August-1 week in KL with young children

Our Hokkaido trip plans went kaput for August..... now hoping to pick somewhere FUN for our children for vacation.

I am wondering if Sunway Lagoon Resort is AS GOOD as it looks on the website? Reviews don%26#39;t seem to be very positive.... a little skeptical after researching.

Best to ask the local experts....

If my kids are 4 years and 18 months, and I plan to stay in Sunway Lagoon Resort, would we have a good time? Is it going to be super crowded?

We are looking at staying there for 3 nights. (Is that enough?

What is Genting Highlands? Is 3 nights enough to cover Sunway, and other attractions in KL? Interested in seeing the city too.

Is KL safe with young children? Any ';cautions'; culturally and safety for me to be aware of? My sister always tell me she has to be ';careful'; while travelling for business in KL....

Would going to Kota Kinabalu be costly from KL for say... 3 more days?

Thanks for ANY advice.

August-1 week in KL with young children

Hi Kate,

Sunway Lagoon Resort and the theme park have seen better days. Maintenance is an issue.

Taking into consideration that your kids are too small to enjoy the theme park, I would recommend you to stay in KL instead. The indoor theme park in Berjaya Times Square near Bukit Bintang is more suitable for kids of all ages.

In Bukit Bintang, I recommend you to stay in Park Royal or Crown Plaza; both with easy access to Monorail which can bring you to various parts of KL. Your kids will enjoy Twin Tower and KL Tower. There is a park in the KLCC area and music fountain at night. The aquarium across the road is also excellent.

Genting Highlands is a casino hill resort area with cool temperature and a theme park. I think your kid will enjoy it more than Sunway Lagoon.

KL has large proportion of chinese who mostly speak cantonese. Food will not be a problem for you. There are not many cultural reservations in KL city.

The safety caution is to stay away from pathway or sidewalk with your bag and purse exposed as there are snatch thieves on motorcycle. Other than that KL is no more dangerous than many other cities in Asia. Taxi drivers may not use meters, but you can haggle (10 mins journey should be less than RM10) or move on to the next one.

You can book Air Asia from Kota Kinabalu. May I know what you would like to do there? It is more suitable for people looking for adventure and nature as the city itself offers nothing much. If you want alternative sightseeing, may I suggest Penang which is famous for its food and heritage chinese shop houses which are disappearing in even China and Hong Kong (so I heard, :-P).

August-1 week in KL with young children

Thanks so much Alex for your valuable advice.

Appreciate it very much.

Is Sunway Lagoon really far away from the ';city center?'; ( sorry, i don%26#39;t have any idea about the geography of KL and the vicinity)

And KK, I just hear SO many people who go there from HK for a sun and beach vacation. That%26#39;s why I was considering bringing the kids there... planned to stay at the Shangri-la Tanjung Ahru, or Magellan Sutera.....

The other option is Langkawi. but that seems to be more for ';couples?';

Hi Kate,

Below is the map of KL. Golden Triangle is where Bukit Bintang, Twin Tower and KL tower are located.

http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/maps/index.html

www.kuala-lumpur.ws/attractions/index.html

Sunway Lagoon is on the satelite city of Petaling Jaya (PJ). It is almost 45 minutes away without traffic from KL city centre.

If you want beach and sun, KK%26#39;s Shangrila Rasa Ria is best or Tanjung Aru. Sutera Habour is near to city but there is no beach! Langkawi is not only for couples. Family friendly resort like Pelangi offers easy beach front accommodation with kid activity and easy access to restaurants and cafes along the beach.

Both KK and Langkawi is good for sun and beach. Air fare is higher for KK as it takes almost 3 hours to reach from KL compared to 45 mins to Langkawi.

Thanks Alex.

So, I should choose Langkawi instead then.....

Is August a good time to visit Langkawi?

BTW, is Crown Plaza the same as Crown Mutiara?

This is a nice hotel? How come it%26#39;s nowhere on the ';popular'; list in this site?

How many days do you suggest us stay in KL before heading to Langkawi?

Kind of worried, been reading and researching about KL, seems like it%26#39;s unsafe to ';walk'; at night time after 10:00pm?

Is Crown %26#39;s area safe ? Thanks!

bump

We found the Genting Highlands park rather outdated and be prepared to visit it in foggy conditions! As it is quite high up, you will literally walk in the clouds.

Sunway Lagoon was undergoing major refurbishment when we there last August, some rides were also not open, but generally we had a great time there

The hotel you mention:

';Ranks #5 of 105 hotels in Kuala Lumpur in TripAdvisor%26#39;s popularity index

Crowne Plaza Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur';

i just booked a good deal with goldenholidays.hk (patterson travel)for 2432 HKD Traders Hotel and air fare(MAS) 2 nights 3 days from HKG .Attending conference at the adjpining KL conventioncentre.

Sunway Lagoon:conference there few times,way out of town.Taxi takes you to train station then anotherhalfan hour down town

Taxi: beware of ripoff and haggling and extra charges.That happened even when I have local Malay speakers travelling with me.

Shopping mall there at Sunway: nothing much to see.

Just my 2 cents.

Hi my kids are the exact age as yours and we stayed at JW Marriot which is linked to STAR HILL gallery. It was wonderful 5 star. I didn%26#39;t take them to Sunway lagoon due to the bad reviews. AS our kids are young they are very prone to gastro and catching bugs fromthe water in Malaysia. They probably cannot go on most of the rides. We went to COSMOS in Berjaya times square and it is soooo modern!!!!! There was no queue and for a very very cheap price, they can go on multiple rides. They have 4-5 family rides which means the baby can go too. Do not eat at their counter - lousy and expensive. But I highly recommend it. Very modern. I you stay at the Marriot which is on Bintang Walk it is very very safe - as long as you have your wits about you. There are lots of cops and army soldiers. We walked till about 10 or 11 everynight and never felt unsafe. Crowne plaza is further out so it may not be so safe. Don%26#39;t bother staying at Gentings - very crowded and smoky and old- day trip is fine. The kids will just love walking around shopping centres and bintang walk - 3 days is good thought we spent 7 days and didn%26#39;t do all we wanted to

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