Malaysia Travel Guide - Getting There

The national airline is Malaysia Airlines (MH) (website: www.malaysiaairlines.com).

From London to Kuala Lumpur is 12 hours 30 minutes; from New York is 20 hours 20 minutes.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) (Sepang) (website: www.klia.com.my) is 55 km (34 miles) south of Kuala Lumpur. To/from the airport: Taxis must be pre-paid in the arrivals area at the airport (journey time - 40 minutes). An express bus service operates to hotels in Kuala Lumpur via the Hentian Duta bus terminal (journey time - 1 hour). Regular feeder buses travel from Hentian Duta to Lot 10 on Jalan Sultan Ismail in the city centre during the day (journey time - 30 minutes). The cheapest way to travel to the city is by combined bus and train. The Stage Bus Service leaves the airport for Nilai KTM Station (journey time - 30 minutes). From Nilai, trains travel to Kuala Lumpur Railway Station (journey time - 1 hour). The KLIA Express and KLIA Transit trains link the airport to Kuala Lumpur (KL Sentral) (journey time - 30 minutes). Facilities: ATMs, bureaux de change, shopping, duty-free, restaurants, postal services, tourist information, hotel reservations, medical service, left luggage, prayer rooms, car hire, executive lounges and business centres.

Kota Kinabalu (BKI) is 6.5km (4 miles) from the city and is the international gateway to Sabah (the northeastern part of Borneo Island).

Kuching (KCH) is 11km (7 miles) from the city and is the main gateway to Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

MYR45; may be included in the air fare.

Main ports: Georgetown (Penang) (website: www.penangport.com.my), Port Kelang (website: www.pka.gov.my), Northport (website: www.northport.com.my) and Westport (for Kuala Lumpur) (website: www.westports.com.my) and, in East Malaysia (for Sabah and Sarawak), Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching (website: www.kpa.gov.my), Lahad Datu, Rejang, Sandakan and Tawau.

Ferry Link (tel: (07) 252 7408) operates a ferry between Tanjung Belungkor and Changi Point in Singapore.

Various cruise ships visit Malaysia's ports.

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTM Berhad) (tel: (03) 2267 1200; website: www.ktmb.com.my) runs Malaysia's train services. Direct services operate to and from Singapore via Kuala Lumpur and between Butterworth and Bangkok (Thailand). There is also a 41-hour round trip available from the Eastern and Oriental Express (tel: 0845 077 2222, in the UK; website: www.orient-express.com), a luxury train service modelled on the famous Orient Express, which leaves from Singapore, journeys through Kuala Lumpur and heads north to Bangkok from where it returns to Singapore.

KTM Rail Pass: available to foreign tourists (except Singaporeans) and valid for five, 10 or 15 days. Passes permit unlimited travel on Intercity train services on the KTM network and into Singapore. Supplements apply for sleeping berths and on night trains. Passes can be purchased through agents selling rail tickets and at major railways stations.

Peninsular Malaysia is linked by good roads to Thailand and (via two causeways and the North-South Expressway) to Singapore. Those travelling from Thailand generally follow the North-South Expressway from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Kuala Lumpur. Toll fees are levied on all highways throughout Malaysia. Road connections between the two eastern states, Sarawak and Sabah, and their neighbours on Borneo, Brunei and the Indonesian state of Kalimantan are fairly good.

Myriad companies operate air-conditioned coach services to and throughout Malaysia, including Transnasional Express (tel: (03) 4047 7878).