Getting There and Around in Malacca
Part of the Malacca travel guide — see every topic in All Malacca Guides.
Malacca is one of the easiest places in Malaysia to reach and to move around. Express buses run constantly from Kuala Lumpur in about two hours, the historic core is small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes, and Grab covers everything beyond it cheaply. There is no railway station in the city and the small airport handles limited traffic, so almost everyone arrives by road — which is exactly how it has always worked.
Getting there
Express buses from Kuala Lumpur's Terminal Bersepadu Selatan to Melaka Sentral run every twenty to thirty minutes, take about two hours and cost 12–20 ringgit. From Singapore's Queen Street or Golden Mile terminals it is three and a half to four and a half hours depending on the border, at 45–80 ringgit; book ahead at weekends. From Johor Bahru, three hours. Melaka Sentral is about five kilometres from the historic core — take the town bus 17 or a Grab for 12–20 ringgit. There is no useful train service.
Getting around
The heritage core — the Dutch square, St Paul's Hill, Chinatown, Jonker Street and the riverside — is entirely walkable and takes twenty minutes end to end. Grab covers everything else for 8–20 ringgit: the Portuguese Settlement, the Straits Mosque, Melaka Sentral, the malls. Town bus 17 runs from Melaka Sentral through the centre to the Portuguese Settlement for a couple of ringgit. Bicycles rent for 10–20 ringgit a day and the flat riverside paths suit them. Driving in the core at weekends is not worth attempting.
The trishaws
Malacca's trishaws are unlike anywhere else: pedal rickshaws smothered in artificial flowers, plastic figurines and LED lights, fitted with sound systems playing pop music at genuinely startling volume. They queue at the Dutch square and along Jonker Street and charge around 40–60 ringgit for a half-hour circuit — agree the price and the route first. It is unabashedly kitsch, entirely local, and photographing them is one of the things people come to Malacca for. Evening rides with the lights on are the full experience.
Practicalities
Weekends transform the city: Malaysian and Singaporean visitors arrive in numbers from Friday afternoon, Jonker Street's night market runs, hotels fill and rates rise. Midweek is a completely different and much calmer place. Parking in the core on a Saturday evening is effectively impossible. The city is flat and hot, so walking is best before ten and after four. And if you are heading on to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, book the bus in advance on a Sunday afternoon, when everyone leaves at once.
Getting There and Around at a glance
| From Kuala Lumpur | ~2 hours by express bus, RM 12–20 |
|---|---|
| From Singapore | 3.5–4.5 hours, RM 45–80 |
| Bus terminal | Melaka Sentral, ~5 km from the core |
| The core | Walkable end to end in 20 minutes |
| Grab | RM 8–20 for anything beyond walking distance |
| Trishaw | RM 40–60 for a half-hour — agree the price first |