Part 1 – KL-Kuala Terengganu Road Trip

18 Sept 2013

We went on a family trip (2 adults and 4 children) to Kuala Terengganu (KT) with our final destination being Pulau Perhentian from 18th till 21st Sept 2013.  The plan was to stay one night in KT  and 2 nights in Perhentian.  

We left KL at 10.30 am and reached KT at about 3.30 pm. It took us almost 5 hours as we made a few stops. Distance covered was about 230km. 

Now, where is Terengganu? It lies in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia with a population of about 1 million, 96% being Malay Muslims. Ancient history mentions that Terengganu was once under the influence of the Langkasuka and Sriwijaya kingdoms. I am not sure if you can find any traces of history that still remains today of these kingdoms.  With the coming of Islam, Terengganu being the first Malay state to embrace Islam, the ancient history remains just that.

Did I just divert? OK, back to the road trip.

The state of Terengganu (marked red) in Peninsular Malaysia

We took the KL-Karak Expressway from Gombak, Selangor  and continued with the East Coast Expressway (Lebuhraya Pantai Timur)  till Jabur, the Pahang-Terengganu border town. The East Coast Expressway  ends in Jabur. From Jabur to KT, we used the Coastal Road. Our crossing from West Coast to East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia went pass 3 states, from  Selangor to Pahang then Terengganu.  

It is a fairly easy route to drive as there  are plenty of signages along the highway. 

The main towns along the East Coast Highway

After Jabur, we drove along the Coastal Road at much reduced speed. We passed the districts of Kemaman, Dungun and Marang before reaching our target destination, Kuala Terengganu town in the district of Kuala Terengganu. 

The 7 districts in the state of Terengganu

We had earlier stopped in Kuala Dungun for a late lunch and finally checked into our hotel room in KT in the late afternoon.

The hotel we stayed is in KT town

Tips :-

• If it’s your first such trip to the state of Terengganu, do the road trip so that you get a feel of the state. The second time, think twice as it's going to be a long, long trip - KL-KT is around 230km one way.
• Along the Expressway., the rest areas mostly sell Malay food.  Don’t expect ALL food outlets in the rest area to be open. And along the Coastal Road, it's also easy to spot food stalls.
• The toilets in the rest areas are clean.
•  The towns we passed by are small towns except for busy Chukai town in Kemaman. You can stop for food here, more choices available.
• Remember you are in the heart of Malay heartland – people are generally soft spoken, polite and helpful. Everything is quite laid back and really peaceful.  
•  The coastal road will slow down your journey, but you will get to see some stretches of Terengganu’s 244km of coastline.













•  Toll charges – RM5 for KL-Karak Expressway / RM21 for East Coast Expressway