Kuala Lumpur Itinerary for 2 Days
2 days in Kuala Lumpur is the perfect amount of time to experience the culturally diverse capital of Malaysia! Kuala Lumpur or KL as the locals and visitors alike refer to it is home to some of Malaysia’s most iconic sights! The Petronas Twin Towers and the excessive amount of malls showcase the city’s modern influence whilst the colourful Batu Caves are a firm symbol of the tradition and religion that make up this vast culture.
I have now been to KL 6 times, most have been short stopovers, each time I am reminded of why Malaysia is so unique, bringing the best of Asia into one location!
This Kuala Lumpur itinerary for 2 days, showcases the best the city has to offer, I haven’t jammed packed the days so you have plenty of time to explore the best areas of the city and experience authentic Malaysia by eating your way around the city!
Related: “Best Things to do in Laos for a First Time Visit”
Kuala Lumpur Itinerary for 2 Days
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Where to Stay in Kuala Lumpur
There is a huge range of accommodation available in Kuala Lumpur from budget backpacker options to luxe 5-star suites. The best areas to stay at are Bukit Bintang, KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre) and KL Sentral. I recommend staying at Dorsett Kuala Lumpur as it has the best location, or for backpackers check out the best hostels in KL.
Have an extra day or two? Make sure you check our Genting Highlands. The mountaintop resort is home to an array of activities and attractions that the whole family will love!
Related: ‘Should you travel to Penang or Langkawi in Malaysia?‘
Day 1- Kuala Lumpur Itinerary for 2 Days
Batu Caves
Start your KL Itinerary with an early rise to beat the crowds (Like real early. Pre breaky early) at the famous Batu Caves! This colourful landmark is one of Kuala Lumpur’s most visited tourist attractions and religious sites. A limestone hill comprising three major caves is reached via a colourful staircase. Incorporated with interior limestone formations said to be around 400 million years old, the temple is considered an important religious landmark by Hindus. Cathedral Cave – the largest in Batu Caves, houses several Hindu shrines beneath its 100-metre-high arched ceiling. At the foot of Batu Hill are two other cave temples – the Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave – which houses numerous Hindu statues and paintings.
Located approximately 11 kilometres to the north of Kuala Lumpur which can be reached via private car, or Take Intrakota bus No 11D from the Central Market or the Cityliner bus No 69 at Jalan Pudu. Taxis are also available anywhere around the city to Batu Caves.
After your morning exploring head to one of these must-try brunch spots in Kuala Lumpur for coffee and something to keep you going until lunch!
Lunch at Chinatown
When it’s time for lunch, head to the bustling Chinatown for a bite to eat at Petaling Street or ‘Chee Cheong Kai’. Food vendors line the streets and market stalls sell everything from fake designer clothing to cheap electronics.
You will find an array of authentic Chinese restaurants and street food to tantalize your taste buds and keep you going for the next few hours of exploring! Don’t forget to try a mooncake!
After lunch, wander around Chinatown and soak up the local culture, there are plenty of ornate Buddhist and Taoist temples that are hundreds of years old. There are also numerous art galleries, which host exhibits by modern local and regional artists.
Get Cultural at Batik Jadi
If you only do 1 thing mentioned in this Kuala Lumpur itinerary for 2 days, do a Batik class at Jadi Batek!
Jadi Batek Gallery is one of the best things to do in KL with kids! The large batik and handicraft centre in the heart of Kuala Lumpur has been running since 1976 and offers batik classes, gallery and a huge shop that has lots of amazing souvenirs and batek pieces.
There are two main techniques for Batik making in Malaysia, hand-drawn and block printed. On arrival to Jadi Batek, we were shown a live demo of the process, whilst beautiful finished products hung above us.
We then took part in an interesting Batik Class. Classes can be arranged for visitors to learn the basics then try out their own skills and take home a piece of batik art as a memory of the trip!
First, we choose our design and traced it onto the material using a pencil (the pros skip this step and instead free hand with the bee’s wax). Then you use bee’s to draw over your design. The wax is applied using a tjanting needle. The key is to be very quick as the wax goes hard quickly! Once the design has been set you then start to colour! This part was very therapeutic! What do you think of my finished piece? I was very proud of my art work!
If you have extra time take a visit to the Royal Selangor visitor centre.
Dinner at Bukit Bintang
Spend the rest of the afternoon exploring Bukit Bintang, the busiest but most interesting area of KL! Bukit Bintang is myriad of high street brands than in its contrast lay elements of Middle Eastern culture in food stalls!
