Getting to Malaysia

Malaysia has a new international airport, which is located at Sepang. Just 50kms from Kuala Lumpur, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport opened in 1998. Most tourists travelling into Malaysia either fly into Sepang Airport or arrive overland from either Thailand or Singapore. It’s cheaper to fly to East Malaysia from Johor Bahru than from Kuala Lumpur. International flights are also routed via Penang while in Sarawak and Sabah, Kuching and Tawau airports offer flight services.

There are numerous border-crossing points between Thailand and Malaysia. Malaysia also offers a very reasonable west-coast rail link. To get to/from Singapore, you have three options. You can either go across the causeway by land into Johor Bahru, catch a ferry or take the train.

Peninsula Malaysia has a fast and affordable nationwide bus system, and provides an excellent way to get around the country. Minibuses are also very common, and are the only way to get by public transport into Northern Malaysia from Thailand.

Peninsula Malaysia offers a comfortable and economical railway service too, though you’ll find there are only two lines: one linking Singapore to Thailand via Kuala Lumpur and Butterworth, the other linking centrally located Gemas with Kota Bharu on the north-east border.

Long distance taxis are around twice the cost of buses, but are more comfortable by half.  There are no boat services between Peninsula and East Malaysia. Rickshaws can still be found in some parts of Kuala Lumpur, as well as in provincial areas. The public transport system in Kuala Lumpur is in a sorry state especially during peak hours.