Pontian Kechil, Pekan Nanas and Kukup Fishing Village are towns and village in Pontian District of Johor (柔佛.笨珍), to the southwestern tip of West Malaysia.
Geographically, Kukup Fishing Village (龟咯) is the nearest to Singapore but when travelling on land, one will have to pass through the towns of Pekan Nanas and Pontian Kechil before reaching the small fishing village. This is due to the presence of Pulai River and large areas of mangrove swamp that make direct road link between Kukup Village and Singapore difficult.
In 2023, a bridge was completed over Pulai River and greatly reduced the journey from Gelang Patah to Kukup Village to about 30 minutes, but no public transports is using that route.
Let's see how to get to the destinations in Pontian District using Malaysia's public bus network.
SINGAPORE TO PONTIAN
To get to Pontian Kechil or Kukup Village, take bus services to Pontian Bus Terminal in Pontian Kechil, the capital of Pontian District. For Pekan Nanas, a town in Pontian, head to Pontian Bus Terminal as well but alight earlier at the little town.
1. Via Woodlands Checkpoint (First Link)
There are two routes to get to Pontian after crossing the border via Woodlands Checkpoint.
Route A: Get to Larkin Sentral via Woodlands Checkpoint. (More details: JB Bus Guide: Singapore to Larkin Sentral in Johor, Malaysia)
At Larkin Sentral, take myBAS T50 at Platform A to Pontian Bus Terminal. Pay the fare onboard the bus.
myBAS T50
Fare: RM6.20
Journey: 1.5 hours
Operating Time: 6am to 10pm daily
Frequency: 30 minutes
Route B: Exit JB CIQ after clearing Malaysia customs and walk to the bus terminal below JB Sentral. Take myBAS services T30 / T31 / T32 (≈ RM2.00) to the bus stop opposite Paradigm Mall, then change to myBAS T50 at the same bus stop towards Pontian. Using this route, you can plan a stop-over to shop & dine at Paradigm Mall on your way to Pontian or on the way back.
Be familiar with the schedules of T30 / T31 / T32 to avoid spending long waiting time, around 30 minutes maximum, at the bus-stop.
2. Via Tuas Checkpoint (Second Link)
First, take the following Causeway Link bus services in Singapore to cross the border via Tuas Checkpoint to 2nd-Link CIQ in Johor:
Service CW3/4 from Jurong Town Hall Bus Interchange, Berth B5. The full fare to Pontian is S$5.
Service CW6 from a bus stop near Boon Lay MRT Station, along Boon Lay Way. Purchase fare to 2nd-Link CIQ, then change to services heading to Gelang Patah Terminal.
Service CW7 from bus stop opposite Tuas Link MRT Station. This service heads to Gelang Patah Terminal and the fare is $4.50. (Although Tuas Checkpoint is within walking distance from Tuas Link Station, walking to the checkpoint is disallowed.)
Keep the fare receipts, if not using ManjaLink card, for re-boarding of respective bus services throughout the journey. Between Tuas Checkpoint and 2nd-Link CIQ, board any CW3 / CW4S / CW6 / CW7 services to cross the Second Link.
After clearing Malaysia customs at 2nd-Link CIQ, take CW4G / CW7 to Gelang Patah Bus Terminal and change to CW4 / 52T to Pontian Bus Terminal — ask the bus driver if unsure. The fare is RM4 and takes about 1 hour between Gelang Patah Bus Terminal and Pontian Bus Terminal.
Service CW4 operates only from Monday to Friday, except public holidays. It has 2 services per day:
Gelang Patah → Pontian: 9:30am & 8pm
Pontian → Gelang Patah: 5:30am & 3pm
On weekends and public holidays, Service 52T will take over. It has 5 services per weekend / public holiday:
Gelang Patah → Pontian: 7:30am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 2pm, 5pm
Pontian → Gelang Patah: 8:30am, 10:30am, 12:30am, 3:30pm, 6:30pm
(Ref.: Causeway Link website)
BETWEEN PONTIAN KECHIL & KUKUP VILLAGE
From Pontian Bus Terminal, take the Pontian-Kukup bus by Kembara City (Service 605) to Kukup Village. Kembara City's buses used to be painted yellow and easier to tell it apart from the red-blue Bas Muafakat Johor services, which are free for locals only. But Kembara City's new buses are now painted red and blue too, making it difficult to tell them apart from far — look for the sign "Pontian - Kukup" displayed on the bus's windscreen.
Fare: RM3.00 / pax
Journey: 30 minutes
Schedule to Kukup: 7:20am, 11am, 2:30pm & 6pm
The bus schedule from Kukup Village back to Pontian Kechil is at 8am, 12pm, 3pm & 6:30pm. Board at the same bus stop where you dropped off in Kukup.
PONTIAN TO SINGAPORE
Getting back to Larkin Sentral or JB Sentral, to return via Woodlands Checkpoint, is just the reverse but take note of the last-bus timings departing from Pontian Bus Terminal if you are not staying in the town for the night. Last myBAS T50 to Larkin Sentral is at 10:00pm.
From Larkin Sentral to Singapore, read:
To return via Tuas Checkpoint, take note of the last bus timings too:
52T → Gelang Patah @ 6:30pm (weekends & public holidays only)
CW4 → Jurong East in Singapore @ 3pm (weekdays only)
Service 52T to Gelang Patah Terminal is RM4. If going to Singapore, tell the driver so, the fare is RM8, but the service will still stop at Gelang Patah Terminal. Use the fare receipt / ManjaLink Card to transfer to other services to 2nd-Link CIQ.
Service CW4 charges a flat RM8 on boarding but it does not go all the way to Jurong East in Singapore although the fare covers the full journey. The service will also stop at Gelang Patah Terminal. Similarly, use the fare receipt / ManjaLink Card to transfer to other services to 2nd-Link CIQ.
At Gelang Patah Terminal, change to CW4S / CW7 to 2nd-Link CIQ. Then transfer to CW3 / CW4S / CW6 / CW7 to cross the Second Link. After clearing Tuas Checkpoint, take CW3 / CW4S to Jurong East.
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