Sabah Tourism Board Official Website Tawau Hills Park Tawau Division | Tawau Opening Hours Getting There Admission Fee Location Map Listing Invitation If you are a registered Tour & Travel Agent based in Sabah & are promoting this destination, let us know by filling up our Directory Form . When travelling to East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), what is the recommended starting town? and which town should be the final landing point? I will be flying from KL and going back to KL afterward. The plan is to at least visits the famous towns. routes backpacking southeast-asia malaysia closed as primarily opinion-based by Dirty-flow, Mark Mayo, Vince, Geeo, Flimzy Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

Ok, Since I travel to Sabah a lot, here is my take on your plan. Fly from KL to KK and make that your start/end point. Check out the islands (Manukan and Sapi which are only 15 minutes from town) Explore Kinabalu National Park (2 hrs away from KK) Fly KK to Sandakan (45 mins) Explore Sandakan, filled with Eco Tourism. Places like Sepilok Orangutan Center, Gomantong Caves, Kinabatangan River, Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, Turtle Island. Move down via road to Lahat Datu Explore Danum Valley (Pricy) Move down to Tawau Move down to Semporna Get on a boat to Mabul and Sipadan Islands if you dive Back to Tawau, then fly Tawau to KK. Hope you make it to these stunning towns in Sabah Borneo! I have visited most of the places there and they are amazing in my opinion. I have visited Borneo many times and its a beautiful destination. The major draws for me to Borneo are the jungle scenery and the native tribal cultures.

If you have a lot of time and want to experience all of Borneo, I would recommend flying into Kuching and out of Kota Kinabalu (or vice versa) with a stop in Brunei.backpack 37signals In Kuching, Bako National Park, the crocodile farm, and the longhouse tribal tours are pretty cool.jack gomme backpack In Brunei, there is an incredible patch of virgin rainforest in Temburong National Park that has a nice jungle treetop walk.badlands backpack 2200 In Kota Kinabalu, you can climb Mt. Kinabalu and visit the Sipadan Islands for nice diving/beaches.nunatak backpack You could take buses or fly between each city depending on how much time you have. special ops backpack killspencer

Brunei is relatively expensive to fly to but there is a cheaper airport in Miri, Malaysia which is very close. For Saba, Kota Kinabalu is a good starting point. army meps backpackIt's a convenient small town with a good range of accommodations and easy access to the rest of Saba (plane, bus, vans, cabs). zozi backpackYou will also be able to reserve tickets for Mount Kinabalu. All in all, a good place to start your trip and get some nice food before diving in the wilderness. Can't give any advice about Sarawak, though.Browse other questions tagged routes backpacking southeast-asia malaysia or ask your own question.> All airlines > Southeast Asia > Malaysia > Tawau Airlines that fly to Tawau Airlines flying to Tawau are listed here. You can view route information for airlines that fly to Tawau, compare the prices of both low cost and traditional airlines which fly to Tawau and book your flights by clicking the links belowSkyscanner allows you to find the cheapest flights to Tawau (from hundreds of airlines including Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Singapore Airlines) without having to enter specific dates or even destinations

, making it the best place to find cheap flights for your trip.To book a cheap flight to Tawau, choose from the list of flights to Tawau below, or use the links at the side of the page to browse for more flight information. To start a new flight search, use the search controls above. Airlines flying from United Kingdom to Tawau Direct from United KingdomNo airlines flying direct from United Kingdom to TawauOther airlines flying to Tawau The biggest airlines flying to Tawau: Car hire in Tawau Prices of flights to TawauCheap flights to TawauCheap flights from TawauTawau airport Kuala Lumpur Penang Kota Kinabalu Kuching Kota Bharu Johor Bahru Langkawi Miri Alor Setar Kuala Terengganu Labuan Kuantan Bintulu Sibu Tawau Sandakan Lahad Datu Mulu Limbang Lawas Sydney Amsterdam New York Dubai London Dublin Barcelona Tenerife Geneva Paris Bangkok Alicante Belfast Malaga Edinburgh Copenhagen Madrid Los Angeles Zurich Glasgow We have booked 4 days of diving with Borneo Divers (Mabul)

The schedule that they have suggested involves the 7am flight out of KK to Tawau. Not being fans of getting up at the crack of dawn, we are thinking that a flight the day before would be our preferred option. Our plan would therefore be to spend the night in Semporna and make our way over to Borneo Divers' Semporna office after breakfast and travel over to Mabul on their 1st transfer of the day. From reading this forum, it would seem though that both Tawau and Semporna are not places to spend any great deal of time and that the standard of accomodation is very low. I was thinking that we might stay at Dragon Inn floating lodge but after reading the reviews, I am considering a stay at Scuba Junkie which looks a bit more honest as to what they provide and is probably a good place for a few beers. Has anybody stayed in Semporna and could recommend something to do? Somewhere to eat etc hey, we did exactly what you are thinking of. im leaving borneo today so im very sad but we first went to mabul with borneo divers for 5 days... they were fantastic but complain if you dont get your dives over at sipadan... we only got 3 out of 6 that we were spose to get so we were really gutted.

