How to get from the airport to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The airports of Kuala Lumpur

Most international tourists will arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, also known as KLIA. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is the main and largest airport of Kuala Lumpur. It consists of two separated complexes called KLIA1 and KLIA2. KLIA1 is used for international and intercontinental flights, while KLIA2 is used for domestic and regional budget flights.

The second and smaller airport is the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, which is also known as Subang SkyPark. This airport is used for charter and turboprop flights. The Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport is located near Petaling Jaya (which is next to Kuala Lumpur) so traveling this airport and your hotel should be relatively easy.

KLIA is a bit further from Kuala Lumpur than the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport so they do have several good hotels at the airport (when Airport hotels is finished a link has to be made) itself. This is especially convenient when you have some downtime at the airport as you transfer between two flights. Below you will find a description of the airports and how to get from the airport to Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport – KLIA1

Kuala Lumpur International Airport, also known as KLIA, is the main international airport of Malaysia and mainly serves Kuala Lumpur as well as the surrounding Klang Valley region. The airport is located in the Sepang district of Selangor, which is about 50 km (31 mi) south of Kuala Lumpur. The Sepang district is also known for its Sepang International Circuit where major motorsport events like the A1 Grand Prix, the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix and the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix take place.

The airport is very modern, has won several awards and is considered to be in the top 10 best airports in the world. With a surface of about 100 sq km (39 sq mi) is KLIA also one of the largest airports of the world. In 2017 KLIA received over 58 million passengers. The landing strips are large enough to receive the Airbus A380, which is the world’s largest passenger airliner. KLIA is an important hub for airlines like AirAsia, Gading Sari, Malaysia Airlines and Malindo Air.

The airport is divided in KLIA1 and KLIA2. The KLIA1 complex exists of two terminals the Main Terminal Building and the Satellite Building. Travelling between the two terminals is easy via the Aerotrain, which is an Automated People Mover that departs over 10 times per hour from one terminal to the other. The ride between the two terminals takes about 2 minutes. The whole airport is built on the concept of: “Airport in the forest, forest in the airport”. And there is actually a rainforest in the Satellite Building of the airport which has been kept intact from the period when the airport was built in the jungle. Restaurants, lounges and shops can be found in both terminals, but the most facilities are in the Satellite Building. At the airport are also several hotels where you can spend the night.

Domestic flights and regional international flights are processed in the Main Terminal Building while the international and intercontinental flights are processed in the Satellite Building. But after arrival you always have to get your luggage at the Main Terminal Building and when you depart you have to pass the immigration checks which are also in the Main Terminal Building.

If you want to travel from the airport to Kuala Lumpur, there are several options available to you:

Taking the bus to Kuala Lumpur city center
When you go to the ground floor in the arrival hall of the Main Terminal Building you will find the air-conditioned busses from companies like Airport Coach and Star Shuttle that go from KLIA1 to downtown Kuala Lumpur. This bus ride will take about one hour. But there are also coach services available that will bring you to other popular destinations like Ampang, George Town, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Klang, Malacca, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Subang Jaya. Taking the bus is one of the cheapest modes of travel in Malaysia, but also the slowest because it is subject to traffic delays, it has several bus stops and it probably doesn’t bring you directly to your final destination.

Taking the taxi to Kuala Lumpur city center
At KLIA1 you can choose between two options for getting a taxi. First there are the meter-based city taxis which can be found on level 1 of the Main Terminal Building. Here you have to make sure that the taxi driver uses this meter, or else there is a chance that you will pay too much. Note that you first need to buy a ticket for a metered taxi at the taxi counter before standing in the waiting line.

Secondly there are the coupon-based taxis, which can be found on level 3 of the Main Terminal Building. At the taxi counter you can get a ticket for the coupon-based taxi. The standard price for this ticket is dependent on the zone in Kuala Lumpur where you would like to go to and the type of taxi that you would like to travel with. If you want some more space and luxury you could take a more luxurious taxi instead of the budget taxi, but for this type of taxi there will also be charged some extra. The prepaid taxis that drive from the airport to Kuala Lumpur are from Airport Limo and are safe and modern. By making use of this prepaid rate you can be sure that you won’t be ripped off by a taxi tout. Travelling from KLIA1 to Kuala Lumpur by taxi takes about 45 minutes to one hour. Taking a taxi is in most cases the fastest way to get to the doorstep of your final destination, but it is probably also the most expensive option.

