Of all the Southeast Asian cities we’ve visited, our trips to Kuala Lumpur with kids have always left us with happy family memories. KL effortlessly combines the exoticism and excitement of the region with more familiar sights and experiences.
In a city this big, it could be tempting to race around and tick things off, especially if you’re short of time, but you can get a great feel for the city by just wandering around with a few activities thrown in. And the good news is, you don’t need to spend a fortune.
So if you’ve just got a couple of days for your family trip to KL and want to experience the best of the city, we’ve picked out 12 highlights to focus on in Kuala Lumpur with kids.
Pick a few and save the rest for your next visit. KL is a city you’ll want to return to again as it’s easily one of the best cities to visit in Southeast Asia with kids.
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Top 12 things to do in Kuala Lumpur with kids
To help you locate these Kuala Lumpur family activities, here’s a map:
1. Watch the evening light and water show at KLCC
Located on the site of the city’s original racecourse, KLCC is known as a city within a city, home to some of the tallest buildings in Southeast Asia. The (two) most famous of all being the Petronas Towers and, each evening, a light and water show illuminates the base of the towers in a free extravaganza.
The light and water show runs for fifteen minutes each evening at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm. If those times don’t work for you, there is a light-only show at 7:30pm, 8:30pm and 9:30pm.
There is no reserved seating so make your way to the Esplanade at KLCC and find a spare step, seat or patch of grass. We headed to the other side of the lake so the display was in-between us and the towers, but anywhere surrounding the lake will afford good views.
If you’re hungry, grab a snack from one of the restaurants or supermarkets in the Suria KLCC Mall before the show starts.
Easiest access to the area is either via the Metro (to KLCC), or jump in a Grab taxi.
2. Play in the huge playground and splash park in KLCC Park
Continuing the KLCC theme, if you’re tired of the heat and want to make your own water display, head to the splash park located just past the Esplanade at KLCC.
Incredibly welcome on a hot day (which is often in KL), the splash park is a free space for kids to cool off and jump around in the refreshing water. With plenty of space around the edges for parents to sit and relax, this is a enjoyable way to break up a day of sightseeing.
Next door, you’ll find a large playground with a wide variety of play equipment to suit all ages, ranging from gentle swings and slides, to panic-inducing (for the parents) climbing frames and towers. Perhaps come here first so the kids can cool down afterwards at the splash area.
There are public toilets, changing rooms and water fountains located near the Esplanade side entrance.
3. Get your geek on at Petrosains, The Discovery Centre
Once you’ve navigated the over-complicated ticket buying process (try to book in advance if you can), you’ll enter the Petrosains Discovery Centre, a large-scale museum very much focused on STEM-obsessed kids (with a dose of petroleum PR thrown in).
The place is huge, with lots of interconnected rooms containing interactive games and activities. We were a little surprised to see a few of the displays not working but there was more than enough to keep the boys entertained, including some theme-park worthy spinning rides (although height-restrictions of 1.4m are in place).
Try to pace yourselves and keep some reserves for the end, those corridors just keep on coming! You’ll find small cafes along the way if you need a pitstop.
The admission prices vary depending on days of the week and nationality, so check the website for latest prices and opening times.
4. Test out future careers at KidZania
READ: KidZania Kuala Lumpur review
Click here to pre-book tickets
KidZania Kuala Lumpur takes the concept of a child-focused activity centre and raises it to a whole new level, allowing kids to role-play and experiment with over sixty different jobs, from dentist to make-up artist, toll-booth operator to radio DJ. It’s like a school careers service on overdrive.
For parents, it makes a nice change for the kids to be the ones working and you to be sat around relaxing. A clever feature of the visit is that kids can earn KidZania currency which can be used for other fun activities, e.g. wall-climbing and cookie-making. It’s a good life-lesson for them that if they want another go on the climbing wall, they better get back to work at the toll-booth first and earn some money!
It’s a very modern, well-designed attraction with the large numbers of friendly staff always on hand to help and encourage the kids. There are several food outlets and places to get a coffee, plus a small parents-only room where you can chill out in the comfy chair whilst the kids put in another shift delivering parcels or cleaning windows.
