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Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
I'm thinking that I would like to stay in the Bukit Bintang area for convenience of shopping, but now I'm wondering if it might be too much of a hassle when coming and going from the area with all the traffic. This would obviously only be a problem when catching a taxi, but we will be coming and going from KL a few times during the course of our trip and don't really fancy being stuck in a taxi multiple times.
Is the traffic really that bad? Or is it really only at peak times? (what times is that?)
If it is quite bad, what other area would be good in regards to ease of access? Or what hotel is the most convenient in BB (range 150-300RM)
Thanks very much!
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1. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Hi
Kuala Lumpur is like any busy city at certain times of the day or evening when everyone is arriving or leaving.
At peak times the traffic is very busy and heavy, but the vehicles are moving all the time, albeit very slowly. Whilst any journey might take longer say at 6-7pm, it will not take hours longer. It has never spoilt our trips and have never been stuck in a taxi. The whole city will be busy during the 'rush hour' times and the convenience of BB far outweighs any small inconvenicene of city rush hour traffic.
All hotels on BB are equally convenient and your budget gives a choice of hotels, such as Park Royal, Coronade, Melia, Royal Bintang, Dorsett Regency, which all have good locations within BB.
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2. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Hi AliRo,
I usually run around BB area organising weddings at the large hotels there including Westin, JW marriot, Imperial, Millenium and this is what I can tell you from my experience.
1. Traffic is ALWAYS bad in Jalan BB. Its a one-way street and some moron design the traffic lights along the road to favor pedestrians (like the one in front of the Pavilion) and it makes the matter worst. Also the stupid busses pulling next to the road and there are no bus lanes in the city - so its double chaos.
2. My worst ever experience along Jalan Bukit Bintang - 2.5 hours to get me from Pavilion to KL Sentral. Terribly lucky of me to get a cabbie who is on probation and will take me for RM 10; but NO OTHER cabs I asked along the way wanted to take me out of that area for at least RM 30. That was usually between 4pm-7pm on weekdays and worst on weekends. Traffic does not even Move for 15 minutes usually.
3. Luckiest time ever, took me 30 minutes to get from the Westin to KL sentral. If you walk up BB and take a cab BEFORE the Westin; the cabbies will take the shortcut behind the Ritz-Carlton and through the housing estates and hit the highway out of KL centre. They will avoid the jammed place.
4. Average. Usually at nights after the wedding dinners at about midnight and really early in the mornings around 6am. "Normal traffic" is what our other TA member has mentioned - the cars move but slowly.
5. Another thing you should know about Bukit Bintang is the mrt and trains. Try to travel outside rush hour. I got my face smashed unto the glass doors of the mrt at the stations Jalan Raja Chulan and KLCC a couple of times. You'll find the queues of people pushing and scrambling to get inside and the trains are not as regular as they should be. You might not even get a chance to step into the train since there are hoardes of people in front of you, so come back an hour later.
Try the Hotel Istana. You can get out of the area fairly easier than Jalan Bukit Bintang; and the main shopping area is just across the roads. The rooms are very large and nicely refurbished, I did not see any problems there having stayed one night there in March in year, you can walk easily between KLCC and BB, and the service is wonderful. They are having promotional rates of RM 290 per room per night.
//www.marimari.com/hotel/malaysia/meritus/istana/index.html
Good luck!
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3. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Hi
traffic is not really all that bad, and no worse than any other large city, in fact is probally better than some cities. Yes KL can be very slow during peak times (6-8pm) but we've lost a lot of our time stuck in traffic, and it affects the whole of the city not just Bukit Bintang. There are other options, like the Monorail, to take you to other areas or to better connections.
Convenient hotels within your budget would be Park Royal, Melia, Royal Bintang, Federal, Dorsett Regency, Coronade
Stick with Bukit Bintang, any small inconvience is well outweight by the 10 or so malls, and will not be made up by travelling to other areas.
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4. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
i didnt have any probs dealing with the traffic you want to be on princess parkway near me at 7,45am, even when useing the hop on bus, even at rush hour iv seen worse, i would defo stay on bukit bintang though as the malls are so close its minits to walk to them maggieomx
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5. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Sure, you can't compare KL to Mumbai or Jakarta; but chances are "you will get stuck in a taxi multiple times".
