Owing
Penang has become one of the preferred destinations for a short weekend trip for Singaporean especially when the distance is only 700 kilometers away and there are a myriad ways getting there. One can simply make a booking via online booking site like Easybook for bus from Singapore to Penang; boarding a train; taking a budget flight; and of course using own private means. The decision on which transportation means is economical is determined by time constraint as well as the type of luggage the traveler carries. Let’s dig deep into which transportation means is worth exploring.
Travel by Train
Perhaps the slowest yet safest way to getting to Penang. However, one may have to board and alight the train multiple times. To break it down for you, you will need to go through this process: Woodlands Train Checkpoint — JB Sentral; JB Sentral — Gemas; Gemas — KL Sentral; KL Sentral — Butterworth. Perhaps the following screenshots will give you a better perspective of how to plan your travel well.
Singapore to JB
JB Sentral to Gemas
Gemas to KL Sentral
KL Sentral to Butterworth, Penang
It’s not impossible to get to Penang via train as long as you plan it well. The journey is definitely more hectic as opposed to other transportation means but at the very least you will get plenty of legroom and opportunity to enjoy the scenery of the surpassing beauty. The total cost for the journey could be around SGD 45 and the total travel time could be around 11 hours to 14 hours if we account for the waiting time.
Travel by Bus
This might be the cheapest option to travel by bus from Singapore to Penang. Besides being an express travel, the whole journey only takes less than 10 hours. You will not have to face the ridiculous inconvenience of having alight, book tickets and board again as experienced by train travelers.
A bus trip is extremely cheap ranging from SGD 35 to SGD 45 depending on the services and facilities offered by the bus operator. The challenge with the bus is that the traveler can only take limited luggage.
Travel by Flight
Travelling by air is perhaps the fastest and safest mean of travel that takes approximate 2 hours. Even if we factor in the waiting time before boarding, it should take less than 4 hours. Budget airline is always the best way to go, you can get a ticket at as low as SGD 79. Travel light to avoid paying for baggage.
Conclusion
For a person travelling to Penang to get away for a few days, the bus is the most economical mean as you will not burn a hole in your wallet and you can get a shut eye during the journey and reaching your destination the very next day. However, if you are lucky enough to spot any airline with special offer, then travel by flight will be the best option. All in all, traveling by bus seems to meet the criteria for economy in most of the market segments. Overall, the ultimate determinant is the needs of the traveler.