Don't look for Jalan Alor parking on Jalan Alor itself. The street is a roughly 500-metre run of hawker stalls and seafood restaurants that comes alive from about 5 pm, with tables and people taking up the road, and it's the last place you want to be in a car. Park in one of the malls along Jalan Bukit Bintang and walk the few minutes over, or leave the car at home and be dropped off.
If you're driving yourself
Pick a car park on the main road and walk. The malls on Jalan Bukit Bintang are all a short walk from Jalan Alor:
- Pavilion and Starhill, beside each other.
- Fahrenheit 88, opposite Pavilion.
- Lot 10, a short walk along Jalan Bukit Bintang.
- Sungei Wang Plaza, about 500 metres from Pavilion.
Rates differ between car parks and between weekdays and weekends; check the board at the entrance. Our guide to parking in Kuala Lumpur explains how mall and street parking are paid, and visiting Pavilion KL by car covers the biggest of them.
Street parking around Bukit Bintang is limited, with time limits, and it's paid through Kuala Lumpur City Hall's approved apps, not at a meter. On a busy evening, a space on the street is luck, and circling for one costs more time than the walk from a mall.
The roads behind Bukit Bintang are narrow, with motorcycles filtering between cars and delivery riders stopping where they need to. Let Waze or Google Maps lead, keep your speed down, and expect riders on both sides. Our guide to driving with motorcycles in KL is worth a read if it's your first time.
A food night, timed
As an example of how an evening goes if you drive:
- 6.30 pm. Arrive and park at a Bukit Bintang mall before the evening rush into the car parks.
- 6.45 pm. Walk to Jalan Alor and eat while it's still light.
- 8.30 pm. Dessert, or a walk along Bukit Bintang.
- 9.30 pm. Back to the car. Pay at the machine before you walk to your level, so you aren't paying at the barrier.
If you'd planned on a beer with the satay, don't plan on driving home afterwards. Malaysia's drink-driving law is strict, police roadblocks happen at night, and our guide to the drink-driving law in Malaysia sets out the penalties.
If you'd rather not drive
Take the train
The MRT's Bukit Bintang station (Pavilion Kuala Lumpur–Bukit Bintang) and the Monorail's Bukit Bintang station are both a short walk away. If you're coming from a hotel on either line, it's the simplest option.
Book a driver for the evening
A Grandpride chauffeur by the hour drops you at the end of Jalan Alor, parks nearby and comes back when you message. The minimum booking is three hours. Hours that start between 7 pm and 11 pm are charged at the evening rate (+30%), and between 11 pm and 7 am at +50%, so a 6.30 pm pick-up costs less than a 7.30 pm one for the same three hours. In a Mercedes-Benz S-Class it's RM 300 an hour at the normal rate; the S-Class chauffeur page has the details, and a seven-seat Vellfire at RM 150 an hour takes the whole family. Book at least two days ahead on the chauffeur booking page, which shows the full price before you reserve.
You can make a bigger evening of it. Our KL night drive with a chauffeur adds the city's lit-up landmarks before or after dinner.
Bring your own car, with someone else driving it
If you want your own car there but nobody wants to stay sober, Grandpride's driver service puts a driver in it: RM 385 for an 8-hour day, RM 40 an hour overtime and RM 50 an hour after midnight.
