Explore a different destination Alor Setar Travel Guide, Kedah


  Alor Setar Kedah Malaysia Budget Travel Guide Asia Budget Travel Guide EarthDocumentary World Budget Travel Guide UNESCO World Heritage Sites  Compare Hotel Room Rates from different Booking Sites

Planning for Alor Setar

Alor Setar Travel Guide provides you essential details for planning your trip to Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah. It is a spacious city but most of the tourist attractions are well concentrated in the town core. This is where you find most of the historical buildings of Alor Setar. On this page, I deal with the nitty gritty of planning your trip.

Alor Setar Travel Topics

Before looking at the list of tourist attractions, here's a list of main topics on Alor Setar.

Masjid Zahir, Alor Setar
Masjid Zahir, Alor Setar (8 January 2006)
© Timothy Tye

Getting there

By Road

Alor Setar is 126km from Penang Island (via Penang Bridge) and 45km from the Malaysian-Thai border. There are buses to Alor Star from Puduraya in Kuala Lumpur and Sungai Nibong Express Bus Terminal in Penang, as well as from most major cities in Malaysia.

The most practical way to visit Alor Setar is by self-drive. Alor Setar is located to the west of the North South Expressway that runs from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Johor Bahru. To reach Alor Setar, exit the expressway at either Exit 178 (Alor Setar South) or Exit 180 (Alor Setar North).

By Plane

There are daily flights between Alor Setar's Sultan Abdul Halim Airport and Kuala Lumpur, operated by Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia. Journey takes 55 minutes. Firefly flies between Alor Setar and Singapore from October 2009.

By Ferry

Some people arrive in Alor Setar by way of ferry from Langkawi. Take the ferry to Kuala Kedah, and from there, take a taxi to Alor Setar. The ferry operates from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm every day. You can buy your tickets at Kuah Jetty. The trip takes approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. The fare is RM23 one way and RM46 return.

Ticket Counter Contacts:
Kuala Kedah: 04 762 6295, 04 762 6296
Langkawi: 04 966 1125, 04 966 1126

Accommodation in Alor Setar

Here's a list of hotels in Alor Setar. You can also click here to book hotels in Alor Setar online.
  • Comfort Hotel, tel: 04 734 4866
  • Flora Inn, tel: 04 732 2376
  • Grand Jubilee Hotel, tel: 04 733 0055
  • Holiday Villa, tel: 04 734 9999, www.holidayvilla.com.my
  • Hotel Grand Continental, tel: 04 733 5917, www.ghihotels.com.my
  • Hotel Grand Crystal, tel: 04 731 3333
  • Wangsa Inn, tel: 04 735 1688

Do's and Don'ts in Alor Setar

Be mindful that you are visiting a predominantly Muslim city, therefore dress conservatively. Of course that does not mean covering yourself in the entirety. However, you should wear no revealing clothing.

Also, if you are visiting Muslim places of worship, remember to wear long pants for men, no skirt that reveal the knees for women. At the mosques, non-Muslims are often provided with robes so that they can still enter the building. However this is not always available, and may result in your not being granted access if not properly dressed.


Return to Exploring Malaysia
Return to Malaysia Budget Travel Guide

Hotel Room Price Checker

Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?

The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!



AsiaExplorers Flight Checker

If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.

Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.




Return to AsiaExplorers homepage

My message introducing God to all the world: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO TIM


Bookmark and Share   Follow EarthDocumentary on Twitter


Copyright © 2003-2010 AsiaExplorers.  All rights reserved.


AsiaExplorers is researched and written by Timothy Tye. Reasonable care is taken to check and verify the accuracy of the content. AsiaExplorers disclaims responsibility for any inconvenience, mishap, injury or death resulting from following the tips and advice provided directly or indirectly by this website. All pages may be printed out for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may use the information on this website on your blog or website so long as you place a dofollow link back to the page in AsiaExplorers where it appears. Photographs not credited to a third party belong to Timothy Tye and may not be reused in any form unless you are first given permission. Write in to inquire if interested. Third party photographs are governed by their respective licenses. To contact Tim, write to the following email address: