Border crossings to Singapore

Types of border crossings

Singapore has just a couple of overland and sea entry points, with the bulk of foreign tourists arriving by air into Singapore's Changi airport.

Popular crossings

Changi airport is by far the most popular arrival point into Singapore. Overland, most arrive (or leave) via the causeway that links Singapore ane Johor Bharu in Malaysia -- this is also the route the train takes. A second causeway links Tuas in the west of Singapore with Geylang Patah in Malaysia -- this a popular route if you're heading to Melaka. For arrival and departure by sea, the most probable routing is to Pulau Batam (for Sumatra) with Pulau Bintan coming a distant second.

Singapore / Malaysia borders

Causeway: Singapore / Johor Bharu

Easily the most popular land crossing. The easiast way to cross is catching a bus between Johor Bharu and Singapore -- the trip takes no more than an hour -- including the paperwork at the border. The bus will wait for you while you clear customs and immigration.

Second crossing: Singapore / Malaysia

The second causeway, at the western tip of Singapore is convenient for travel north up Malaysia's west coast -- if you're heading to Melaka this is likely where you'll be crossing. As with the other causeway crossing, the bus will wait for you while you clear customs and immigration.

Arrival and departure by sea

Ferries from Batam dock at the Harbourfront Centre, around 5km from downtown Singapore, but close to Harbourfront MRT. Ferries from both Bintan and Tioman Island dock at Tanah Merah Terminal, a busride from Bedok MRT.

More information

See the visa and border crossings section of the Travelfish forum for reports from travellers how have used the above crossings. Canby Publications also has a good summary of Cambodia's border crossings.