Transportation in Malacca

Melacca's transport is built around three pillars: the hop-on heritage buses that circle the old town every 15, 20 minutes, the river taxis that glide past the murals, and Grab for everything else. The heritage buses are dirt-cheap and stop at every gate of the Dutch Square. But they thin out after 8 p.m.; Grab fills the gap and is still only a fraction of a hotel car. If you're staying near Jonker Street, you can walk the core sights. But the heat and one-way streets make a short ride tempting, use the pedestrian bridge by the clock tower to avoid the tourist-trap trishaws quoting "heritage tour" prices. First-timers should download Grab before landing and pin the Stadthuys as a landmark, drivers know it better than hotel names. Skip the idea of a city "loop" ticket; the buses don't operate on a fixed day-pass system and you'll pay per ride anyway. For the airport run, the official shuttle meets every arrival and is the cheapest seat in town. But it stops running around 9 p.m.; after that, the prepaid taxi counter inside the terminal is the only game left, ignore the freelance drivers outside.