 Malysia's new international
airport - at Sepang, 50km (31mi) south of KL - opened in June 1998. Most tourists either
fly into Sepang or arrive overland from Thailand or Singapore. However, Penang also has
international flights, and Kuching in Sarawak and Tawau in Sabah have flights to/from
Kalimantan. There is a departure tax of US$40 on international flights, but if you buy
your ticket in Malaysia the tax is already included in the ticket price. Departure tax for
flights to Singapore and Brunei is only US$5.
 There
are five road border crossings between Malaysia and Thailand (two on the west coast, one
in the centre and two on the east coast). There is also a west-coast rail link. To get
to/from Singapore, you can cross the causeway at Johor Bahru, catch a ferry or take the
train. There are three ferry services between Malaysia and Indonesia (Penang-Medan,
Melaka-Dumai and, in East Malaysia, Tawau-Tarakan). There's also a difficult road link
between Sarawak and  Kalimantan.
Getting
Around
 Malaysian
Airline System (MAS) is the main domestic airline, servicing both the peninsula and Sabah
and Sarawak. Fares are reasonable but it's unlikely that you'll need to fly in Peninsula
Malaysia unless you're in a real hurry. It's cheaper to fly to East Malaysia from Johor
Bahru than from KL. In East Malaysia, flying is often the only quick way to get around.
Note that flights in East Malaysia are frequently fully booked during school holidays and
are prone to delays due to the vagaries of the weather.
 Peninsula Malaysia has a
fast, economical and widespread bus system, and this is generally the best way to get
around. Sabah has excellent roads, and minibuses ply the main routes. Buses ply Sarawak's
major trunk road, but hardly anywhere else. Peninsula Malaysia has a comfortable and
sensibly priced railway system, but there are basically only two lines: one linking
Singapore to Thailand via KL and Butterworth, and the other branching off this at Gemas
and heading north-east to Kota Bharu. In Sabah, there's a narrow-gauge line through the
Pegas River gorge from Tenom to Kota Kinabalu which is well worth catching.
 In Peninsula Malaysia, long-distance taxis are twice the price of buses but
they're a comparatively luxurious and efficient way to travel. If you want to get around
by car, all major car-rental firms have KL offices. There are no boat services between
Peninsula and East Malaysia, but fast boats ply the rivers of both Sabah and Sarawak.
Local taxis in Malaysia are metered. Rickshaws have all but disappeared in KL, but they
are still a viable form of local transport in provincial areas. KL has a notoriously bad
public transport system, and peak-hour travel in the city should be avoided at all cost.
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