It’s a huge amount of fun and our kids adored the whole day, so much so that we needed to drag them out at closing time, ignoring their requests for one more parcel delivery round.
Closed on Tuesdays, KidZania only sell tickets online, so make sure you book before the big day, otherwise it can be done on your phone when you arrive. Check the website for up-to-date prices.
5. Take in the city view from KL Tower
In a city of skyscrapers constantly jostling for space, the KL Tower still manages to stand out from the crowd. Opened to the public in 1996 and the world’s ninth tallest tower (check out the display on the Observation Deck to see the others in the top ten), it’s an interesting place to visit, especially if you’re looking to get out of the daytime heat.
There are a few different ways to experience the KL Tower; the Observation Deck sits at 276 metres and includes viewing stations, displays, and a 360-degree view across the city. If you want a higher experience, head up to the Sky Deck a few levels above, where you get to walk around the perimeter of the tower in the open-air! It’s quite the experience if you all have a head for heights and you can add the Sky Box to your ticket, giving you the chance to sit suspended above the city. For something closer to the ground, there’s a Tower Walk around the perimeter where you’re only strapped in via a harness. Check the weather beforehand as they do close the Tower Walk in case of high wind and rain (not uncommon in KL).
If you’re in need of some food and refreshment after all the excitement, the revolving restaurant at the top offers tasty meals with the best view in the city.
6. Walk through the canopy of KL Forest Eco Park
As the capital of one of the world’s most renowned nature destinations, it probably comes as no surprise that this mega-city manages to squeeze in at least one natural attraction. Located right in the heart of the city close to KL Tower, the KL Forest Eco Park is a 10 hectare rainforest reserve with multiple activities including nature walks and a canopy walk.
Access is via Bukit Nanas monorail or the Dang Wangi metro station, otherwise take a Grab taxi. There are entry gates at the top (near to KL Tower), or down at the bottom, on Jalan Bukit Nanas. We’d recommend entering at the top level near KL Tower and then follow the trails downhill to the other gate, then take a Grab taxi from there. This will save you from walking up too many hills, which can be quite steep in places.
The canopy walkway offer plenty of shade and took us about 30 minutes to complete, with a few stops on the various towers to rest and take in the view. After you’ve completed the canopy walkway, there are another couple of trails to walk along, including the one which will lead you down to the lower exit gate.
The admission fee is RM40 for international visitors (RM5 for children), so it does make for quite an expensive activity, but it’s still worthwhile. The Eco Park is closed on Fridays, and will also shut in case of bad weather.
7. Shop along Petaling Street
Did you forget anything when you left home for your big trip? Or perhaps you followed our Southeast Asia packing tips and intentionally left some purchases until you arrived? In any case, Kuala Lumpur is home to one of the regions most vibrant shopping districts, Petaling Street.
Located in the Chinatown district, Petaling Street is a chaotic but fun place to visit with kids, they’re sure to find something to spend their pocket money on; expect to find everything from cheap sunglasses to jewellery, handbags to smartphones.
As with many of these shopping streets in Southeast Asia, much of the enjoyment comes from just walking along and taking in the atmosphere. If you do fancy something, be prepared to haggle but remember to keep your cool to keep the price reasonable. If all else fails, get the kids to bargain, the shopkeepers are so nice they’ll nearly always give them a good deal!
Petaling Street is located in Chinatown which is quite close to Pasar Seni metro. Otherwise, a Grab taxi can drop you nearby.
8. Delve into the waters of Aquaria KLCC
Click here to pre-book tickets
Back in the KLCC part of town, another attraction awaits, this one giving you the chance to experience some of Malaysia’s underwater creatures.
Aquaria KLCC is separated into several different zones, giving you the opportunity to see these underwater creatures up close. Boasting the longest underwater tunnel in Malaysia, as well as the country’s largest saltwater tank, it’s well worth a visit. The air-conditioning helps too.
