Crossing Borders: How to go to Malaysia from Singapore

Malaysia and Singapore are connected by land making it possible for tourist like me to visit both countries in one airplane ride. Many tourists and bloggers did visit Malaysia and Singapore subsequently before so I was encourage to do the same and grabbed the chance to visit two foreign countries!

Since we’re having DIY trip I did as much research as I can and googled options as to how I can go to Malaysia from Singapore and also if there are any visa requirements or such. Anyway if you’re planning a trip to Singapore or to Malaysia, here’s how me and my family made it.

Visa Requirements

If you are a Philippine Passport Holder, Singapore and Malaysia are 2 of the countries that are visa free for Filipinos provided that you’re going to stay for not more than 30 days in each of the countries. No worries even if you’re coming from Singapore going to Malaysia or vice versa, Visa is not needed.

Two options to get to Malaysia from Singapore

• By Bus

Going to Malaysia by bus is actually my second option that I was left with because I made my bookings late.

Where to book?

I literally just googled “Bus ride from Singapore to Malaysia” and that’s how I found out about easybook.com. In easy book you can choose from various bus lines, check the schedule, pick up and drop off points and also the fare that were consolidated together in one website. The fees vary as well depending on your preferences so you can definitely catch a cheap bus ride if you want. I narrowed my options of bus line with Starmart and Transline. From there, I read reviews about the two bus lines but I really can’t choose base on the review because both have their own pros and cons so I just based it on the departure and arrival time as well as the pick up and drop off point. That’s how we end up riding Starmart.  

Booking Experience

There was a problem at first with my booking because my itinerary wasn’t sent, I received an email that I have paid but the details as to where will be the pick up, the drop off, the time and also my reserved seating wasn’t sent. I had to call easybook.com to ask for the details of my booking and when I first called, I don’t think the person on the other line can speak in English so she hung up on me then I called again fortunately this time the operator can communicate in English. I was informed that my booking was made and she’ll send me the itinerary within 24 hours. And true enough the following day I received my itinerary but I was given a different seat as to what I have reserved! I was left with no choice because when I checked the availability of seats it was almost full already and we’ll be seating away from each other so I just left it as is.

Bus Ride Experience

We were seated at the last row and our seat were a elevated from the rest. It was a little uncomfortable because  I can’t reach the floor and I can’t adjust my seat because I’m at the end of the bus. The air condition was good and the driving as well I slept for almost the whole trip.

Immigration

Upon entering Malaysia, you have to pass thru the immigration and yes you’ll be getting off the bus. I remember them checking our passport if its really ours, they’ll stamp it as well with your entry date (and upon exit, your exit date), We also wrote our names in a sheet and signed it. That was it for us but I have read that there were some tourist who were also crossing borders were asked with various questions and some were even asked to stay behind. I’m not really sure as to the reason because they were also freed after.

• By Train

I initially wanted to ride a train from Singapore going to Malaysia because I read a blogpost from — and I find it more comfortable because they have beds but unfortunately it was already late. There’s 8 of us so booking a train that we can all ride together wasn’t easy and worst almost all train ride during the week were full booked. I was making my booking around a month before our trip and it was already fully booked so I you want to ride the train make sure to book months before your trip.

• By Car

My friend’s sister drove from Malaysia to Singapore which I didn’t consider as an option to us because we don’t have any International Driver’s License but I look it up as well so check here for more details.
Additional Information

-Through my research, I found out that you can also reach Thailand by land if you’re coming from Singapore or Malaysia and vice versa!