Kuala Lumpur is not quite the transportation hub that Singapore or even Bangkok is, but it is easy to get to, especially from neighboring countries. Naturally, you can fly to the city, but there are a couple of other interesting options worth considering.
Planes to Kuala Lumpur
Air travel is the natural choice to get to Kuala Lumpur. The national carrier, Malaysia Air System, flies between the capital and most major cities around the world. Most regional carriers also fly into KL.
- Malaysia Air System
- The national carrier flies internationally between Kuala Lumpur and major cities around the world. MAS is also the largest domestic air carrier.
- Air Asia
- Air Asia is one of Asia's largest low cost carriers. They are your choice to get to several other tourist spots, such as Langkawi, Penang and Kota Kinabalu; or to neighboring countries such as Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia.
Planes arrive at Kuala Lumpur's relatively new international airport, KLIA. The airport is quite some distance from the city center. The main options to get to and from the airport is by either a one and a half hour, 95 Ringgit (19.33 USD) taxi ride; or an express train linking KLIA to the city center's consolidated transportation hub, Sentral. The train runs non-stop between the airport and Sentral, taking less than 35 minutes to make the trip. The one-way cost is 35 Ringgit (7.12 USD).
Trains
Kuala Lumpur is easily reached by train from either Singapore or Thailand. Malaysian Rail has daily trains traveling up and down the entire length of the peninsula. The city's Sentral terminal also services as the city's main train station.
Buses
Traveling by bus is not something that readily comes to mind, but there are some excellent services between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur or within Malaysia that offer a level of comfort that can even out-do first class air flight. Check out Plus Liner, Konsortium, or Transnasional for more information. The Easibook web site provides a single place to book almost any bus ticket for travel between Singapore and Malaysia, or within Malaysia.