Iwannatravelnow

People,

I would appreciate if you could share your experiences regarding different means of transportation to get from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. I was considering a train trip but have recently learned that the it may take from 7 to 10 hours. Is this correct? What is you advice?

I didn't want to spend a whole day on the trip, but would like find an alternative that would allow me to enjoy the views in East Malaysia (which means I would like to avoid flying if possible).

Thanks.

IWTN

BillT

fly from Sing. to KL. Thats what we did.

JamesA

Well, you say you want to enjoy the views so 7-10 hrs by train seems about right! You can also go cheap by bus but the train is more enjoyable, or a 50 minute flight, those are the options.

rhkkmk

flying is by far the easiest...flights from singapore, like everything else in sing., are quite expensive....you can save quite a bit by going over the bridge to malaysia, to JH (Jahore--spelling??)...there is a bus from the novotel hotel ($5. us) directly to the airport, with a short stop for customs on the middle of the bridge..i saved about 50% on the fare with malay air....they also have some package or coupon plans for flights within malaysia if you are going elsewhere...they have a us office in CA....

MichaelHD

Flying is ok, but as you mention you don't see anything. It is also not particularly convenient by the time you get to the airport, fly, and then get a train to the city at the other end. I tend to split between flying and taking the bus. There are a few bus companies that have good coaches - NICE (plusliner.com) and Transnacional are two. They only seat 3 across, and so you have loads of space, they serve food & you can normally watch a VCD as well. NICE2 is probably the best one which has seats upstairs & a small lounge downstairs where you can read a mag or just relax. They take 4.5 - 5 hours which includes a 20 minutes stop halfway. (Where they do great teh tarik!) It's about US$55 return. It goes from the Copthorne Orchid hotel in Singapore to the old train station which is pretty central in KL.
Air Asia will be offering great fares from Johor Bahru shortly, but you have to get a bus over the border, then fly & then still a train at the KL end from the airport (which is about 30 mins)

Iwannatravelnow

Rhkkmk and MichaelHD,

Excellent tips, thank you very much. I'm considering both options - going to Jahore an then flying or taking a NICE2 bus -, although I'm currently bound to choose the latter. The only caveat is that Plusliner.com asks me to make a deposit at a local bank if I want to purchase tickets online, but I believe I can get a seat once I'm there (4 days in advance).

IWTN

JamesA

Bank deposit for a bus fare! Forget it, you can easily get a ticket in Singapore. grab the local papers and there are so many adds for the buses, almost every hotel has Yellow Pages, just look under Bus or Travel and call them, remember everyone speaks English so SO easy!

Cicerone

I think the bus and the train both take about the same time. I would take the train over the bus as you are going to be more comfortable. In my experience, many buses in Malaysia run video movies in Malay at a very loud volume for the entire trip. Drivers are also a little bit on the crazy side. . .

You can see regular train schedules at http://www.ktmb.com.my/. There is an express train that runs every day, it takes 7 hours. It departs S'pore at 9:15 am and arrives KL at 4 pm. There is also a train which departs S'pore at 12:30 and arrives KL at 7:30 pm. (On the main page, click on Intercity trains. When searching, you want "Sentral Kuala Lumpur" as your end station.) Air conditioned first class costs 68 Ringgit (about US$18 ) Air conditioned second class costs 34 Ringgit (about US$9).

If budget is not a consideration, I would take the train, specifically the Easter & Orient Express. Pretend you are a colonial administrator or the owner of a rubber plantation as you pass through the rolling green hills . . .take a look at orientexpress.com. I think you have to go to Butterworth which is a hill station north of KL. The train stops in KL, but I am not sure you can get off. The fare to Butterworth is $900 but that is overnight in your own luxury cabin and includes all meals.

harzer

A small correction to Cicerone's message. Butterworth is NOT a 'small hill station' north of KL but the port on the mainland opposite Penang Island, i.e. another six hours further on.

The trains he is referring to go right through to Bangkok, and most certainly let you off at KL's old station in town, from where most hotels are a 20 minute taxi ride away.

Harzer

JamesA

Air Asia: I was checking on a Langkawi flight so though I would check out the Johor Bharu-KL flights, did a test booking for November and it came up at Rm19.99 one way plus taxes came out at Rm36.00, that's about USD 9.50 one way including taxes etc etc, and yes, it was ready to issue at that fare no problem, or a return including all taxes for under US$20!

Only weird thing about booking with Air Asia is that they only accept Malay/Sin/Brunei Visa Cards, the only International issued card they accept is Mastercard!

In SIN papers they have been saying that the new flights really offer the best deal between SIN & KL.

JamesA

PS if you fly on Air Asia they have a Special Bus between KL and KL Airport just Rm10 one way (very roughly $2.50)