Kuala Lumpur Travel Tips: Perfect for Families and Digital Nomads

Kuala Lumpur (KL) made for the perfect base camp when we were touring around Southeast Asia. KL is a world-class city filled with some of the sweetest people you’ll meet. Kuala Lumpur is as diverse as it is warm. The visa process is smooth for U.S. passport holders and many other passport holders. Grab (Hired cars) works well and public transportation is fantastic and constantly improving. To visit central Kuala Lumpur, visitors will need to take a taxi or Grab car from the airport. If you are backpacking around Asia, KL is a great place to freshen up your clothes, supplies, tech gear, and even yourself. Here’s a list of some of our favorite places.

Kuala Lumpur – for residents or travelers

Where to Play

District 21, Apocalyptic Theme park

It’s a bit of an taxi or Grab ride to this experience. District 21 is in a mall as these things often are, but it’s very cool and worth the trip if you love amazing theme parks. Here’s Ms. Ame’s video of D21.

Berjaya Times Square Theme park

Berjaya Times Square is in downtown KL inside of a very tall building and mall. I love the roller coaster because it’s incredibly smooth. The rest of the rides are also quite good and the haunted house is downright scary. I appreciate that the mall caters to the local Malaysian population offering great stores with good prices. In Berjaya, there are activities and restaurants that will appeal to everyone. Here’s a link to a good video of the Roller coaster.

Sunway Lagoon

Sunway Lagoon is an enormous water park built on top of old tin mining land. If you like water parks and it’s hot enough, you will have a blast here. This is a great way to spend the day if you have children of any age. There’s even a cool canopy walk to cross over to the other side of the park. Sunway Lagoon Website

Shopping in Kuala Lumpur – Supply Runs

For Technology: Low Yat Plaza

Low Yat Plaza is where you go if you need to freshen up your tech gear. This technology focused mall caters to those looking for all sorts of gadgets, gear, or equipment. Though there are a few non-technology stores and some restaurants, Low Yat is mostly a tech mall and a very good one. Located in downtown KL.

Suria KLCC and the Pavilion

The shopping here is mostly mid to high-end popular retail brands and restaurants. When you visit the Petronas Towers at Suria KLCC (the shopping center is on the bottom), make sure to use the pedestrian walkways either underground or overground to walk to the Pavillion Mall. The footpaths are a godsend when it is hot outside. Review of the Pedestrian paths

Sungei Wang Plaza

This mall, the Sungei Wang Plaza is a good mall to find cheap (some knock-off) stuff. There are very good salons here with talented stylists. They wash your hair in the chair and if you have dandruff they have a treatment for it that makes it go away for literally months.

KLCC Thrift Store

I could always find something interesting at this little thrift store near Izumi Hotel. If you like thrifting or just need to random this or that, this is a great shop to search. KLBC Thrift Shop hours 12 – 18hr M – Saturday and Sunday from 10 – 12hr.

Where to eat – Food

In Kuala Lumpur there are street vendors and restaurants that are open 24-hours a day, so there’s no reason to sleep off your hunger in KL.

Bukit Bintang is central to all and a popular place with the tourists and locals. There are many food and bar options here and Pisco restaurant and bar is a great place to find the traveling crowd. Nico is the owner this fantastic, central bar. Jalan Alor is where the street food is located in Bukit Bintang and not to be missed. Be sure to stop for lunch at the Suria KLCC mall. The food court on the second or third floor is very good. The chicken and rice is very popular in Malaysia and my son’s favorite. There was an an Indian restaurant/stall with excellent food. Of course there are fancier restaurants as well.

The place for German Bread

If you love good German bread, you can find it at the Hock Choon Supermarket, Jalan Ampang, in the Deli. The baker trained in Germany and makes amazing German bread just like home! The sandwich baguettes are amazing. Besides amazing German bread, Hock Choon Market is a great market for the westerner missing something from home. There are British foods, American foods, and more here. There’s also an upstairs that’s easy to miss if you don’t know about it where you will find a pharmacy and cute little shops selling local items.

Where to Stay – Hotels

I had an apartment in Kuala Lumpur so I didn’t stay in many hotels. Friends stayed in some lovely and affordable places though. The serviced apartments were a popular choice among my fellow travelers. I’ll list a few nice ones that I stayed in here. I will not list the cheap ones that were unexceptional. You can easily find those yourself. The Grand Millennium Hotel Kuala Lumpur My review Invito Hotel and Residence My review

Where the Tourists Stop

The Batu Caves

Many people visit the Batu Caves, but it can be a challenging experience if it’s crowded or hot. Be prepared to climb a significant number of steps to reach the top, and note that the bathrooms at the base only have squat toilets. Knowing what to expect can help you set your expectations and plan for a more enjoyable visit. When I last visited, the only way to get there was by hiring a car. Ensure you have eaten beforehand, as food options at Batu Caves are limited to packaged snacks.

Visit a Rain Forest

There is a Rain forest just outside of the city by car. There are hikes to waterfalls you can take in the forest. At one time, there was a canopy in the forest, but it has since closed, however the forest is still interesting to explore at the ground level. A word of caution, that you may pick up a leech or two along your walk, but they are pretty easy to pluck off. If you do plan on hike through the forest, read up on best clothing to wear to prevent leeches.

Vernacular Architecture

Kuala Lumpur is well known for its modern architecture like the Petronas Twin Towers, but KL also has important vernacular architecture worth exploring. You can read what I wrote about the architecture here. Kampang Baru has a fascinating story and is located in the center of Kuala Lumpur. In Kampang Baru there are amazing street vendors and small restaurants where you can stop for awhile and enjoy some of the local life. If you would like to visit a historical Malay house, a visit to the Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman or Chief Abu Seman’s House is quite interesting. Located in central KL, the Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman house is easy to get to and definitely worth a visit.

Chinatown and Little India

The Chinatown and Little India areas in KL are both great for food, supplies, and community. In Chinatown, there good places to get eastern or western medicine plus there’s an acupuncture school offering affordable services. In both locations you can also find affordable shops, restaurants and thrift stores.