Most Western nationalities can enter Malaysia without a visa, and are normally issued 30, 60, or 90 day entry permit stamps.
Some nationalities that are not eligible to enter without a visa can get a tourist visa on arrival; other nationalities must apply for a visa in advance - see the Immigration Department of Malaysia website for the current scoop. If you need a visa to enter Malaysia and plan to visit Sarawak, state this when applying as a separate visa is required for Sarawak.
ASEAN nationals (with the exception of Myanmar) can enter and visit for up to a month without a visa; a visa is required for longer stays, except for Brunei and Singapore nationals.
Israel, Republic of Serbia and Republic of Montenegro nationals must obtain permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs in advance.
For people with Dual Citizenship (two passports), Malaysian immigration is pretty strict about this. It is advised that you exit your last port and enter into Malaysia with the same passport.
By plane
Most international flights land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) (IATA: KUL ICAO: WMKK); AirAsia flights now use the new LCC terminal, a 20km road transfer away from the main KLIA terminal. KLIA's predecessor, the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (IATA: SZB ICAO: WMSA) in Subang near Kuala Lumpur handles chartered and turboprop aircraft.
See the Kuala Lumpur Get in section for detailed airport information.
Other airports handling international flights are Johor Bahru, Langkawi, Malacca, Penang and Ipoh, plus Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Kuching (Sarawak) and Miri (Sarawak).
The airports at the popular dive spots of Pulau Tioman and Pulau Redang also serve limited international flights by Berjaya Air to Seletar Airport(XSP) in Singapore.
National carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has an extensive worldwide network coverage and regularly ranks high in airline quality assessments, while no-frills low-cost carrier AirAsia now covers an ever-expanding set of neighboring destinations including Australia, China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It will soon start a long haul flight from Kuala Lumpur to London Stansted Airport.
* AirAsia +60 3 8775-4000 (hotline within Malaysia: 1-300-88-9933)
* Malaysia Airlines +60 3 7846-3000 (hotline within Malaysia: 1-300-88-3000)
* Berjaya Air +60 3 7846-8228 (ticketing only); +60 3 2145-2828
By train
* To/from Thailand: Direct sleeper train services operated by the State Railway of Thailand [2] connect Bangkok (Thailand) and Butterworth near Penang (Malaysia), while Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malaysian Railways) [3] runs trains between Hat Yai (Thailand) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Both trains cross the border at Padang Besar where Thai and Malaysia immigration formalities are all conveniently done in the station. There is also a less used eastern route from Hat Yai to Thai border town Sungai Kolok, but there are no through trains to the nearby Malaysian station at Wakaf Bahru (near Kota Bharu).
* To/from Singapore: Singapore is the southern terminus of the Malayan Railway (Keretapi Tanah Melayu [4]) network. Comfortable overnight sleeper and somewhat misnamed daytime "express" trains connect Singapore with Kuala Lumpur and Tumpat, near Kota Bharu. Bizarrely, tickets purchased at the Singapore station are twice as expensive as those purchased in Malaysia; you can save quite a bit by taking the train from Johor Bahru instead. Another option is to buy your tickets online at the cheaper rate, but you must book at least 48 hours in advance.
By bus
Long-distances buses/coaches into Malaysia run from Brunei, Indonesian Borneo, Singapore and Thailand. Please see the relevant city pages for more details.
* Brunei - there are no direct buses into Brunei. However, there are buses from Miri and Limbang going to the border where there are connections to Bandar Seri Begawan.
* Indonesia - direct buses operate between Pontianak in West Kalimantan and Kuching in Sarawak.
* Singapore - a multitude of bus companies operate direct routes from Singapore to various destinations in Peninsular Malaysia, including Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, East Coast cities and even the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Petaling Jaya. Frequent buses make the short run between Singapore and Johor Bahru, and you can save a few bucks by changing at JB's Larkin terminal to a cheap domestic bus instead of taking a more expensive direct bus.
