Visit Johor 2026 officially kicked off last month. The campaign is set to welcome 12 million tourists this year, with a target of RM42bil in tourism receipts.
Travelling to the southernmost state in Peninsular Malaysia is easy enough. Using Kuala Lumpur as the starting point, a car ride takes a little more than four hours to Johor Baru. Buses will take slightly longer, but it is the most cost-effective.
The fastest option will be to fly in, with the flight duration being around an hour; the Senai International Airport is a 30-minute drive to the capital city.
As of December 2025, there is another option: The Electric Train Service (ETS) that takes less than five hours to reach JB Sentral.
If you’re into festivals, you can plan your visit around what interests you. Keep track of what’s coming up at visitjohor2026.my.
You can look forward to returning events like the Johor International Outdoor Festival, Amazing Tangkak Festival, and Ombak Festival – a music and culture festival in Desaru Coast.
(Desaru Coast in Bandar Penawar is about one hour from JB/Senai by car.)
There are also extreme sport events making a return this year, like the Viper Challenge Johor and Gunung Arong Challenge. The former set record with its inaugural edition last year, which recorded 3,000 participants from 19 countries joining the obstacle course.
To get you started on your Johor journey, here are a few places of interests that you can include in your itinerary.
Starting from JB, you can get a bird’s-eye view of the capital city at Skyscape, an aerial entertainment space at Menara JLand.
Of course, there’s the Legoland theme park and resort for a family fun day. You can also take your kids to the Johor Zoo to see animals like “Oyen” the tiger and “Adik” the hippopotamus.
Another fun place for outings with family and friends is Putuo Village in Kulai. Its Bamboo Forest is especially famous with visitors for its photo spots.
Go to Tangkak for all your textile needs. The place is known as “Fabric Town” for a reason – it has plenty of shops selling a wide variety of cloths.
For mural hunting, Batu Pahat has its very own street art for you to check out, specifically around Kampung Sateh. Also a colourful place to visit is the Fortune Dragon in Segamat.
If nature is what you seek, there’s Pulau Kukup National Park in Pontian, which protects one of the world’s largest mangrove islands. Have a relaxing soak at Sungai Gersik Hot Spring in Muar, go hiking at Gunung Lambak in Kluang or cruise along Sungai Lebam in Kota Tinggi.
Island hopping is possible in the Mersing district, which usually includes islands like Pulau Rawa, Pulau Tengah and Pulau Besar. There’s also Pulau Mawar that features a striking sea arch.
Unfortunately, the highly popular Pulau Harimau, a “hidden gem” that eventually suffered from overtourism after it went viral for its turquoise waters, remains off limits to tourists. It is among the six islands ordered to close for marine rehabilitation purposes since last September.
