By ship
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.
Brunei
ferries daily between the Muara Ferry Terminal in Brunei and Labuan island and Lawas in Sarawak. Speedboats, mostly in the morning, also run between Bandar Seri Begawan jetty and Limbang, Sarawak.Indonesia
the main jumping-off points from Indonesia are the Riau Islands of Batam, Bintan and Karimun; Dumai, Medan and Pekanbaru on the Sumatra mainland as well as Nunukan in East Kalimantan. Ferries link Batam with Batu Pahat and Johor Bahru;Bintan with Johor Bahru; Karimun with Batu Pahat and Kukup in Johor; Dumai with Malacca, Muar in Johor, Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan and Port Klang, the port for Kuala Lumpur; Pekanbaru with Malacca. Daily ferries also link Nunukan with Tawau in Sabah. There are also minor crossings like between Bengkalis in Riau and Batu Pahat; Sumatra and Malacca and Muar in Johor; and Tanjung Balai Asahan in North Sumatra with Port Klang, the port for Kuala Lumpur.Philippines
ferries run between the Zamboanga Peninsula and Sandakan, Sabah.Singapore
daily passenger boats run between Changi Point and Pengerang, between Tanah Merah and Sebana Cover Resort, as well as between Changi and Tanjung Belungkor, all in Johor. See the Singapore Get in section for details.Thailand
four ferries daily reduced to three during Ramadan between Tammalang at Satun and Kuah on Langkawi, Malaysia. Vehicle ferries operate between Ban Taba near Tak Bai in Narathiwat province and Pengkalan Kubur in Kelantan, Malaysia, while passenger boats run between Ban Buketa in Narathiwat province and Bukit Bunga in Kelantan.
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.
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 suburbs of Petaling Jaya and Subang 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 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 cover an ever-expanding set of destinations including Australia, China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam.
AirAsia (http://www.airasia.com), â +60 3 8775 4000 hotline within Malaysia: 1-300-88-9933
Malaysia Airlines (http://www.malaysiaairlin...), â +60 3 7846 3000 hotline within Malaysia: 1-300-88-3000
Most international flights land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport KLIA IATA: KUL | ICAO: WMKK, 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 IATA: SZB | ICAO: WMSA in Subang near Kuala Lumpur handles chartered and turboprop aircraft for regional operators Firefly (http://www.fireflyz.com.my/) and Berjaya (http://www.berjaya-air.co...) , â +60 3 7846 8228 ticketing only;, â +60 3 2145 2828. See the Kuala Lumpur Get in section for detailed airport information.
Other airports which have significant numbers of flights to regional destinations are Kota Kinabalu Sabah, Kuching Sarawak, Penang, Langkawi and Johor Bahru. Many major Malaysian cities have service to Singapore via AirAsia or Firefly. Berjaya Air also operates routes from Singapore to the popular dive spots of Tioman and Redang.
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.
Brunei
the main crossings are at Sungai Tujoh on the Miri, Sarawak, to Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei road, and the Kuala Lurah-Tedungan checkpoint which is used for traffic travelling between Bandar Seri Begawan and Limbang in Sarawak. You can also access the Temburong district of Brunei by road from Limbang via the Pandaruan Puni on the Brunei side checkpoint and Lawas via Trusan Labu on the Brunei side.Indonesia
the main crossing is at the Tebedu-Entikong checkpoint on the main Kuching-Pontianak road. Various other minor border crossings used by locals are not necessarily open to foreigners.Singapore
the two crossings are the Causeway which links Johor Bahru with Woodlands in Singapore, and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link which links Tanjung Kupang in Johor with Tuas in Singapore. See Johor Bahru Get in section and Singapore Get in section for more details.Thailand
international checkpoints with the Thai towns in brackets include Wang Kelian Satun and Padang Besar Padang Besar in Perlis, Bukit Kayu Hitam Sadao in Kedah, Pengkalan Hulu Betong in Perak, and Rantau Panjang Sungai Kolok in Kelantan.