Best way to get to and from Kuala Lumpur’s Airport

When I first arrived in Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, I headed straight to the KLIA Ekspres train. The 28 minute non-stop train to KL Sentral. I bought my ticket — 35 MYR (about $10). It’s not a bad price considering it’s a non-stop ride on a nice train, but this is a budget travel site. Also, when I got off the train at KL Sentral, I realized that for the area I wanted to go to, around Pettaling Street, I’d have to take another train plus walk for 10 minutes, or to grab a taxi. There had to be a better way. Of course, there was.

Star Shuttle has been offering buses to and from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport since 2007. They run about 42 trips per day. That’s pretty much a bus every half hour (no services between midnight and 3AM). You can check out the schedule here. The cost of the trip is 12 MYR ($3.23 USD). The best part is, they drop you off outside of Puduraya station, about a 5 minute walk to Pettaling Street and my budget hotel of choice in Kuala Lumpur Mayview Glory Hotel. The total time on the bus is about 1 hour and 30 minutes, but it’s a nice easy ride and the buses are rarely full.

If you are coming from the airport, you can buy your ticket at KLIA or KLIA2 (see location of ticket offices here), or you can buy the tickets online.

If you are heading to the airport (either KLIA or KLIA2), it’s possible to buy the tickets at the location where the bus picks you up. The bus stop is across the road from the McDonald’s in Chinatown at 55 Jalan Silang. You’ll see a couple of guys sitting at a table.

A convenient location and an extremely fair price. Skip the KLIA Ekspres train and hop on the Star Shuttle bus.