Genting Highlands from Kuala Lumpur: Cable Car, Theme Park and Which Day Trip to Book
5 min read
The short answer
Genting Highlands is a mountain resort with a casino, shopping, two theme parks and two cable cars, reached from the capital by a drive that the booking pages put at 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. If you want the mountain and a stop at Batu Caves on the way back, the most reviewed option is the Genting Highlands and Batu Caves Day Trip at €29.41 per person (4.6 stars from 1,120 reviews), listed at 11 hours. If you only want Genting and as much time up there as possible, the Genting Highlands Day Trip with Cable Car at €30.32 lists 6 hours on the mountain within 9 hours.
The four day trips side by side
| Tour | Listed length | Format | Cable car |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genting Highlands and Batu Caves Day Trip · €29.41 | 11 hours | Shared, live English guide and audio guide, then Batu Caves on the way back | Round-trip Genting Skyway standard ticket |
| Genting Highlands Day Trip with Cable Car · €30.32 | 9 hours | Shared, English host and audio guide, about 6 hours of free time on the mountain | Round-trip standard gondola ticket |
| Genting Highlands Tour with Awana Cable Car · €29.86 | 10 hours | English-speaking driver, private group available, start at 9:00 AM or 1:00 PM | 2-way Awana cable car ticket, with a stop at Chin Swee Caves Temple |
| Private Genting Highlands Day Trip · €50.54 | 8 hours | Private group, driver speaks English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu | Return ticket for the Genting Skyway |
What the pages say about time and distance
The pages do not agree on the drive. The 9-hour trip says 1 hour 15 minutes each way and lists 75 minutes in the van on the way back. The 10-hour trip’s description says a 45-minute drive out, while its itinerary lists a 30-minute van ride out and 2 hours back. The same page offers starts at 9:00 AM or 1:00 PM in its description, while its meeting note says the bus leaves the Ramlee entrance of Suria KLCC promptly at 9:45 AM and waits no more than 10 minutes. Allow for the longer figure, especially on the way down in the evening. The pages name different cable cars: the Awana SkyWay on the 9-hour and 10-hour trips, and the Genting Skyway in the lists of the 11-hour and 8-hour trips. The 11-hour trip also carries a notice that when the Awana SkyWay is closed for scheduled maintenance, the Genting Skyway replaces it and the Chin Swee Temple and Genting Premium Outlets stops are skipped, so ask the operator which cable car you will ride on your date.
Theme parks, casino and dress
None of the four day-trip pages sells theme park entry in the tour price as far as we can tell: their lists mix included and excluded items, so look at what the page names before you pay and plan on a separate ticket. Genting SkyWorlds entry, at €38.59, is listed as non-refundable, with a day’s entry and up to 3 virtual-queue reservations. Its page gives the height tiers: adult 111 cm and above, child 90 to 110 cm, free at 89 cm and below, and anyone aged 0 to 17 must be with a paying adult. The park’s own hours page says SkyWorlds is open from 10 AM to 6 PM and closed every Tuesday except on public and school holidays, so a Tuesday tour may find it shut.
The 9-hour trip’s page gives the minimum age for the casino as 21 and asks you to bring a passport or ID. It also lists shorts, short skirts, sleeveless shirts, open-toed shoes and slippers (flip-flops) as not allowed. The private trip’s page says the casino has a dress code with no shorts, slippers (flip-flops) or tank tops. The first trip asks for modest dress at Batu Caves, without shorts or short skirts, and lists wheelchair users as not suitable. Pack a jacket: several of the pages mention the cold at the top.
Going without a tour
The cable car ticket at €2.53 is listed as one-way admission to the Awana SkyWay, valid for 1 day, non-refundable, and the ride from Awana Station takes about 10 minutes. Because the list says one-way, check whether you need a second ticket for the return. The operator, Resorts World Genting, says that if you drive you leave the car at the Genting Highlands Premium Outlets car park next to Sky Sentral, and that a free shuttle bus runs from Resorts World Awana and from the Gohtong Jaya Bus Terminal. The resort’s hours page lists the Awana SkyWay as open from 7 AM to 11 PM and the Genting Skyway from 9 AM to 7 PM. It also says that when one of the two cable cars is closed for maintenance, the other takes over, so check the resort’s notices before you go. If you would rather drive, compare rental cars for Kuala Lumpur and read the excess, deposit and fuel policy first, since the 10-hour trip’s page describes winding mountain roads.
Our pick
For a first visit with Batu Caves on the way home, take the 11-hour trip. For the most time on the mountain, take the 9-hour trip. For a private day, the 8-hour trip is the one with the shortest listed length, and with a driver rather than a guide. For other mountain and attraction ideas, see the 41 Genting Highlands tours, from €2.53, and our Batu Caves guide.
