:
: Arriving to Melaka : :
By Bus
The major entry point to Melaka is the Sentral
Stasiun (Central Bus Station) which is also the main
bus terminal for both local and express buses. Located just
off Jalan Tun Razak Sentral Stasiun is about 5 kilometres
or so on the north side of the city.
The Stasiun Sentral is really quite impressive. The terminal
building is about the size of a small regional airport in
the west and every bit as modern. With about 60 berths to
embark and disembark and a huge parking lot for waiting buses
not to mention wide roads leading into and out of the station
- this is certainly a much better first (and last) impression
of Melaka than the old station that was situated in the middle
of town way back when.
For more information on taking a bus to Melaka see the next section, Traveling to Melaka.
By Air
Melaka does have a small airport, Batu Berendam
(IATA code: MKZ) located approximately 10km from the city.
Currently the airport is served by one airline, Riau Airlines,
with 5 flights weekly from Pekanbaru (Sumatra, Indonesia).
For more flight information, fares and booking tickets on-line,
visit the Riau
Airlines website.
That said, visitors can either take a taxi or public bus from/to
Batu Berendam Airport. The public buses that serve the airport
are the yellow Batang Buses. Batang Buses leave from the Stasiun
Sentral and pass the airport but don't enter so you'll need
to be let off on the main road in front of the airport and
walk in.
Unfortunately there is currently no air service between Melaka
and Kuala Lumpur.
By Boat
With Melaka's storied history of seafaring trade,
it is only natural that one could travel to Melaka by boat.
And so it is with daily ferry service to and from Sumatra,
Indonesia from three ports namely Dumai, Pekanbaru and Bengkalis.
From Dumai there are usually two ferries daily - morning and
afternoon, with the journey lasting about two hours or so.
There is also ferry service from Pekanbaru with two ferry
companies each running every other day between Pekanbaru and
Melaka so service is available daily except Sunday. The journey
takes about 7 hours depending on weather and current.
Lastly there is ferry service from Bengkalis (Riau, Sumatra) to Melaka. Again there are two ferry companies each running every other day with the ferries arriving at the Harbour Master's Jetty (Jeti Shahbandar) at Taman Melaka Raya near the Maritime Museum. Malacca Town Bus No. 17 goes past Jeti Shahbandar which is just down the road from Stadthuys and "Red Square".
That said, you could also visit Indonesia by ferry as well however be aware of Indonesia's visa-on-arrival restrictions and entry points before departing. Fwiw, Pekanbaru and Dumai are entry ports for visa on arrival but not so for Bengkalis (however that could change). For more information on current Indonesian visa rules and regulations please contact your nearest Indonesian embassy or consulate.
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