Bus Tickets and travel

Thorn Tree forumCountry forumsSouth-East Asia Islands & PeninsulaMalaysia
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bridgetkramer
bridgetkramer

I'll be in Malaysia in December and have been researching trains and buses - looking to go to KL from Singapore, Melaka, Tanah Rata and Penang and then getting a train up to Bangkok. I've been relying a bit on the Man in Seat 61 blog, and was directed to 12go.asia for bookings in this region. Very easy navigable site, but the dates I want to travel on seem to be booked out for the most part. So my question is...

... how easy is it to get last minute bus or train tickets in Malaysia? Once they're booked out online is that pretty much it, or do some companies leave seats for walk ins? How likely is it to pay extra for this? Any advice anyone has on bus/train travel in Malaysia would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

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Laszlo
Laszlo

I hardly ever take trains in Malaysia as the buses reach more places and tend to be more frequent, and faster, too. However the train is really a good way to go from Penang to Bangkok, and this I would book a few days in advance. There is a railway booking office near the ferry port in Georgetown, no need to go to Butterworth for this.

I never book bus tickets in advance.
It is usually no problem to simply go to the bus station and buy a ticket right before departure. The exception is during major local holidays when tickets to popular destinations can be sold out. This happened to me just once over many years!

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Giora
Giora

As above, there's no need to book bus tickets in advance in Malaysia - just turn up to the bus station and you'll almost certainly find a ticket on a bus leaving soon, particularly on major routes.

Train tickets can be a pain to book, particularly in Kuala Lumpur, because the system to buy tickets at the station is inefficient, and long lines are common. Buying them online should get you around this problem. Train tickets do sell out, but I've often been able to buy them even just a day in advance. I like the trains, because they're fast and more comfortable than the buses, but there are far more buses than there are trains in Malaysia.

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lucapal
lucapal

Yes,completely agree with above. ..if you use buses,you can either book the day before or even just turn up and buy your ticket.

There are lots of buses to most destinations a tourist is likely to visit. ...as above there only problem can be when there is a major holiday or festival.

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rsquared2014
rsquared2014

December may be rainy season... but it is also peak holiday season as it is school holidays both in Singaporeand Malaysia.. do book in advance especially for train tickets... for trains go to www.ktmb.com.my

For buses you can check easybook.com or busonlineticket.com

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