Malysia's new international airport - at Sepang, 50km (31mi) south of KL - opened in June 1998. Most tourists either fly into Sepang or arrive overland from Thailand or Singapore. However, Penang also has international flights, and Kuching in Sarawak and Tawau in Sabah have flights to/from Kalimantan. There is a departure tax of US$40 on international flights, but if you buy your ticket in Malaysia the tax is already included in the ticket price. Departure tax for flights to Singapore and Brunei is only US$5.

There are five road border crossings between Malaysia and Thailand (two on the west coast, one in the centre and two on the east coast). There is also a west-coast rail link. To get to/from Singapore, you can cross the causeway at Johor Bahru, catch a ferry or take the train. There are three ferry services between Malaysia and Indonesia (Penang-Medan, Melaka-Dumai and, in East Malaysia, Tawau-Tarakan). There's also a difficult road link between Sarawak and Kalimantan.

Malaysian Airline System (MAS) is the main domestic airline, servicing both the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak. Fares are reasonable but it's unlikely that you'll need to fly in Peninsula Malaysia unless you're in a real hurry. It's cheaper to fly to East Malaysia from Johor Bahru than from KL. In East Malaysia, flying is often the only quick way to get around. Note that flights in East Malaysia are frequently fully booked during school holidays and are prone to delays due to the vagaries of the weather.

Peninsula Malaysia has a fast, economical and widespread bus system, and this is generally the best way to get around. Sabah has excellent roads, and minibuses ply the main routes. Buses ply Sarawak's major trunk road, but hardly anywhere else. Peninsula Malaysia has a comfortable and sensibly priced railway system, but there are basically only two lines: one linking Singapore to Thailand via KL and Butterworth, and the other branching off this at Gemas and heading north-east to Kota Bharu. In Sabah, there's a narrow-gauge line through the Pegas River gorge from Tenom to Kota Kinabalu which is well worth catching.

In Peninsula Malaysia, long-distance taxis are twice the price of buses but they're a comparatively luxurious and efficient way to travel. If you want to get around by car, all major car-rental firms have KL offices. There are no boat services between Peninsula and East Malaysia, but fast boats ply the rivers of both Sabah and Sarawak.

Local taxis in Malaysia are metered. Rickshaws have all but disappeared in KL, but they are still a viable form of local transport in provincial areas. KL has a notoriously bad public transport system, and peak-hour travel in the city should be avoided at all cost.