Woodlands vs Tuas Checkpoint: Which to Use

Singapore has two land crossings into Malaysia, and picking the right one saves time. Woodlands Checkpoint feeds the Causeway straight into Johor Bahru city, so it is the obvious choice for JB town - and the busiest. Tuas Checkpoint feeds the Second Link in the far west, which joins the expressway and suits Iskandar Puteri, Legoland and longer drives north. When the Causeway jams, Tuas is your relief valve.

The two crossings at a glance

The crossings land in different parts of Johor, so geography usually makes the choice for you before traffic does.

Card comparing Woodlands Causeway and Tuas Second Link crossings by where they land and what each suits

Where each crossing takes you. Sources: ICA; LTA, as of October 2026.

Woodlands Checkpoint (the Causeway)

The Causeway runs from Woodlands into the heart of Johor Bahru, arriving at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar complex beside JB Sentral, City Square mall and the central hotels. If you are heading for JB town - and especially if you start in the north, centre or east of Singapore - this is the shorter, more direct drive.

The trade-off is crowds: Woodlands is the single busiest land crossing between the two countries, so it is the first to tail back when demand rises.

Tuas Checkpoint (the Second Link)

The Second Link (officially the Malaysia–Singapore Second Crossing) runs from Tuas in western Singapore to Gelang Patah in Johor, clearing Malaysian immigration at the Sultan Abu Bakar complex. From there you join the expressway network, which makes Tuas the natural choice for Iskandar Puteri, Puteri Harbour and Legoland, and for onward trips to Melaka, Kuala Lumpur or Genting.

Two things to weigh: the drive out to Tuas is longer from most of the island, and the Malaysian tolls on the Second Link are higher than on the Causeway. In return, queues at Tuas are frequently lighter than at Woodlands.

Clearing immigration faster

Both checkpoints run QR-code clearance through the free MyICA mobile app, so you can clear without handing over a passport. In the car zones a single group QR code covers up to 10 people, and bus-hall groups of up to four can use it too. You still must carry your passport - officers can ask for it, and a QR code tied to an out-of-date passport will be rejected.

Motorcyclists are moving to facial-recognition clearance: ICA began rolling it out as the primary biometric at Woodlands from 31 March 2026, extending to Tuas in the third quarter of 2026.

When the queues bite

Both crossings surge at predictable times: weekday mornings heading into Singapore, weekday evenings heading back to Johor, Friday evenings to leave Singapore, and the return flood on Sunday afternoons and nights. Eves of public holidays, school holidays and festive peaks such as Chinese New Year and Hari Raya are heavier still.

How bad can it get? Over the Good Friday long weekend (3–5 April 2026), more than 1.4 million travellers crossed the two checkpoints, with over 498,000 on the single busiest day - and car travellers faced waits of up to three hours at the peak, caused by tailbacks from the Malaysian side.

What is changing

ICA is redeveloping Woodlands Checkpoint to raise capacity, with the expanded checkpoint operational from 2028 and a goal of cutting peak clearance time from about 60 minutes to 15. In the meantime, ICA dynamically converts car lanes to clear motorcycles at peak and is extending contactless self-clearance lanes at Tuas.

Before you drive across

Whichever you choose, a Singapore-registered car needs a valid Malaysia Vehicle Entry Permit - see our VEP guide - plus a passport valid at least six months and the entry basics in our Malaysia entry requirements guide. If you would rather skip the drive, compare the bus, train and coach options in how to get to JB from Singapore.