How To Get Around Kuala Lumpur - Discover The Best Options

All aboard folks as I help you discover different ways on how to get around Kuala Lumpur Malaysia!

It doesn’t matter what your travel experience is, the amount of budget you have… or how carefree you are when it comes to traveling through unknown or different places. One thing that’s for sure is, you will need to work your way around Kuala Lumpur.

One of the key things you should know about KL is that it’s a big city… where here the attractions and places to discover are widespread. You can explore the incredible Batu Caves to the many shopping centres such as the Pavilion… and of course, the infamous KLCC Twin Towers.

Now, you could try and explore KL by foot only. Yet, let’s face it… by going on foot you will not cover the distance nor experience many of the delights of this city. And, that includes some of THE best food we’ve had on our travels throughout SE Asia.

Even though most people in KL can speak English well… remember that you are in a country where English is not their first language. Thus, you may encounter situations that can get confusing… especially if you’re a first time traveler.

That’s why learning about and understanding the different transport options available are important. Well, that is if you don’t want to encounter frustrations when you get to KL. Thus, you can have a more relaxing holiday.

So, keep reading. In this We Drink Eat Travel blog, I’ll share with you different options on how to get around Kuala Lumpur. Plus, I’ll give you some expert travel tips… to help make traveling around KL easier.

Now, first up is this common and convenient transport option…

Grab Kuala Lumpur

One of the first things you should do when you get to Kuala Lumpur, let alone Malaysia is…. to download the Grab app. And, when you do, you’ll have access to a range of convenient transport options.

Plus, with this app, you can use it for more than transport. You could shop online, get grocery deliveries, order food deliveries, plus more. And, there are always special promotions and deals that you can take advantage of… even as a tourist!

Here’s a TRAVEL TIP you’ll want to know about…

When you download the Grab Kuala Lumpur app… look out for the “Grab Unlimited” membership. More often than not you will receive a free trial of this membership, for up to 2 months. Just remember to cancel it before the expiry… that is, if you don’t want to have a charge after the free trial.

With the Grab Unlimited membership, you get other perks like access to top-rated premium drivers… as well as benefits like discounts off rides, free delivery and savings on food. Plus, you can earn reward points. Yes, that is exciting for me! Ha ha ha!

So, why not take advantage of the extra perks if you can. And, in most cases it won’t cost you anything to take up the membership… if you look out for the free trial.

Using the rideshare services is a better option for us in comparison to a standard taxi… especially when traveling overseas. And, the main reasons are the price is less expensive, yet you still normally get a clean vehicle. That would mainly be because if you want, you can rate the driver. And of course, no driver wants a bad rating!

Plus, you know what the price is BEFORE booking the Grab. Therefore, the likelihood of you having to suffer a scam is LOW. Be aware that toll fees are not part of the upfront fare though.

And, what we’ve found by using Grab in Kuala Lumpur is… the fares are so damn cheap! If you’re coming from say Australia, USA or the UK for example… it will astound you at how inexpensive it is. You can choose from a variety of vehicles as well… such as motorbike, a 6-seater car, or an executive car.

If you want to save even more here’s an awesome TRAVEL TIP:

At the time of writing this, there’s an option by the name of, “GrabCar Saver.” And, with this option you can save up to 20% off a standard fare. This is valid between certain hours on Monday through to Friday.

Now, while all this sounds SUPER FANTASTICO… here’s another great way for how to get around Kuala Lumpur.

inDriver Malaysia

Grab is definitely one of the top ways to help you explore KL. Yet, it was surprising to discover that it has a rival now. And, that company is inDriver Malaysia. Many people call it inDriver, yet the app clearly shows inDrive – minor detail!

Now, inDrive is not new to us and nor Asia. We have first-hand experience using this rideshare service in places such as, Phuket Thailand.

I only made that discovery when at one time, it was challenging to get a Grab driver. No-one was accepting our booking. Minutes had gone by, then another 10 minutes. Yet, no love from Grab. So, I was getting impatient.

Thus, I thought I’d try my luck to see if inDrive was in KL. And, HOORAY, it sure was!

Not only that, there were drivers ready and waiting. Plus, the fare was at half the cost of what Grab was asking for. A pretty good discovery, right?

So, remember, when you’re in KL, download both the Grab and inDriver Malaysia app. Then, you can conveniently pick and choose which rideshare provider suits your needs.

You have to understand that inDriver is newer than Grab. So, don’t expect all the benefits that you can get if you were using Grab. Yet, if you only care about getting a ride, then you’re all set.

Yet, the type of vehicle option is not as vast as Grab. So, you get a choice of a car, or a bigger car! No motorbikes, no premium drivers, for example. Yet, with this app it does provide a recommended fare amount for getting to your destination… as well as the approximate travel time.

Here’s a TRAVEL TIP when using the inDrive app:

If you want to practise your bartering skills, you can do that within this app. While inDriver will show you what they recommend as the ride cost… you can negotiate!

For example, if the recommended fare is MYR 50… you can negotiate it to whatever you feel is right. Of course, if you negotiate a ridiculously low price, especially during peak times… you’re not likely to get a driver to accept your fare. So, as it states in the app, put in a “reasonable” amount.