KL’s biggest collection of roadside restaurants and street food vendors sprawls along Jalan Alor. This area comes alive in the evening when the street transforms into a continuous open-air restaurant, with hundreds of plastic tables and chairs and rival caterers shouting out to passers-by to drum up business. We stumbled into an inviting place that had a large table for our group out the front! Try and get a table outside, this is where the action happens! There is so much to take in here.
We ordered around 10 Chinese/Malay dishes that consisted of things like grilled fish, chilli crab, Kai-lan (Chinese greens), fried rice, chicken and vegetables in garlic sauce. The food was delicious, quick and super fresh! We then washed it down with an incredibly cold tiger beer. This is what Malaysia is all about!
We ended our glorious meal with photos of the Mumma cook! She was the absolute sweetest!
Day 2- Kuala Lumpur Itinerary
Learn to cook with Dorsett Hotel
We started our morning with a delicious buffet breaky at Dorsett Hotel!
Next, it was time for a cooking class! One of my favourite things to do in any country is a cooking class. I feel you get to learn a lot about the culture this way! Oh and you obviously get to eat a lot and who doesn’t love that!
The Dorsett Hotel offers group cooking classes on request. Their friendly chefs and sous chefs taught us how to make Roti and delicious chicken curry! We then enjoyed a long private lunch sampling around 8 dishes.
If you are heading to Nha Trang, Vietnam and love cooking classes you have to try this one!
Explore KLCC
Kuala Lumpur City Centre or KLCC is the perfect area and is known as the ‘nicest’ district. Here you can explore the Petronas Towers, eat at fine dining restaurants, visit the shopping malls and explore the surrounding gardens.
Visit Suria KLCC if you want to shop the well-known brands such as Zara, Topshop and H&M.
Petrona Towers
A Kuala Lumpur itinerary wouldn’t be complete without visiting the twin tower! As one of the top attractions in Kuala Lumpur, you will want to make sure you get the perfect photo of Petronas Towers! The best spots for pictures are from the end of the fountains on the northwest side of the buildings and from the KLCC Park on the southeast side of the towers. Some of the hotel rooftops in the Bukit Bintang area also allow you to get cool photos of the city!
The Petronas Twin Towers were ranked as tallest buildings in the world from 1998 until 2004, with a heigh of 1,483 feet. The 88-story sky scrapper mimics Islamic art forms and has a skybridge and double-decker bridge, that connects the two towers on the 41st and 42nd floors.
If you want to ascend the towers to the 41st story Skybridge and the observation deck you will need to purchase tickets. I recommend purchasing online some days in advance as they tend to sell out quite quickly.
Sunset Drinks with a View
The after you explore the grounds of KLCC and Petronas Towers, its time to reward yourself with a drink and relax! Head to one of the nearby rooftop bars for sunset drinks with a view of the Petronas Towers. There are quite a few rooftop bars in Kuala Lumpur, we were recommended the SkyBar at Traders Kuala Lumpur and Heli Lounge.
The Heli Lounge is very unique as guests are invited to take in 360-degree in an aeroplane-themed bar complete with rooftop deck helipad! Arrive a little after 5 pm and enjoy a round of happy-hour cocktails then climb the steps at sunset to the open-air helipad with views of both the Petronas Towers and the KL Tower.
Photo by Paweł Szymankiewicz on Unsplash
Authentic Dinner and Madam Kwan’s
Finish your Kuala Lumpur Itinerary for 2 days experiencing true Malaysian cuisine at Madam Kwan’s! The franchise was started in 1977 by enthusiastic foodie Kwan Swee Lian.
Today, Madam Kwan combines elements of diverse cultures to share her uniquely created Malaysian Cuisine for all food lovers to enjoy. From the signature Nasi Lemak to “wok” style Hokkien mee, there’s something for everyone to savour those special dishes that is uniquely Malaysian!
There are now 8 Madam Kwan restaurants across Malaysia. We dined at the Suria centre in KLCC! I highly recommend trying the Laksa, Nasi Lemak and Chicken Satay.
So that was our Kuala Lumpur itinerary for 2 days! Have you been to KL before? What was your favourite thing to do? Let us know in the comments below!
This was a shared Media famil between WorldHotels and AirAsia. I was hosted at the respective hotels but as always opinions, photos and ideas remain my own.
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