How bad is bad? We always speak relatively. Compared to any major city in Australia, it is quite bad. Compared to countries where road planning and infrastructure are bad; KL is not that bad, yet.
Stay in Bukit Bintang to enjoy the shopping malls and restaurants, it will be a great place. However, when it comes to traveling around the city; choose a better time or else you will risk being stuck in a cab.
Try not to travel around the city when the pouring like cats and dogs cause it will cause worse traffic jams; or you'll get stuck outside the flooded SMART tunnel; or you'll find Masjid Jamek Area flooded (KL is next to the two major rivers).
Travel when the weather is good and try to leave earlier and come back later if you are doing a day trip.
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6. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Hi
Don'tforget your feet!
We stayed at Swiss Gardens and walked most places (even though a coupe of friends did grimace a bit) - out of hotel and left to the department store or right to Petaling St and markets. A short cab ride from markets and we were at Petronas Towers. All the cabbies we travelled with were very obliging and we never got caught in traffic. Like most cities - watch your times and enjoy.
This trip (next month) we are booked into the Novotel Hydro majestic (also not too far from Swiss Gardens).
Jules
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7. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Thanks very much for all your replies. I might just take a look at the various times we will be arriving in KL and what we plan to do.
We'll be there once for a couple of days after Langkawi, arriving midday, and then to the airport, flight departs 1500, to Redang and then back to KL, arriving 2200, for one more night before back to Aus, departing 2140.
So it doesn't really seem that we'll be needing to get to and from the airport at any peak times except for our departure back to Aus. So we might just have to catch the train that time or leave earlier than actually needed.
The rest of the time with sightseeing etc we'll just have to time it right or wallk!
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8. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Hi Aliro
Just back from KL had a great time we stayed right in the heart of the shopping district and didn't find it to busy.
Try the hop on hop off bus it was a great way of getting our bearings we used taxis nothing over 20RM yes it is busy at peak times but we found that the taxi drives new back streets. The times that seem really bad are just like home school drop off times people going to work and home and weekends (saturday night is real bad)
have a great time we stayed at the Royale Bingtang not bad 5 minutes walk from shopping.
cheers
Deb
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9. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Hi again,
If you are planning to take the train (KLIA Express); you could also catch a cab to KL Sentral from your hotel and then take the train from there. The prices of the train is RM 35 per adult and the price of a budget cab for 3 persons from BB to KLIA one way with the airport limo is about RM 58. KLIA to BB costs Rm 10 more. Don't pay too much and if you get an offer from a local town cab; compare the prices to the Airport Limo Prices. You can book the cab to KLIA from your hotel phone. Here is their contact:
Booking to KLIA
Tel: (603) 9223 8080 (8.00 am – 12.00 am)
Tel: (603) 8787 3030 (12.00 am - 8.00 am)
If you do however; decide to take the KLIA Express; buy a taxi voucher from the taxi booth at KL Sentral to get to your hotel in Bukit Bintang. The coupon costs RM 9 per way per cab. But i would choose the Airport limo if I had lots of luggage and if I was traveling with someone else.
I think your flight to Redang will be from Subang Airport and not from KLIA with Berjaya Air?
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10. Re: Bukit Bintang - too much traffic?
14 years ago
Avoid travelling in and out on Friday during lunch hour (starting early 11am+ in the morning). Taxi driver will either charge you without meter or refused to take you in.
I made that mistake during one of my trip and was wondering why the driver refused to go on meter. Only after much persuasion, asked for RM10 instead of metered fare of ~RM3 from Chinatown to KL Plaza. He told me, they would want to avoid due to workers going to mosque and people going off early for lunch and Friday's prayer.
Another time is morning rush hours to work. So far every morning to my knowledge, there was a traffic police stationed at junctions to help ease the traffic flow. Generally, avoid these peak hours, should not be a problem. I used to stayed at KL PLaza every year, and have no problems getting out besides those hours, although, occasionally caught in the jam... but the wait is still bearable. Or if need to, leave earlier to avoid problems. I must say, I had encountered the rare few occasionals with where the jam was terrible. Taxi driver will know how to get out of tight situation. So far, most tried to.