Bus from Singapore to Johor Bahru

Due to the significant increase of SGD exchange rate to rupiah, we changed our destination of tesyasblog Mommies Day Out* (#MDOtrip) from exploring Singapore to Johor Bahru. 

*Mommies Day Out is an annual trip started last year, still with the same participants:p It aimed to give the opportunity for mommies to have their me time by going abroad with other mommies. The itinerary is much on shopping (of course) and last maximum 3 days 2 nights, on weekends. The next MDO trip is planned to shop 'till drop at Bangkok.


Arrival in Singapore

We arrived in Singapore around 10 am, took the MRT to Aljunied Station, continued by taking bus 80 to Arab Street (alight at Parkview SQ Bus Stop). We walked to Murtabak Zam Zam, and had our yummy chicken murtabak. This resto is always on our top list.


our fave resto 
the best chicken murtabak in Singapore

Actually Queen Street Bus Terminal was only minutes away from Murtabak Zam Zam, but we went to Funan IT Mall, and Bugis area first. My friends wanted to have Singapore's Uncle Ice Cream (es potong). And as we didn't have time to go to Orchard, we went to OG area at Bugis instead, where we could find Singapore's Uncle Ice Cream sellers as well.

Queen Street Bus Terminal

After a bit of window shopping at OG Bugis, we walked to Queen Street Bus Terminal. All I know that the bus terminal located at the opposite of Landmark Village Hotel, because when I stayed there with kiddos, our room was facing the bus terminal. By the help of google map, we walked to the bus terminal, ask a Malay Singaporean lady the location of the bus terminal, and it was only two minutes away from the intersection where we asked the lady. 

Taxi Stand just next to Queen Street Bus Terminal

The first thing I saw was the taxi stand, followed by a bus terminal. Here you could choose whether taking taxi to Johor Bahru or by Bus. Of course we opted the cheapest transport, which is the bus. From what I read, you can share one taxi for SGD 40 with other person but you will have to wait until the taxi is full (up to 4 person, each person pay SGD 10). This price is only from Queen Street Bus Terminal to JB Sentral. At JB Sentral you have to change with Malaysian taxi if you wish to continue your journey in Johor Bahru.

Tips: the benefit of taking the taxi: you don't have to alight with the luggage at the Woodlands immigration. While with the bus we had to alight from the bus at Woodlands Checkpoint with our backpack. 

We choose bus CW2 to JB Sentral, as our final destination was JB Sentral. The bus is always available at the bus terminal, no need to book in advance. Just approach the ticket counter, paid SGD 2.40 and keep the ticket until you arrive at Johor Bahru. To get information of the available bus, you can read this link.

ticket booth

our CW2 bus
comfy bus:)
please keep the ticket

note: SBS bus 170 is also available at Queen Street Bus terminal. But bus 170 will stop in each bus stop on its way to Johor Bahru. That's why we took Causewaylink Bus instead (a non stop bus).

After around 30 minutes of ride, we alight from the bus, and cleared the Singapore Immigration at Woodlands Checkpoint. It was really fast without any queue at around 4 pm on a Friday afternoon. We kept on walking until we found our bus, and continued our journey by bus passing the bridge which linked Singapore and Johor Bahru. Yup we had to pass the traffic jam that afternoon.


traffic jam going to Johor Bahru
at this point, Singapore mobile card could no longer be used

From the bridge, we saw our hotel for our first night called "Hanya Satu Hotel" (what a name!). We were glad that the hotel did exist:p We intended to stay at Citrus hotel, but it doesn't have a quadruple room. Through Agoda I found Hanya Satu Hotel, located 3 minutes away from Citrus Hotel. A separate review will be posted regarding the hotels we stayed in Johor Bahru.


the one with blue line is our hotel

Finally we arrived at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Muda to clear the Malaysian Immigration. 

arriving at the Johor Bahru custom

After the immigration process, we followed the sign to JB Sentral. We choose to stay around JB Sentral because we planned to explore JB by bus. So staying around JB Sentral is a must.

juss follow the sign heading to JB Sentral



We passed over the road from JB Sentral to City Square Mall using a bridge which connects the two buildings.

