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MALAYSIA and SINGAPORE |
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THAILAND TO MALAYSIA |
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How to travel from Bangkok Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore
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Learn from mymalaysiabooks how to travel by air, road, rail or sea;
airports and airlines; major Thai - Malaysia checkpoints to cross;
visa and customs regulations.
If you are in Bangkok or any part of Thailand, its easy to travel into
peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) by air, rail, road or sea.
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From South Thailand or Bangkok
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Bangkok is linked to Malaysia by roads, rails and air.
From Bangkok or south Thailand, travel by road if you want to go to the
Malaysian border states of Kedah, Perlis or Kelantan. Border
crossing and checkpoint by way of Perlis is through Wang Kelian and
Padang Besar,
Kedah through Bukit Kayu Hitam and
Kelantan through Rantau
Panjang. You can also cross by ferry from Satun to
Langkawi
(Kedah). There are also other minor border crossings. Visitors should
use the major crossings, as minor crossing are usually for locals
and you may have difficulty getting transportation to continue your
journey.
The border crossings at Padang Besar and Bukit Kayu Hitam are open
from 6am to 12midnight (Malaysia Time) [12 midnight is 11pm Thai
time]. Other crossing closes at 7pm or 10 pm.
Thai-Malaysia
border crossings
and checkpoints
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Malaysia |
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Thailand |
mode of transport |
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Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah |
* |
Sadao |
road |
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Langkawi
island, Kedah |
* |
Satun
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ferry |
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Padang Besar, Perlis |
* |
Sadao
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road and rail |
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Wang Kelian, Perlis |
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Sadao
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road |
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Rantau Panjang, Kelantan |
* |
Sungai Kolok
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road |
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Pengkalan Kubor, Kelantan |
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Tak Bai
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ferry |
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Pengkalan Hulu, Perak |
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Betong
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road |
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Note: * denotes major checkpoint or crossing,
most convenient for travellers through the Thai - Malaysia border. Before you cross the border be sure to check out the customs and
immigration requirements in both countries.
 Malaysia and Singapore immigration and checkpoint
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By Air |
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If you are in Bangkok or north Thailand, a quick way to
reach Malaysia or Singapore is to fly.
To Malaysia: Fly into Malaysia if you want to
go to Kuala Lumpur or to the many international airports in peninsular
Malaysia (West Malaysia) or to East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). You can
fly from Bangkok daily and directly to KLIA (near
Kuala Lumpur) or
Penang
Island (northern part of W. Malaysia). There are also flights from
Bangkok to Johor Bahru (Johor
is just a causeway from Singapore)
The best options to fly into Malaysia are by Malaysia
Airlines, AirAsia, Thai International and Singapore Airlines - these
airlines have more flights. The northern
airports are at Alor Setar, Langkawi Island (Kedah) and Penang (Pulau
Pinang).
Firefly operates daily from Penang to Phuket and
Koh Samui.
Malaysia’s
airline companies:
Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Berjaya Air, Firefly
To Singapore: There are daily flights by Malaysia
Airlines (vis KLIA), Singapore airlines, Thai Airways, Air Asia and other
airlines that takes you from Bangkok (and other airlines) into Singapore.
Check details of airlines and airports at our
Malaysia Air transport
Asia Airports and Airlines
transport
Malaysia to
Singapore
Hotels in
Asia - Thailand and Malaysia |
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By Road |
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Roads from Thailand link to Malaysian roads and is the
fastest way to enter Malaysia.
The most economical and
convenient means of transport is by bus or coach. Buses, taxis and private vehicles crosses the border daily
at Padang Besar (Perlis), Bukit Kayu Hitam (Kedah) and Rantau Panjang
(Kelantan). There are other minor crossing used mainly by locals on
foot or private vehicles or boat - Pengkalan Hulu (Perak) and Pengkalan Kubor (Kelantan).
By Bus
There are daily express buses from Hat Yai (Haadyai), Thailand that goes to Alor
Star or other major towns in Malaysia.
