Why Good Friday Weekend Is Different
Good Friday falls on a Friday, making it a natural four-day weekend for most Singapore workers. The ICA has described the Good Friday long weekend as “traditionally the busiest long weekend of the calendar year” for land checkpoints.
Three factors contribute:
- Good Friday is a Singapore public holiday, giving workers a guaranteed long weekend
- Malaysia’s school term schedule frequently overlaps, increasing family travel
- In some years, the Qing Ming Festival falls in the same week, adding to the volume
The result: traveller numbers at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints consistently exceed those seen on most other public holiday weekends.
Over 500,000 Crossings in a Single Day
ICA data shows how large the Good Friday long weekend has become:
| Period | Total Travellers | Busiest Single Day |
|---|---|---|
| Hari Raya Puasa LW 2025 (28–31 Mar) | 1.8 million+ | 538,000 (28 Mar) |
| Good Friday LW 2024 (28 Mar – 1 Apr) | ~2.3 million | 510,000 (28 Mar) |
| Good Friday LW 2019 | 1 million+ | ~390,000 avg/day |
The 510,000 travellers on 28 March 2024 was the highest single-day count ever recorded at Singapore land checkpoints at the time. A typical March school holiday day averages around 376,000 crossings.
The Hari Raya 2025 figures are included because ICA used them as the most recent comparison when forecasting Good Friday 2025 traffic.
Thursday and Sunday Are the Two Peak Days
Departing Singapore (→ Malaysia):
Thursday — the day before Good Friday — is consistently the busiest day for outbound travel. Queues build from the morning and stay heavy through the evening. Good Friday morning also sees heavy departure traffic.
Returning to Singapore (← Malaysia):
Return traffic is heaviest on Sunday and Monday. Long vehicle queues form on the Malaysia side, well before the border. Travellers returning on these days should expect to sit in queue before even reaching the checkpoint.
Expect Wait Times of Up to 3 Hours
ICA data records car traveller wait times of up to 3 hours during peak periods on Good Friday long weekends. This figure covers immigration clearance only — the time in the vehicle queue before reaching the checkpoint is separate and adds to the total.
The 3-hour wait was recorded in both 2019 and 2024 during peak windows.
Bus travellers go through dedicated bus halls. Wait times vary depending on how many buses are using the hall at the same time.
At Woodlands, Queues Can Stretch Past the SLE
Woodlands Checkpoint (Johor-Singapore Causeway):
Woodlands handles the largest share of land crossing traffic. During the 2024 Good Friday peak, vehicle queues from the Causeway stretched back onto the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and past the Seletar Expressway (SLE) — several kilometres from the checkpoint. Malaysia-side queues extend back from the Causeway during departure peaks.
Tuas Second Link:
Tuas sees lower volumes than Woodlands overall, but it is not queue-free during Good Friday. In 2024, vehicle queues from the Malaysia side reached the Tuas Checkpoint itself. Switching to Tuas during the peak windows does not guarantee a shorter wait.
Timing makes more difference than checkpoint choice during Good Friday weekend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Thursday before Good Friday always the busiest day to depart?
Consistently, yes. Thursday sees the heaviest outbound traffic as most travellers depart a day before the public holiday. ICA data from multiple years confirms this pattern.
Does the 3-hour wait include the road queue before the checkpoint?
No. The 3-hour figure from ICA covers immigration clearance time only. The vehicle queue that builds up before the checkpoint — which can stretch several kilometres — is additional time on top of that.
Is Tuas Second Link less congested than Woodlands over Good Friday?
Not reliably during the peak days. Tuas normally has shorter queues than Woodlands, but during the 2024 Good Friday peak, Malaysia-side queues reached the Tuas Checkpoint itself. The gap between the two checkpoints narrows significantly during Good Friday weekend.
When does return traffic from Malaysia peak?
Sunday and Monday of the long weekend. Travellers returning on these days face heavy queues on both sides of the border.
Does Good Friday coincide with Qing Ming Festival?
In some years, yes. When Qing Ming (清明节) falls in the same week, more travellers are making the crossing over the same period, which pushes volumes higher. ICA flags this when the overlap occurs.
Sources: ICA — Good Friday 2025 forecast · ICA — 510,000 travellers, Good Friday 2024 · ICA — Good Friday 2024 wrap-up · ICA — Qing Ming and Good Friday 2023