Where to Stay in Johor Bahru, Johor

What is Johor Bahru known for?

Johor Bahru is known as Malaysia's second-largest city and the capital of Johor, set on the water across from Singapore. A causeway links the two. Traffic pours across the strait between JB and the island, making the city the busy southern doorstep of the Malay Peninsula.

Its waterfront gathers the Sultan's old civic buildings, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the museums of the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum, while shopping and food draw crowds over the border from the neighbouring island.

What are the main landmarks in Johor Bahru?

Johor Bahru's landmarks gather along the waterfront and the old civic streets. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Church of the Holy Immaculate Conception mark the colonial-era town near the strait. The Johor Art Gallery and the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum record the state's arts and its Chinese community, while the Museum of 24 Festive Drum keeps a living tradition.

Nearby lies the Johor Zoo. The Bandaraya Stadium anchors the sporting side of the capital of Johor.

What is the history of Johor Bahru?

Johor Bahru was founded in 1855 as the new seat of the sultanate of Johor at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. The site faced the island that became Singapore, a short crossing over the strait from the trade of the wider region and the busy sea lanes beyond it. The Sultan built a modern capital here, with civic buildings, a grand mosque, and wide streets.

Growth came with the strait. The causeway across the water later bound the city to the island and to the commerce and travellers that flowed steadily both ways across it. Chinese and Indian settlers joined the Malay town, and the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum records their part in it.

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus rose in the colonial years. Its story turns on the water at its door. From a royal capital to the second city of Malaysia, JB grew as the land border of the Malay Peninsula.

Where is Johor Bahru?

Johor Bahru sits at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, in the state of Johor, facing the island of Singapore across a narrow strait. A causeway carries road and rail over the water to the island. Low ground rings the city.

The coast runs in long reclaimed waterfronts and industrial shores, while suburbs and parks spread inland from the strait, so JB looks out over the crossing on one side and back across the flat southern edge of the Malay Peninsula on the other.

What is the climate of Johor Bahru?

Johor Bahru has a hot, humid tropical climate at the southern edge of the Malay Peninsula. Warmth holds all year. The coastal setting on the strait keeps the air heavy, and heavy monsoon rain arrives in wetter months rather than a cold season, with sudden downpours common through the day.

There is no winter here. The low, sea-level ground beside Singapore stays consistently warm across the whole year in the state of Johor.

How do you get to Johor Bahru?

Johor Bahru is reached over the causeway from Singapore or by road up the Malay Peninsula from Kuala Lumpur. The land crossing carries a constant stream of road and rail traffic between the island and the city, and the North-South Expressway runs north from JB toward the capital. A nearby airport handles domestic flights.

Once across, the compact centre by the checkpoint is walkable, with the waterfront and civic quarter of Johor a short way west of the crossing.