Genting SkyWorlds theme park opens daily from 10 am to 6 pm and closes on Tuesdays, except on Malaysian public holidays and during school holidays. It sits at the top of Genting Highlands, about an hour's drive from KL, so a day there by car is a 10 am-to-6 pm park day with a mountain road at each end. Buy tickets online at least a day ahead: daily numbers are limited. The plan below gets a family there for the opening and home without driving down the hill in the dark.
Before you go
- Check the date isn't a Tuesday outside the holidays. The park publishes a seasonal calendar of opening days.
- Check the park's maintenance list. Some rides close for scheduled maintenance, and the park lists which ones.
- Pack for 22°C. That's the daytime average up there, colder in rain, so bring a light jacket and a rain layer as well as closed shoes.
- Install the park's app. It handles virtual queue reservations and shows ride wait times. The park is cashless and takes cards, e-wallets and Genting's own GeM wallet.
The day
7.45 am. Leave PJ. Head for the KL–Karak Expressway, which takes electronic toll payment only, so have a loaded Touch 'n Go card.
8.30 am. Genting Sempah exit. The road up to the resort leaves the Karak here. It's a private road of about 17.6 km, with gradients of around 10% and sharp bends. There's a road charge, collected electronically at Genting Sempah and Gohtong Jaya. Take it steady: lower gear, no overtaking on blind bends.
9.15 am. Park at the top. Resorts World Genting's car parks include SkyAvenue, the Genting SkyWorlds Hotel and First World Hotel, among others; the Genting SkyWorlds Hotel sits right beside the park entrance. Every car park is cashless and takes Touch 'n Go; rates differ between weekdays and weekends, public and school holidays.
10.00 am. Gates open. Go straight to the rides with the longest queues and work back from there, using the app to check wait times.
Lunch inside the park, or at SkyAvenue.
5.30 pm. Leave before closing. The drive down is the one to take carefully: use a lower gear and engine braking so the brakes don't overheat on the long descent. If the mist has come in, slow right down and put your headlights on.
7.00 pm. Back in PJ, traffic allowing.
Or park halfway and take the cable car
You can leave the car at mid-hill instead. The Awana SkyWay runs from Awana SkyCentral (next to Genting Highlands Premium Outlets) to Genting Highlands station at SkyAvenue in about 10 minutes, with a stop at Chin Swee, and its listed hours are 7 am to 11 pm. Park at the outlets' car park, ride up, and you skip the top half of the road both ways. Our guide to the Genting cable car vs driving up compares the two. With children, the cable car also gives you a reason to stop at the outlets on the way home; Genting Premium Outlets by car covers that half of the day.
The car, and the mileage
A Genting day trip from the Klang Valley is roughly 120 to 140 km, and every Grandpride rental includes 120 km a day. Add +50 km for the day and you're covered. Pick a car with enough power for the climb and room for a pram: an SUV like the BMW X5M at RM 1,600 a day, or a Toyota Harrier from RM 600. Only the named renter drives, and the car comes back with the fuel level it had at collection. Our guide to driving up Genting Highlands has more on the road itself.
If nobody wants to drive the hill, a chauffeur to Genting is a flat fare one way for trips under 80 km, from RM 1,400 in a Toyota Vellfire. For a there-and-back day, booking by the hour can suit better; compare both on the chauffeur booking page, and see our KL to Genting by private car guide for worked examples.
