Alor Setar
Introduction
Alor Setar is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia, and one of the most important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Known as Alor Star from 2003 to 2009, it sits within the state alongside Sungai Petani.
For visitors, the city's most prominent landmark is the Alor Setar Tower, the third-tallest tower in Malaysia.
Before you go
Before you go, it helps to know what kind of place Alor Setar is: a city in the state of Kedah, in the north of Peninsular Malaysia, and one that rewards travellers who arrive with a sense of its role as a regional, administrative and cultural centre rather than a resort destination. The material available on the city is limited, so plan around the essentials — confirming how you will reach Kedah and where you will base yourself — and treat the details of individual sights as something to settle once you are there. Expect a tropical climate, with warm and humid conditions through much of the year and a pronounced wetter period, so light, breathable clothing and rain protection are sensible. Dress modestly when visiting religious sites and public buildings, and carry cash for smaller establishments. English is not the everyday language, so a few words of Malay go a long way; if you plan to travel onward around Kedah or across the border into Thailand, check your visa and entry requirements before you set out.Getting there
Alor Setar is most practically reached by road along the North-South Expressway. Buses run from Kuala Lumpur, a journey of roughly six to seven hours, and services also connect the city with Bukit Kayu Hitam for travellers arriving from Thailand.
By rail, the inter-city train station receives trains from all major stations. By air, Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR) is served only from Kuala Lumpur, by Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Firefly and Batik Air, plus an AirAsia route to Johor Bahru. Many visitors instead fly into Penang, which has a larger and better served airport, and continue to Alor Setar overland.
Getting around
Alor Setar is compact, and most of the sights visitors come for are clustered within a short distance of one another, so the city centre is genuinely walkable and self-guided walking tours are quite feasible. Beyond that, dedicated bicycle infrastructure is limited and cyclists share the road with vehicles, while major highways are not recommended for pedestrians or cyclists. There is no metro, light rail, or tram system, and public transport is more limited than in larger Malaysian cities, so plan around a few key hubs rather than expecting to hop on and off at will. The two anchors are Shahab Perdana Bus Terminal, the central hub for local and long-distance routes, and Alor Setar Railway Station near the city centre.
Local buses are operated by Cityliner, with RapidKedah and MARALiner also running local and regional routes; they radiate from Shahab Perdana and reach landmarks including Alor Setar Tower, the Zahir Mosque, and Aman Central shopping mall, as well as nearby towns such as Jitra and Kuala Kedah. Pay the fare in cash to the driver when you board, keep small change handy, and expect services that may not run frequently or to fixed schedules, with limited accessibility for travellers with mobility challenges. Grab is the most convenient way to get around, with fares calculated and shown in the app and payment by cash or GrabPay, and it is especially useful where public transport is thin, such as Kuala Kedah Jetty, Gunung Keriang, and the airport; availability can be limited late at night or in the rain. Traditional taxis are typically found at Aman Central Mall, Alor Setar Tower, Shahab Perdana Bus Terminal, malls, and hotels; licensed taxis are metered but not all drivers use the meter, so agree on the fare before departure and pay in cash. Verify the driver and car details shown in the Grab app, and avoid unofficial taxis and touts.
If you prefer your own vehicle, car rental outlets operate at Sultan Abdul Halim Airport and in the city centre, and motorcycle and scooter rentals are available through local operators, select hotels, and travel agencies in the city centre, though they are less widely available than in larger Malaysian cities, so book in advance. Driving is on the left, roads are signposted in both Malay and English, and parking is widely available, with some paid parking requiring a Touch 'n Go card. Roads connect conveniently to Gunung Keriang, the Paddy Museum, Kuala Kedah Jetty, and Bukit Kayu Hitam at the Thai border. For rail, KTM Intercity and the air-conditioned KTM ETS link Alor Setar with Butterworth (for Penang), Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, and Padang Besar, the gateway to Thailand, with a limited KTM Komuter service on selected short-distance northern routes; buy tickets at the station counters, on the KTM website, or through the KITS app, book ahead on weekends and public holidays, and arrive fifteen to twenty minutes before departure. From the airport, public transport is limited, so a Grab ride or traditional taxi is most practical, or you can fly into Penang and continue overland. There are no hop-on-hop-off buses, no boat taxis or public water transport within the city, and no cable cars or funiculars; ferries from the area serve Langkawi Island only, with Kuala Kedah Jetty a common onward destination.
Where to stay
Alor Setar has a good spread of comfortable, modern hotels, and you'll find several of them clustered in or near the middle of the city. Grand Continental Hotel sits right in the centre, beside Kedah Supermarket and close to Pekan Rabu, and is well known for its food, particularly during the Ramadan fasting month. Holiday Villa is also centrally located, adjacent to City Plaza shopping centre. If you'd rather stay a short distance out, Hotel Seri Malaysia is about ten minutes from the city centre and next to the Darulaman track and football stadium; it's part of a local hotel chain.