* Thailand - several companies operate services from Kuala Lumpur and other cities in Malaysia to Hat Yai in southern Thailand, where direct connections are available to Bangkok and many other Thai destinations.
By road
Land crossings are possible from southern Thailand and Singapore into Peninsular Malaysia, as well as from Brunei and Kalimantan (the Indonesian side of Borneo) into Sarawak. An International Drivers Permit (IDP) is required. See the respective city or state pages for more detailed information.
* Brunei - the main crossings are at Sungai Tujoh on the Miri, Sarawak, to Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) road, and the Kuala Lurah-Tedungan checkpoint which is used for traffic travelling between Bandar Seri Begawan and Limbang in Sarawak. You can also access the Temburong district of Brunei by road from Limbang via the Pandaruan (Puni on the Brunei side) checkpoint and Lawas via Trusan (Labu on the Brunei side).
* Indonesia - the main crossing is at the Tebedu-Entikong checkpoint on the main Kuching-Pontianak road. Various other minor border crossings used by locals are not necessarily open to foreigners.
* Singapore - the two crossings are the Causeway which links Johor Bahru with Woodlands in Singapore, and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link which links Tanjung Kupang in Johor with Tuas in Singapore. See Johor Bahru Get in section and Singapore Get in section for more details.
* Thailand - international checkpoints (with the Thai towns in brackets) include Wang Kelian (Satun) and Padang Besar (Padang Besar) in Perlis, Bukit Kayu Hitam (Sadao) in Kedah, Pengkalan Hulu (Betong) in Perak, and Rantau Panjang (Sungai Kolok) in Kelantan.
By boat
Ferries connect various points in Peninsular Malaysia with Sumatra in Indonesia and southern Thailand, Sarawak with Brunei, and Sabah with East Kalimantan in Indonesia and Mindanao in the Philippines. Luxury cruises also run from Singapore and sometimes Phuket (Thailand) to Malaysia.
* Brunei - ferries daily between the Muara Ferry Terminal in Brunei and Labuan island and Lawas in Sarawak. Speedboats, mostly in the morning, also run between Bandar Seri Begawan jetty and Limbang, Sarawak.
* Indonesia - the main jumping-off points from Indonesia are the Riau Islands of Batam, Bintan and Karimun; Dumai, Medan and Pekanbaru on the Sumatra mainland as well as Nunukan in East Kalimantan. Ferries link Batam with Batu Pahat and Johor Bahru;Bintan with Johor Bahru; Karimun with Batu Pahat and Kukup in Johor; Dumai with Malacca, Muar in Johor, Port Dickson (in Negeri Sembilan) and Port Klang, the port for Kuala Lumpur; Pekanbaru with Malacca; and Medan's port of Belawan with Penang. Daily ferries also link Nunukan with Tawau in Sabah. There are also minor crossings like between Bengkalis in Riau and Batu Pahat; Sumatra and Malacca and Muar in Johor; and Tanjung Balai Asahan in North Sumatra with Port Klang, the port for Kuala Lumpur.
* Philippines - ferries run between the Zamboanga Peninsula and Sandakan, Sabah.
* Singapore - daily passenger boats run between Changi Point and Pengerang, between Tanah Merah and Sebana Cover Resort, as well as between Changi and Tanjung Belungkor, all in Johor. See the Singapore Get in section for details.
* Thailand - four ferries daily (reduced to three during Ramadan) between Tammalang at Satun and Kuah on Langkawi, Malaysia. Vehicle ferries operate between Ban Taba near Tak Bai in Narathiwat province and Pengkalan Kubur in Kelantan, Malaysia, while passenger boats run between Ban Buketa in Narathiwat province and Bukit Bunga in Kelantan.
On foot
You can walk in/out of Thailand at Wang Kelian and Padang Besar (both in Perlis), Bukit Kayu Hitam (Kedah), Pengkalan Hulu (Perak) and Rantau Panjang (Kelantan). However, crossing the Causeway on foot from Singapore is now illegal (Jan 2009).
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