Malaysian Borneo is home to some of the most spectacular island destinations in Southeast Asia, from the easily accessible marine parks just minutes from Kota Kinabalu to remote turtle sanctuaries off the coast of Sandakan and pristine diving paradises where whale sharks patrol the deep blue. While Sipadan rightly claims the crown as Malaysia’s premier diving destination, the wider collection of borneo islands malaysia offers encompasses an extraordinary range of experiences that every visitor to Sabah should explore.

This guide covers the essential Borneo island destinations beyond Sipadan, including the five islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, the dugong waters of Mantanani, the turtle nesting beaches of Selingan, and the whale shark encounters at Lankayan. Each island group offers something unique, and together they demonstrate why Sabah’s coastline and offshore waters are among the most biodiverse marine environments on the planet.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park

Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, affectionately known as TARP, is Kota Kinabalu’s island playground and the most accessible marine park in all of Borneo. Established in 1974 and named after Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, the park comprises five islands spread across the turquoise waters just off the Sabah capital, visible from the city’s waterfront promenade.

The five islands of TARP are Gaya Island, Manukan Island, Sapi Island, Mamutik Island, and Sulug Island, each with its own character and appeal. The park covers 4,929 hectares of coral reefs, sandy beaches, and tropical jungle, providing a remarkable natural escape that is just a 15 to 20-minute boat ride from the bustling city of Kota Kinabalu.

Getting to TARP

Boats to the TARP islands depart from Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal in Kota Kinabalu, with services running throughout the day from approximately 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Return boat tickets cost approximately RM35 for a single island visit, with multi-island passes available for RM45 to RM65 depending on the number of islands included. The park entry fee for international visitors is RM25 per adult, with a terminal fee of RM7.50.

Island hopping tours that visit two or three islands in a single day are the most popular way to experience TARP, and numerous operators at Jesselton Point offer packages that include boat transfers, snorkeling equipment, and sometimes lunch.

Gaya Island

Gaya is the largest island in the park, covering approximately 1,465 hectares and rising to a peak of 300 meters above sea level. The island is heavily forested and home to proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques, monitor lizards, and over 100 species of birds.

Gaya Island hosts two luxury resorts that provide world-class accommodation within the marine park setting. Gaya Island Resort, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World and now part of the Hilton portfolio, offers 121 hill villas nestled among the tropical forest with views ranging from mangrove and canopy to Mount Kinabalu in the distance. The resort’s Marine Ecology Research Centre is the only facility of its kind on a Malaysian island resort, propagating endangered giant clams and restoring coral reefs. The centre manages a turtle rescue program with a 14,000-litre recovery tank for injured sea turtles, a coral nursery, and educational programs for guests.

Gayana Marine Resort, the neighboring property, features 45 overwater tropical villas with views of the aquamarine sea and mangrove forest. Both resorts offer PADI diving facilities, guided nature walks through the ancient jungle, kayaking through mangrove channels, sunset cruises, and cultural experiences including traditional Kadazan music performances.

Manukan Island

Manukan is the second largest island in TARP and the most developed for tourism, offering the widest range of facilities among the park’s islands. The island features a beautiful crescent-shaped beach with crystal-clear water, coral reefs accessible directly from shore, and well-maintained facilities including 20 chalets, a clubhouse, several restaurants, a diving center, a swimming pool, and recreational facilities such as a football field and volleyball courts.

Manukan is considered the best island in TARP for snorkeling, with healthy coral formations close to shore supporting diverse populations of tropical fish. The water clarity is excellent during the dry season, with visibility commonly reaching 10 to 15 meters. Snorkel equipment rental is available at approximately RM15 per hour.

The island’s beach is long enough to accommodate visitors comfortably even during busy periods, and the combination of good facilities and excellent marine life makes Manukan the best all-round island choice for families and first-time visitors to TARP.

Sapi Island

Sapi Island is compact and popular, featuring one of the best beaches in the park and excellent snorkeling conditions. The island is a favorite for day-trippers seeking a combination of beach relaxation and water activities, with banana boat rides, parasailing, sea walking, and jet skiing available alongside snorkeling and diving.

The coral reef around Sapi is in good condition and supports a colorful array of tropical fish, including butterflyfish, angelfish, clownfish nestled in sea anemones, parrotfish, wrasses, and occasionally reef sharks patrolling the deeper edges of the reef. The snorkeling area extends from the beach along the island’s northern and eastern shores, and much of the best coral is accessible in waist to chest-deep water, making it suitable for snorkelers of all experience levels.

The island can get crowded on weekends and public holidays, so visiting on weekdays provides a significantly more peaceful experience. Facilities on Sapi include changing rooms, washrooms, a small restaurant, and picnic shelters, making it comfortable for a full day visit.

