Johor Bahru City Square, in Johor Bahru, is the nearest shopping centre to Singapore and is located right next to JB Sentral, the transport hub of Johor Bahru. Johor Bahru Checkpoint, or Sultan Iskandar (JB) CIQ, is connected to JB Sentral.
Be it to JB Checkpoint, JB Sentral or JB City Square, all one have to do is to get to Woodlands Checkpoint, cross the Causeway, clear Malaysia immigration in JB CIQ, exit the complex, walk through JB Sentral and you are at JB City Square or KOMTAR JBCC, another shopping centre, right besides it. It is that easy!
PART 1: FROM SINGAPORE TO JOHOR BAHRU
Before you go, find the best times to cross the Singapore-Johor causeway without being caught in both human and traffic congestions at the customs. Spending 2-6 hours at the customs during a weekend trip or holiday is not sound planning.
Read: Best Times to Cross Singapore-Johor Causeway (during normal weekends)
#1. Take Bus to Woodlands Checkpoint
There are several bus services from Singapore to Johor Bahru via Woodlands Checkpoint. Most buses will terminate at JB CIQ and few will continue to Larkin Sentral after JB CIQ. Choose the service that is best suited to get you to your destination.
#2. Clearing Singapore Immigration
All cross-border services will stop at Woodlands Checkpoint, alight and proceed to clear Singapore Immigration. Those taking SBS Transit 160 / 170 / 170X / SMRT 950 must tap your EZ-Link card when alighting to "suspend" the journey or you will be charged a new fare when reboarding.
During peak hours or on weekends, allow 30 minutes to 1 hour to clear immigration. It takes less than 5 minutes during non-peak hours.
#3. Crossing the Causeway
After clearing Singapore Immigration, proceed to the ground level to re-board the buses. Those taking SJE should board SJE only. Those taking CW1 / CW2 / CW5 can board any CW buses, including CWL, that come along.
Those taking SBS Transit 160 / 170 / 170X / SMRT 950 can queue in any of the 3 lanes and board any SBS Transit / SMRT buses that come along. Tap your EZ-Link card again to "resume" the journey.
No extra charges will be incurred at this point — except if you decide to change to other bus service (need to buy new ticket in Singapore dollars).
After boarding the bus, it will cross the Singapore-Johor Causeway. Buses and other heavy vehicles use a dedicated right-most lane to JB CIQ. On Sundays or public holidays, there will be much lesser heavy vehicles, making buses the fastest mode of transportation on the Causeway.
#4. Clearing Malaysia Immigration
On reaching JB CIQ, alight from the bus once more and proceed to clear Malaysia Immigration. Those taking SBS Transit / SMRT buses should tap the EZ-Link cards again to end the journey (even though "suspended" will be shown).
Note: Johor Bahru immigration is a border-crossing with NO visa-on-arrival, so make sure you have free or valid visa before going there. Passports must have at least 6 months of validity period. Work permit holders must bring along your work permits as required by Malaysia Immigration. Singapore Immigration officers will also ask to see it to ensure work permit holders meet the requirements by Malaysia Immigration to avoid unnecessary hassles after crossing the road-bridge.
During peak hours or on weekends, expect 1~2 hours to clear immigration. It takes less than 10 minutes during non-peak hours. For Singapore passport holders, use the auto-gates for auto-clearance — no need to submit MDAC form for land crossings and no longer need to enrol to use auto-gates too.
#5. Exit JB CIQ
After clearing Malaysia Immigration, turn left at the first exit, a sign will say "JB Sentral". Follow the crowds or walk along the corridor to exit JB CIQ.
To take a bus to Larkin Sentral, for long-distance buses to cities beyond Johor Bahru or Johor, head to the Bus Platform below JB CIQ.
After exiting JB CIQ, you will come to JB Sentral after passing a lift lobby that leads to a bus terminal on the ground floor.
To go further into Johor Bahru or neighbouring districts, take public buses from the bus terminal.
JB Sentral is also a train terminal for Intercity trains to Kulai, Kluang, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Taiping, Penang (via Butterworth), etc. There is also a shuttle train service to Woodlands Train Checkpoint in Singapore.
Walk through JB Sentral and exit from its main entrance, take the escalators down two levels and you will come to a pedestrian bridge.
At the end of the pedestrian bridge, turn left to Johor Bahru City Square. Note that JB City Square will be opened to shoppers at 10am. To have breakfast in JB City Square between 8am and 10am, enter the shopping centre via applicable entrances.
KOMTAR Johor Bahru City Centre (JBCC), another shopping centre and integrated with Hotel Holiday Inn, is situated right next to JB City Square. It is accessible via the same pedestrian bridge from JB Sentral.
In addition to the two shopping centres near JB Checkpoint, there are more local eats and buys in nearby Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk and around Bandar Johor Bahru.
Enjoy your trip in Johor Bahru until it is time to return to Singapore.
PART 2: FROM JOHOR BAHRU TO SINGAPORE
The return journey is merely the reverse of getting to JB CIQ / JB Sentral / JB City Square from Singapore but with slight differences.
#1. Clearing Malaysia Immigration
FromJB City Square / JB Sentral, walk to JB CIQ and keep to the right-most lanes after passing the lift lobby to the bus terminal below JB Sentral. Show your passport to the customs officers on duty. Then follow the crowds, or keep to the right, and proceed to the departure hall of the complex.
#2. Crossing the Causeway
After clearing Malaysia immigration, go to the bus bays one level down and take:
SBS Transit 160 / 170 / 170X to Woodlands Checkpoint. After Singapore Immigration, board Service 160 to Kranji Station then to Jurong East; Service 170 to Kranji Station then to Queen Street Terminal and Service 170X to Kranji Station.
SMRT 950 to Woodlands Interchange
Causeway Link CW1 to Kranji Station
Causeway Link CW2 to Queen Street Terminal
Causeway Link CW5 to Newton Circus
Cross Border AC7 to Yishun Interchange
Singapore-Johor Express to Queen Street Terminal
All buses will cross the Causeway and you will need to alight again at Woodlands Checkpoint. If you use EZ-Link card, tap it before alighting to "suspend" the journey.
#3. Clearing Singapore Immigration
After clearing Singapore Immigration, re-board the respective bus to your destination (and tap EZ-Link card to "resume" journey).
For those taking SBS Transit 160 / 170 / 170X, you will be able to drop at any bus stops along their service routes in Singapore. Most people will drop at Kranji MRT Station and switch to faster MRT trains.
Reduce time spend at the checkpoints:
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