How to get from Malacca to Singapore

Why visit Singapore?

For a small island city-state, Singapore is a huge tourist hub in Southeast Asia. In 2017, the number of tourists visiting Singapore was actually 3x more than its population!

This is for good reason. Head to downtown Singapore and you’ll find a number of tourist attractions, all connected by efficient and high-quality transportation.

To revisit your childhood, there’s Universal Studios and the resort island of Sentosa. For shopping, head to Orchard Road. For art, visit the Kampong Glam area. For an amazing night and light show, you have to visit Marina Bay Sands.

Things not to bring into Singapore

Only a 4-hour journey away, you might forget that you are crossing a border when travelling from Malacca to Singapore. And the latter can be very strict about the things visitors bring into the country.

Allow me to share with you my own experience when crossing the Malaysia-Singapore border by bus.

“My friend and I had a big bottle of gin when we checked in for customs and immigration. We were taken to a separate room for around 30 minutes before they finally let us leave with the alcohol. All the time we were so scared our bus would leave without us!”

And now, I’m on a mission to make sure our readers don’t have to suffer the same fate!

I found out only after that incident that alcohol is not exactly prohibited when entering Singapore, but if you’re coming from Malaysia, there is a 1-litre limit. They don’t care if you don’t know that rule, exceed that and you’ll have to pay a hefty fine!

To avoid any hassle and the possibility of spending a fortune on fines, make sure none of these are in your luggage when you cross the Malaysia-Singapore border:

• Chewing tobacco and imitation products, including e-cigarettes
• Chewing gum, except those used for medical/dental purposes
• Any object that looks like a weapon (toy guns or cigarette lighters shaped like a gun, etc.)
• Pirated materials (movies, software, etc.)
• Illegal drugs, firecrackers, or any form of unlicensed weapon
• Obscene materials (magazines, videos, etc.)

You can visit Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority website for more info.

PRO TIP: You might think you can get away by hiding any of these in the bus while you bring your luggage to customs, but the bus gets checked too. You might just end up in bigger trouble!

The bus is the only suitable way for travellers to cross the distance of 205 kilometre (127 miles) from Malacca to Singapore. The journey takes around 4 hours, and ticket prices start from 20 SGD ($15.50).

Luxury Coach Service is among the most trusted bus operators for the Malacca to Singapore route. They have several pick-up points in the so-called ‘Historical State’, you just need to choose which one is closest to your hotel.

A ticket costs 20 SGD ($15.50) when you book online beforehand through BusOnlineTicket. Travel time is 4 hours.

Below are the pick-up schedules when travelling from Malacca to Singapore: