Pontian See: Kukup Fishing Village (龟咯渔村)

Kukup is a century-old, traditional fishing village in the southwestern corner of Pontian, Johor, famous for its open-air seafood restaurants and houses built entirely on stilts above the muddy mangrove shoreline. The villagers live by the sea and depends on it for their livelihoods. Fishes caught by fishermen are sold in Pasar Awan Pontian (Pontian Public Market).

Located just a short drive from Singapore, Kukup Fishing Village (龟咯渔村) is a highly popular, laid-back weekend getaway for travellers seeking fresh seafood and a rustic kampong atmosphere. Many people visit the village on 2D1N or 3D2N group tour packages where accommodations (usually chalets), meals, transports and entertainments are provided for larger groups — at least 10 people. In fact, the small village can be visited from Pontian Kechil, or from Singapore, on a half-day or full-day trip.

The Villages

Kukup Fishing Village comprises principally of two smaller villages — Kukup Laut (龟咯港脚) and Air Masin (咸水港). On a map of Kukup, the trunk road (Jalan Kukup) from Pontian Kechil leads right up to Kukup International Ferry Terminal. South of the road is Kukup Laut and the northern side is Air Masin.

Let’s start with Kukup Laut.

Near the ferry terminal is a budget hotel called East Mount / OYO Hotel (东山酒店) and on its right side is an alley with an overhead signboard that says “Welcome to Kukup Laut”. This entrance is easier to find using the hotel or ferry terminal as reference.

Kukup Laut is more original and mostly residential with narrow concrete and wooden boardwalks weaving through the village. The houses are built on wooden or concrete stilts above dark, muddy mud-land during low tides and appear more scenic to the eyes during high tides when seawater covers the mud. Electric bikes (or “e-bikes”) have become the villagers’ new mode of transport around Kukup.

Some of the houses doubled as shops selling provisions, food and beverages and also local produces. Towards the far end of the village, several houses have been converted into modern, air-conditioned chalets and resorts. There are a number of Chinese temples and shrines in the smaller Kukup Laut — Google Maps pointed out 5 — to pray for safe weather, abundant catches, and protection from the ocean’s dangers.

Closer to the sea are mostly wooden stlit houses and sheds with makeshift piers for anchored fishing boats. Other boats, like tour boats, smaller motorboats and coastal patrol boats can also be seen along the coastline. Further out to sea are floating fish farms, or kelongs.

Exiting from Kukup Laut, at the main road of Jalan Kukup, a number of seafood restaurants, coffee shops, a new kopitiam (Twins Cafe) and shops lined the street. It is a great spot for lunch or a short rest before continuing to Air Masin.

The entrance to Air Masin Fishing Village (咸水港渔村) is about 200 metres from the Kukup Laut entrance beside East Mount Hotel. There are bigger shops selling provisions and local produces near the entrance, which are mostly on hard land rather than mud-land. Walking further into the village, wooden stilt residential houses will appear on both sides of the straight walkway with raised boardwalks leading outwards to the houses.

The layout of Air Masin is more orderly as compared to Kukup Laut and more spaced out. There are many modern chalets and resorts here and several more are still being developed — as observed in Oct 2025. But, visitors to Air Masin will see less of the sea here unless as guests of the chalets.

Main Things To Do

Kukup International Ferry Terminal

Kukup Village is also home to a regional international passenger terminal, known as Kukup International Ferry Terminal, with regular ferry services connecting southern Malaysia to Tanjung Balai on Great Karimun Island, Indonesia. There are boats near the ferry terminal to Pulau Kukup National Park and/or the floating fish farms.

To Pulau Kukup

Pulau Kukup, or Kukup Island, is an uninhabited mangrove island situated about 1Km from the mainland. It is a gazetted national park of Malaysia named “Taman Negara Johor Pulau Kukup”, or “Pulau Kukup Johor National Park”, serving as a vital ecological sanctuary for rare wildlife and migratory birds. There are boardwalks, watch towers and a suspension bridge for visitors to access the whole island, which spans 647 hectares of pristine mangrove forest, and to observe local marine life and mangrove plants.

To Floating Farms

There are fish farms, called kelongs, floating on the sea just off the coastline, rearing mainly saltwater fishes. Visitors can check out the various aquatic life in the nets that are separated by wooden planks — don’t fall into the sea. If you are interested in any of the live seafood, you can buy them from the kelong directly. Dried seafood products like belacan (shrimp paste) and keropok (crackers) are available too.

Boat fares are determined by boat operators. Visiting the floating farms can be done as a standalone trip or as part of a round trip to Pulau Kukup, followed by one or two kelongs on the way back.

Spend couple of hours to explore the two villages of Kukup Fishing Village, greet the friendly locals and also try their local specialties — but mostly available on weekends. The villages see fewer tourists on weekdays and are very serene. Weekends can be crowded, especially the few weeks following Chinese New Year and during school holidays.

How to Get There:
SG-Johor Bus: Singapore to Pontian Kechil & Kukup Village, Johor (柔佛.笨珍)

Next:

Pontian Buy: Pontian Fish Market Fresh Seafood @ Pontian Kechil

More to do in Pontian:

Pontian Do: A Different Getaway to Pontian & Kukup Village in Johor (柔佛.笨珍+龟咯)