Malaysia ·
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Singapore to Malaysia Road Trip | Where to stay, What to do and eat, Car Rental
Friday, February 2, 2024
Despite visiting Malaysia so many times, there's still so much left undiscovered. It's truly a destination I will never get tired of visiting. Recently, my husband and I traveled to Malaysia on a 16-day Road Trip! It's our first time driving in Malaysia and traveling for such an extended period too. In this post, I'll break down our journey - including the places we stayed, the things we did, the foods we ate, our car rental, and most importantly with prices!
We also documented our journey on YouTube. Do check out our Malaysia Road Trip Playlist, otherwise the videos will be linked in this post too!
*This post will be updated as the YouTube videos are uploaded*
This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive a commission for purchases made through the links on this page, at no cost to you.
Contents
- Overview
Overview
Here's a breakdown of our trip. We traveled from end-December 2023 to early January 2024. We spent an extra day in cities that we wanted to explore more and kept the driving duration to a maximum of 4 hours since my husband is the only person driving. Towards the end of the trip, we kept it slow to recuperate from all the activities prior.
For this trip, we mainly focused on finding local foods instead of eating at malls. We also start most of the days early to avoid any traffic jams.
Day 1: Singapore to Johor | Car Rental | Johor Stay
3:00PM - Driving into Malaysia
During peak seasons (Weekends, Public Holidays, School Holidays), it can be daunting driving into Malaysia from Singapore due to the traffic jams. As my parents offered to drive us into Malaysia, we entered via Tuas Checkpoint and it took us 2 hours to clear customs.
Other options include:
Getting a shuttle to drive you across the border - Pricey!
Taking the bus at Woodlands Checkpoint - Cheap, but crowded immigration is a factor.
Taking the train at Woodlands Train Checkpoint - Best option, but tickets are always sold out.
6:00PM - Collecting our Car
The process of renting a car is relatively easy. As a Singaporean, you just need a valid driving license when you book the car online. We rented a Perodua Myvi VTT 1.3 Auto from WAHDAH Malaysia. The car is wide and spacious, as it is likely a 3rd generation model.
The total cost was RM2465 which includes RM1965 for the car and a RM500 refundable deposit that can be withdrawn after 15 days of returning the car.
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| Initial Car Mileage |
7:00PM - Getting SIM Cards
After getting our car, we drove to the nearest convenience store to buy our SIM Cards. Previously during our trip to Sabah, Malaysia, the SIM cards were prepaid with a fixed amount of data included. This time around, you have to download their app and buy the data package you require on their app. You will also require your passport to verify your identity on the app.
We bought one SIM from Hotlink and another from Celcomdigi. For this trip, the Celcomdigi connection was horrible. Despite showing a 5G connection, the internet will take forever to load even on Google Maps. For most of the trip, I hotspot off my husband's Hotlink connection instead.
The SIM card costs RM10 each while the Hotlink data package of 100 GB at 12Mbps for 30 days costs SGD14.40. In case you're wondering how much was Celcomdigi's, it cost SGD3.67 for 20GB of 5G data for 7 days.
8:00PM - Dinner at Nasi Kandar Sadi
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| Nasi Kandar |
We had dinner at Nasi Kandar Sadi which costs RM42.70 for two plates of Nasi Kandar and two drinks.
9:00PM - Haircut at Downsouth Barbershop
My husband went for his haircut after dinner which cost RM30 while I waited in the car and showcased the snacks we bought earlier (see YouTube video). We spent RM17.50 on a car phone holder from Mr. DIY and RM14.43 on snacks from Lotus Supermarket.
10:00PM - Check in to D'Summit Residences
The last item of the day was to check in to our apartment for the night. We booked a 1-bedroom apartment for 1 night on Booking.com for SGD48.46.
Check-in was easy. Register at the guard house, park your car outside the main car park, self-collect your keys from the mailbox area, then enter the car park and park at the designated parking spot for your unit.
The apartment itself was relatively clean. There were some stains on the couch but the bed was comfortable enough.
Day 2: Johor to Malacca | Melaka Stay | Seafood Dinner
7:30AM - Head to Malacca
Started the day early to avoid any traffic jams while heading upward. The drive from Johor to Malacca is about 2 hours nonstop.
10:40AM - Arrive in Malacca, Roti Prata Lunch
Once we arrived at Malacca, we had lunch at Roti Canai Wak Dol. As we arrived quite late, there was only plain and egg roti prata left, which cost RM5.50.
12:00PM - Jonker Street and Walk
It was too early to check in, so we headed to Jonker Street. Parking was hard to find and we parked quite far, at least a 10-minute walk to the main Jonker Street. We also gave the Mamee Noodle factory a pass as it was very crowded. The queue for the cashier led up to the main entrance.
