A Complete Transportation Guide On How To Travel To Singapore From Malaysia

Singapore is just a bridge away from Malaysia, a neighbouring country that many Malaysians are already familiar with. With the short distance between both countries, all of our cultural similarities, as well as the convenience of existing cross-border travel methods, it's no surprise that Malaysians travel down to the little red dot so often.

Whether it is your first time travelling to Singapore or your tenth time already, it is always good to plan your trip ahead of time, including arranging your transportation. To ease your planning, we've prepared this guide of all transportation methods to travel between Malaysia and Singapore. Just pick whichever suits your travel needs the best!

The easiest way to travel into Singapore is none other than by an airplane flight that brings you directly into the country. You can fly from Malaysia to Singapore from multiple destinations - Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Penang, Ipoh, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.

⏳ Travel time: Flying in from Kuala Lumpur and most destinations in Peninsular Malaysia will take about one hour, while a flight from Kota Kinabalu is about 2.5 hours long.

Travel at your own pace and convenience by self-driving to Singapore! Especially if you're coming from Johor Bahru, travelling by car is the ideal option as the country is just across the causeway bridge. You can enter either via the Woodlands checkpoint, which is nearer from JB city centre, or the Tuas checkpoint.

If you are driving, you will need these in order to enter into Singapore successfully:

⏳ Travel time: Driving in from Johor Bahru will usually take between 1 to 2 hours depending on the traffic, while the drive from Kuala Lumpur will take about 4 to 5 hours in total.

Skip the hassle of self-driving by booking your very own private car charter! There’s no need to worry about navigation or preparing cross-border documentation, cause all you require is your passport and luggage, and your driver will do the rest. Since it is a private transfer, you are also in control of your itinerary and are able to make spontaneous stops along the way!

⏳ Travel time: Driving in from Johor Bahru will usually take between 1 to 2 hours depending on the traffic, while the drive from Kuala Lumpur will take about 4 to 5 hours in total.

For solo travellers or smaller groups, taking a bus may be a more economical transportation method to travel to Singapore. It is also pretty accessible, as there are multiple bus departure stops throughout the country that offer daily transfers to and from Singapore, such as from Penang, KL, Melaka, JB and Genting Highlands.

⏳ Travel time: A bus ride from Kuala Lumpur or Melaka into Singapore typically takes around 4 to 5 hours, while the ride from Penang can take up to 8 hours.

A direct ETS route from KL to Singapore is still a part of a future expansion project, and though you still can't take a single train directly into Singapore yet, travelling south majorly by train is still a popular transportation choice. Travellers can take the ETS train to Gemas, and then transit onto the Ekspres Selatan shuttle train service to JB Sentral, before transiting onto the Shuttle Tebrau that brings you from JB Sentral into Woodlands, Singapore.

⏳ Travel time: The train journey from KL Sentral to Woodlands, including 2 transits, will take up approximately 7 hours 20 minutes. If you're coming from Penang, that will be an additional 4.5 hours on the ETS line.

Hit the waves and travel to Singapore by taking a ferry! There are 2 ferry routes operating between Malaysia and Singapore, both from Johor. The closer route is taking the ferry from the Tanjung Pengelih port to Tanah Merah in Singapore, which also has more frequent crossings, and the other is between Desaru and Tanah Merah.

⏳ Travel time: A ferry transfer between Tanjung Pengelih and Tanah Merah takes about 45 minutes, while the journey between Desaru and Tanah Merah takes 1.5 hours.

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