Kota Bharu Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Local transport

Taxi

The taxi stand is on the southern side of the central bus station. Avoid the unlicensed cab drivers who will pester you here and elsewhere around town, and take an official taxi as these are cheaper and safer. If you’re heading for Kuala Besut, en route to the Perhentians, the tourist office recommends calling Adi (013-985 8603), a reliable, English-speaking taxi driver.

Taxi costs per car include Butterworth (RM200), KL (RM250), Kuala Besut (RM35) and Kuala Terengganu (RM90).

Those who plan to catch an early morning train should arrange for the taxi to Wakaf Baharu the night before they plan to leave, as it’s extremely difficult to find a taxi on the street in the early morning.

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Land

Bus

The state-run bus company SKMK (748 3807) operates city and regional buses (and some long-distance buses) from the central bus station (off Jln Padang Garong), and most long-distance buses from Langgar bus station (Jln Pasir Puteh) in the south of the city. All other long-distance bus companies run from the Jln Hamzah external bus station. On arrival in Kota Bharu some buses will drop you at the central bus station, or just outside, but they don’t depart from there.

SKMK has ticket offices at all the bus stations. Ask which station your bus departs from when you buy your ticket, and book as far ahead as possible, especially for the Butterworth and Penang buses.

SKMK has regular buses from the central bus station to Kuala Terengganu (RM10.90, three hours), Kuantan (RM24, seven hours), Ipoh (RM24.40, eight hours) and Gua Musang (RM10.20, three hours). The following SKMK buses leave from Langgar bus station: buses to Johor Bahru/Singapore (RM44.80, 10 to 11 hours) leave at 8am and 8pm and buses to KL (RM30.80, nine hours) leave at 5.30am and 9pm. ‘Business class’ buses (with fewer seats) are available for these routes as well, and cost roughly 30% more. Buses to Butterworth (RM25.10, eight hours) leave at 9am and 5pm and buses depart for Penang (RM27.90, 8½ hours) at 6am and 9.30pm. Other destinations include Alor Setar (RM26.60, eight hours) Lumut (RM29.40, eight hours) and Melaka (RM39.40, nine hours).

The other companies cover many of the same routes. Buy your tickets at the Jln Hamzah external bus station or from the numerous kiosks behind the central bus station.

Most regional buses leave from the central bus station. Destinations include Wakaf Baharu (buses 19 and 27, RM1.20), Rantau Panjang (bus 29, RM3), Tumpat (bus 19, RM1.30), Bachok (buses 2B, 23 and 29, RM3), Pasir Puteh (bus 3, RM5.10), Jerteh (bus 3, RM7.10) and Kuala Krai (bus 5, RM8.20). Note that some of these may be identified by destination rather than number.

Thailand

The Thailand border is at Rantau Panjang (Sungai Golok on the Thai side), reached by bus from Kota Bharu. Bus 29 departs on the hour from the central bus station (RM3, 1½ hours). From Rantau Panjang you can walk across the border; it’s about a kilometre from the station. Share taxis from Kota Bharu to Rantau Panjang cost RM20 per car and take 45 minutes.

An alternative route into Thailand is via Pengkalan Kubor, on the coast. It’s more time consuming and very few travellers go this way, especially since the unrest began in this troubled part of southern Thailand. This is also a notorious smuggling route from Thailand into Malaysia, and there are regular police roadblocks close to the border.

Car

Travellers can hire cars from the following organisations.

Avis (013-902 0700; Hotel Perdana, Jln Mahmud)

Hawk (773 3824; Sultan Ismail Petra Airport)

Train

The nearest station to Kota Bharu is Wakaf Baharu (719 6986). There is a daily express train all the way to KL (RM38, 13 hours), stopping at Kuala Lipis, Jerantut and Gemas, and a daily express to Singapore (RM41, 16 hours).

A daily local train stops at almost every station to Gemas (RM19.20, 13 hours). There are also two local trains daily that only go as far as Gua Musang (RM7.20, five to six hours).

Note that the national railway company (KTM) schedule changes every six months, so check departure times with the train station at Wakaf Baharu. KTM has a ticket office (counter 5) at Kota Bharu’s Jln Hamzah bus station.

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Air

The Malaysia Airlines office (744 7000) is opposite the clock tower on Jln Gajah Mati. There are direct flights to/from Kuala Lumpur (RM190). Air Asia (746 1671; Jln Dusa Raja) has two daily flights to KL from RM110.

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