Sabah Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in May)

Morning

Take an early flight from Changi Airport. Travelling is really the most exciting activities. This is when we fly to Kota Kinabalu. Rented a car and drive up all the way to sosodikon hill. Explore Kota Kinabalu city all by our self-drive car to find good foods and amazing places. Having a nice and memorable 4days 3night at KK. Hoping to drop by here again to get relax and chill holidays!

City view by the sea

To those who love the beauty of the calmness by the breeze of the wind from the sea while enjoy city life, Kota Kinabalu is the perfect solution. This city provide both city and beauty of China South Sea's view. The view more spectacular during sunset. Enjoy the various local fruits and food as well makes Kota Kinabalu famous among Korean and China visitor as well. This city also gateway to the Magnificant of Mount Kinabalu. #awesomepic #resort #spa #citytrip

BUKIT BOTAK

It took 45 minutes to reach the top. Unfortunately, we are unable to enjoy the view due to heavy rain. MISTY. We can't even watch the SUNSET. This is one of a great place to watch the SUNSET and SUNRISE. The trail was quite easy, suitable for beginner. This place not only suitable for hikers, but also can be one of the attractions for the youngster to TAKE THEIR OOTD PICTURES, because there is “photo-spot” along the trail. EYE CATCHING 😍. #BukitBotak

Jin Yin Hao 真仁好

#newyearadventure Foods are delicious. From the taste of the food, you can tell that the chef is highly trained. They offer a few unique dishes that you won't be able to find at other places. The dinner sets are great value, we like the food here very homely, nice atmosphere and comfortable sitting. Humble place. Excellent service and reasonable price. Highly recommended!! #newyearadventure #kotakinabalu #cuti²malaysia

Can you imagine this is in Sabah Malaysia?😨

#freehotelstay Sabah is the state of Malaysia that located in the region of East Malaysia, right next to Sarawak and Brunei. This is the favourite state of mine out of all other states as there are full of natures here such as the tropical rainforests, animal and plants species. If you are visiting to the Sabah, no not miss out the capital city - Kota Kinabalu as Tanjung Aru beach here is a world-famous spot with the panoramic orange sunset and purple sky after the sunset. Other than that, Kundasang is one of the best place to visit to which is 2-4 hours away from KK by driving!! Mountains and rivers are surrounded where you can enjoy the chill weather here. Remember to get a villa or homestay with the cloud view and you wont be disappointed with it. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Tanjung Aru beach. Breathtaking sunset

Tanjung Aru Beach in Sabah, Malaysia, is a coastal gem celebrated for its breathtaking beauty and serene ambiance. Nestled along the shores of the South China Sea, the beach is a haven for those seeking tranquility and natural splendor. The golden sands stretch along the coastline, inviting visitors to indulge in leisurely strolls while enjoying the gentle sea breeze. The highlight of Tanjung Aru Beach is undoubtedly its spectacular sunsets. As the sun dips below the horizon, vibrant hues paint the sky, creating a mesmerizing backdrop over the calm waters. This daily spectacle has made the beach a favored spot for locals and tourists alike, who gather to witness nature's vivid display. Apart from its natural allure, Tanjung Aru Beach boasts amenities that enhance the overall experience. Nearby resorts and restaurants offer a perfect blend of comfort and convenience, allowing visitors to unwind and savor local delights. Whether it's a peaceful day by the sea or a vibrant evening admiring the sunset, Tanjung Aru Beach captivates with its beauty and beckons those in search of a coastal escape in the heart of Sabah.#awesomepic #Sunset #Beach #Kota kinabalu #Sabah #Sabah #Malaysia #sabahtourism #malaysiatrulyasia #kkcity #cuticutimalaysia #sabahtravel

Practical guide to visa-free travel to Malaysia to watch the sunset in Sabah

During the rainy season in Malaysia, The sunset becomes rare and splendid✨. If you want to see the century-old sunset by the sea, 7 points depend on the weather, and 3 points depend on yourself💪. Keep this guide handy, and rush after reading it! ⏰Important time: 👉You can check the sunset time in Sabah on your mobile phone. The probability is around 18:00 recently, and it is completely down around 18:30. You can see the sunset changing different colors throughout the process. It is recommended to wait until it gets dark before leaving. If you are lucky, you can also encounter beach fireworks. 🗺Recommended itinerary before watching the sunset: Island hopping or around the beach island, basically return to the pier at 16:30. 👉Take a taxi to the beach at 16:40, navigate to 'Tanjung aru first beach', you need to grab a good position for taking pictures, otherwise there will be people in the picture. Traffic in Sabah starts to jam from 17:00 in the evening, you can take a taxi in advance or walk a distance after watching the sunset. 📍Location: Many people are hesitant to go to the beach or Shangri-La Hotel Sunset Bar to watch the sunset. Don't worry about coming out on vacation, if you can't, just watch! Two! Scene! 🏖Tanjung Aru Beach Advantages: Free, wider view. Disadvantages: There are many people, you need to queue up early. The drop-off point is the first beach, and there will be fewer people going south to the second beach. 🍸Shangri-La Sunset bar Advantages: Few people, with coconut trees and other scenery not monotonous. Disadvantages: Need to book, there is a minimum consumption of 48-388RM. 📌Warm little Tips ⛅There may be beautiful sunsets on cloudy or cloudy days. If it's not raining, don't give up, there may be surprises. The weather was average when I went, and the sunset burned the entire sky through the thick clouds. 🗓Arrange to watch the sunset in advance, don't just rely on the mangroves. The itinerary of the mangroves mostly includes watching the sunset. But the half-day tour itinerary is full, and each family arranges differently. Eating buffet dinner + watching the sunset is free activity time, and it is likely to have missed the beach. 🎒The sunset is high tide, wear slippers and bring a waterproof bag. Don't throw things on the beach just to free your hands to take pictures. Some are not safe, and the tide is likely to wet the backpack. If you bring a tripod to take pictures, try to choose a sturdy one or insert it into the sand. 📷Most of the sunsets are silhouettes, and the flash is turned on after dark. You can make some big moves, pretend to take pictures and look at the phone, or directly record the video and screenshot it later. 🎈Additional information: The world's three major sunsets👇Let's go see it together in the future! ①Tanjung Aru Beach in Sabah, Malaysia ②Puglia in Italy ③The Caribbean in Cuba

Immerse in the beauty of Kota Kinabalu !

#weekendgetaways It was a short weekend trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and it was my first time to this travelling spot. It’s only a 2 hours and 30 minutes flight from Singapore and the flight tickets were very reasonable too. The pace of Kota Kinabalu is slow and chill. One must visit the most iconic attraction - Tanjung Aru Beach for its mesmerising sunset. There are also restaurants around with the most popular one called Sunset Bar that serves decent food and drinks with very strategic location for you to enjoy the sunset. You can also plan water activities such as snorkeling. It was an amazing experience to see all the corals and underwater views. Do it soon as the corals are dying at the very fast rate according to the tour guide. Not to be missed is to have seafood feasts in Kota Kinabalu. There were many many choices of seafood restaurants and it was tough to choose one. Remember to get there early as things get sold out real fast! The best time to go would be 5 pm and anytime later than 6.30 pm would leave you with very limited choices. Go get your tickets now and get ready to enjoy a break with good food and good view ! #kotakinabalu #timetotravel #sabah

Mabul Island🌴

Mabul island is a beautiful tropical paradise located in Sabah. From the moment that we arrived to the island, we were captivated by its stunning landscape surrounded by palm trees and crystal clear beaches. The island offers different activities like diving and snorkelling. You can go there through a tour company from Semporna or you can book a hotel on the island. Definitely it is a must visit destination in Sabah. . . . #fallingseason #asiatrip #asia #trip #malaysia #beachlife #beaches #malaysiatravel #mabulisland

Mabul Island, Semporna, Sabah

Mabul Island is located at Sabah, Malaysia. On the island of Mabul, the first place in Malaysia to witness the sun's golden layers appear after sunrise. The beauty of nature from dark to light. The sun emerges from the ocean horizon and 'rays of lights' can be seen. Likewise when the sun goes down, the sun slowly goes to the sea horizon. And at the same time, you can see a small cloud of clouds drifting across the orange sky. And there are also small boats that pass by and then give a picture of a true and beautiful natural painting. A very nice island and you will totally enjoy your time here#urbanexplorer #beachlife

Want to go snorkeling? Tioman Island in Malaysia is definitely a great choice, with many businesses offering scuba diving certification. Most hotels in Tioman Island are equivalent to domestic guesthouses, but if conditions permit, you can stay at Kapalai Island or Mabul Island. From Kuala Lumpur to Tawau, it takes about 3 hours by flight. If you book Kapalai, there are airport pick-up and pier transfer services available. If staying in a regular town, be sure to ask about the airport transfer fee and the snorkeling fee. Mataking Island has two islands, big and small. The water on the small island is clearer. You can snorkel but not go to the island. The small Mataking Island is a private island.

Water Village Mabul Island

#mytripvlog #2023travelwish #tripblazers #awesomepic #couplestrip

Follow my footsteps: Malaysia (Eight)

Malaysia·Asia Mount Kinabalu On the way back to the hotel, I chatted with the white-haired Chinese old man. Their taxi company also provides a chartered service to the sacred mountain, 450RM, which is almost the same as the one contacted online, so I asked him to come to the hotel at seven o'clock the next morning. At six thirty in the morning, the famous Fuyuan near the hotel finally opened. Before setting off to watch the proboscis monkey firefly sacred mountain, the temptation of Mount Kinabalu, which is as high as 4095 meters, is particularly great to me. The morning wind carries a cool feeling. It takes about two hours to leave Yabi. The car starts to go uphill in the bend. The large clouds slowly spread in the pine forest, gather in the mountain concave, and the flowing beauty makes me excited. I said to the driver: I want to take pictures of the sea of clouds, and he slowly brought a kind smile: There are many above, many. The car is estimated to be about a kilometer away, the white clouds are still lingering at the foot of the mountain, the mountain situation begins to appear, there is no possibility of a sea of clouds above, my regret, for a long time to come back, with his Chinese level is not he simply do not know what is called the sea of clouds? These sceneries are nothing strange to him, and the sea of clouds? The car continues to move upwards, thick dark clouds begin to gather and roll, the peak is hidden in the clouds from time to time, the sun is hidden behind the mountain, the nearby mountains present a green-black color, reaching the viewing platform at 1500 meters, except for the nearby pink mandala swaying in the wind, the peak is already in the deep clouds. On the other side of the mountain, a fully armed team is heading towards the top of the mountain. I have been muttering for a long time that the registration has not been realized. To climb this highest peak in Southeast Asia, you need to make a reservation about three months in advance. Along the way, you can see from the tropical rainforest at the foot of the mountain to the cold needle forest on the mountain top to the shrub on the top of the mountain. This huge and ancient plant gathering place has become one of my wishes. At this time, a small squirrel magically appeared, she suddenly jumped to the railing of the viewing platform in the pine branches, her eyes were shining at me, the girl was rare, said she was hungry must be hungry, she took out her treasured chocolate bar, I broke a little biscuit layer at the end, sure enough, this little thing quickly held up with both hands, small mouth chewing like flying cute, eating and flying charming eyes, and then shyly ran to the side to continue eating, I held the camera left and right to follow, the girl was even more excited, even the military brother took off his hat to let her in. When her other little friend called from the tree, she quickly climbed up, the clouds and mist came up, you can hear their happy running. When we arrived near Poring Hot Springs, it started to rain in the sky, and the Chinese food in Dongling Restaurant made us feel at home. Most of the people in the hot springs are locals. They all wear clothes and go directly into the hot springs. The colorful clothes make this place surrounded by green plants full of brilliance. On the island of Donggong Abdul Rahman in the future, the girl and I went directly into the sea, then wet and waited on the shore to the dock speedboat for a round, the clothes were dry. Along the mountain path, we walked deep into the mountain, the slope began to increase, the lush branches and leaves covered the sky, there were sporadic raindrops falling, the feeling of hot and stuffy, the military brother was a little breathless, the road ahead was still far away, the military brother hesitated a little, I suggested to accompany him down, he let us go first, said if not, just go down, then call us, but when we arrived at the entrance of the rainforest suspension bridge soon, the military brother came up, he still did not give up this rare trip. This longest rainforest suspension bridge in the world is built between huge trees, with wooden boards two feet wide and a net on the side, about forty meters above the ground. We have not yet set off, a little girl walked backwards, with the help of security, pulled a big locust from her foot, looking at the girl's somewhat frightened eyes, we helped her apply insect repellent water, but as soon as she stepped on the shaking suspension bridge, she shrank back, this is the rain gradually increased, looking up, fine water arrows fell from the green leaves full of eyes, the sound of brushing slowly spread... Only six people are allowed on the bridge at a time, the people blocked by the rain on this suspension bridge slowly increased, under our encouragement, the girl took the first step, the suspension bridge looked far away, a misty rain, the clouds rose in the distance, the surrounding leaves were green and shiny, before the fifth section of the suspension bridge was finished, this wonderful journey has made the girl reluctant to stop, and another little girl went back and forth is another round trip.

Should you climb Mount Kinabalu?

Yes you should! Mount Kinabalu is the highest peak in South East Asia and it has one of the most beautiful view that you can ever imagine. The climb require averagely physically and mentally fit person and it takes about 2 days to reach up to the top. The climbing hiking starts from Timpohon gate at 6am in the morning and 6-8 hours of hike to Laban rata hill camp. After staying a night in Laban Rata, climbers are required to start the next climb as early as 1-2am. So that the ascend could arrive at the summit by 6am to catch the sunrise. Bear in mind, always climb safely and do not attempt to do funny things at the top as there have been fall cases and climber loses their life. So should you climb mount Kinabalu? YES! you must. #awesomepic #tripblazers

Conquering Mount Kinabalu!

Climbing Mount Kinabalu was a test of both physical and mental strength that I will never forget. From the very beginning, the odds seemed stacked against me. The flu had left me feeling weak and fatigued, and as I ascended higher, the symptoms worsened. AMS with its nausea and dizziness, added another layer of difficulty. Not being the fittest person in the group, I often lagged behind, struggling to keep up with my buddies. The steep and rocky terrain of the mountain was relentless, demanding endurance and determination I didnt know I possessed. Every step was a struggle, but I was determined to push through. Despite the hardships, the breathtaking views and the camaraderie with the fellow buddies kept me going. The sunrise from the summit was a reward beyond words, and the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. My climb up Mount Kinabalu was far from easy. However, it taught me that determination and sheer willpower can overcome even the most challenging cicumstances. It was an experience that tested my limits and left me with a profound sense of achievement and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. #adventure #hiking #mountain #mountkinabalu

Kedamaian River Rafting

When it comes to white water rafting in Sabah, most people have heard of the exiciting Kiulu and Padas experiences, but only a select few are in on the thrilling secret of the Kedamaian River rafting in Kota Belud. Its like a hidden gem waiting to be explored! Here we came, having embarked on a weekend adventure with jusy about a 2 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu city. Graded 1-2 and was moderately adventurous and relaxing, spanning about 10 kilometers in length. The water was crystal clear and refreshing cool as its flow from the Mount Kinabalu. The experience here was an absolute blast! #trip #adventures #rafting #holiday #fun

Chasing Sunset in Sabah🏜️

#malaysia Going to Sabah, chasing the sunset is one of the most important thing that you can never miss out!!! Almost everyday, when there is no rain, the sky will turn orange and gradually become purple and it makes KK as one of the best sunset spot in the world!! Highly recommend to visit the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort as you will be able to the best angle of sunset here!!! Tip: if you would like to chill with some drinks while waiting for the sunset, you may go visit the Sunset Bar in the resort!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa❤️

#hotelreview #tanjungaru #shangrila #kotakinabalu #sabah Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa is a luxury 5 star resort well located near to the Tanjung Aru beach - one of world top spot for purple sunset. Driving from the KK airport and city centre, it takes only around 10 minutes driving providing the setting for an amazing tropical getaway. Activities to do: - Having cocktails in the Sunset Bar in the evening abd enjoy the purple sky after sunset - Pampering yourself with the massage in the CHI, The Spa overlooking the wonderful nature beauty - Island hopping from STAR Marina with hotel private jet - Swimming and taking instagrammable photos from the hotel pool Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Price: RM 700 +-

Unforgettable Evenings at Sunset Bar, KK

The Sunset Bar in Kota Kinabalu is more than just a spot to watch the sun dip below the horizon; it's an immersive experience that combines luxury, nature's beauty, and culinary delight. The combination of the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru's elegance and the natural coastal beauty makes this spot a unique and enchanting destination. It's a haven for couples seeking a romantic escape. The combination of sunset hues, fine dining, and a serene atmosphere creates a magical backdrop for love to flourish. The experience offers a chance to create memories that will be cherished forever. It's an opportunity to disconnect from the world and immerse oneself in the beauty of the moment. Whether you're a food enthusiast, a nature lover, or a couple in search of romance, the Sunset Bar offers a perfect balance of these elements, catering to a variety of interests. Golden Hour Magic: Embarking on a romantic journey to the Sunset Bar in Kota Kinabalu allowed us to witness the ethereal beauty of the sunset in a breathtaking setting. The golden hues reflecting on the sea created an unforgettable scene. Seaside Serenity: Nestled within the luxurious Shangri-La Tanjung Aru resort, the Sunset Bar offers an idyllic oceanside ambiance. The gentle lapping of waves and the tranquil atmosphere set the stage for a perfect evening. Advanced Reservations: Booking ahead is a must! Securing a spot with the best sunset view ensures an unparalleled experience. The demand is high, and planning ahead minimizes the risk of missing out on a truly magical seat. Culinary Delights: While the exact minimum spending might have slipped our memory, the fact remains that it's a small price to pay for a remarkable dining experience. Each headcount comes with a delectable cocktail, free-flowing wine, and a scrumptious dish to savor. Romantic Rendezvous: The combination of delectable cuisine, fine wine, and the awe-inspiring sunset creates an ambiance that's tailor-made for romance. It's a place where you can reconnect and create lasting memories with your loved one. Ideal Summer Escapade: Visiting during the summer season maximizes the chances of clear skies and stunning sunsets. The warmth of the season complements the vibrant colors of the setting sun, making for an enchanting experience. Capturing the Moment: Don't forget your camera or smartphone! The beauty of the sunset and the surroundings are worth capturing. The memories you create will be a treasure to look back on for years to come. #summerfest #sunsetbar #kotakinabalu

Fly away!

Celebrated the new year at Kota Kinabalu, had fun staying at Shangri-La, and enjoyed their service! You get what you paid for! Address - Shangri-La Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Ambiance/Facilities - Awesome breakfast selection, huge swimming pool with kids slides, nice room balcony view! Highlights - Parasailing and Snorkeling at the islands Rating - 5/5