I am arriving late on a Saturday night to SIN.

Want to see the sights for a day or so then move on to KL before heading to Langkawi. Week later I need to retrace my steps and fly SIN-SFO home.

The fares on Malaysian flights seem high for the short hops...what alternatives do I have? Is there a budget airline that goes SIN-KUL-LGW? I saw the Silk Air flights and they do not seem very budget. How about the train? Any other thoughts?

Take the coach from Singapore to KUL. It goes from city centre to city centre and the general time you save with transfers will put it may be an hour max. slower than flying. It'll also only cost 10 or 20% of the air ticket.

It's been discussed in this forum before, so I hope you can find it but there's one outfit runs a coach with 20 sleeper (i.e. business class on plane) style seats.

Air Asia then fly from KUL to LGK - fares tomorrow are RM90 which must be about US$30.

As for the return, you could either do the same coming back or fly LGK-KUL-JHB which is Johor Bahru, just across the border from Singapore. Air Asia or MAS can do this for you. You can then get a bus back to Singapore from there.

One final option would be to look at the one way fare from LGK-SIN - it will likley be 30% or so cheaper than the one way in the other direction.

Long distance coaches in Malaysia are however of a very high standard, so if you really want to save the cash, do look at this as an option.

Take the coach from Singapore to KUL. It goes from city centre to city centre and the general time you save with transfers will put it may be an hour max. slower than flying. It'll also only cost 10 or 20% of the air ticket.

It's been discussed in this forum before, so I hope you can find it but there's one outfit runs a coach with 20 sleeper (i.e. business class on plane) style seats.

Air Asia then fly from KUL to LGK - fares tomorrow are RM90 which must be about US$30.

As for the return, you could either do the same coming back or fly LGK-KUL-JHB which is Johor Bahru, just across the border from Singapore. Air Asia or MAS can do this for you. You can then get a bus back to Singapore from there.

One final option would be to look at the one way fare from LGK-SIN - it will likley be 30% or so cheaper than the one way in the other direction.

Long distance coaches in Malaysia are however of a very high standard, so if you really want to save the cash, do look at this as an option.

Thx Swiss Tony --

This is great info, and I did a search on "coach" in this forum to get more details.

Once last question...is there a bus that goes from between the airports in Singapore and JB? Or do we need to head to one of the main bus terminals first? If a taxi can go between the airports, any idea of the cost?

Thx Swiss Tony --

This is great info, and I did a search on "coach" in this forum to get more details.

Once last question...is there a bus that goes from between the airports in Singapore and JB? Or do we need to head to one of the main bus terminals first? If a taxi can go between the airports, any idea of the cost?

This question has been raised a couple of times before but no there's no bus between the airports. Taxis also can't take you but I believe it was mentioned that some kind of limo can.

Just a quick summary - in downtown Singapore (Queen Street I think) there's a taxi rank for Malaysian cabs. They can take you anywhere in Malaysia, but only pick up from here.

In Johor Bahru there's a rank for Singaporean cabs and they can take you anywhere in Singapore, but again can only pick up here.

If you look at www.senaiairport.com, it has the following information...

From Senai Airport to Singapore

Only Airport Taxis are allowed to operate from Senai International Airport. You will need to pre-pay for the coupons at the Airport Taxi Counter at the Arrival Hall.

Airport taxi charges to Singapore starts from RM80. Please check at the Airport Taxi counter at the Arrival Hall for further details, or call +607 5991 622.

Alternatively, you can take the Airport Taxi to City Lounge (see map), Kotaraya Bus Terminal, Johor Bahru for RM40 per taxi. From here you can conveniently board the specially licensed Taxis to any part in central Singapore from S$30, and to Changi Airport from S$40.

On the same site there's similar info for a bus service - you'd need to take a bus from the airport to downtown Johor then transfer to a bus for Singapore (total about US$3). I'd be tempted to get one to Kranji MRT then either cab from there or if you have time take the MRT (but it's probably almost an hour to Changi as the train goes into the city centre then back out again).

