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If you are looking to escape the bright lights of Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur to Melaka by bus is a fairly quick and inexpensive trip, usually costing around 10 to 15 MYR one way.
Better still, Melaka’s historic streets, colonial charm and famous Jonker Street Night Market charms are the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of KL.
The Kuala Lumpur to Melaka bus runs frequently so it is an easy day-trip but we’d implore you to stay a few nights in Melaka.
The trip from KL to Melaka by bus takes around 2 hours if you get a direct bus with numerous departures daily.
From coach departure times to bus station facilities, here is our guide to getting the bus from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka (with prices) in 2023:
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Table of Contents
How long is the bus journey from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka
The bus journey from KL bus station (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS) to Melaka Sentral bus station is around 2 hours if you take an express / direct bus.
The express bus journey from KL TBS to Melaka Sentral is mainly via expressways / highways and has no stops (so make sure you go to the bathroom at the bus station!)
Alternatively, the bus from the airport (Klia2) to Melaka is usually between 2.5 hours to 3 hours 15 minutes depending on which bus you take.
Note – there are a few bus terminals in Kuala Lumpur but the bus station with the most frequent and direct departures to Malacca is Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS (a short taxi / Grab from downtown Kuala Lumpur).
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How to get to KL Bus Station (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS)
The best way to get to the KL bus station Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS from downtown Kuala Lumpur is to take a Grab taxi.
We paid 14 MYR ($3 / £2.40 / 2.75 Euros) and there were no additional tolls going from downtown KL to this bus station.
Our taxi from Sleeping Lion Suites hotel (near Bukit Bintang / Golden Triangle) to the KL bus station took around 20 minutes – allow extra time if you’re travelling during the morning or evening Kuala Lumpur rush hours.
The taxi will drop you off at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan TBS outside the main concourse. This is also where you pick up a taxi to return to Kuala Lumpur if you are getting the Melaka to KL bus.
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Buying Kuala Lumpur to Melaka bus tickets
You can pre purchase Kuala Lumpur to Melaka bus tickets online via redbus.my or 12go.com.
There are however regular bus departures to Melaka (up to six per hour), so most travellers and locals buy their Kuala Lumpur to Melaka bus tickets at the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS on the day of travel.
The Redbus.my website is pretty easy to use and you don’t have to create an account (although they recommend you create an account for an ‘accelerated’ booking process).
There is a small booking fee on top of the bus fare when booking via the Mybus website and 12go.com.
If you do pre book your KL to Melaka bus ticket, make sure you allow plenty of time for unexpected traffic and to find your departure gate.
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Using a Kuala Lumpur Bus Ticket Machine
We opted to use the bus ticket machines at KL bus station (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS) – the ticket machines selling Kuala Lumpur to Melaka bus tickets have an English language setting and are very easy to use.
Firstly select your departure station (it doesn’t automatically detect that you are at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan), then add your arrival point (Melaka Sentral) and your departure time.
We’d recommend allowing at least 10 minutes to get to your departure gate (many of them are downstairs).
Using the terminal / ticket machine, you also get to choose your seat numbers, which is great if you are travelling with others and want to sit next to each other – or you can even choose to sit separately if you’ve had an argument that morning!
To buy bus tickets in KL including the Kuala Lumpur to Melaka bus, you also need to enter your passport details plus full names – this is true for both the ticket machines and booking online via Redbus.My.
Tickets must be paid for using cash or e-payments – we paid cash (change is given) and from the looks of it, e-pay was a QR code scanner for mobile payments only.
If you don’t want to use a self-ticket machine, there are also half a dozen ticket counters at (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS) but the queues seemed much longer than the self ticket machines.
Once you’ve bought your bus ticket, board the bus at departure gates 1 to 16 (note some departures are on the same level and some on the lower level).
CK Travels tip – allow plenty of time to buy your bus tickets. Based on our experience, queues can be quite long at the counters / ticket machines as passport numbers / names etc need to be inputted for every single passenger. It took us about 20 minutes to get our bus tickets from joining the queue.
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How much is the Kuala Lumpur to Melaka Sentral bus / Malacca?
The price of a Kuala Lumpur to Melaka express bus starts from 10 MYR for a one way trip (direct, lasting 2 hours). This is approximately £1.70 / $2.10 USD / 2 Euros – KL to Melaka bus prices correct as of November 2023
KL to Melaka bus prices can vary depending on the time of day and whether you book a standard or premium bus.
Tickets generally cost between 10 MYR to 15 MYR per person one way – as such, KL to Melaka bus tickets are pretty cheap and inexpensive.
Buses from Kuala Lumpur airport (KLIA 1 and KLIA2) to Melaka generally start from 25 MYR per person and go up to a maximum of 35 MYR one way at peak times.
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Kuala Lumpur to Melaka bus timetable / schedule
Buses from KL (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS) to Melaka Sentral bus station run very regularly (up to six buses an hour) throughout the day and night.
On any given day, there are up to 80 bus departures daily from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka.
The ‘last’ bus of the day to Melaka from KL TBS station is usually 11pm on weekdays, but early morning buses resume just a few hours later.
Kuala Lumpur to Melaka – first and last bus
The first bus of the day from (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS) to Melaka departs KL TBS at 3am on weekdays.
The last bus of the day from KL to Melaka usually departs at 11pm (but do check for updated schedules) – KL bus times correct as of November 2023.
Kuala lumpur airport (KLIA 1 & 2) to Melaka – first and last bus
The first bus from Klia2 to Melaka departs at 7:15am and then also picks up from Klia1 at 7:30am.
