When flying into or out of Kuala Lumpur, taking the KLIA Ekspres is king–for both convenience and speed, it’s the most convenient option.

What is the KLIA Ekspres?

KLIA is the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (also known as KUL by its IATA airport code). If you were to look into how far away the airport is from Kuala Lumpur, you’ll find it’s about a 50 minute drive with normal traffic, though it can stretch longer than that. In other words, the airport isn’t anywhere near the city.

The KLIA Ekspres is dedicated public transit (train) to take you from the airport to KL Sentral nonstop. If KL Sentral isn’t your preferred destination and you want a different stop along the way, you could instead KLIA Transit, which is operated by the same company but it’s the local version instead of the express version. If you’re riding on the KLIA Ekspres, expect it to take about 28 minutes to get into the city.

In the public transit map below, KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit are represented by the magenta and sky blue lines. KL Sentral is the pretty much the heart of the city.

When you go down to where the trains depart at KLIA, you’ll see signage that makes it obvious which side is KLIA Ekspres and which is KLIA Transit.

And once onboard, you’ll find room for luggage (if you’re fast enough to grab it). There are enough cars on the train that it wasn’t too bad.

Some kids are free!

Adult tickets are 55 MYR (~$13.50 USD) to take the one-way ride from KLIA to KL Sentral. Take a roundtrip and you’ll save 10% for doing that. If you order them online, you’ll save an additional 10% off the one-way or roundtrip fare.

But the good news is that children do come at a discount:

• Children ages 6 to 15 cost 25 MYR (~$6 USD) for the one-way journey. The same discounts apply for roundtrip travel and online purchases in advance.
• Children under age 6 get to ride for free. There is a maximum of 3 free child tickets per adult ticket.

Tickets you buy at the airport come activated for use. However, if you purchase a child ticket, you will need an employee to activate them after they confirm you have children in your party. (Yes, this is an anti-fraud measure.) If you’re at KLIA, head downstairs from the main terminal to where the train departs and linger around this ticket booth to find someone to assist you. At KL Sentral, you’ll find staff around the ticketing counter before crossing the automated gates.

By the way, I totally love the “No Surfboard Allowed Onboard” sign here. Of all the things to specifically ban, it’s surfboards that need to be controlled within Kuala Lumpur.

Pair this with Grab to make it cheaper and faster

Grab is the Uber-equivalent in South East Asia. Among other things, this is pretty much your cheapest ride-hailing option in Kuala Lumpur.

If you decide to take Grab within the city, expect to see prices somewhere in the $2-$5 USD range. Obviously longer distances will cost more. If you want to take Grab from the city to KLIA (or the reverse), expect the cost to jump up to about $25 USD. Not quite such a good deal anymore.

If you’re a single rider, it’s obviously more efficient with price to combine KLIA Ekspres with a Grab ride to/from KL Sentral than to just take Grab the whole way. It’s also more efficient from a time perspective.

But if you’re traveling as a family, I’d honestly still recommend taking this approach. I don’t like having the kids cooped up in a stranger’s car for an hour or more depending on traffic. It’s uncomfortable and they will eventually get restless. Instead, the train allows for some more stretching out and the quick car ride to/from KL Sentral is simple.

It’s even better if you’re flying Malaysia Airlines or Batik Air and going to the airport

One other benefit of using KLIA Ekspres is you can check in your bags at KL Sentral if you’re flying Malaysia Airlines or Batik Air. There is a special in-town check-in if you’re flying either of those two airlines out of KLIA. This check-in process is operational from 6AM daily until 6PM (Batik Air) or 8PM (Malaysia Airlines).

If you’re planning on using this service to drop off your bags, you’ll need to do it at least 2 hours before your flight. You can, however, do it as early as you’d like as long as the flight is that same day.

And before you ask, yes, you need to be riding KLIA Ekspres or KLIA Transit from KL Sentral to take advantage of this service. You can’t just drop off your bags and not ride the train.

This service is only relevant if you’re using the train to get to the airport.

One final comment about the in-town check-in procedure comes from their FAQ regarding… surfboards.

Guess that means if you’re checking a surfboard, do not even attempt to use this service and find another way to the airport. Clearly, this is their way of saying you’re not welcome on this journey.