JB Sentral
JB City Square Mall just opposite JB Sentral

From JB Sentral to Citrus Hotel 

We should have taken the bridge which connects City Square Mall to Central Hotel. Direction: at the end of the bridge between JB Sentral and City Square Mall, don't walk inside the mall, turn left and walk over the bridge. You will find Citrus Hotel at the end of the stairs.



What we did wrongly: we walked into the City Square mall, and got lost in the mall:p  Well, it was a mommies day out trip, what do you expect?


inside the City Square Mall

We stopped a while at Vinnci inside Padini Concept Store. When my friends were at Vinnci, I asked the security guard the location of Citrus Hotel. No one knew or ever heard of Citrus Hotel! That was very strange... So we exit the mall to Ah Fook street, and voila Citrus Hotel was on our left (opposite the mall).

note: it was in total a 15-20 minutes of walk from Malaysian Immigration to Citrus Hotel. You could take a taxi from JB Sentral to Citrus hotel and expect to pay around 12 RM, for only a 2 minutes taxi ride to Citrus Hotel:p


Going Back from Johor Bahru to Singapore

From Citrus Hotel, we walked around 25 minutes until we reached the immigration. We felt that we had to walk further compared to the arrival from Singapore. So if you choose going back to Singapore by bus, please prepare yourself. Especially when you have luggage and kiddos to hold.

We took bus CW2 for RM 2,5 per person. The location of the bus stop after clearing the Malaysian immigration was quite confusing. We just walked and followed the crowd, it was the only way:p

The journey of going back to Singapore on a Saturday night was a breeze. We took the last bus of CW2 at 11 pm, so there weren't any traffic jam at all. I was about to sleep when we reached Queen Street Bus Terminal around 11.30 am.


To conclude: going to Johor Bahru from Singapore by public transport was easy and cheap, as long as you don't bring many luggage. Put your stuff in your backpack, hold your kiddos with your arms, that's what I would suggest if you are taking the bus to Johor Bahru with your kiddos (to visit Legoland).


written on October 8, 2013 by @tesyasblog


Tag: Liburan ke Johor Bahru, Cara naik bis dari Singapura ke Johor Bahru, Penginapan dekat JB Sentral, Bis dari Johor Bahru ke Singapura


Next Post:
Review of Hanya Satu Hotel JB

Related Post:
Family Backpaking ke Johor Bahru dan Singapura

Hotels review in Johor Bahru could be found in this link


43 comments:

  1. Bus nya bagus yaaa, gw sempet naik dari mrt kranji ke JB tapi bus nya busuk banget.

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    1. Iya Kak Cum bagus, murah lagi cuma 2,5 SGD. Oh kalau naik dari Kranji jelek ya? Wah makasih Kak infonya..

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  2. Tesyaaaa, thanks infonya! Buat alternatif ya...
    Rencana gw lgs sing-legoland-sing jd gw ambil bus yg di sing flyer (mrt promenade) lgs stop di legoland (harga PP), biar hemat waktu, krn gw nginep di marina mandarin jd tinggal jalan http://www.legoland.com.my/plan/bus-services/

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    1. Hai Mba Din, selamat liburan ya Mba...thanks untuk tambahan infonya :)

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  3. Hi friend,

    Saya rasa service ini juga boleh banyak tolong singaporean or traveller to make his/her trip easier.

    http://www.sgmytaxi.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/singaporetojb

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lee Lee Qin for your additional info.