A zipline connects Sapi Island to the neighboring Gaya Island, stretching approximately 250 meters across the turquoise channel between the two islands. This attraction is popular with adventure-seeking visitors and provides spectacular aerial views of the marine park, with the coral reefs clearly visible through the crystal-clear water below.

Mamutik Island

Mamutik is the smallest island in TARP and offers a quieter, more relaxed alternative to the busier islands. The island’s rocky beaches and clear waters make it a good choice for snorkeling and diving, and its smaller size means fewer visitors even during peak periods.

Mamutik is particularly popular with divers, as the island’s resort hosts a dive center that offers PADI open water certification courses. The surrounding reef supports healthy coral formations and diverse marine life, making it an excellent training ground for new divers. The more peaceful atmosphere of Mamutik appeals to visitors who prefer a less commercialized island experience.

Sulug Island

Sulug is the most remote and least developed of the five TARP islands. The island has no permanent facilities and is accessible only by private boat charter. This lack of development means Sulug offers the most pristine natural environment in the park, with untouched coral reefs, dense jungle, and complete seclusion.

Sulug is best suited to experienced snorkelers and divers who are willing to organize their own transportation and bring their own supplies. The reward is an uncrowded underwater experience with some of the healthiest coral in the marine park.

Mantanani Islands

The Mantanani Islands float in the South China Sea approximately 38 kilometers northwest of Kota Belud, offering crystal-clear waters, white sand beaches, and the tantalizing possibility of encountering one of the ocean’s most elusive creatures, the dugong.

About the Islands

The Mantanani group consists of three islands: Mantanani Besar (Big Mantanani), Mantanani Kecil (Small Mantanani), and Lungisan. Only Mantanani Besar has tourist facilities, while the other two islands remain undeveloped. The islands are inhabited by a small community of Bajau Laut, the traditional sea nomads of Borneo, whose stilt villages and fishing culture provide a fascinating cultural dimension to the island experience.

Getting There

The journey to Mantanani begins with a one-hour drive from Kota Kinabalu to the small jetty at Kampung Kuala Abai in Kota Belud. From there, a speedboat crossing of 30 to 40 minutes brings visitors to the island. Most visitors book organized day trips from Kota Kinabalu that include all transportation, making the total travel time approximately three hours each way.

Day trip packages from Kota Kinabalu typically cost between RM250 and RM400 per person, including land and boat transfers, snorkeling equipment, and lunch. Overnight packages with accommodation on the island are also available for those wanting a more immersive experience.

Snorkeling and Diving

Mantanani offers some of the best underwater visibility in Sabah, with conditions commonly reaching 30 to 40 meters during optimal periods. The islands support approximately 12 recognized dive sites, featuring a diverse range of marine habitats from shallow coral gardens to deeper reef walls.

The marine life at Mantanani is exceptional. Divers and snorkelers regularly encounter sea turtles, dolphins, blue-spotted rays, marbled stingrays, ribbon eels, blue-ringed octopuses, scorpionfish, imperial shrimp, and seahorses. The diversity of macro life makes Mantanani particularly popular with underwater photographers.

Dugong Encounters

Mantanani’s most famous residents are its dugongs, the gentle marine mammals sometimes called sea cows that have earned the islands the nickname “Mermaid Island” among local communities. These critically endangered creatures feed on the seagrass beds surrounding the islands and are occasionally spotted by lucky divers and snorkelers. Dugong sightings are rare and unpredictable, with the best chances occurring between September and November during mating season when the animals are more active and visible.

Dugongs are the only strictly marine herbivorous mammals, feeding almost exclusively on seagrass. They can grow up to three meters in length and weigh over 400 kilograms, yet they are remarkably gentle and shy, typically fleeing at the first sign of human presence. Sighting a dugong in the wild is considered one of the rarest and most rewarding marine encounters in Southeast Asia.

The presence of dugongs highlights the ecological importance of Mantanani’s marine environment. Seagrass beds are vital habitats for many marine species beyond dugongs, supporting juvenile fish, invertebrates, and sea turtles. The ongoing conservation of these beds is essential for maintaining the area’s extraordinary biodiversity, and visitors are encouraged to avoid disturbing seagrass areas while snorkeling or diving.

Accommodation

Overnight options on Mantanani Besar include several small resorts and guesthouses offering basic to moderate comfort. JSK Mantanani Resort is one of the more established properties, offering beachfront accommodation with organized snorkeling and diving activities. Staying overnight allows visitors to experience the island’s magical sunset, the star-filled night sky far from city light pollution, and early morning snorkeling before the day-trippers arrive.

