Langkawi

Langkawi trades skyscrapers for coastline. This archipelago of 99 islands off Malaysia's northwest coast has no downtown skyline to speak of, so its rooftop bars are almost all attached to beachfront hotels and resorts along Pantai Cenang and Pantai Tengah, built to frame the one view that matters here: the Andaman Sea and its nightly sunset. Duty-free prices on spirits make Langkawi's rooftop cocktails some of the best-value in the region, and the pace is unhurried — sundowners and long dinners rather than late-night nightlife. Most of Langkawi's rooftop venues sit four to six storeys up, low by Southeast Asian sky-bar standards, but the lack of surrounding development means unobstructed sightlines out to sea and the limestone karst islands offshore. A handful of resort rooftops also look inland toward the rainforest-covered hills, offering a green counterpoint to the coastal views. Whether you're watching the sun drop into the Andaman from a beachfront pool bar or a jungle-fringed rooftop terrace, Langkawi's rooftop scene rewards a slower, sunset-first approach to drinking with a view.