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  4. Hmmm trip Des ini ke JB nggak yaaa

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    1. Hehehe...lumayan kalau mau ke JPO sih mampir sehari aja Kak di JB:)

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  5. singapore zam-zam, yummy banget, pertama minum teh tarik disitu, langsung besoknya balik lg, enak sih :)

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    1. Setuju..dan saya kalo di Spore bisa setiap pagi ke sana:D

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  6. Eh, kalau ke Johor Bahru dari woodlands bukannya bisa jalan kaki saja ya kak? nyeberang border :D

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    1. Bisa..bisa..bisa ditangkap police maksudnya Kak hehehe

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  7. Aku pikir itu lasagna tapi ternyat amartabak heheheh, aku perna di tahan imigrasi woodland sing selama 4 jam lebih trus di intrograsi dipikir teroris :-(

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    1. Wah serius oom Cumi, serem amat...jadi agak trauma donk ya melintasi Woodlands?

      And yes foto murtabak nya mirip lasagna ya:D

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  8. Mbak beli tiket busnya langsung di sana yak? Atau kita pesan dulu via e-mail. Sy mau ke johor bahru dr SIN, 5 dewasa dan 1 batita, takutnya kami ga dpt 1 bus...

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    1. Hai Mba..untuk bus CW ini musti dibeli di abang penjual tiket nya itu, ga bisa beli by email. Kalau misalnya bus nya penuh untuk rombongan Mba, naik aja bus selanjutnya.

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  9. mbak tesya, blognya keren abisss...sgt membantu nih buat info2nya.. saya rencana mau trip sgp 1 mlm-jb 2 mlm-sgp 1 mlm, mau nanya nih mba kl dari changi jam 2 siang, check in hotel di novotel Clarke quay, apakah sempet utk ke lokasi2 ini: Chinatown, gardens by the bay, marina bay sands nonton wonderfull, sama merlion park untuk setengah hari itu ? apakah better pake mrt atau bus ya kalo itinerynya banyak yg mau dikunjungi? heheh...karena besoknya rencana mau ke sentosa island sebelum jam 12 check out hotel dan lanjut ke Johor baru..heheh..apa terlalu maksa ya itinerynya? saya bawa 2 anak, yg 1 umur 5 tahun, yg 1 umur 2.5 thn..

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    1. Hallo Mba, salam kenal ya. Thank you for your nice words :))
      Menurut pendapatku begini Mba:
      DAY 1
      - Sampe di Changi jam 2 siang, imigrasi dan lain-lain. Misalnya aja sampe hotel jam 4 ya.
      - Kalau mau dari Novotel langsung ke Gardens By The Bay (GTB), naik taksi aja Mba, susah kalo mau naik bus atau MRT dari situ sih. Enggak jauh kok, paling mahal sekitar SGD10-SGD15. Mainlah di GTB, jangan lupa kunjungi Children Garden ya.
      - Lalu malam jam 6.30, jalan kaki deh ke MBS The Shoppes untuk liat Wonderful Lasershow yang jam 8. Ada di tesyasblog gimana caranya jalan dari GTB ke MBS The Shoppes ya Mba.
      - Kalau mau ke Merlion, udah malam sih Mba, kalo foto kurang ok.
      - Kata aku sih udah aja pulang, tapi kalau mau ke Chinatown, bisa mampir dulu sebelum ke hotel.
      - Dari MBS ke Novotel Clarke Quay: Naik bus 133 ke Bugis Stn, turun disitu, lalu nyeberang jalan ke bus stop di seberangnya. Lalu naik bus 33 dan turun di Clarke Quay Station. Untuk rute bus silahkan googling dengan memasukan nomor bus tsb mba.
      DAY 2
      - Pagi-pagi check out dari hotel, left luggage di hotel, terus pake taksi deh ke Merlion. Foto-foto dulu. Kalo bisa dari hotel pagi ya Mba, sekitar jam 8.
      - Udah gitu naik taksi aja dari Merlion ke Vivo City ga jauh, tinggal lurus aja. Turun Vivo City, naik ke lantai 3 Sentosa Express Train, terus pake monorail ke Sentosa.
      - Selesai main di Sentosa, balik ke hotel, ambil barang, terus naik taksi ke Queen St Bus Terminal. Terus naik bus deh ke JB.

