Turtle Island Park

Turtle Island Park consists of a number of uninhabited islands lying in the Sulu Sea, off the east coast of Sabah. Turtle Island, or Selingan Island, is the largest of these islands and has been developed to house the park's headquarters, a visitors' centre, basic tourist facilities and a turtle hatchery.

The other islands are usually off limits to the casual visitor in order to keep the turtles' natural habitat pristine.

Turtle landings usually occur after dusk. The park has a sensible policy of allowing visitors to see only one landing a night. This allows undisturbed nestings to go on throughout the night. Whilst waiting for the evening's highlight, all that is left to do is to laze on the beach at sunset or snorkel. The west side of the island is ideal for this. It's clean, quiet, and offers some interesting coral and sea life. Wander around the island and you'll be surprised at how many turtles would have landed in the last few days; their tracks, like mini-tractors, remain in the sand for days.

The nearest mainland town to the park is Sandakan. Your tour operator will organise a speedboat pick-up service to and from Turtle Island. It takes about two hours to reach the islands by boat.

How to get there
By Boat
From Sandakan jetty, you can arrange a speedboat to take you to Turtle Island. The journey takes about two hours.

Sipadan Island

The late Jacques Cousteau, the world-renowned oceanographer, described Sipadan Island as ‘an untouched piece of art’, while divers around the world voted it as one of the top five dive sites in the world.

Malaysia’s only oceanic island, it is very small – only 12ha. in size. A 25-minute walk is all that is required to circle the island on foot. As an oceanic island, it rises about 700 metres from the sea floor, attracting diverse marine life from the blackness of the open sea. Surrounded by crystal clear waters, this crown jewel is a treasure trove of some of the most amazing marine animals.

Declared a bird sanctuary in 1933 by the Colonial Government of North Borneo and re-gazetted in 1963 by the Malaysian Government, the dense vegetation on Sipadan Island supports a large variety of tropical birds which include sea eagles, kingfishers, sunbirds, starlings and wood pigeons. Exotic crustaceans including the amazing coconut crab roam the beaches and scurry among the undergrowth.

When diving here, encounters with turtles, resident schools of jacks, bumphead parrotfish and barracudas are almost assured around the tiny coral island.

How to get there
By Air
The jump off point to Sipadan Island is Kota Kinabalu or Tawau.

By Car
Continue the journey by a 1-hour drive to Semporna town.

By Sea
A 30-minute speedboat will take you to Mabul, which is the jump off point for Sipadan Island explorations.

Pulau Tiga Marine Park

Pulau Tiga is the largest of the three islands that make up Pulau Tiga Park. Its beautiful landscape and unspoilt natural environment has attracted CBS TV Network of the USA to use this island as the main location for the popular ‘Survivor’ Programme, dubbing it the ‘Survivor Island’.

This island was formed through the eruption of several mud volcanoes. The last explosion happened in 1941 and since then the volcanoes have remained relatively passive. Several small mud volcanoes spewing cool, mineral-rich mud can still be found near the summit of the island. The notion that this mineral rich mud is good for your skin makes mud-bathing a must-do activity on this island.

The island’s lush green jungle serves as a soothing backdrop, while the fine, white sand beaches and the clear unpolluted water are a wonder for nature lovers. The coral reefs encircling the island are home to many species of fish and other marine life. Among the activities that await you here are diving, non-motorised water sports, trekking, bird watching and mud bathing.

The Park Headquarters is situated on the southern side of the island, not far from Pulau Tiga Resort, the only resort facility available on the island.

How to get there
By Road
From Kota Kinabalu, drive 140km south to Kuala Penyu at the Klias Peninsula, then board a boat to the islands.

By Sea
The islands are 18km away and about 45 minutes by boat. Some tour agents also organise tours and ferry services to the islands.