River deep, mountain high – gently soak in all the beauty of the place cruising in a motorcar.

By Neena Mittal

It is exhilarating to travel around like a free bird, unshackled by a tight itenary set by tour operators – to be able to park your four-wheels in the middle of nowhere, simply to capture a breathtaking panoramic view or just halt for a refreshment break and grab some fresh coconut water from the roadside vendor. After my own trip, I can firmly conclude that Langkawi is best explored by road.

Cheap promotional fares by Malaysian Airlines during school holidays prompted us to hop from Singapore to Pulau Langkawi. On arrival at Langkawi Airport we were greeted by the cheerful grin of the chauffer from the car rental company who was there to hand us the keys. A few minutes after we took control of the wheels, we managed to get our bearings right on this alien soil and drove down the roads of Langkawi to our hotel.

WHEELS FOR HIRE

Driving around Langkawi is enthralling for those who wish to explore the island at their own pace. Roads are in good condition and well signposted. Though direction signs are in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, some of the main signs are in Bahasa. For this reason, it is worth checking the translation.

Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands at high tide and 104 islands at low tide. The main island is approximately 25 km from North to South and 40 km from East to West.

This island with a stretch of 478.5 square kilometers is not difficult to orbit around, but requires navigational skills, a sense of direction and a local map.

A wide choice of cars is available and we opted for a Mazda 3, which is ideal for a family of four. We also managed to get a reasonable bargain at RM 40 per day (excluding petrol) due to the off-peak season. Usually, rental rates vary from peak to off-peak season depending on the type and size of the car and are in RM 50-200 range. Bigger cars are more expensive, at the same time could be best avoided, since one does not usually encounter bumpy roads.

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