Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Air
Kuching International Airport, 12km south of the city centre, has direct air links with
Singapore, Johor Bahru (the Malaysian city across the causeway from Singapore), Kuala
Lumpur (KL), Penang, Kota Kinabalu (KK), Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) and Pontianak.
MASwings, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, is basically Malaysian Borneo's very
own domestic airline. Flights link its hubs in Miri and Kuching with 14 destinations
around Sarawak, including the lowland cities of Sibu, Bintulu, Limbang and Lawas and
the upland destinations of Gunung Mulu National Park, Bario and Ba Kelalan.
The airport has three departure halls: 'Domestic Departures' for flights within Sarawak;
'Domestic Departures (Outside Sarawak)' for travel to other parts of Malaysia; and 'Inter-
national Departures'.
Inside the terminal, there's a
Tourist Information Centre
(Arrival level, Kuching In-
ternational Airport; 9am-10pm)
next to the luggage carrousels and customs. Foreign
currency can be exchanged at the
CIMB Bank counter
(Arrival level, Kuching Interna-
tional Airport; 7.30am-7.30pm)
but rates are poor. Places with
free wi-fi
include Star-
bucks and McDonald's. Among the
ATMs
there is one in front of McDonald's. To buy a
Celcom SIM Card, head to the
Blue Cube kiosk
(Departure level). For ticketing issues,
drop by the
Malaysian Airlines & MASwings office
(Departure level, Kuching Interna-
tional Airport; 5am-8pm)
.
Those overweight kilos can be shipped to airports around Malaysia at the
Excess Bag-
gage counter
( 014-287 3330; Next to Departure Hall B, Kuching International Air-
port; 7.30am-8.30pm)
. One kilo costs RM3.50 to Sibu, Bintulu and Miri and RM6.50
to RM8.50 to KL (minimum weight: 10kg).
Boat
Ekspress Bahagia
( in Kuching 016-889 3013, 082-412246, in Sibu 016-800 5891,
319-228)
runs a daily express ferry from Kuching's Express Wharf, 6km east of the
centre, to Sibu. Departures are at 8.30am from Kuching and at 11.30am from Sibu
(RM45, five hours). It's a good idea to book a day ahead. A taxi from town to the wharf
costs RM25.
Bus
Every half-hour or so from about 6am to 6.30pm, various buses run by City Public Link
(eg K9) and STC (eg 3A, 4B, 6 and 2) link central Kuching's Saujana Bus Station with the
Regional Express Bus Terminal. Saujana's ticket windows can point you to the next de-
parture. A taxi from the city centre costs RM28 to RM30.
