Kuala Lumpur to Singapore (KL to SG)
How to Travel by Bus, Train, Flight
The best way to get from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore at the moment is to either fly or take a bus, as currently the railway line to Johor Bahru (just over the border in Malaysia) is being upgraded to accommodate the new, fast Electric Train Services (ETS).
This upgrading work is due to be completed by 2022.
What is the distance from KL to Singapore?
About 350 Kilometres overland by road, 300 km by air.
Bus from KL to Singapore
(Bas dari KL ke Singapura)
If you are on a budget and are looking for the best way to get from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore cheaply and fairly quickly, taking a direct bus is a good option.
Buses in Malaysia are very comfortable, usually with rows of three, large, reclining seats.
The duration of the journey by bus from KL to Singapore is usually between 5 and 6 hours (with a toilet / refreshment break along the way) and often depends on the amount of time it takes to cross over the Causeway into Singapore, as the border crossing is often very congested during the peak hours, with many thousands of commuters crossing into Singapore daily for work.
The most frequent and cheapest coaches from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore leave the huge Terminal Bersepadu Selatan Bus Station (TBS for short) which is the main Kuala Lumpur bus terminal for buses heading south.
A cheap bus ticket to Singapore from TBS starts at around 50 MYR and can go up to over 100 MYR for the most luxurious VIP coaches.
TBS bus station is located outside the city centre and can be easily reached by train.
The advantage of departing from here is you miss most of the traffic in the city centre, which can be horrendous during the peak commuting hours in the mornings and late afternoon / evenings.
How to get to TBS Bus Station from KL City Centre:
The Bandar Tasik Selatan Railway Station is directly linked to TBS Bus Station by a pedestrian bridge.
Depending on where you are staying in KL, you have a choice of taking the Light Rail Transit (LRT) to BTS, a cheap KTM Komuter Train from KL Sentral, or the more expensive, but non-stop KL Transit Train from KL Sentral.
Please see our Bandar Tasik Selatan KTM Trains page here for more information >
Once you arrive at TBS, if you have not already purchased a ticket, head for the ticketing area where you will find many bus companies ticketing booths.
Bus companies with departures from TBS to Singapore include:
- Transtar Travel
- Qistna Express
- Season Express
- Sri Maju Group
Other options for coaches departing from KL city centre to Singapore are:
- Berjaya Times Square / Jalan Imbi (Five Stars Express / Starmart Express / Grassland Super VIP Express / KKKL Express / UN Express / WTS Travel).
- Terminal KTM Old Railway Station or KL Sentral Bus Terminal (Nice / KKKL Express).
- One Utama Bus Terminal (Five Stars Express).
- or from KLIA or KLIA2.
There is no official bus station in Singapore and arrival points vary depending on the bus company and route.
Here are a few of the most popular arrival points in Singapore:
- Beach Road
- Boon Lay Shopping Centre
- Bugis MRT
- Golden Mile Complex
- Little India
- Tampines
- Woodland
It is important you know where your bus is heading to as it may be a long way away from where you plan to stay in the city.
So, our advice - it is always best to do some advance planning, decide the area where you want to stay in Singapore first, then find a bus company that arrives close to where you want to stay, or at least close to an MRT station so you can easily travel to you final destination.
For a good way to find bus / MRT routes within Singapore, please visit smrt.com.sg.
They have a very handy "Journey Planner" where you put in your point of origin and destination and it works out the best routes to take by bus and/or MRT Train.
Flights from KUL to SIN
(Penerbangan dari KUL ke SIN)
The route between KUL Kuala Lumper International Airport (KLIA) and Singapore Changi Airport SIN, only takes about an hour (flying time) and is one of the busiest international air routes in the world, with over 80 flights a day and 4 million passengers a year travelling in either direction.
The route from KUL to SIN is operated by a variety of cheap budget airlines including:
- Air Asia
- Jetstar
- Malindo Air
- Scoot
You can also fly on either countries flagship airline:
- Malaysian Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
Another option is to fly from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah, Selangor (Subang Airport or Subang Skypark) SZB to SIN with Firefly, another budget airline in this area of SE Asia.
With so many flights and carriers on this route, you can easily find some really cheap deals, making flying to Singapore a good option to consider.
To check for deals on flights between KUL and SIN click here >
The only drawback to travelling by air from KL to Singapore is the time it takes to reach the airport in Kuala Lumpur.
The quickest, but most expensive way is to take the KLIA Ekspres Train from KL Sentral.
This high-speed rail link to KLIA / KLIA2 takes just 28 minutes or 33 minutes to get to either terminal and costs 55 MYR.
A much cheaper way to get to the airport in KL is to take one of the buses from underneath KL Sentral Station.
These only cost 10 MYR, but can take quite a long time (at least an hour in good traffic).
Singapore Airport is located in the eastern corner of the island at Changi and is around 20 km to the city centre (depending on where you are going to) and should take between 20 and 30 minutes.
Travel options include taking a taxi, airport shuttle bus or the MRT train (see the link to the SMRT website at the bottom of the bus section above).
Train from KL to Singapore
(Keretapi dari KL ke Singapura)
As already mentioned, currently the train is not the best way to travel from KL to Singapore as the fast electrified tracks have yet to be completed between Gemas and Johor Bahru's JB Sentral Railway Station.
This means you have to take three separate trains to get to Singapore's Woodlands Train Checkpoint / Station, with the quickest journey taking around 10 hours to get to the city centre.
Currently, you have to take:
- An ETS fast train from KL Sentral to Gemas.
- A slower Shuttle train from Gemas to JB Sentral.
- A short 5 minute Shuttle train over the Causeway from JB to Woodlands.
From Woodlands (which is located in the very north of Singapore), you then have to take a taxi or a combination of bus and MRT to get to the city centre
Train Timetables:
Once the ETS tracks come online (due to be completed in 2020), the duration of the journey by train from KL Sentral to Singapore will be cut considerably.
Until then, you are much better off flying or taking a bus.
However, if the cost is a factor and you are travelling on a very tight budget, there is a way you can travel by train that is the cheapest way to travel between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
This route involves taking a cheap KTM Komuter services to the end of the line at Tampin, then connecting to the Shuttle service to JB Sentral.
Please click here for more information, ticket prices / fares and train timetables to Singapore >
There are future plans to build a new Bullet Train Line between KL and SG which will then become the fastest way to travel between the two cities, with high-speed trains taking just 90 minutes to make the trip. This HSR route between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is still in the planning stage so we will have to wait and see if / when it gets built.
Suggested Routes / Places to Stop when Travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
If you are travelling overland in SE Asia, the most popular way to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore is to make a stop in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Melaka (Malacca).
The easiest way to get from KL to Melaka Town is by direct bus.
You can also travel by train, but it is a much longer journey.
If you do want to take a train, you will have to go from KL Sentral to Tampin by either ETS or Komuter services.
From Tampin you will then have to take a taxi or local bus to Melaka.
For more information about travel from KL to Melaka click here >
The old town of Melaka is well worth spending a few days, then when you have seen all the sights, you can continue your journey on to Singapore by bus or train, with a stop in Johor Bahru if you like.
Related pages:
How to travel from Singapore to KL by train >