borneo divers screwed up the permits and we got turned about one afternoon and then only got 1 dive another afternoon. we complained and then got on an early 5.30 dive at sipadan which was the most amazing thing i have ever dived! it seems early but its soooo worth it! we stayed the night at dragon inn... if i were you id take the flight in the morning. the accomodation is basic and the breakfast is worth missing but we arrived at 1am so we only slept. there is nothing to do in semporna avoid at all costs! hope you have a lovely time... im very jealous u are going!!! Tawau(2nd biggest town at Sabah) to Semporna is about 11/2 hour away by road. It is suggested to O/N at Tawau for sea food treat at the Seafront:SABINO While Semporna is very dull in the night. I agree with Turtle 22 - nothing much to do in Semporna. My partner and I always stay in a Home-Stay on Mabul, organised through the Arung Hayat in Semporna. We generally arrive late afternoon after catching a ride from the Kinabatangan River following a stay with Uncle Tan's people.

We overnight at the Arung Hayat (very basic but lovely people) before crossing to Mabul in the morning. The best place to eat in the evening is the large restaurant alongside the Dragon Inn, service not brilliant but food is good. Overall, we enjoy the experience because we really get to see another part of life as Semporna is a real hotch potch of cultures, Phillipinoes, Indonesians and local people, very different to other parts of Sabah. One attraction mentioned in this post Ranked of 190 things to do in Sabah I will book the late afternoon flight then and expect nothing but a good nights sleep No reviews of it as yet but it looks ok (ill post a review when we get back) I was recently in Semporna (diving mostly at Mabul) early this month and would like to share a bit about Dragon Inn (DI), Scuba Junkie (SJ), Seafest or Sipadan Inn (SI). First, if you're looking for a business type hotel with relatively decent facilities then it'll have to be Seafest.

If you are cost-conscious and prefer less 'party' surroundings, DIis perfect. SJ is located above its bar and can be noisy. SI is a stone throw away from SJ as well though I can't comment much on it other than it's clean. We stayed at DI and found it basic but comfortable - room, bed, AC, TV, hot shower etc. If you're there for 1 night, it's perfect as Borneo Divers depart right outside the hotel/inn. Meanwhile, SJ and SI are about 5-10 minutes walk on a street with no pedestrian sidewalk (lotsa vehicles passing by the bridge too!) while lugging your bags! Attached to DI is the the Pearl City restaurant, it serves beers and you get to sit over the water and can enjoy the cool sea breeze to go with that. Foodwise, they're OK (although they do have - of all things - Shark Fin Soup on their special menu!) Whatever it is, all 4 hotels are within walking distance to each other. Seafest (down the street from DI) also has its own restaurant (Seafest Cafe) where the food was reasonably priced.

Around the SJ area, there are various eateries at reasonable prices. Things to do - not much as its mainly a pit stop prior to heading out to a pristine diving location. - assuming you choose DI, if venturing out to where SJ & SI are located, take care when walking down the street as there are no proper walkway. At night, it's really dark as you walk past the open air 'carpark' area. Be cautious, that's all. - there is a pharmacy located around the SJ / SI area - the local bank (MAYBANK) is located on the other side of town (about 15 minutes walk) and if you choose to visit it, do so during the day. I'm from the city and yet I had my moments there. There is an ATM at the Tawau airport if you need to get cash. - journey from Tawau to Semporna takes about 1:15 minutes by taxi depending on traffic. If heading back to Tawau, ensure you book a cab upfront as there are limited cabs in Semporna. Fares are RM 95 from Tawau to Semporna and the about the same going back.

- due to regulations, make sure you book your dive trip to Sipadan Island ahead of time as there is a limit of 120 divers per day only. There are no limits at Mabul or Kapalai Island. All operators have the same issue about screwing up on the bookings but this can be avoided if one books upfront. - DI includes a light breakfast (coffee/tea and some bread) in their pricing so that's not much to shout about. - there is a marine police base right across the street from DI. - there are regular navy/marine police patrols at Mabul Island, in fact there's a base there. - I enjoyed Mabul more as there were tons of jacks, turtles, barracudas, bumphead parrotfish, cuttlefish, nudibranches, stingrays, frogfish (did I miss anything..) around the island. - Sipadan had very clear vis and white tip sharks. A good report by diver6237, described exactly as I remember! So basically I shouldnt expect to see Sipadan if i just turn up? Regarding Mabul, is there budget accommodation on the island?

And as i do not dive, can i do snorkelling in Mabul? I can see you didn't get a reply to this... but as I'm heading over to the islands off Semporna in a month or so I was wondering if you had any further tips to add? I don't dive either, how did you go snorkling? Do the guides give out life jacket style things to wear in the water when snorkling (i'm a bit unco in the water and tend to sink a little hahaha). -:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one./pages/forums_posting_guidelines.htmlWe remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. Agencies for climbing Mt Kinabalu Overnight packing while climbing Gunung Kinabalu 4 Days in Kota Kinabalu - What to do?! Family-friendly hotel around Sipadan Tourist boat missing off Kota Kinabalu :-( Gaya Island Resort - taxi