If you are in the border towns
of Padang Besar or Bukit Kayu Hitam (Malaysia), take a taxi or bus to
Kangar (capital of Perlis) or to Alor Setar, Kedah where you have many
travel options to continue your journey. Most express coaches or buses in Kedah
or Perlis leave from Kangar (Perlis), Alor Setar
(Kedah) or Sungai Petani (Kedah). Travel to these major towns to take a coach as there are more bus services available
daily from these towns. Express buses takes you to Sungai Petani,
Penang, Butterworth, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Seramban, Malacca, Johor
Bahru and Singapore. You can get connecting buses to the east coast of
the peninsular from major towns, especially from Kuala Lumpur - to
Kota Bahru, Kuantan, Kuala Terengganu. |
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in Thailand |
Driving If you are driving
from
South Thailand, to go onto Malaysian road, travel to Sadao (Thailand).
From there you can go to Padang Besar (state of Perlis) or Bukit Kayu Hitam
(Kedah). To go straight into the Malaysian expressway (North-south expressway),
travel to Bukit Kayu Hitam - this toll expressway cuts the length of
peninsular Malaysia and is the most convenient and fastest route. You
can travel this route up to Johor and then into Singapore. Before you drive to Malaysia, be prepared
with an International, Malaysia, Thai or Singapore driver's licence.
Vehicles must have insurance, proof of ownership, etc - check with the
Malaysian and Thai Customs. Driving into Malaysia is easy but be
aware that foreign vehicles will find it difficult to go into
Singapore (Check details of
how to
drive to Singapore)
Taxi Taxi services (much more
expensive than buses) are
usually available from the border towns at Padang Besar (Perlis),
Bukit Kayu Hitam (Kedah) or Rantau Panjang (Kelantan) that takes you to the major
towns, such as Kangar (Perlis), Alor Setar (Kedah) and Kota Bahru (Kelantan), where you have more transport
options. |
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By Sea |
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Travel by ferry from Satun (Thailand) to Langkawi Island
(Kedah). There are three ferry services that takes you daily to
Pulau
Langkawi. If you travel here... be sure to spend a few nights
on Langkawi it is a great island destination. From Pulau Langkawi you can cross by ferry to mainland
Kedah, where loads link you all parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
Ferry terminals for travel between Thailand and Malaysia:
1) Tak Bai, south Thailand to Pengkalan Kubur
in Kelantan, East coast of West Malaysia.
2) Satun, Thailand to
Langkawi island (Kedah) - the best option as there are easier
access to other parts of West Malaysia and more transport options. |
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By Rail |
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 To see the countryside of Thailand and Malaysia, travel
slowly by train from Bangkok, Haadyai (Hat Yai), Thailand into Malaysia.
Thailand:
The International Express (or Ekspress Antarabangsa), operated by the Thailand Railways is a daily express
train that runs (once a day only) between Butterworth (Pulau Pinang,
Malaysia)
and Bangkok, through the state of Kedah. This train offers only
first and second class tickets, has a restaurant car, first class
sleeping car and additional second class sleepers.
This is the only direct train service into Thailand and BE WARN! you cannot buy
a return ticket from Malaysia (you can only buy a ticket to Thailand)
In Malaysia: The Malayan Railways or KTMB line
that cuts the length of West Malaysia, starts at Hat Yai (Express
Langkawi) and Padang Besar on the Malaysia-Thai border ends in Johor and goes into
Singapore. However there are only two train services each day that takes you
from the northern states into the rest of West Malaysia.
If you travel
by Thai trains from Hat Yai (Express Langkawi) and ends in Padang Besar, you can
catch the train to Kuala Lumpur (KL). However there are few train
services (only one train to KL which
leaves in the afternoon). It may be easier to travel by bus or taxi to your
destinations in Malaysia. The most convenient and cheapest option is to travel to
the nearby major town such as Kangar (state of Perlis) or Alor Setar
(Kedah) to catch express buses to other parts of Malaysia.
Other services: The luxurious Oriental Express also takes you from Bangkok into
Penang, Malaysia.
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