Sabah holiday ideas
For many visitors to Malaysian Borneo, Sabah is the real highlight of their holiday. The most eastern state of Malaysia, Sabah, borders Kalimantan, Sarawak, Brunei and the South China Sea. For your holiday in Sabah you are most likely to fly into Kota Kinabalu (although it is possible to fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan on the east coast also).
Kota Kinabalu, or KK as it is known locally, is a relatively new city having been mostly rebuilt after the 2nd World War and is certainly worth a day or two of your time. From KK you can obtain easy access to a number of Sabah’s highlights – the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine National Park lies just 15 minutes by boat from the city’s port and Mount Kinabalu, the Kinabalu National Park and Poring Hot Springs are all within just two hours drive.
You also have a selection of Sabah’s holiday beaches within easy reach. Pantai Dalit, for example, is just 40 minutes by car although you are unlikely to return to KK each night thanks to the Shangri-La Rasa Ria, Sabah’s finest beach resort, being located on the waterfront.
No Sabah holiday would be complete without a journey to Sandakan to enjoy the regions various attractions. Highlights include Lankayan Island; Selingan, known to many as ‘Turtle Island’; the 560km long Kinabatangan River, where you could come into contact with orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, Bornean gibbons, pygmy elephants and a wide variety of birds such as hornbills and kingfishers.
Also close is the Danum Valley, with its excellent trekking opportunities and canopy walk, and the dive islands of Sipadan, Mabul, Kapali and Mataking. On the outskirts of Sandakan itself you will find Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary, known across the world for its exceptional work in rehabilitating and returning orang-utans to the wild.
A holiday in Sabah really does offer you a little of everything – explore the highlands, relax on the islands and enjoy the incredible wildlife.