Kuala Lumpur Hop-On Hop-Off Buses

When you think of all there is to see and do in Kuala Lumpur and how to get to those attractions in such a populous and cosmopolitan city, one of the best options is to get on a tourist bus and take advantage of the strategic stops it makes around the city. In addition, you will not have to worry about traffic or plan an itinerary.

If you hire a tourist bus, you will be able to visit the main attractions of the city in a comfortable and safe way. With your 24, 48-hour or longer pass, you can hop on and off these buses as many times as you want, and take advantage of the audio guide that is played during the trip to get information about the sites you visit. Here I tell you in detail about these services, which can be your great allies during your stay in Kuala Lumpur.

The city of Kuala Lumpur has 1 tourist bus with which you can tour the city comfortably and without worrying about traffic:

• Ronda - Ronda KL day and night - from 16 €.

This bus has 2 routes that pass or leave you near the main sites of interest in the city. Both routes are combinable, as the circuits start and end at the same terminal. You can hire the bus for 24 or 48 hours.

This tourist bus works with the Hop On Hop Off system, so you can get off and on the vehicle as many times as you want to visit the attractions you have chosen. That is, if you get off at the Petronas Towers, you can tour them at your own pace and get on the next bus to go to another attraction. The best thing to do is to know in advance which attractions you are interested in visiting, so you can make the most of your tour of the city.

The bus has free Wi-Fi on board, which is very convenient when looking for online information about the city's attractions. It also has air conditioning and panoramic view, which ensures a more comfortable and enjoyable trip.

Many tourists, because they have little time or because they prefer to know at a glance the main attractions of Kuala Lumpur, make a complete tour on the bus listening to the audio guide, and then decide which attractions they will get off. Please note that the complete circuit lasts approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes and that the bus frequency is usually one every 20/30 minutes.

Alternative to the Kuala Lumpur sightseeing bus: the GOKL City Bus

An alternative to the Kuala Lumpur tourist bus is the GOKL City Bus, which is the city's public bus. The main advantage of this bus is that it is free. Also, you don't need to reserve a seat, but just go to the bus stops and get on without paying any fare.

The GOKL City Bus is a bus used by both tourists and locals, with which you can reach many of the attractions in the city center. It has about 7 combinable routes and has a frequency of one every 15 minutes.

Summary of Kuala Lumpur bus features

The Ronda-Ronda KL sightseeing bus runs 2 daytime tours around the city of Kuala Lumpur: the City Route and the Garden Route. Both routes can be combined, as they share stop number 1. That is, where one of the tours ends, you can start the other, at no additional cost. In total, the bus makes about 26 stops that leave you near about 60 attractions in the city.

The Ronda-Ronda KL has an open deck where you can enjoy the panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur, and air conditioning in its covered part. It also has an audio guide that gives you information about the sites the bus passes through, and free Wi-Fi on board, which is very convenient for online queries. Undoubtedly, traveling by tourist bus is one of the best ways to take a tour of Kuala Lumpur and visit its most emblematic sites.

As for the schedule, this tourist bus operates every day from 9 am to 6 pm and also makes a night tour, ideal for you to know the amazing illuminations of the city. The complete day tour lasts approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes and its frequency is one every 20-30 minutes. As for the night tour, it lasts 2 hours and takes place only at 8 p.m. every day.

Ronda-Ronda KL offers 2 daytime tours:

• City Route: this is the tour through the city center.
• Garden Route: takes you to other neighborhoods, squares and theme parks.

In addition, there is a night tour that starts every day at around 8 pm:

• KL City of Lights

City Route Circuit

The Ronda-Ronda KL usually makes about 13 stops on its City Route tour, with which you can see the attractions in the center of Kuala Lumpur, such as the KL Tower, the Palace of Culture and the Petronas Towers.

The stops on the City Route tour are usually:

• Sungei Wang Plaza
• Masjid India Temple
• KG Baru Quarter
• Palace of Culture
• Intercontinental Hotel
• Petronas Towers
• MaTic Tourism Center
• KL Tower
• P Ramlee Memorial
• Aquaria
• KLCC Park
• Kraft Complex and Museum
• Bukit Bintang shopping district
• Tengkat Tong Shin (until 5 p.m.)

This tour runs daily from 9 am to 6 pm and can be combined with the Garden Route tour at stop no. 1.

Garden Route Circuit

In its Garden Route circuit, the Ronda-Ronda KL tour bus usually makes the following stops in Kuala Lumpur:

• Sungei Wang Plaza
• Swiss garden
• Chinatown district
• Central Market
• Little India district
• KL Sentral Train Station
• National Museum
• National Palace
• Bird Park
• National Mosque or Masjid Negara
• Merdeka Square
• Chow Kit
• Hotel Sunway Putra

KL City of Lights night circuit tour

As for the Ronda - Ronda KL night circuit, called KL City of Lights tour, it passes through the following stops in its 2-hour tour:

• Sungei Wang Plaza
• Saloma Link Bridge
• KL Tower
• Chinatown
• Central Market
• Little India Neighborhood
• KL Sentral Train Station
• National Palace
• Merdeka Square (colonial area)
• River of Life
• Istana Budaya or Palace of Culture
• KLCC Park

The night circuit does not make free stops like the day tour, but it includes stops to take pictures at an attraction of your choice, which can be, generally, the KL Tower, the National Palace or the KLCC Park. One of the best places to make a stop is River of life, a place where two rivers converge in front of the Masjid Sultan Abdul Samad mosque and where an unmissable light show is performed.

This night tour is designed more as a contemplative walk, so you can see the attractions under the night sky, and the unique lighting that each one displays during the night. In addition, they are usually guided by a local expert, who tells you about each site you visit.

The GOKL City Bus is the city's public bus, which can be used by tourists and locals alike. It runs 7 routes around Kuala Lumpur from 6 am to 11 pm from Monday to Thursday and from 7 am to 11 pm from Friday to Sunday. All routes can be combined, as some stops are located 1 or 2 streets away.

A tip to make the best use of this bus is to consult the available GOKL City Bus maps (or download the app) and plan your route, as it might take you some time to decide the best combinations based on your itinerary.

To board this bus, you just have to approach one of the stops and get on, without paying any fare. For the same reason, seats on this bus cannot be reserved in advance. Please note that, at some times, the bus may be more in demand than others, especially at peak times. However, it is a bus with good frequency, with one bus running approximately every 15 minutes and 1 every 5 minutes during peak hours.

The GOKL City Bus routes are:

• Green Line
• Purple Line
• Blue Line
• Red Line
• Orange Line
• Pink Line
• Turquoise Line

This chart can help you organize your 1 or 2 day itinerary in Kuala Lumpur:

One of the main advantages of riding the Kuala Lumpur sightseeing buses is that they allow you to comfortably get around the main attractions of the city, without having to worry about traffic or planning an itinerary. If you have not had time to do much research on how to get around the city, this option will save you a lot of time.

Another advantage that these buses offer you is that they give you the possibility to visit each of the attractions at your own pace, since you can get on and off the vehicle as many times as you wish. In addition, if you travel in the Ronda - Ronda KL bus, you can enjoy the panoramic view of the city, while you decide which attractions you will visit, or take a snapshot of the city on board the bus. Undoubtedly, you can make the best tours of Kuala Lumpur aboard a tourist bus.

Something very convenient about traveling on these buses is that you do not have to go to a specific stop to take them, but you can start your tour at any of the stops of the circuit, or at the stop closest to where you are staying. In addition, the possibility of combining the different routes is very practical to further customize your itinerary. Don't forget to download a map of the city to know the exact distance you are from each attraction.

Another outstanding feature is that on board the bus you can listen to an audio guide in your language, which allows you to learn a little more about the attractions the bus passes by. In addition, the buses have free WI-Fi, which is very practical to check schedules and any other information that may be useful during your tour of Kuala Lumpur.

Full Ronda -Ronda KL sightseeing bus tours usually last about 2 hours and 15 minutes during daytime hours, without making any stops. They operate every day for about 9 hours. In general, they have a frequency of one every 20/30 minutes. It may take you about an hour or less to see each attraction, which can give you an idea for planning a 1-day tour or a 2-day itinerary in Kuala Lumpur.

As for the night tour, its duration is about 2 hours. This tour is designed to be more of a contemplative type, since you can not make as many stops as you want as in the day tour, but usually only makes a stop at an iconic attraction such as the National Palace, River of Life (where a light show is performed), the KL Tower or KLCC Park, so you can take a picture.

Note that the KL Tower, which offers one of the best panoramic views of Kuala Lumpur from over 270 meters high, can be visited at night (until around 10 pm), but it is best to plan your visit for another day, as the night tour will not give you time to climb the observation deck.

The Kuala Lumpur Ronda - Ronda KL sightseeing bus can drop you off near about 60 attractions in the city, but it is important to do a little research so you can visit the ones that interest you most and make the best use of your time.

Entrance to the attractions are not usually included in the tourist bus tickets, but many times packages are offered with the entrance to the Berjaya Times Square, one of the most recommended if you travel to Kuala Lumpur with children, or to the KL Tower, for example. Many others are free, such as KLCC Park.

When planning your itinerary, keep in mind that some attractions are highly visited all year round, so it is best to go as early as possible, as in the case of the Petronas Towers.

These are some of the must-see attractions in Kuala Lumpur:

• The Petronas Towers, one of the tallest towers in the world, with its 452 meters high. They receive many visitors, so you should book your ticket in advance. They are not to be missed at night.
• The KLCC park, which is very close to the Petronas Towers.
• The KL Tower, of 421 meters, which offers panoramic views of the city and other entertainment proposals.
• Chinatown, the Chinese quarter. You can not miss its Petaling Street and the temples Guan-Di (Chinese) and Hindu Sri Mahamariamman (Hindu), both free admission.
• Little India, the picturesque Hindu neighborhood, full of bazaars, street food stalls and stores.
• Merdeka Square, the colonial part of the city, with its unmissable palace of Sultan Abdul Samad.
• The Masjid Jamek Mosque, one of the oldest in the city, with free admission.
• The National Mosque, which combines Arabic, Malay and modern architecture.
• Central Market, where you can buy souvenirs and taste typical dishes.
• Bukit Bintang, the neighborhood that stands out for its narrow streets full of street art.
• Berjaya Times Square, a theme park ideal to go with children.

These are some of the main attractions of Kuala Lumpur, which you can visit during your tour in the tourist bus, since the stops have been strategically selected so that you can reach them comfortably. If you have traveled with children, you may be interested in Bird Park, the city's aviary, or the Berjaya Times Square theme park, where there are fun options for both children and adults.

For foreigners, the ticket for the tourist bus Ronda - Ronda KL of 24 hours costs about 16 € for adults and about 8 € for children over 5 years. You can also buy the 48-hour pass, with which you will have a 50% discount, since its cost is about 21 € for adults and about 11 € for children. In case you want to buy a ticket for more days, you must make a new purchase operation.

In the case of children under 5 years old, they get on the bus for free and it is not necessary to reserve a seat for them. Students and people with reduced mobility also pay a ticket with a discount of approximately 50%. Citizens of Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia also get a 50% discount ticket.

Please note that when you hire the bus service by the hour, whether 24 or 48 hours, the time starts to run from the moment you board the bus. That is, if you start using the bus at 10 am, you will be able to use it until the next day at the same time. This is different from a daily contract, because in that case you can only use it from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, which is the time the bus operates.