Tickets can be booked online which also lets you book a timeslot. Check the website for the latest prices and information.
9. Spot tropical birds at Kuala Lumpur Bird Park
Click here to pre-book tickets
This large bird park is the best place in the city to see many different bird species, predominantly from Malaysia, with some international guests flown in.
Located in the botanical gardens close to Kuala Lumpur railway station, you’ll happily while away a few hours here, the trees provide some welcome shade on hot days but do bear in mind the steep entry fee of RM70 for international visitors.
Arrive via the railway station and a short walk, or jump into a Grab taxi.
10. Berjaya Times Square kids activities
If the heat of the city starts to take its toll, and you’re looking for an indoor activity which still packs a punch, make the trip to Berjaya Times Square and its collection of a theme park and activities, all cleverly housed inside an air-conditioned mall.
The star attraction is the Berjaya Times Square Theme Park, the second largest indoor theme park in Malaysia covering four floors (5-8) of the mall. With an upside-down rollercoaster and other trill rides, it’s quite the unexpected experience when you first walk in and see the rides in action.
However, there is a strict height limit of 141cm (not 140cm) and, if your kids are just under this height, it’s questionable if the available rides are worth the admission fee (RM250 for a family of four). The 141cm+ rides looked amazing and we’d have definitely gone in if we’d all have met the height limit, but the rides on offer for kids under 141cm were more pitched at younger (under 6) children.
Luckily for us, the complex offers other activities for kids to enjoy, and we headed down to Level 3 for the indoor Go-Meta-Kart experience. With a height-limit of 110cm, there were no worries about entry and, after a brief safety and instruction chat, the boys were racing around the small indoor track. For RM29, kids get six laps of the circuit which took about 5 minutes. It was slightly tame for our boys, the karts don’t go very fast compared to others we’ve tried, but it was good fun nonetheless.
On the same floor, you’ll find Ninga Jungle Gym which come highly recommended. For RM48, the kids get about 45 minutes worth of entertainment, ranging from assault courses, climbing walls, balance beams, abseiling, and even riding a bike across a tightrope! It’s lots of fun and is excellent value.
If they still have some energy (and you still have some money), there’s a small arcade centre adjacent to the Ninga Jungle Gym where games cost about RM3 per go (buy tokens from the machine).
11. Batu Caves
One of the most significant and interesting Hindu shrines in the world, Batu Caves is easily reachable from the centre of Kuala Lumpur and makes for a fascinating half-day excursion from the city. Just prepare yourself for some strenuous stair climbing to reach the top of the multi-coloured staircase (we counted 272 steps to the first summit, then another 58 in the inner chamber.
It’s possible to reach Batu Caves via the commuter train from KL Sentral (every 30 mins until 10am, the hourly) which calls at a few stops along the northern section of the city. It’s a good option if you’re travelling alone and are based near one of the train stations, otherwise (as always), it’s straightforward to take a Grab taxi and be dropped off right outside the main gates. It’ll cost about RM15 via Grab and the journey should take 25-35 minutes, depending on traffic.
Batu Caves is a popular tourist spot for locals and international visitors, so it can get busy during weekends and public holidays (especially at the Thaipusam festival). Try to arrive early if possible, to avoid the crowds and heat. Entrance is free of charge.
After you’ve entered the gates, take in the stunning Murugan statue before climbing the steps (watch out for the macaques who traverse the site on the lookout for food or anything else which isn’t nailed down) to the first summit. From here, the caves open out into a main chamber with various Hindu shrines jostling for space amongst the hanging rocks). The scale of the cave system is particularly impressive at this stage, with the walls rising high into the distance towards small openings in the roof.
12. Eating scrummy food along Jalan Alor
Jalan Alor is the place to come in KL for a wide range of Southeast Asian cuisine, all served under a multi-coloured canopy of umbrellas which spill out onto the pavement and beyond.
It’s open all day but really gets busy from around 6pm when the road is closed and more tables appear. Wander up and down a couple of times to get a feel for what’s on offer before diving in somewhere.
