Melaka City, also known as Malacca City, is the capital city of the state of the same name. The city is 152 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur and lies on both sides of the Melaka River. The city center area is located on the old coastline which includes the Dutch Square, old Chinatown, Portuguese fortress, and many more.

HOW TO GET THERE + GUIDE

It is very easy to travel to Melaka City from Kuala Lumpur. Just make your way to KL Sentral and ride rapidkl, KTM, or KLIA Transit (whichever is more convenient for you). As for me, I rode KTM because I have some credits left on my KTM card.

From KL Sentral, get off at Bandar Tasik Selatan Station. You will not miss this station as the train will remind passengers that this station will allow you to transfer to TBS. Once off the train, walk your way to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS). TBS is Kuala Lumpur’s main bus station. All routes are centralized here. It operates like an airport but for buses. Worry not from walking because from the station, the pathway is covered going inside the station.

 

You can take a river cruise at the river for a price

Once inside TBS, line up to one of the counters and purchase a ticket from TBS to Melaka Sentral. I suggest you line up on the left side counters because the queue is shorter than the ones on the middle counters. The attendant will ask you to choose your desired departure time and seat number. I chose 11:15AM schedule served by Mayang Sari Bus. The one way ticket price is MYR11.40 (Php141.36 / USD 2.80) and it includes insurance just in case unforeseen circumstances will happen.

After buying your ticket, go to your designated departure gate and wait for your boarding time.

The travel time from TBS to Melaka Sentral is approximately 2-2.5 hours. Your bus trip will end at Melaka Sentral, Melaka’s centralized bus station. I suggest that you buy your return ticket in advance before touring Melaka if you only planned to be in Melaka for a day trip like me. The bus will drop you off at the taxi station side of the terminal. Make your way inside and look for the self-service ticket counter and buy your return ticket from Melaka Sentral to TBS. You can opt not to follow me.

Once done, you can exit the terminal and book a grab from Melaka Sentral to Dutch Square. It will cost you MYR10 – MYR20 (normal fare to high fare). Grab is very comfortable compared to the old looking taxis with no proper A/C and a lot cheaper too. The ride will drop you off at the UNESCO Heritage Site exactly. It can really get too traffic in the area because of the volume of tourists.

PLACES TO VISIT

OTHER THINGS TO DO

ITINERARY

Melaka is really a beautiful city to explore by foot. There are a lot of things to experience and see in the plaza alone. If you have several days in Malaysia, never miss visiting Melaka City.