Traveling into Malaysia from Singapore? Buses are a comfortable, safe and affordable means of transportation to and around Malaysia. Here is one more way you can save some money when traveling to Melaka, Kuala Lumpur or any other location in Malaysia via Singapore.
Bus companies are plentiful in Singapore, but rather than buy your ticket in Singapore and pay Singapore dollars, use public transportation to cross the border into Malaysia and pay in ringgits (this has a far more favorable exchange rate regardless of your country’s currency).
Forget about Singaporean travel agents or bus companies and take the MRT North-South Line to Kranji. Then take the 170 bus headed to Johor Bahru (JB). Be mindful of the end destination before boarding the bus to ensure you’re getting on the correct one going the correct direction. You will pay local public transportation costs, which are measured by distance traveled (roughly S$0.10/kilometer).
The bus will drop you off at the Singaporean passport control terminal. Once through, you can re-enter the 170 or any other public bus because they are all headed across the water to the Malaysian passport control. Now that your entry into Malaysia is official (you have been getting your passport stamped along the way, right?), you may enter the 170 again. You will not need to pay during the times you are exiting (and bringing your bags with you) and re-entering the bus. The 170 public bus will terminate at the Larkin Bus Terminal in JB and the ride takes about 10 minutes.
Once at Larkin, you can purchase a bus ticket to any number of Malaysian cities. Expect to have ticket agents pounce on you once you get off the 170. It’s always smart to be cautious of these people. Check that they are affiliated with a real company before handing over cash. Or skip them and head to the various booths situated around the terminal. If you’re headed to Melaka, expect to pay approximately 19 ringgit for a comfortable AC bus.
Please note, we recommend this alternative option as long as you use an EZ-Link and are staying outside Singapore’s CBD. If you are paying for public transportation with cash and/or staying downtown, this plan will still save you a little money, but it might not be worth the hassle.
When we were in Singapore back in January we contemplated taking one of the tourist buses all the way to Melaka because we were worried that taking public transportation would be a hassle. In the end though, we felt like going on the public buses was a lot easier to figure out than the headache of the tourist buses, and had the added bonus of being and adventure AND way more cost effective. That’s the first time we’ve crossed an international border via public transport… I wish it were always so easy!
We were Couchsurfing out in the suburbs, so public transport was definitely the best option for us. We had EZ link cards too, which made it super simple. A woman at an info booth in the airport actually recommended taking the public bus since that’s how locals travel between the two countries. Otherwise we would’ve had no idea.