Taking the train to Kuala Lumpur city center
From KLIA1 you can also take the (shuttle) trains from KLIA Ekspres or KLIA Transit to travel between the airports and the ‘KL Sentral transportation hub’ in the city center of Kuala Lumpur. With the train you will avoid the traffic jams during rush hours. The KLIA Ekspres is a modern and comfortable train equipped with WiFi, so that you can do some work online and connect with your family while on the train. It is the fastest of the two trains, because it is not a stop train like the KLIA Transit.

The train departs several times per hour and a journey from KLIA1 to KL Sentral takes about 28 minutes. The trains departs from the first floor of the airport. KLIA Transit uses the same rail as KLIA Ekspres, but has three extra stops at the stations of Bandar Tasik Selatan, Putrajaya & Cyberjaya and Salak Tinggi. This is why KLIA Transit is mostly used by local commuters who travel between home and work. Please be aware that the tickets of KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit are not interchangeable.

From KL Sentral transportation hub it is easy to take a short ride in the metro, bus, monorail or taxi to get to your final destination. We from Meet The Cities recommend to buy your KLIA Ekspres tickets at the website of KLIA Ekspres. The advantage of purchasing your train ticket online is that you will get an immediate discount.

At the railway station of the KL Sentral transportation hub in downtown Kuala Lumpur KL is a virtual extension of KLIA and is called City Air Terminal. So if you want to go from train station KL Sentral to KLIA you can make use of the city check-in services provided by several large airlines like Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines. When you check-in at the City Air Terminal you can hand over your luggage and get your boarding passes, so you can spend some extra time in Kuala Lumpur without having to carry your baggage with you.

Taking a rental car from the airport to Kuala Lumpur city center
In the arrival hall at KLIA1 are various car rental booths from the well-known car rental companies and offer a wide range of modern cars and vans. The highways around Kuala Lumpur are very well-maintained and the petrol in the region is relatively cheap, so it’s a joy to drive there. It is more convenient to book your rental car in advance than comparing and discussing the rates at the different car rental booths at the airport after a long flight. And your selected car will be ready waiting for you upon arrival when you have booked in advance. Or else you can only choose between the cars that are left over at that location. Booking your rental car in advance via a car rental comparison website is in general cheaper than renting at a car rental desk at the airport, because of discount agreements between the rental company and the car rental comparison website.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport – KLIA2

About 2 km (1,5 mi) from the Main Terminal Building of KLIA1 is KLIA2. KLIA2 is home to the budget airlines like AirAsia, Cebu Pacific or Tigerair. This is why KLIA2 was first named LCCT or Low-Cost Carrier Terminal. Currently has KLIA2 a maximum capacity of 45 million passengers. Just like at KLIA1 has KLIA2 two terminals which are the Main Terminal Building and a Satellite Building. Different from KLIA1 is that KLIA2 has a skybridge which connects both terminals. KLIA2 has also a lot of restaurants and retail shops.

Just like KLIA1 is KLIA2 served by buses, taxi, trains and rental car companies. So if you wonder how to get from KLIA2 to Kuala Lumpur than are these the options to choose from:

Taking the bus to Kuala Lumpur city center
Buses are located at Level 1 of the Gateway@KLIA2 mall complex. The cheapest method of travelling in Malaysia is by bus, but it also has the longest travel time. At KLIA2 are several bus companies like Aerobus, SkyBus and Star Shuttle. Aerobus and SkyBus travel between KL Sentral and KLIA2 and depart multiple times per hour. Catchthatbus and Star Shuttle also provide coach services to other cities in Malaysia. Star Shuttle also offers a service that first brings you by coach from KLIA1 or KLIA2 to Pudu Sentral (Puduraya) and then from there it will bring you with a smaller van to the doorstep of your hotel.

Taking the taxi to Kuala Lumpur city center
At the taxi counters, which are located on Level 1 in the Gateway@KLIA2 mall complex, you can buy your prepaid taxi coupons. The licensed taxis at KLIA2 are from the company Mesra Indah Jaya and the price depends on the type of taxi that you prefer and the zone that you want to travel to. By buying prepaid taxi coupons you prevent that you have to deal with unlicensed taxi operators or taxi touts which could charge you exorbitant rates. It is also possible to buy a ticket for a meter-based taxi, but then you have to make sure that the taxi driver uses the meter.

