Crossing the border between Singapore and Malaysia brings you to the modern city of Johor Bahru, or simply Johor: The “capital” of southern Malaysia, from where you can travel to many destinations across the Malay Peninsula by plane, bus or train. Johor Bahru is also a hub for low-cost international flights, but before anything else, it is a popular day trip destination for travellers visiting Singapore.

It is, therefore, quite important to know what are the best ways of travelling between these two cities, so instead of wasting time on the road, or at the checkpoint, you can spend that time shopping or sightseeing.

One of the easiest ways to get to Woodlands Checkpoint, on the Singapore side of Johor-Singapore causeway, or to Johor Bahru itself, is to take a public bus.

SBS bus No. 170 can be boarded at either Queen Street Terminus, or Rochor Road (both are in the City centre), but you can also travel by the MRT subway to Kranji Station and take the bus from there (The bus stop is opposite the station and the racecourse).

The first bus leaves Queen Street at 05:20 am and the last one departs slightly after midnight.

The bright yellow buses of Causeway Link run along the same route, and they might even prove to be more convenient than those of SBS: CW1 connects MRT-Kranji with Johor Bahru, while CW2 departs from Queen Street Terminus and travels all the way to Larkin Bus Terminal in Johor Bahru.

Causeway Link’s third route, CW3, travels via the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link and is of little interest to tourists.

The Singapore-Johor Express (SJE) also departs from Queen Street Terminus and travels all the way to Larkin Bus Terminal in Johor Bahru.

The bus first stops at the checkpoint on the Singaporean side of the border. After you are through with the immigration, you can just hop on the next bus that comes along and cross the causeway to the checkpoint on the Malaysian side of the border (do not throw your ticket). After clearing the Malaysian checkpoint, you can catch the bus again (your ticket is still valid) to the Johor Bus Terminus, or you can walk to town.

Those of you who wish to travel directly from Singapore’s Changi Airport to Johor Bahru, can use Transtar Travel’s shuttle No. TS-1, which drives passengers all the way to Kotaraya Bus Terminal, in the centre of Johor Bahru.

Have a nice journey.