If you’ve spent much time in Southeast Asia before, you’ll know what to expect; plastic chairs, plastic plates, extensive menus, fantastic food, and (a rarity in KL) cheap(ish) alcohol.
Getting around Kuala Lumpur with kids
As you’d expect from a major capital city, the public transport system in Kuala Lumpur is excellent, offering a huge array of efficient and affordable options.
It can be difficult to keep track of the different types of public transport available but you’re most likely to use:
- MRT which is useful for trips out into the suburbs and Batu Caves.
- LRT (Light Rapid Transport) is perhaps the most useful for families visiting KL with kids as it links up many of the main tourist areas.
- Monorail is a fun way to travel, giving the kids more of a view across the city as you go.
Try to buy one of the transport passes if you are due to stay for a few days as it’ll work out more cost effective and save you scrambling to find the correct change or queueing to buy tickets. The KL TravelPass is the one most targeted at tourists, but others, like Touch n Go, are available if you’re staying for longer.
However good the public transport is, nothing beats a Grab taxi for convenience. You may also find it cheaper than public transport once you factor in buying multiple tickets. If you’re a family of four, the total ticket price will be at least RM10 which is more than a Grab taxi around the city. The easy-to-use app allows you to order a ride in seconds, there is never any need to haggle or worry about getting lost, and the cars usually arrive within a few minutes, even during rush-hour.
If you are also planning to visit Penang on your Malaysia travels, you may be interested to learn that there is a fantastic train ride from Kuala Lumpur to Penang that takes 4.5 hours.
Where to stay in Kuala Lumpur with kids
Our favourite stay in KL with kids: The Platinum Kuala Lumpur by LUMA
Kuala Lumpur is stocked full of apartment buildings, often close to the main tourist sights (e.g. KLCC and the Petronas Towers). They’re usually excellent value with the sort of facilities (gym, rooftop pool, panoramic views) you’d expect to find in a five-star hotel. They nearly always include a kitchen with oven, fridge, dishwasher, and washing machine, which saves you money on meals and lets you catch up with your laundry.
We stayed for three nights at The Platinum Kuala Lumpur by LUMA, a superbly located apartment within walking distance to the Petronas Towers and lots of shops, restaurants and public transport options.
Click here to check rates and availability for The Platinum Kuala Lumpur by LUMA
We paid RM900 for the three nights which was for a two-bedroomed apartment on the 42nd floor, giving incredible views of the city. There was a TV with Netflix, washing machine, dishwasher, fridge-freezer, oven, en-suite bathroom, rooftop gym and pool with a restaurant attached. There were even a couple of small supermarkets two-minutes walk away where we picked up food and drinks.
The check-in process at these apartments is always slightly hit-and-miss although was fairly smooth on this occasion, just don’t expect five-star hotel treatment at this stage. The security guards on the rooftop tried their best to spoil everyone’s day but this is outside of the control of the apartment owners and quite common in Southeast Asia with security personnel.
We really recommend trying to find an apartment on booking.com if you can, they certainly offer better value than hotels. Some families prefer to stay in Chinatown near Petaling Street (it’s something we’ve done before and enjoyed) but it’s very safe and convenient staying near KLCC and you’ll be nearer the more popular sights.
Final thoughts on visiting Kuala Lumpur with kids
KL has always been one of our favourites Southeast Asian capital cities and we were pleasantly surprised how much the kids enjoyed being there as well, and how much there was to do as a family. The activities aren’t always incredibly cheap, but offer much better value than places like Singapore.
The KLCC area is chock-full of things to do and everyone (kids included) will be wowed by their first view of the Petronas Towers. Try to leave some time for the kid focused activity centres like Petrosains and KidZania as these sort of places aren’t available in every city and the kids will have a blast.
The transport system is safe and reliable, either with Grab or public transport, and the city always feels very safe and welcoming.
Whether as a destination in its own right, as part of a big tour around Southeast Asia, or just as a stopover before heading over to Borneo or beyond, visiting KL with kids really is an all-round winner.
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