If (and only if) you fly Malaysian Airlines, they have a shuttle bus service directly from the city to the airport, timed to meet the flights. Advance reservations necessary. MH fares can actually be very competitive if you book in advance.

I believe that the most complete guide to traveling between SIN and JHB remains this: http://wikitravel.org/en/Johor_Bahru

MH fares can actually be very competitive if you book in advance.

Not true, at least not for the time being.

MH has stopped selling discounted domestic fares due to lobbying by the CEO of Air Asia who managed to convince the transport ministry that conventional airline fares do not overlap with budget airline fares, just like 5 star hotel room rates do not overlap with 3 star hotel rates :rolleyes: Yes its a load of crap and I have boycotted Air Asia for their dirty tactics in making all MH passengers pay full Y fares for domestic routes.

MH has appealed against that directive and the restriction was lifted last month but I have yet to see them offer "L " fares so far (apart from the group of 3 fares)

I'll be staying in Penang in November and want to take a day trip or overnight trip to Langkawi. What's the best option for getting there and back? I believe there used to be a hovercraft, but was told that this service was discontinued. Anyone have any updated info? Thanks.

I'll be staying in Penang in November and want to take a day trip or overnight trip to Langkawi. What's the best option for getting there and back? I believe there used to be a hovercraft, but was told that this service was discontinued. Anyone have any updated info? Thanks.

MH used to fly PEN-LGK-PEN with one flight each day but it was recently discontinued.

The only "direct" transfer option between the two islands is the ferry service which is not very comfortable and the journey can sometimes take up to 4 hrs. I wouldnt suggest doing a day trip with the ferry service.

Thanks to everyone again for the info.

Here are my thoughts:
Fly to SIN (overnight there)
bus to Malacca (1-2 days)
bus to KL (1-2 days)
fly to Langkawi (4-5 days)
fly back to SIN (overnight)
head home


We may alter the days a bit, but this seems to be relatively straightforward from the transportation side of things.

We arrive late (11pm) to SIN that night, so do you have any suggestions for a hotel near the bus station (for Malacca)? Prefer a Sheraton, Hilton, or Conrad...but not if they are more than a 10 minute cab ride.

Thanks to everyone again for the info.

Here are my thoughts:
Fly to SIN (overnight there)
bus to Malacca (1-2 days)
bus to KL (1-2 days)
fly to Langkawi (4-5 days)
fly back to SIN (overnight)
head home


We may alter the days a bit, but this seems to be relatively straightforward from the transportation side of things.

We arrive late (11pm) to SIN that night, so do you have any suggestions for a hotel near the bus station (for Malacca)? Prefer a Sheraton, Hilton, or Conrad...but not if they are more than a 10 minute cab ride.

Out of the three hotels the Conrad is the closest to Lavender Bus Terminal (though the Sheraton isn't too badly placed transport wise to get to Lavender either - the Hilton is the furthest, but given the size of SIN, still not that far). Of the chain hotels, the InterContinental's probably the closest, but it's only five minutes difference or so. Some of the Malacca buses also leave from Golden Mile complex, depending on the operator (but both Golden Mile and Lavender Bus Terminal are only a few minutes apart).

For Malacca, I can be pretty confident that one night will be enough for you there, the sights worth seeing are in a reasonably compact area - easy enough to do in a few hours, and then enjoy the dining delights around town too.

Sounds like a good proposed schedule to me.

As has been mentioned, stay wherever you want in Singapore and just take a cab to the relevant bus terminal the next morning. Cabs are relatively cheap and easy enough to find for most of the day (save when it's raining or during the rush hour).

Coach is probably a good answer. We took the train for some reason, but never again.

We had a "luxury cabin" which meant that there was a tiny toilet in a tiny, dirty and very very noisy cabin. Impossible to sleep. The fare included a supper, fried nudels or fried rice.

Next time I'll take the F class flight, just to balance things out. And I want to try the SQ F lounge... :D