Are you willing to be away in a fine, white sand beach with crystal clear, turquoise water? Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, a few kilometers away from KK, will definitely have so much in store for you!
Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) Marine Park is made up of five islands including Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug. For our island hopping tour, we chose to visit Sapi, Manukan and Mamutik islands.
Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal
Jesselton Point offers island transfer service to the islands of Manukan, Mamutik, Sapi, Sulug and Gaya. Travel time to the terminal is only 30 minutes from the city proper. Since we availed of an island hopping tour package (from Borneo ToursTravel), everything was settled when we arrived at the terminal. After getting our life vest and snorkeling gear, we just waited for our boat to arrive.
Sapi Island
The first island we visited is Sapi which we reached after a 30-minute boat ride. It is a small island rich in marine life good for snorkeling and diving. There are wooden tables and chairs near the shore where we left our things.
Someone offered us to try their water activities with rates as follows:
Parasailing – MYR90
Banana Boat Ride – MYR40
Flying Fish – MYR70
Jet Ski (30 minutes) – MYR170
Scuba Diving – MYR250
Seabed Walking – MYR250
We did not avail of the water activities above and we preferred to snorkel that is included in the tour package we obtained. Even just near the shore, there are so many fish swimming around and they are pretty big. You can actually feel them gently nibbling you.
To see coral formation, you have to swim a little further. There are markers that serve as reference. Going beyond the first one is where you are going to see the corals.
Manukan Island
We next went to Manukan Island which is the most developed among the five islands on the marine park.
Just like in Sapi, there are wooden tables arranged under the shade of trees near the shore where we ate lunch. There is a canteen nearby where you can buy some food.
Price is affordable and serving is generous. Some of their rates are as follows:
1 Cup of Rice: MYR2
Rice + 1 Dish (Vegetable): MYR4.50
Rice + 1 Dish (Meat): MYR6.50
Rice + 1 Dish (Meat) + 1 Dish (Vegetable): MYR8.50
Coffee, Tea: MYR3.50
Lemon Tea: MYR4
We tried parasailing here and price is the same with that in Sapi. We paid MYR90 for a 15-minute parasailing. It was our first time to try the said water sport. The experience was definitely exhilarating! According to the facilitators (who are fellow Filipinos), weather must be in good condition for them to conduct the activity. It can’t be too windy.
Mamutik Island
The last island we visited was Mamutik Island. It is the smallest among the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park islands. We exhausted ourselves with the last stretch of our KK swimming and snorkeling adventure.
Tips
- Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal is very accessible and can be easily found. You can opt not to take an island tour package which can be cheaper. Just check the schedule of their island transfers.
- If you will not avail any island hopping package, you just need to pay a conservation fee of MYR 10 for each island.
- Aside from the island hopping tour package, many are offering water sport packages online. You can avail these water activities at cheaper prices right in the islands. There are many facilitators walking around the beach.
Island Hopping (Manukan-Manutik-Sapi) with Snorkeling Gear Rates:
RM 140.00 (3 pax – 4 pax)
RM 130.00 (5 pax – 7 pax)
RM 120.00 (8 pax above)
RM 155.00 per pax – With Buffet Barbecue Lunch
when is the best time to do island hopping?
Lovely place! Great photography skills tho. 2 thumbs up for this post
The water looks divine. Will definitely be on my bucket list now. Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait for summer now.
Wow! Lovely place and you’ve captured its beauty very well.. Kota Kinabalu is on my bucket list! Will bookmark this for future reference 🙂 Thanks for the tips!
With the food and the clear blue water I would never stop island hopping.
Wow! Such a nice beach. I’m really enjoying reading your articles in this blog 🙂
Thank you, Roselle 😁
What a cool place to bring my little family to!!!!! I need to go here! :((
Your post made me curious about Kota Kinabalu. I love your jump shot. I would have done the same. Thanks for the tips and I look forward to read more of your adventures.
makes me wanna have a dose of vitamin sea. how much did you spend all in all?
Oh the beach! The sun! The place is gorgeous and I can feel the summer vibes in this post 🙂 I’m so excited for summer 😀
That’s a wonderful trip! I’ve always told my husband I want to go parasailing!
This made me excited for summer! Look at their island! The beach! The fishes! Amazing at how other countries really takes good care of their islands unlike here in the Philippines. Most islands or beaches are too commercialized 🙁
wow what a great adventure you have! I would love to visit Kota Kinabalu someday (if my time and my money will allow me to haha)
I definitely want to try that parasailing! It looks really fun!
#bucketlisted!
Thanks for sharing and I love all your photos!
I love the photos, vibrant and enticing! One thing I’ve noticed though, there are few tourists.. Is it bec. it’s off season at the time of your visit?