Penang to Kuala Perlis Jetty
How to Travel by Train, Bus, Car
A popular and cheaper alternative way to travel from Penang to Langkawi Island (rather than take the direct passenger ferry) is to first travel overland from Penang to Kuala Perlis Jetty.
The advantages of taking this route are that the ferry crossing is the shortest possible route from the Malaysian mainland to Langkawi Island (the long ferry crossing from Georgetown to Langkawi can often make people seasick in rough weather) and it can be much less expensive travelling this way.
For how to travel in the opposite direction from Kuala Perlis to Penang click here >
Best Ways to Travel from Penang / Georgetown to Kuala Perlis
Travel to Kuala Perlis by Train from Butterworth, Penang Sentral
You can take a quick and cheap KTM Komuter (commuter) train from Butterworth Railway Station to Arau Railway Station.
To see the latest KTM Komuter train timetable click on the link below:
Penang to Kuala Perlis train timetable to Arau >Once at Arau, you can then take a taxi (or Grab car) to get to the Kuala Perlis Jetty (taxi's cost around 25 - 30 RM).
If you want to save money, you can always find someone to share the cost of a taxi with as nearly all foreign passengers getting off at Arau will be heading for Langkawi Island.
There is also a cheap local bus that can get you from Arau Station to Kuala Perlis Jetty, but it takes a long time and you will first have to take the bus from Arau to Kangar, then change to another bus from Kangar to Kuala Perlis.
If you want to learn more about this "MyBas" service from Arau Train Station:
You can visit their official website here >
Take a Direct Bus from Penang / Butterworth to Kuala Perlis
If you want to take the most direct way to get from Penang Island to Kuala Perlis, there are a number of bus companies that operate coaches to Kuala Perlis from either Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal on the island or Butterworth Bus Terminal (Penang Sentral) on the mainland.
The only trouble with these buses is that you will have to book your seats well in advance as they are nearly always full (all these buses originate from places like Kuala Lumpur and the route to Kuala Perlis / Langkawi is extremely popular).
To book bus tickets to Kuala Perlis online click here >
If you turn up at the bus station on the day of travel and try and buy a ticket to Kuala Perlis it is usually impossible to get a ticket!
Penang to Kuala Perlis by Car
Driving from Penang to Kuala Perlis gives you the chance to take your car over to Langkawi Island as this is where you will find departures for the only car ferry services to Langkawi.
To learn more about the car ferry to Langkawi click here >
The distance from Georgetown, Penang to Kuala Perlis by road is around 180 km (if you use the toll roads/highway)
If you don't want to take your car over to the island, there are plenty of places near the ferry terminal that offer parking services for around 10 RM per day.
How to travel from Penang to Langkawi main page >
Ferries to Langkawi Island main page >
Penang to Kuala Perlis by bus page >