Turtle Islands Park

Turtle Islands Park is one of the most important sea turtle conservation sites in Southeast Asia and offers one of the most moving wildlife experiences available anywhere in Borneo. Located in the Sulu Sea approximately 40 kilometers north of Sandakan, the park is a protected sanctuary where green and hawksbill turtles nest year-round.

The Islands

The park comprises three islands: Selingan, Bakkungan Kecil, and Gulisan. The park was gazetted as a marine protected area in 1977 and covers 1,740 hectares including the islands and their surrounding reefs and seas. Of the three islands, only Selingan is open to visitors, as the other two islands are reserved exclusively for conservation and research activities.

The Turtle Watching Experience

What makes Turtle Islands Park unique is the near-certainty of witnessing turtle nesting. Every night throughout the year, female sea turtles return to Selingan Island’s shores to lay their eggs, making this one of the most dependable locations in the world to observe this extraordinary natural event. Unlike many turtle nesting sites globally where sightings depend on season and luck, Selingan offers virtually guaranteed encounters every single night of the year.

Visitors arrive at Selingan by boat from Sandakan, a journey of approximately 45 minutes across the Sulu Sea. The afternoon is free for swimming in the warm, calm waters around the island, snorkeling over the surrounding reef where you may spot reef fish and sea turtles in their natural habitat, and exploring the compact island on foot, including the hatchery where thousands of eggs incubate in protected sand pits. After dinner in the island’s communal dining hall, visitors wait on the beach or in the visitor center until park rangers signal that a turtle has come ashore to nest.

Under the guidance of rangers, visitors observe the female turtle digging her nest and laying her eggs, a process that can take one to two hours. After the eggs are laid, rangers carefully relocate the clutch to the island’s protected hatchery, where the eggs are monitored until hatching. The highlight of the visit for many is the release of newly hatched baby turtles into the sea, a moment that is both deeply moving and a powerful reminder of the importance of marine conservation.

Conservation Program

The Turtle Islands Park conservation program has been operating for decades and is managed by Sabah Parks with full-time wardens stationed on the islands. Rangers monitor every nest, tag nesting females for research tracking, and protect eggs from predators and environmental threats. The park also offers a turtle nest adoption program, where visitors can symbolically adopt a nest and receive a certificate of adoption.

The conservation work at Turtle Islands has contributed significantly to the protection of green and hawksbill turtle populations in the Sulu Sea. The program serves as a model for turtle conservation efforts throughout Southeast Asia and has helped raise awareness of the threats facing marine turtles globally.

Practical Details

Visits to Turtle Islands Park require advance booking, as only approximately 50 visitors per day are permitted on Selingan Island. The park offers basic chalet accommodation with 25 rooms, and all visits are overnight stays as the turtle nesting occurs after dark. Packages from Sandakan typically cost between RM850 and RM1,200 per person including boat transfers, accommodation, meals, and the guided turtle watching experience.

The best sea conditions for the crossing are between July and October, though turtles nest year-round. Visitors should bring personal essentials, as facilities on the island are basic. Photography during turtle nesting is permitted only with red-filtered light to avoid disturbing the nesting females.

Lankayan Island

Lankayan Island is a tiny coral island in the Sulu Sea, approximately 90 minutes by speedboat from Sandakan. The island is part of the Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area, the first privately managed marine protection area in Sabah, and offers world-class diving in a remote and pristine setting.

Diving at Lankayan

Lankayan is a serious diving destination, with 14 dive sites located within minutes of the island. The diving here features an impressive diversity of marine life, from giant groupers, barracuda schools, and barrel sponges to tiny nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, and ribbon eels. The Lankayan Wreck, a deliberately sunken vessel resting at approximately 20 meters depth, has been colonized by marine life including soft corals, anemones, and resident schools of batfish, creating an atmospheric dive with excellent macro and wide-angle photography opportunities.

Other notable dive sites include Jawfish Lair, known for its colonies of jawfish hovering above their sandy burrows, and Froggy Lair, where frogfish and other master-camouflage species hide among the coral. The relatively shallow depths of most sites, typically 5 to 25 meters, combined with the diversity of marine habitats, make Lankayan suitable for divers of all experience levels.

The headline attraction at Lankayan is whale sharks. These enormous but gentle creatures, the largest fish in the ocean, are regularly sighted in the waters around the island between March and May, with the peak season typically occurring in April. Whale sharks can reach lengths of 12 meters or more and feed on plankton near the surface, allowing divers and snorkelers to observe these magnificent animals at close range. Encounters with whale sharks are among the most sought-after marine wildlife experiences in all of Borneo and draw divers from around the world to this remote island.

Lankayan is also an important nesting site for green and hawksbill turtles, with nesting activity peaking between June and September. Guests at the island’s dive resort may witness turtle nesting on the beach and the release of hatchlings into the sea.