      Begitu Mba, maaf kalo kepanjangan hehe. Semoga bisa membantu ya.

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    2. wow...makasih banget mba tesya..kayanya dah hafal diluar kepala nih Singapore nya..iya aku baca semua blog2 nya mba tesya, dari yg LEGOLAND, Johor baru, sampe dengan Singapore.. maklum bawa anak2 kecil takut rempong..jadi pengen disiapin sebisa mungkin.. :) sepertinya dengan waktu yg singkat gini,mending pake taxi ya mba.. kl east coast, apa ada yg bs diliat kah? since hari terakhir saya di Singapore tinggal di grand mercure roxy yg nun jauh disana..hehe..

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    3. Hehehe...ga hapal semua kok, masih banyak yang pengen dihapalin hehehe...
      Oh nginep di Grand Mercure Roxy? Kalau disana sih paling ke pantai aja ya Mba, kan katanya deket. Dan katanya di depannya ada mall juga, ga tau bagus atau enggak.
      Paling kalau mau naik taksi ke mall Changi City Point, keren itu playground gratis buat anaknya :)
      Have super fun ya Mba dan semoga liburannya lancar :))

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    4. Halo mba Tesya, mo nanya kalo sampe di changi udah 7.15pm ,kira kira keburu tidak ya langsung ke johorbahru by bus TS1 itu, saya bertiga dg suami dan anak 6th. Mepet tidak mbak waktunya ?
      Makasih sebelumnya....

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  10. bugis street memang tempat belanja untuk oleh-oleh
    informasi menarik terima kasih

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    1. Iya jadi kangen mau ke Bugis lagi hehe

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  11. Assalamualaikum wr.wb.

    dari MRT Kranji, jam 6-7 malam (waktu singapura) apa masih ada bus yg berjalan ke arah JB CIQ ?

    bus apa ya mba? beli tiketnya dimana? nyebrang jalan apa enggak mba?

    terimakasih infonya mbaa..
    wassalam

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    1. Waalaikumsalam Mas, masih ada Mas, bus nya sampai dengan jam 11 malam. Bus 170 dan CW1.

      ini saya copy dari publictransportsg.wordpress.com:

      From Kranji MRT, exit and board either Service 170X or CW1 heading towards Woodlands Checkpoint from the bus stop directly outside the station (45139 Kranji Stn). Both 170X and CW1 will depart at frequent intervals throughout the day. Alternatively, cross the overhead bridge and board Service 160 or 170 towards the Checkpoint, but these two services operate at lower intervals.

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  12. Oo iya,OK nicee.

    Navigasi dari Google maps Android akurat ga digunakan disana mba?
    Soalnya cuman mau andelin aplikasi2 navigasi aja ini? Atau ada recommend app nya mba?

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    1. Akurat banget Mas Google Maps. Coba gothere.sg untuk transport, dan google maps aja.

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  13. Oke, nicee mba

    Kalo di KUALA LUMPUR, Google maps akurat juga ga mba?

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    1. Bisa banget Mas dipake google map nya :)

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  14. Alhamdulillah kalo akurat.

    OK, terimakasih infonya mba
    Maaf ngeganggu waktunya mba

    Wassalam

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    1. Sama-sama Mas, have fun ya liburannya. Semoga lancar :)

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  15. Halo mba tesya, seneng ih dpt smua info dr blog mba..

    Taxi dr queenstreet ke JB sentral itu beroperasi smpe jam brp?

    Trus nanti dr JB sentral balik ke queenstreet jg ada ga? Jam brp aj? Boleh bantu ya mba
    Mksh ☺️

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    1. Hai Mba..thank you udah mampir.
      Coba Mba cek blog nya WTS travel, pulang perginya ke Singapore Flyer Mba. Jam dan harga ada di webnya mereka ya. Maaf karena aku enggak hafal...
      Have fun liburannya ya Mba!