The last bus to depart for Melaka from Klia2 is 6:15pm and from Klia2 at 6:30pm.
There is sometimes a later bus from Klia to Melaka at the weekends leaving KLIA1 at 8:15pm.
Melaka to KL Bus Times
The first bus of the day to depart Melaka Sentral for KL (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS) is at 5am on weekdays and 6am at weekends.
The first bus of the day to depart Melaka Sentral for KLIA is at 5:30am on both weekdays and weekends.
The last bus to depart Melaka Sentral for KL is 11:45pm on weekdays and weekends.
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Kuala Lumpur Bus Terminal facilities at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan – TBS
Relatively modern with good facilities, KL’s Terminal Bersepadu Selatan is spread over 6 levels.
- Level 1 – Intercity / Shuttle Bus departures
- Level 2 – Departure Hall / Arrival Hall
- Level 3 – Ticket counters / shops/ ATMs / Link Bridge to Rail Stations (this is also where Grab taxis drop you off)
- Level 4 – Car park, retail outlets
- Level 5 to 6 – Car parking.
There are a few food and drink outlets at the bus station as well as souvenir and fashion stalls – most of the convenience stores at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan were independently run (no 7-Eleven’s or KK Marts etc).
Toilets can be found on levels 1 to 4 of the bus station (although in our experience, they were quite dirty and smelly) – there are no toilets or service stops on the buses to Melaka so make sure you go before you board.
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Melaka Bus Terminal facilities
More of a shopping centre than bus terminal, Melaka Bus Terminal is a lot smaller, based over two floors with a few shops and services.
At Melaka Bus Terminal, you’ll find a 7-Eleven, McDonalds, Subway plus lots of independent stalls and food outlets as well as ticket machines and gift shops.
To get to downtown Melaka from Melaka Sentral, you will likely need to hail a taxi or use the Grab taxi app.
It is around a 10 minute ride from Melaka Sentral bus station to most of the major Malacca hotels – we paid just 9 MYR for a 10 minute Grab ride from Melaka Sentral to Moty Hotel.
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Onboard the Kuala Lumpur to Melaka Bus
There are several different bus companies that operate direct buses from KL to Melaka so your bus experience may vary depending on the company.
Our bus ride to Melaka from KL was a direct 2 hour journey in pre-allocated seats.
Our bus didn’t really have any mod cons as such (no USB chargers / screens etc) but did have reclining chairs and blinds in the windows if you wanted to escape the sun.
Leg room for tall people is quite limiting, especially if the person in front reclines their chair fully (we’re talking from experience here!)
Given it is just a two hour journey and the fares are so cheap (10 to 15 MYR), we thought the Kuala Lumpur to Melaka bus journey was incredibly good value and went by very quickly.
You can also put big bags (suitcases / backpacks) in the storage area under the bus.
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Day trips to Melaka from Kuala Lumpur
If you’d rather do a private tour of Melaka from Kuala Lumpur as opposed to public transport, some tour options include:
From Kuala Lumpur: Private Full Day Tour to Malacca
From Kuala Lumpur – City Explorer: The ‘non-touristy’ Malacca Private Day Trip
From Kuala Lumpur – Historical Melaka Tour with Lunch from Kuala Lumpur
Getting around Melaka
Melaka is fairly compact so getting around by foot is no problem (70% of the major Melaka things to do and attractions are within 1km radius).
Alternatively, or you could pay to take a sightseeing ride around the old town in one of the famous cartoon character trishaws.
Download the Grab taxi app – they are widely used by both tourists and locals in Melaka, and their fares are really cheap!
Where to stay in Melaka
There are lots of hotel choices in Melaka, from luxury accommodation to smaller historic downtown lodgings.
We stayed at Hotel Puri – the location was amazing and just a few minutes walk to Jonker street weekend market, the river and many restaurants. The rooms were a little tired looking but there was a fairly decent free breakfast every morning.
Check out Hotel Puri prices here >
More recently, we stayed at the Moty hotel which is a little further out of town (near to the Menara Taming Sari observation deck and Muzium Samudera). The rooms are really big (they include bathtubs) plus they have a nice indoor swimming pool area >
Check out Moty Hotel Melaka prices here >
Mid range
If you are looking for something mid range then these hotels have great reviews:r
Rosa Malacca
Modern hotel featuring contemporary-industrial decor. Check out prices and availability for Rosa Malacca
Timez Modern Heritage Hotel
Boutique hotel located in a side alley just off Jonker street. Check out prices and availability for Timez Modern Heritage Hotel
RC Hotel Melaka
Boutique hotel located just beside the Malacca River with rooms featuring different unique themes. Check out prices and availability for RC Hotel Melaka
Treat yourself
Alternatively if you are looking for something more special then treat yourself to a stay at one of these seriously beautiful hotels in Melaka:
The Majestic Malacca
Boutique hotel set along the banks of Melaka River featuring elegantly decorated guest rooms and spa and outdoor pool. Check out prices and availability for The Majestic Malacca
Casa Del Rio
Riverside hotel featuring an infinity pool, fitness centre, spa, 3 restaurants and rooms with a private balcony. Check out prices and availability for Casa Del Rio
Other Malaysia blog posts you might like
- Top things to do in Melaka, Malaysia
- Best Cafes in Melaka, Malaysia
- Jonker Street Night Market Melaka / Malacca guide
- The River of Life, Kuala Lumpur
- Top things to do in Langkawi, Malaysia
- KLIA to KLIA2 Free Airport Shuttle Bus Guide
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- Tasting local Malaysian delights on a Kuala Lumpur food tour
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