Elsewhere, StarCity Hotel is easily accessible and close to the Jalan Putra commercial area, with ported and wireless connectivity in its guest rooms plus a coffee house, ballrooms and function rooms. Sentosa Regency Hotel on Jalan Putra is likewise easily accessible, offers free WiFi throughout and has a ballroom and function rooms, and one of the famous hawker food streets is within walking distance. Bee Garden Motel is a minute from StarCity Hotel. As an alternative to hotels, home stay houses are available in major residential areas, known in Malay as taman, such as Taman Uda.
Food & drink
For roadside eating, head to the famous warong known as Fishermen's Ikan Kembong, on the road to Kuala Kedah at the junction of the road to Yan. It serves real fishermen's cuisine that the townfolk like, and it is open only from late morning to early afternoon. Midway along the Alor Setar–Kuala Kedah road you will find Laksa Telok Kechai, a local rice noodle in fish gravy served from an inconspicuous shop — ask locals to point you to it. It opens in the evening and stays open until midnight. For Thai and Chinese style food, try Haddyai Seafoods on Jalan Stadium. Along Jalan Putra you will find non-Muslim options including Kuit Tiao Teng and Karipok on 2nd Road, and Sentosa Restaurant inside Sentosa Regency Hotel, which offers international and local cuisine in fine-dining surroundings. To drink, try jus jambu, or guava juice.What to see and do
In downtown Alor Setar you can visit Wat Nikrodharam, the capital's largest and most architecturally impressive Buddhist temple complex, built in Thai style with gilded roofs and colourful mosaic walls. The Kedah State Art Gallery, Balai Seni Negeri, was set up to foster appreciation of art and holds paintings, photographs, musical instruments and handicrafts, with temporary exhibitions at regular intervals. Balai Nobat houses the sacred instruments of the royal orchestra - three drums, a gong and a flute - played only for royal ceremonies such as inaugurations, weddings and funerals. Towards the back of the Kota Star Palace complex stands Balai Besar, an audience hall with wood pillars, roofs and flooring, damaged in the Bugis attack and further ruined by the Siamese before being refurbished for royal weddings; it also hosted official ceremonies and other royal events. You can also see the birthplace of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad at Kampung Seberang Perak, and the Royal House at Lorong Shariff, which displays contemporary Malaysian housing architecture. Masjid Zahir, the Zahir State Mosque, is one of the grandest and oldest mosques in Malaysia, its prayer hall surrounded by verandahs with four mezzanine areas, each with a dome. Menara Alor Setar rises in the heart of the city as a modern landmark functioning as both a telecommunications tower and a tourist attraction, and contains a rotating restaurant, Restoran Sri Angkasa. At the mouth of the Kedah River, Kota Kuala Kedah, also known as Kota Kuala Bahang, was built to ward off enemies arriving from the sea, said to have been constructed by stone masons brought from India; today it is a fishing village known for the seafood served by the restaurants at the old historic site. Muzium Padi teaches the planting and harvesting of paddy and the grades of rice, its main attraction a rotating deck with a 360-degree mural of the four phases from planting to harvesting, and on weekends you may ride the traditional cow-caravan, or kereta lembu. If you arrive by car from the south, a leisurely six-hour tour runs from the Sungai Petani exit to the archaeology museum at Merbok, the fishing village of Tanjong Dawai for belacan, Yan town, Kuala Kedah fort, and dinner at a seafood place before returning downtown.When to go
Alor Setar has a tropical monsoon climate, and its wet season is very lengthy, dominating the year. Wherever you arrive in the calendar, expect frequent rain, and pack wet-weather gear for the whole of your stay rather than for a single stretch of it. Temperatures stay fairly constant year-round, so the rain, not the heat, is what shapes your days. There is a short dry season, but even then rain still falls. You will get somewhat less rain than during the rest of the year, though showers remain possible, so treat it as a slightly drier window rather than a guaranteed dry spell.Three days in Alor Setar
Day one: Start in the centre of Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah in northern Peninsular Malaysia, also written as Alor Star. Get your bearings on foot, then head up the Alor Setar Tower for a view over the city and the surrounding flat landscape. Dress modestly, as you would elsewhere in Kedah. English is widely understood, but a few words of Malay go a long way.
Day two: Use the city as a base for the wider state. Buses and trains connect Alor Setar with Sungai Petani to the south and with the Thai border at Bukit Kayu Hitam to the north. The North–South Expressway runs past the city, and long-distance services link it with Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru and beyond. If you are arriving by air, Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR) is served by Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Firefly and Batik Air.
Day three: Sort out your onward travel. Shahab Perdana Bus Terminal handles many intercity coaches, while Alor Setar Railway Station puts you on the national rail network. Local services run under Cityliner, RapidKedah and MARALiner. Before you leave, expect the heat and humidity typical of Malaysia, and plan around the frequent rain.