Travel from Penang to Melaka

Melaka, also known as Malacca, is not connected to Malaysia’s railway network, nor does it have its own airport, so the only way to travel there is by road or by sea, which would involve chartering a private boat service as there no scheduled ferry services from Penang to Melaka. From Penang Island the most straightforward way to get to Melaka is to take a direct bus service. The other option is to take a train to Kuala Lumpur and then a bus service from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka.

Bus Times to Melaka

There are four bus services a day from Penang to Melaka which are available to book online.

• New Asian Travel bus services are scheduled to complete the journey from Penang to Melaka in 7 hours 00 minutes.

Buy Tickets to Melaka

Use the Search Box below to buy your bus tickets from Penang to Melaka.

Penang Bus Station

New Asian Travel bus services to Melaka depart from outside the New Asian Travel office on the ground floor of the Komtar Tower in George Town, Penang.

Melaka Bus Station

New Asian Travel bus services from Penang terminate at Melaka Sentral Station.

About Melaka

Melaka is a town with a lot of history and a lot of old buildings, making it an interesting place to visit. Melaka was founded at the start of the 15th Century by a Sultan who had a fled from his kingdom based in Singapore after in was invaded. This new Sultanate flourished as a commercial port on account of its location in the narrow stretch of ocean between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, known as the ‘Straits’. Shipping wishing to avoid travelling via the Straits had to make a long detour around Sumatra leaving little alternative but to pass by Melaka, thereby providing the port with a steady flow of ships to service and tax in return for being allowed to continue their passage through the Straits.

As international trade became an increasingly important part of the global economy, the interest of large foreign powers in strategically placed ports also grew, leading to succession of different countries taking control of Melaka. The first to capture Melaka were the Portuguese in 1511, who stayed until losing the territory to the Dutch in 1641. The Portuguese did a very poor job of managing the port of Melaka which declined in commercial importance over period during which it was a Portuguese colony. Where the Portuguese were more successful was influencing the culture of the town and integrating themselves into the local community. A small community of people of Portuguese heritage still remain in Melaka in a distinctly Portuguese Quarter of the town. The Dutch made less of an impact culturally but they did revive the town commercially and improve its infrastructure with a number of buildings from Dutch period now major tourist attractions. The British took over the town in 1841 which flourished the next 101 years until it fell to the invading Japanese who built nothing but destroyed a lot. After the Japanese were defeated the British took back control of Melaka until Malaysian independence in 1957.