Buses are an inexpensive way to travel in Malaysia. Most, if not all buses in Kuala Lumpur (KL) are air-conditioned but there are still non-air-conditioned buses in smaller towns around the country. Buses plying routes within towns and cities typically charge fares according to the distance covered while interstate buses have fixed rates.

Buses from the Ban San terminus in Singapore travel to many different points on peninsular Malaysia; buses from Bangkok or Haadyai in Thailand travel to both the West and East coasts of Malaysia as well as to Kuala Lumpur. Entering Malaysia by rental car is not difficult from either Thailand or Singapore, and the North-South highway makes travel along the west coast quite convenient (10-12 hours from Singapore to the Thai border).

Taxis in major cities are usually fitted with meters. In KL, the rate is currently RM2 for the first two kilometres and 10 sen for every subsequent 200 metres. However, a surcharge of 50% will be levied between midnight and 6am. Interstate and smaller town taxis charge a fixed rate and it’s best to settle on a price before getting into the taxi.