Then, the driver can either accept it, or negotiate a different price within the app. Normally I don’t bother with negotiating. And, if the driver attempts to negotiate lower after the booking… the original fare will stand if you don’t accept the new price.

Oh, and by the way, you can only pay by cash. So, make sure you remember that!

Now, some of you may be wondering about this next transport service… especially if you’re from, or have been traveling through Europe.

Bolt in Kuala Lumpur

At the time of writing this, unfortunately at this stage for you Bolt fans… this transport option is unavailable in Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia as a whole. We don’t know when and if it will even enter the market here.

While we did use Bolt in Phuket it did come in handy at times… especially when Grab has its exorbitant price hikes in peak times there.

So, they were a couple of the rideshare options… for when you’re thinking about ways on how to get around Kuala Lumpur.

Yet, there are many other options that criss-cross, circle around… and even travel above the land in KL. And no, I’m not talking about flying cars or anything like that. I’m talking about Kuala Lumpur’s public transport system.

I have to let you know that even after speaking with some expats… they’ve told me that even they find that using the public transport in KL can be confusing! And, that’s why you’ll discover that many of them use Grab, for example.

Yet, what about the tourists?

Well, you’ll be glad to know that there are many public transport offerings… including FREE services!

Yet, let me share some info about how to get around Kuala Lumpur with these services…

MyRapid Kuala Lumpur

MyRapid KL consists of several public transport offerings… including buses, the MRT and LRT. And, to make it easier… I’ll show you a public transport map of the main PT offerings here:

Yep, there are a lot of lines and services. In most cases, if it ever gets confusing… ask a staff member as all the ones we came into contact with spoke English. And if not, the locals will most likely be able to help too.

Using these public transport options is cheap and easy to get around… especially if you’re going solo. Yet, if you’re traveling in a group… it may be more cost-effective to get a Grab instead. Plus, with that you get door-to-door service in air-conditioning.

Mind you, all the PT services we went on in KL had air-conditioning… and it was REAL cold! So, refreshing after wandering around in the humid conditions.

So, you can buy fares for single journeys. Otherwise, it may be more cost effective if you’re planning on using these services a lot… to buy a MyCity 1-Day Pass or 3-Day Pass where you can get unlimited rides.

Either way, these public transport options are a great way to see the amazing sights and places… such as Chinatown, Bukit Bintang and more.

Here’s a TRAVEL TIP that you should be aware of:

When using some of KL’s public transport services, be aware of female ONLY carriages. Yes, we accidentally went on one without realizing!

On the way to the Batu Caves… we found it strange that there were only females on the carriage. We thought it was a “girls day out!” While the ladies on the carriage didn’t say anything to us… we did discover that after getting of the train, it was for females only. We saw the light pink artwork all over the carriage! Plus, there was some signage that we completely did not initially see.

Now, for an even cheap way of getting around Kuala Lumpur, so cheap that it costs nothing is this…

GoKL City Bus Service

Now, at the time of writing… the GoKL City Bus Service is FREE for tourists and locals alike. Yet, we did hear that in the near future it’s most likely that tourists will have to pay. So, while you can… make use of those free buses if you’re wanting to save more money.

There are several bus services that cover the regions of KLCC, Chinatown and Bukit Bintang. The network may expand to cover a wider region of KL. And yet again, to make it easier for you to navigate, here’s a map of the services and routes:

Just be aware that this bus service shares the roads with all the other drivers out there. So, as opposed to monorail which is above ground… you may face being stuck in traffic for long periods of time, and services may not run exactly on time! Thus, if that doesn’t matter to you, enjoy the free bus service.

Well, there they are… some of the top ways for how to get around Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

All the options that you have seen are arecheap or even FREE! Even using Grab here is ridiculously inexpensive. Thus, making it comfortable and convenient to get around KL in a private ride… going door-to-door.

While Kuala Lumpur has the one main rideshare apps being Grab… remember that you can also use InDrive. We’ve made excellent use of InDriver Kuala Lumpur… especially when Grab had crazy high fares or it would be challenging to get a driver.

Now, while KL doesn’t have transport options like the infamous tuk tuks in Thailand… it does have an extensive public transport network.

Yet, if you’re a newbie to KL and the PT options, it can get confusing. Then again, in speaking with some expats they even find it confusing sometimes too. That’s why many of them simply use Grab. It’s affordable, especially if you’re traveling as a couple or a small group.

Nevertheless, there are many services that you can use when it comes to public transport… from bus to monorail. And, one of the major benefits with using the train or monorail is that there’s no getting stuck in traffic… which does happen big time here.

And, there’s also the GoKL City Bus Service to take you around major destinations for FREE. Yet, remember what I said earlier about this service… it’s likely that tourists will have to pay for this service in the near future.

At the end of the day, if you’re worrying about how to get around Kuala Lumpur then don’t. As you can see there are PLENTY of options to suit all budgets. Simply choose the option that suits where you are and where you intend on going. And, if you need help many Malaysians speak English, so you can easily get help if you need.

Enjoy your travels around Kuala Lumpur!

Make sure you check out our other travel blogs about Malaysia… or even in SE Asia and beyond.