Driving into Malaysia is a rite of passage for every Singaporean or, honestly, anyone who's lived in Singapore for a period of time. Malaysia, and more specifically Johor Bahru, has been a popular escapade for many of us! Long weekend ahead? Drive into Malaysia. Leave for a day? Drive into Malaysia. Holiday period? Just drive to Malaysia. We'll find any excuse just to leave the country! Many workers are also crossing the borders to work in each other's countries too!
We'll break down everything you need to know about driving to and from Malaysia through Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoint!
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Tuas Checkpoint
Are you heading further up than the nearby city area of Johor Bahru? Well, Tuas Checkpoint will be the place for you. This highway usually leads straight onto other major cities further down the road, such as Melaka and Kuala Lumpur, as well as famous towns like Port Dickson. It's a 30-minute drive to Johor if you're planning to go there, so we recommend you go via Woodlands if that's your goal!
The case for Tuas Checkpoint is the (usually) lesser traffic that goes through here, seeing how fewer public transport passes through here AND activities are further away from the checkpoint. The easiest way to get around here is by car!
Driving there
With relatively fewer cars (usually), you'll find it easier to drive into Malaysia from Tuas. Right now there's a new proposal for the ease of traffic flow by the ICA whereby large MPVs are now directed to bus lanes when entering Malaysia.
Why this move? Well, it's mainly to ease congestion, which these checkpoints are infamous for. The cars that are affected are models such as:
- Toyota Vellfire
- Toyota Alphard
- Hyundai Starex
- Hyundai Staria
- Hyundai Maxus
Those in larger MPVs will need to leave the car and bring their luggage with them to the bus hall for immigration clearance. However, the elderly, pregnant women, young children and those with mobility issues do not need not leave their car. Drivers will bring the car through the usual immigration lane and pick them up after immigration.
MPVs were observed to carry up to 16 people, causing the line to be held up! It's equivalent to a minibus, which is usually directed to the bus lane. Don't fret, however, as smaller MPVs can still continue to clear immigration through the car lanes!
For motorcycles: The lanes here are wider than Woodlands Checkpoint so it'll be easier and less of a hassle to get through.
There's a great seafood place near Gelang Patah (and other places too in JB) that you should check out!
By Bus
There are many bus options you can choose from if you plan to travel there by bus! You can grab either the Causeway Link buses (CW) or Transtar (TS).
Causeway Link buses can be boarded from either Jurong East MRT (CW3, CW4, CW4S), Tuas Link MRT (CW7) or Boon Lay MRT (CW6), depending on where you're planning to go. The fares hover around $4 to $5 too!
CW3: Jurong East to Perling Mall
CW4: Jurong East to Pontian Bus Terminal
CW4S: Jurong East to Sutera Mall
CW6: Boon Lay to Giant Nusa Bestari
CW7: Tuas to CIQ 2nd Link
Transtar buses would only be TS6 which you can board from The Star Vista or Tuas Link MRT.
TS6: The Star Vista to Gelang Patah Bus Terminal
Note: If you took CW3, CW4, CW4S or CW6 to Tuas Checkpoint/CIQ Second Link, you can board any of those 4 Causeway Link buses since the tickets to all of their destinations are interchangeable.
Woodlands Checkpoint
Woodlands Checkpoint is the more popular checkpoint out of the two due to its proximity to Johor Bahru! Just cross the bridge, and you have access to a ton of restaurants, hotels and, of course, lots of halal food that you can grab!
Heading to Johor for a day? Check out this 1-day itinerary perfect for family outings!
Driving there
Driving through Woodlands Checkpoint requires planning, such as the time to reach the checkpoints before the massive jam starts. There are a variety of tools that people have been using to monitor traffic. There are websites dedicated to the traffic cam footage at all four checkpoints or Telegram bots. The MPV change does not affect Woodlands Checkpoint, so if you're going through it, there is no need to go to the bus terminal.
By Bus
Woodlands Checkpoint has more choices for those of us taking public transport to Johor Bahru! You can choose from the public SBS buses, Causeway Link buses or the Grab SG-JB buses.
SBS buses (Woodlands Bus Terminal to Woodlands Train Checkpoint besides one): 950 (direct to Woodlands Checkpoint), 903, 911, 912, 912B, 856, 856A
Causeway Link buses: CW1 (Kranji MRT to Larkin Bus Terminal), CW2 (Queen Street to Larkin Bus Terminal) and CW5 (Newton Circus - near LASALLE to JB CIQ).
Grab SG-JB buses: Did you know you can book tickets to JB through Grab? Yep. Use the Grab app in "Travel" -> "Bus and Ferry" to get your tickets. There are several pick-up points, and the buses even go to destinations such as KSL Mall, Larkin Bus Terminal and many more. The buses are Transtar buses so look out for those while waiting at the pick-up points!
By Train
The train is another popular way to get into or back from Malaysia. KTM Shuttle Tebrau is a train service that ferries you from the Woodlands Train Checkpoint to JB Sentral! The immigration here is separated from bus and coach, so you need not worry about that crowd. The best thing about the train is the direct connections to City Square malls and how close it is to the other malls around and hotels too!
To book your train tickets, you can check out their website here. Tickets are available one month prior, and the weekends are always snapped up really fast. Use those concert ticket-buying skills for the train!
Shop till you drop at these shopping malls that we've collated here! OR stay at these hotels that are so close to the checkpoint!
There you have it! Have a blast in Malaysia and if there's anything we missed, feel free to drop us a DM on our socials!