Going from Singapore to Johor Bahru is a genuinely popular day trip — Malaysian food, cheaper shopping, and a completely different pace, all less than an hour from Singapore’s city center. The crossing itself is simple once you know which checkpoint to use and what to expect at immigration.
Two checkpoints: Woodlands and Tuas
Singapore has two land crossings into Malaysia. The Woodlands Checkpoint (the Causeway, or “First Link”) is the older, more central route and the one most tourists use — it connects directly into central Johor Bahru. The Tuas Checkpoint (“Second Link”), in Singapore’s far west, is the better choice if your destination is western Johor or you’re trying to dodge Causeway congestion, though it’s a longer ride from most tourist areas of Singapore to reach it in the first place. Both checkpoints see serious queues on weekends, public holidays, and around 5–8pm on weekday evenings, when Malaysian commuters head home; a weekday mid-morning crossing is consistently the smoothest.
Crossing by bus
The cheapest and most common way to cross without a car is by cross-border bus. Causeway Link and SBS Transit run frequent services from Singapore MRT stations near the border — Kranji, Queen Street, Newton Circus, Boon Lay, and Jurong East all have direct routes into Johor Bahru via Woodlands or Tuas. The process is the same on every route: the bus stops at Singapore’s Woodlands Checkpoint, everyone disembarks with their bags to clear Singapore immigration on foot, then reboards (the same bus or the next one on that route) to continue to the Malaysian side, where the process repeats for Malaysian immigration. Fares are a few Singapore dollars each way, and frequent travelers can save further with a Causeway Link ManjaLink card or a short-stay travel bus pass.
What to have ready at immigration
- Your passport, valid for the onward travel period required by both Singapore and Malaysia.
- A completed SG Arrival Card if you’re re-entering Singapore afterward — Singapore no longer accepts the old paper disembarkation card.
- Malaysia’s own digital arrival card (MDAC), typically required in advance for most foreign visitors entering Malaysia by land.
Photography and filming are prohibited inside the immigration halls at both checkpoints, and you’ll need to carry your own luggage through the clearance process — there’s no baggage check-through on the bus routes.
Coming soon: the RTS Link train
A rail alternative is on the way. The Johor Bahru–Singapore RTS Link, a short shuttle train connecting Woodlands North station to Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru, is targeted to open by the end of 2026, cutting the crossing to about five minutes with co-located customs and immigration facilities on both ends designed to clear passengers in seconds rather than the queue-dependent process buses currently go through. Once it’s running, it will likely become the fastest way to cross for anyone not driving — worth checking current status before you travel, since the exact opening date has shifted before.
The bottom line
For most visitors, the bus via Woodlands Checkpoint on a weekday morning is the easiest way to go from Singapore to Johor Bahru: cheap, direct from central MRT stations, and predictable outside peak commuter hours. Keep your passport and SG Arrival Card ready, budget extra time on weekends, and watch for the RTS Link train if your trip falls after its opening.
For more on the area, see our guides to Singapore to Batam and Bintan by Ferry: Terminals, Prices, and Tips and Getting Around Singapore: MRT, Bus, and Grab Explained.
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