingly around every corner, you could easily spend a whole day in one of the many malls! We recommend the Suria KLCC (bottom of the Petronas Towers) or the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.
• ​Hang Out on a Rooftop Pool - With an incredible skyline, we highly recommend taking it in from one of many rooftop pools scattered throughout the city. We were lucky to find that our hotel, the Santa Grand Signature, had a great rooftop with a view of the KL Tower - and will definitely be the cheapest option. However, most rooftop pools in the area will only be open to hotel guests, therefore we recommend looking into D'Majestic Place, The Mandarin Oriental, and the Face Suites for the best views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline!

Watch our Adventures in Malaysia here!

Check out our other Malaysia blog posts!

• The Batu Caves - A Guide
• Kuala Lumpur - Best Things to Do
• Kuala Selangor - Best Fireflies in the World?!

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