Getting there and away

Train

Malaysia has a very comfortable rail system but Melaka lacks its own train station. The nearest one is in Tampin, Negeri Sembilan, about 40 km away. A taxi ride to Melaka city should be possible for 40 to 50 ringgit or the slow, meandering Tai Lye 26 bus will take you the rest of the way for 3 ringgit. Train tickets can be booked and paid for online: http://www.ktmb.com.my/

Bus

Odds are you'll arrive at and depart from the shiny new Melaka Sentral bus terminal. It's teeming with services like a left luggage counter (3 ringgit for a big bag, 2 ringgit for a small one), Internet cafe (2.50/hr), money changers and loads of shops and restaurants, but it’s an inconvenient 3 km from the town centre.

The cheap way to travel to and fro is the green #17 town bus (1 ringgit) or the Panorama sight-seeing bus (2 ringgit, ticket valid all day). Otherwise a taxi should set you back about 15 ringgit.

Numerous bus companies ply the popular routes north to KL and south to Johor Bahru/Singapore and there is a departure every hour or less. Friday and Sunday evenings are peak travel times and serious delays are a possibility, especially if you need to cross the Malaysia-Singapore border.

Ipor/Butterworth: Departs 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 14:00, 16:00, 21:00 and 22:00. Costs 25 ringgit and takes 6 hours to Ipoh, or 35 ringgit and 8 hours to Butterworth
Johor Bahru: Departs hourly 8:00 – 19:00. Costs 19 ringgit and takes 4 hours
Kota Bahru: Departs at 20:00. Costs 42 ringgit and takes 10 hours
Kuala Lumpur: Departs hourly 6:00 – 20:00. Costs 10 ringgit and takes 2 hours
Kuantan: Departs at 8:00, 9:30, 11:00, 16:00, 21:00 and 22:00. Costs 20 ringgit and takes 6 hours
Mersing: Departs 8:00, 12:45 and 18:00. Costs 17.50 ringgit and takes 5 hours
Singapore: Departs hourly 8:00 – 19:00. Costs 22 ringgit and takes 4.5 hours

Boat

Ferries connect Melaka to Dumai and Pekanbaru on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Tickets can be purchased in advance from the office at Plaza Mahkota or the Harbour Master's Jetty (Jeti Shahbandar) near the Marine Museum. At the time of writing, Tunas Rupat Express ran a daily ferry to Dumai at 09:00 (2 hours; 110 ringgit one-way/170 ringgit return) and one to Pekanbaru at 09:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (6 hours; 150 ringgit one-way/260 ringgit return).

Tunas Rupat Express: G-29, Jalan PM10, Plaza Mahkota. T: (06) 283 2506. http://www.m-sia.com/indomal/

Getting Around

Melaka is a small city and is easily explored by foot, but there are some interesting alternative ways to get around.

An omnipresent sight is the trishaw drivers, often with brightly decorated carts, flashing lights and loud music. They’ll take you on a loop of the town's main sights at a fixed rate of 40 ringgit/hour. They congregate outside Stadthuys and the Aldy Hotel, but will likely find you first.

If you want to take in some of the more far-flung sights, a ticket for the Panorama Melaka Sight-seeing bus is a good investment. The double-decker red line bus (adults 5 ringgit, children 2.5 ringgit) stops at 13 attractions within the city centre including Jonker Street, Stadthuys and Li Poh's Well. The regular blue line bus (adult 2 ringgit, children 1 ringgit) travels around the outskirts of the city to Bukit China, the Portuguese Village and Sentral station. The service runs from 8:00 tol 21:00 at rather unpredictable intervals, but the ticket is good for the whole day so you can hop on and off as many times as you like. You can buy tickets on board the bus and the full route map can be viewed here:
http://www.tourism-melaka.com/panoramaroutes.pdf

You can lazily take in the sights on the River Boat Tour (adults: 10 ringgit, children: 5 ringgit). It takes about 45 minutes and floats through town past shophouses and old warehouses before reaching Kampong Morten and turning back. The guide is informative, enthusiastic and can say “thank you and goodbye” in more than 25 languages. Tour boats depart from a small jetty near Stadthuys – look for the ticket booth and a sign with departure times (approximately every hour, 9:00 to 17:00).
Parameswara River Boat Tours: T: 06 286 5468

For a change of scenery and a little exercise, sign up for the Melaka Eco Bike Tour. It's a three-hour bike ride past the villages, farms and beaches of Melaka's countryside. It costs 60 ringgit, with a minimum of two people required. They'll provide you with a mountain bike, drinking water and hotel pick up. Contact Alias for more information: alias@melakaonbike.com. T: (06) 267 1539. Mobile: (019) 652 5029