We went to Old Shop to get sea coconut juice with gula melaka, golden caramel popcorn, and Himalaya salt popcorn - costing RM53.90 in total.
The weather was really hot, so we went to get cendol at Christina Ee Cendol Shop nearby. Two bowls of their original cendol costs RM12.
While walking back to the car, I managed to get Tanghulu from one of the street vendors for RM10. Was a little disappointed as the sugar was not crunchy but rather soft.
For our two-night stay in Malacca, we booked a Superior Double from The PINES Melaka's official website for SGD143.39. This excludes the RM20 tourism tax due to us being foreigners.
The room was spacious and clean with sea views. The bathroom has a bathtub, however as we were on the 27th floor, the water pressure seems to be weak. Hot water would only last a couple of minutes so it was not enough to fill the tub.
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| View from the 27th Floor Lift Lobby |
5:30PM - Dodol souvenirs
After resting for a bit, we headed out to get dodols for our families. We bought them at RM10 per pack from Dodol Warison Tradisional. The location itself is in a residential area. You'll have to drive in to find the corner landed property.
6:00PM - Medan Ikan Bakar Pernu
Our last stop for the day was to have a seafood dinner at Ikan Bakar Parameswara. It can get confusing on your first time there, but you're supposed to find a place to sit first before queuing up to choose your fish and side dishes.
We ordered one fish, that was split into two, fried squid, broccoli, tom yum soup, and two drinks for a total of RM69.50.
Day 3: A day in Malacca | Melaka Zoo | Honey Tasting | Klebang Beach
9:30AM - Breakfast
Started the day by having breakfast at Warong Sarang Gotty Karnivor. We ordered Roti Pahlawan for RM13, Roti Kari Kambing for RM17, and two drinks for RM6.
10:30AM - Melaka Zoo
After that, we headed to Melaka Zoo. Check out the YouTube video above to see the wholesome interactions with the animals!
Parking can be tricky at the zoo, while there is a dedicated car park, it gets filled really quickly, especially on weekends. The zoo tickets are priced at RM96 per person for foreigners. There are also additional tickets or fees in the zoo compound such as the petting zoo, which you'll have to pay at the entrance of each attraction. Otherwise, most of the time, the zookeepers would encourage you to feed the animals by passing you some big leaves.
I would highly recommend the zoo for families with children. I find it very entertaining and engaging for them to be able to get up close to certain animals. I guess the animals also realized more visitors meant more food!
If you're here for the handheld fan I was using at the zoo, it's by JISULIFE and it comes equipped with a torchlight as well - buy on Shopee!
12:45PM - Giant B Bee Gallery
Not far away is Giant B Gallery, where you can buy different types of honey. Bees are swarming around the area but they are not harmful and only a handful of them will ever try to go near you.
The gallery is more like a showroom for honey tasting before you find a salesperson to buy the products. Our sales lady was super nice! She gave us two free bottles of pure honey, but we also bought Honey Comb, Apple Cider Vinegar Honey, Royal Jelly Honey, and Bee Venom Honey - costing a total of RM303. The benefits of each honey type are also displayed on the glass dispenser during honey tasting.
1:30PM - Cofeology
Feeling a little hot and hungry, we went to another local cafe called Cofeology. Here we bought two frappes, one caramel and one dark chocolate as well as one plate of waffles with ice cream for SGD14.31.
2:45PM - Rest back at the Hotel
We decided to take a rest back at the hotel. The weather was really warm, so it would be better to cool down first before we head out for dinner. Plus, the food coma was real!
5:30PM - Klebang Beach
Before dinner, we decided to head to Klebang Beach. Parking for the beach was hectic. Most people park by the side of the road, and we went around the beach a few times to find a spot until we gave up and decided to pay RM3 to park at an adjacent amusement park.
The beach is lively! You can ride the ATV or horses at the beach, or even play with bunnies. There are a lot of inflatable sofas around the beach for you to use, but it does get taken up quickly depending on the crowd. There is also a market beside it, selling food and souvenirs. The beach has a great view of the sunset as well.
8:30PM - Dinner with relatives
It so happened that our relatives were in Malacca, so we decided to meet up at Ikan Bakar Segar Hj Musa / Akmal Bahari for a seafood dinner. While the seafood dinner was good, I attribute it to us being super hungry because the food took so long to come that we ate it all up within less than 30 minutes, hence no pictures. For this dinner, the price was free! Kidding, our relatives paid for the meal and we are always grateful.
*To be continued*
