Sabah

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles56 reviews
Excellent
20
Very good
14
Average
11
Poor
7
Terrible
4

Lúcia Costa
3 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Friends
From Semporna you can visit beautiful islands and even go snorkelling. The problem is: no one is taking action on preserving the environment. There is trash EVERYWHERE even in the “paradises” that are advertised. Plastic plastic plastic. And the corals: dead. It is dramatic and a solution is urgent.
Also at the city itself there is misery all around. Terribly dirty streets, dozens of hungry stray dogs and the worse: beggars. Mainly children who don’t own an identity, or go to school. Too sad!!!!
Written May 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dawn W
Singapore, Singapore10 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Friends
Went Semporna,Sabah on 6-12 Sep 2022 for island hopping.It have clear blue turquoise water.Good for snorkelling and diving.Beautiful place.Didn’t expect to find in Malaysia.
Written September 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Philip
Manila, Philippines7 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Solo
Be careful what a rip off u see the mountain on way there but it was cloudy so did not see whole mountain guide said 50 50 chance u wont see all of it. Noo hot springs wtf due to landslide all we did was go to botanical garden once there never saw the moutain what a complete joke 170 ringgit yes 170 guide showed us 100's plants i paid to see the moutain touch it included lunch not of us ate much i wonder why tastelessrent a bike go yourself save a bundle but u risk rain way back brutal rain
Written December 21, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Emmy
8 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019 • Couples
The seafood is expensive..the food taste not so nice...place around wave view hotel urgently need some kind of clean up..but wait the mamak shop food not so bad..the prata the best...but careful around the area have many bajau people asking for money..but overall..it's is ok safety wise..if u wannabe stay here ..go the pasar malam for dinner..the pricing reasonable..the sea is nice n beautiful...
Written October 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rohit Kaul
16 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2019 • Business
It occupies a chunk of the world’s third-largest island, Borneo. Do cost Tawau division. It is well connected to Kuala Lumpur through direct flights. After reaching the Tawau airport, one can move to Semporna Jetty, which is located 45 minutes away from the airport. From there one can be transported on a speed boat to various resorts located in Semporna.

Semporna (perfect) is a word understood by most of the Indians. A number of islands are scattered around Semporna and the place is the departure point of Sabah’s top diving sites including Sipadan and Mabul.
Written October 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chihiro Y
2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2019 • Couples
Absolutely gorgeous islands..one of the most beautiful places I've been. But yes, I must strongly agree with the previous two reviews...the gate of the heaven needs a lot of work out. All we wanted was to enjoy snorkeling and laying on the beautiful sand but unless you spend fortune to hire a private boat to the island, joining in the tour is the only option to get to the islands.
Written July 28, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Desiree L
Bern, Switzerland23 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019 • Friends
Semporna the self-proclaimed gateway to Paradise is probably the dirtiest place on earth I have seen so far. The entire city is a big dumping ground with a smell of sewage. Loads of trash is floating everywhere in the ocean, even around Sipadan. The locals lack environmental awareness. No efforts are made by the local government to control littering, to promote environmental consciousness and to ban shark finning, dynamite fishing, use of plastic bags, straws etc.
I have mixed feelings about coming back to Sipadan: on the one hand I’d love to dive here again but on the other hand I think I shouldn’t support tourism that is far from being eco-friendly & sustainable.
Written May 12, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

angrytrvlr
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019 • Solo
Semporna... except for some jems in the city, is just an extremely dirty and overpriced gate for the beautiful nearby islands. Thanks to chinese tourists, basic acccommodation and especially boat transport are extremely overpriced. Even the local fisherman will ask you LOT of money just to drop you off to a nearby island. This is not a problem if you like soulless organised islands hopping and tours with screaming chinese, they have competitive price for this. Otherwise be prepared to burn a lot of money if you want to enjoy the beautiful nature of Sabah Islands or the incredible Bajau Laut culture with a bit of autonomy. Oh and how not to forget the local beggars on the islands, they will pretend from you money like tax collectors, without even trying a fake worried expression, You can thanks for this the chinese as well. Sadly the pretty nice and honest local people and the bajau laut I've met here are not enough to balance the dirtyness, complete lack of respect for the nature and rudeness you have to deal with every day. Probably in a couple of years the beautiful nearby islands will be full of private chinese lodge and drowned in garbage and plastic.
Written May 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bold-Destinations
Santiago, Chile170 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Solo
I loved traveling around Sabah, Malaysia in Borneo. It is a beautiful state filled with amazing wildlife. Be sure to do some research ahead of time about transportation and how to travel the State in a sustainable and ethical way. Some of my favorite highlights included Diving off of Mabul island, The Orangutan Sanctuary in Sepilok, Island Hopping off of Kota Kinabalu and the Rive Cruise on the Kinabatangan River
Written April 29, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chan Yong
Singapore, Singapore7 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2017 • Couples
It's my 4 time to Sabah especially Kota Kinabalu. Never failed to amazed me everytime... although the spending expenses has gone up a little faster and higher than I expected. But still worth the value
Written February 21, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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SABAH: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Sabah