Taking the train to Kuala Lumpur city center
The same trains that go to KLIA2 will also go to KLIA1 before heading to Kuala Lumpur. You can choose between the (shuttle) trains KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit. Both travel between the airport and the ‘KL Sentral transportation hub’ in the city center of Kuala Lumpur. The trains use the same railway, but KLIA Transit also stops at the stations of Bandar Tasik Selatan, Putrajaya & Cyberjaya and Salak Tinggi while KLIA Ekspres goes directly to KL Sentral. The KLIA Ekspres departs several times per hour and the ride will take about 33 minutes. KLIA Ekspres offers a discount when you buy a ticket in advance at their website.

Taking a rental car from the airport to Kuala Lumpur city center
The car rental desks in KLIA2 are located at Level 1 of the Gateway@KLIA2, which is also the shopping section of this airport. When you book a rental car well in advance via a car rental comparison website it has several advantages. One of them is that you don’t have to discuss the rates and available cars at a desk after a long flight. But in general it will also be cheaper then when you hire your rental car at the airport desk. And you prevent that your favorite car isn’t available anymore, which can happen especially during holiday seasons. It is also very convenient that the comparison website shows you the different cars and rates from the different companies, so that you can pick the best deal.

Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport – Subang SkyPark

Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SAASA) was formerly called Subang International Airport, or popularly Subang SkyPark. As the name implies is the airport located in Subang Jaya, which is the largest city of Malaysia and close to Kuala Lumpur. Before the construction of KLIA it was the main airport to Kuala Lumpur. At this moment is Terminal 3 the only terminal that is in use for passenger flights. The terminal looks fresh and modern as it has got a renovation several years ago and has lots of retail space and restaurants. There are no hotels at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, but there are several hotels nearby. It’s only 25 km (16 mi) and a 30 minute drive from the SAASA airport to Kuala Lumpur, which is only half the time compared to a journey from the other airport KLIA to Kuala Lumpur. If you are looking for a hotel near the airport you could also consider to have a look at the hotels in KL itself. Budget airlines AirAsia, Berjaya Air, Firefly and Malindo Air fly between this small but modern airport and several regional and domestic destinations. This is why the airport is mainly used by locals.

There are several options to choose from when you want to get from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (Subang SkyPark) to Kuala Lumpur.

Taking the bus to KL city center
At the airport you can find public bus connections, but then you have to make sure that you know how the Kuala Lumpur bus network works. So if you want to travel by bus it is recommended to make use of a coach company, like Skypark Coaches, that directly drives to a centrally located transportation hub in Kuala Lumpur. Another option is to make use of the KL City Airport Shuttle Bus and is a cheap way of getting from the airport to Pasar Seni (Central Market) in Kuala Lumpur city center, or to KL Sentral transportation hub. There is also a shuttle bus available that connects Subang SkyPark with KLIA.

Taking the taxi to KL city center
The taxi is the easiest way to get from the airport to your final destination. If you want to make use of a licensed taxi at the airport you have to buy a prepaid taxi coupon at the taxi booth. With a prepaid taxi coupon you will be sure that you will not be scammed by a taxi tout. It is also possible to get a coupon for a metered taxi at the taxi counter. But please pay attention that the taxi driver uses the meter, or else you will run the risk of paying too much.

Taking the train to KL city center
At this moment the railway between the Subang Skypark Terminal (at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport) – Subang Jaya – Kuala Lumpur, is still under construction and thus not available. So if you prefer to travel by train you will first have to take the bus to a transportation hub nearby like Subang Jaya station, or Salak Tinggi station and then take the train from there to Kuala Lumpur.

Taking a rental car to KL city center
Several car rental companies have a desk at Subang International Airport. In most cases you will get the best price when you book your rental car well in advance and come only to the desk to pick up the keys. It is also convenient to have a look at the car fleet in advance and check if the car you wish is available at the preferred date. A car rental comparison website like rentalcars.com will help you to get the best deal possible by showing the rates of the different rental companies that can match your preferences.