Accommodation

Lankayan Island Dive Resort is the only accommodation on the island, offering 16 attractive wooden chalets with beachfront locations. The resort provides a common dining area that extends to a sundeck on the beach, and the intimate size of the property ensures a peaceful and exclusive atmosphere. Dive packages include accommodation, meals, and multiple daily dives guided by experienced dive masters.

Conservation

The Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area covers 46,317 hectares and encompasses three islands including Lankayan, Billean, and Tegapil. The conservation area has been instrumental in the recovery of marine ecosystems that were previously damaged by destructive fishing practices. Continuous reef monitoring, controlled access, and active conservation programs have restored the reefs to impressive levels of health and biodiversity.

Best Time to Visit Borneo’s Islands

The best time to visit most Borneo islands is during the dry season from March through October, when sea conditions are calmest and underwater visibility is at its best. However, the specific timing varies by destination.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park is accessible year-round but offers the best conditions from March through October. The dry season provides calmer seas and better snorkeling visibility, while the November to February monsoon period can bring rough seas and occasional cancellation of boat services.

Mantanani Islands are best visited from April through July for optimal diving and snorkeling conditions. Dugong sightings, while always rare, are most likely between September and November.

Turtle Islands Park welcomes visitors year-round as turtles nest every night regardless of season. The calmest sea conditions for the boat crossing from Sandakan are from July through October.

Lankayan Island is a year-round diving destination, with the whale shark season running from March through May and the turtle nesting peak from June through September.

Practical Information

Getting Around

Kota Kinabalu is the primary gateway for TARP and Mantanani, while Sandakan serves as the departure point for Turtle Islands Park and Lankayan. Domestic flights between Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan operate multiple times daily, with the flight taking approximately 45 minutes. Alternatively, the overland journey between the two cities takes approximately six hours by road.

Costs

Budget for park entry fees at TARP (RM25 for international visitors), boat transfers, and activity costs. Island hopping day trips at TARP typically cost RM100 to RM200 per person including transfers and snorkeling equipment. Mantanani day trips run RM250 to RM400. Turtle Islands overnight packages cost RM850 to RM1,200. Lankayan dive packages start from approximately RM2,500 for a three-day, two-night stay including dives.

What to Bring

Essential items include reef-safe sunscreen, a rash guard for sun protection during water activities, waterproof camera or phone case, insect repellent, personal medications, and sufficient cash as most islands have no ATM facilities. For dive destinations, bringing your own mask and snorkel ensures a comfortable fit, though full equipment is available for rental at all dive resorts.

Marine Conservation

All of Borneo’s island destinations are within protected marine areas, and visitors should follow responsible tourism practices. Never touch or stand on coral, avoid feeding marine life, use reef-safe sunscreen, take all rubbish back to the mainland, and maintain a respectful distance from nesting turtles. The extraordinary marine biodiversity that makes these islands so special exists because of decades of conservation effort, and responsible visitor behavior is essential for its continued protection.

Choosing the Right Borneo Island for Your Trip

With so many island options available, choosing which destinations to include in your Borneo itinerary depends on your interests, budget, and available time.

For visitors based in Kota Kinabalu with limited time, Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park is the obvious choice, offering easy access, good snorkeling, and a full day of island activities. Adding a day trip to Mantanani extends the experience to more pristine waters and the chance of rarer marine encounters.

For wildlife enthusiasts, the combination of Turtle Islands Park and Lankayan Island from Sandakan provides back-to-back encounters with sea turtles and potentially whale sharks, two of the ocean’s most charismatic species. Both destinations require overnight stays, so plan for at least three to four nights in the Sandakan area.

Divers should prioritize Lankayan for whale shark season in March through May, or Mantanani for excellent visibility and macro life year-round. Non-divers will find the best snorkeling at TARP’s Manukan and Sapi islands, with Mantanani offering a premium but more remote alternative.

Families with young children will be most comfortable at TARP, where the proximity to Kota Kinabalu, calm waters, and established facilities make for a stress-free island experience. The turtle watching at Selingan is suitable for children old enough to stay up past dark and remain quiet during the nesting observation.

Final Thoughts

The borneo islands of Sabah offer some of the most remarkable marine experiences in all of Southeast Asia. From the convenient accessibility of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, where world-class snorkeling is just a 15-minute boat ride from the state capital, to the remote wonder of watching a sea turtle lay her eggs on the moonlit beach of Selingan Island, these islands showcase the incredible natural wealth of Malaysian Borneo. Whether you are diving with whale sharks at Lankayan, searching for dugongs in the crystal-clear waters of Mantanani, or simply floating in the turquoise shallows of Manukan Island with tropical fish darting around your feet, Borneo’s islands deliver experiences that will stay with you long after you have returned to the mainland.