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  16. assalamualaikum mba Tesya. terimakasih banyak informasi2nya yang dapat menjadi panduan bagi saya dan keluarga utk travelling nanti.

    btw jumat besok saya travelling dengan 6 dewasa (termasuk saya), dan 2 batita. yang saya mau tanyakan:

    1. jika naik taksi di Johor Bahru apakah ada taksi yang bisa mengakomodir seluruh rombongan saya?
    2. jika ada kira2 berapa biaya taksi dari Legoland ke JB sentral?
    3. jika tidak ada dan mengharuskan dua taksi, berapa kira2 biaya taksi dari Legoland ke JB sentral?

    terimakasih mba sebelumnya

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    1. Waalaikumsalam Mas Ivan, maafkan saya telat balas. Anyway, saya balas aja ya:
      1. Naik taksi biru aja Mas, mobil innova.
      2. Kalau taksi merah saya tau Mas, sekitar MYR25. Mungkin taksi biru innova itu 2 kali lipatnya.
      3. Taksi merah jarang ada di Legoland. Yang ada taksi biru. Tapi kalau dapat taksi merah, sekitar MYR25-30 itu Mas satu mobil.

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  17. Haii Mba Tesya.. says rencana mau ke SG dan legoland.. 3 dewasa + 1 anak umur 7th.. rencana menginap di fragrance emerald.. mau minta masukannya dong mba..

    day 1 : (sampe changi sekitar jam 12)
    - check in
    - merlion park (enaknya lunch dimana mba kalau deket merlion?)
    - GBB
    - marina bay sands

    Day2 : legoland

    Day3 :
    - Sentosa
    - Orchard
    - Mustafa

    Day4 : pulang pakai pesawat jam 3.. sudah jalan ke bandara jam berapa yah? isi sisa waktu selain ke bugis, cukup kemana lagi yah? khususnya utk anak

    maaf kebanyakan pertanyaannya yah mba Tesya.. itu hasil mantengin blog mba Tesya hehee ..

    the b4

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    1. Hai Mba Yunda, coba aku jawab ya..

      Day 1:
      Makan siang di kantin karyawan Changi aja dulu Mba (coba googling lokasinya ya), murah meriah. Di Merlion Park paling ada Starbucks aja, kalau ada cafe2 nyberang dulu ke Esplanade.
      Day 4:
      Usahakan di Bandara jam 13.00 udah sampai ya Mba. Berarti pas, check out jam 12, terus ke bandara. Paling pagi2 ke Mustafa aja Mba. Jadi jangan di Day 3, terlalu penuh. Udah Subuh ke Mustafa, enak deh kosong. Terus lanjut packing. Nah pas Mba ke Mustafa, anak anak bisa nunggu di halaman nya City Square Mall, ada lapangan disitu. Mba ada bus langsung dari hotel ke Mustafa ya. Tapi pulangnya better pake taksi aja balik ke hotel.
      Have fun ya Mba..

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    2. Makasih Mba Tasya buat masukannya..

      oh iya utk family room emerald bisakan diisi 3 dewasa + 1 anak?

      bus dr hotel ke mustafa no brp yah?

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    3. Mustinya cuman 3 orang sih Mbak, tapi mungkin boleh ya. Bus 21 Mba, ini rutenya: http://www.transitlink.com.sg/eservice/eguide/service_route.php?service=21

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    4. makasih banyak infonya Mba Tesya ..

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    5. Mba Tasya, boleh minta rute ke destinasi2 diatas ga? pakai bus brp dan kalau pakai MRT naik & turun dimana.. agak khawatir krn pertama kali bawa bocah dan org tua ..

      makasih mba Tasya 😘

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    6. Hai Mba, btw namaku tesya pake e, karena tasya adalah penyanyi hehe..
      Anyway, aku naik dari Bugis, naik bus CW2 dari Queen Street Bus Terminal.
      Mba naik MRT dari mana? Pokoknya turun di Bugis MRT Station, terus jalan kaki aja ke Queen Street Bus Terminal.

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