Malaysia Getting in & out

By plane

National carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has extensive worldwide network coverage and regularly ranks high in airline quality assessments, while no-frills low-cost carrier AirAsia and her sister company, AirAsia X, now covers an ever-expanding set of destinations including Australia, China, Cambodia, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Myanmar and Vietnam.

• AirAsia +60 3 8775-4000 (hotline within Malaysia: 1-300-88-9933)
• Malaysia Airlines 60 3 7846-3000 (hotline within Malaysia: 1-300-88-3000)

Most international flights land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), although AirAsia flights use the LCC terminal, a 20km road transfer away from the main KLIA terminal. KLIA's predecessor, the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport.

By train

To/from Thailand

Direct sleeper train services operated by the State Railway of Thailand connect Bangkok (Thailand) and Butterworth near Penang (Malaysia), while Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malaysian Railways) runs trains between Hat Yai (Thailand) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Both trains cross the border at Padang Besar where Thai and Malaysia immigration formalities are all conveniently done in the station. There is also a less used eastern route from Hat Yai to Thai border town Sungai Kolok, but there are no through trains to the nearby Malaysian station at Wakaf Bahru (near Kota Bharu).

To/from Singapore

Singapore is the southern terminus of the Malayan Railway (Keretapi Tanah Melayu network. Comfortable overnight sleeper and somewhat misnamed daytime "express" trains connect Singapore with Kuala Lumpur and Tumpat, near Kota Bharu. Bizarrely, tickets purchased at the Singapore station are twice as expensive as those purchased in Malaysia; you can save quite a bit by taking the train from Johor Bahru instead. Another option is to at the cheaper rate, but you must book at least 48 hours in advance.

By bus

Long-distances buses/coaches into Malaysia run from Brunei, Indonesian Borneo, Singapore and Thailand. Please see the relevant city pages for more details.

Brunei

There are no direct buses into Brunei. However, there are buses from Miri and Limbang going to the border where there are connections to Bandar Seri Begawan.

Indonesia

Direct buses operate between Pontianak in West Kalimantan and Kuching in Sarawak.

Singapore

A multitude of bus companies operate direct routes from Singapore to various destinations in Peninsular Malaysia, including Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, East Coast cities and even the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Petaling Jaya. Frequent buses make the short run between Singapore and Johor Bahru, and you can save a few bucks by changing at JB's Larkin terminal to a cheap domestic bus instead of taking a more expensive direct bus. If you are planning to take on arrival visa, you must enter Malaysia via link 2.

Thailand

Several companies operate services from Kuala Lumpur and other cities in Malaysia to Hat Yai in southern Thailand, where direct connections are available to Bangkok and many other Thai destinations.

By road

Land crossings are possible from southern Thailand and Singapore into Peninsular Malaysia, as well as from Brunei and Kalimantan (the Indonesian side of Borneo) into Sarawak. An International Drivers Permit (IDP) is required. See the respective city or state pages for more detailed information.

By boat

Ferries connect various points in Peninsular Malaysia with Sumatra in Indonesia and southern Thailand, Sarawak with Brunei, and Sabah with East Kalimantan in Indonesia and Mindanao in the Philippines. Luxury cruises also run from Singapore and sometimes Phuket (Thailand) to Malaysia.

On foot

You can walk in/out of Thailand at Wang Kelian and Padang Besar (both in Perlis), Bukit Kayu Hitam (Kedah), Pengkalan Hulu (Perak) and Rantau Panjang (Kelantan). However, crossing the Causeway on foot from Singapore is now illegal (Jan 2009).