leo
Contributor
I know this is a long post, but this site offers such great advice I’m laying it all out 
And many of you have helped get me to this point, thanks for your posts and PMs!
After hours of researching posts and info online (scubaboard, tripadvisor, lonelyplanet, google searches) I’ve finally came up with a rough plan for a Sabah trip. I’ve identified the destinations and resorts, and now I have some detailed questions on specifics and on putting the whole thing together. If you can help with answers/comments/experiences for any of the questions it would be appreciated:
Here is the rough plan:
- three or four complete days diving Sipadan (area) staying at Kapalai
- one or two nights at Myne Resort with river cruises and visit to Labuk Bay
- three or four nights stay at Lankayan
- travel starting later October
Here are some quick notes on our choices, to help in case you may offer comments:
We want nicer the budget/backpacker, but don’t need 5-star luxury, even if we do have some picky requirements. Kapalai was chosen over Mabul for better shore-accessed freediving/snorkeling, less chance of trash, and fewer mosquitos… even if the ND wife will risk boredom of an isolated tropical “island” and have few activities (thus the short 3-4 days diving for me – but even so will I be too dissapointed by Sipadan permit allocation, even in Oct/Nov?).
Myne Resort and the Kinabatgan River is kind of on the way between Semporna/Sandakan, so it seems we’d do that between the two island destinations, although if instead we fly between Tawau and Sandakan then it’s done adjacent to Lankayan destination…
We chose Lankayan as a compliment to Sipadan to offer the beach experience, and a location where I could do some diving in the morning but spend the afternoon with the wife, yet still have the underwater nature experience while together (e.g. I freedive from shore while she’s on shore some few 100m’s away – I hate just relaxing/sitting on a chair or beach). But, as it seems, consensus is the diving is so much better at Sipadan area, we couldn’t just do Lankayan alone (I’d be too dissapointed to miss it).
OK, the questions:
1. How should we travel between destinations? We have our dive gear, so backpacking type travel is not preferred… I could rent a car although it wouldn’t be a round trip… We could hire a car with driver for each leg although would that restrict super early travel to meet any required arrival time (e.g. “boat leaves peir only once a day at X a.m.”
… Or do we fly between cities (allows for a round trip car rental out of Sandakan for the river segment but will we pay too much for all our gear which includes not only dive gear buy my business travel stuff which I can’t just leave at any point on itinerary with no reverse path)?
2. What is the best sequence of the three destinations? One variable is the answers to question #1 above, but another consideration (which I have yet to completely determine) is to which airports (e.g. Sandakan and Tawau) can we fly into or out of, and at which times can we arrive and/or depart given the flights we need to take, and what are the connecting (i.e. boat at pier) requirements. For example, if Lankayan only has daily early a.m boat service from pier to island, then I need to either find an early arrival to Sandakan (as first segment from BKI or KUL, or as mid-trip from TWU), or I must do Lankayan immediately after the river destination with an early a.m. drive).
And some more more one-off questions:
- How might the late October and even possible early November schedule impact diving weather… does that impact the destination squence preference? And what of the one national holiday in late October, does that impact vacationers at any of the three destinations?
- Do any of the resorts, and the transfers they offer, lend to a specific sequence of my destinations?
- From the numerous web posts, Labuk Bay for the proboscis monkey feeding sounds pretty interesting to me, but Sepilok - as much as I’d love to see arangutans – sounds to be too touristy for me (and too hit and miss). Is Labuk Bay an easy stop before/after Myne Resort, or as a side trip middle of the stay at Myne? Does Sepilok’s location being so close and so easy to do from Labuk’s that it’s just foolish not to do both together, even given my “tourist loathe”?
- Does Sandakan have an ATM, as if it’s the first arrival point I won’t have any MYR and Lankayan’s transfer to the pier may not allow me an opportunity to hit an ATM?
- I’ve read that Lankayan does not offer fresh juice, which we’ll want (we can do without liquor), so best to sequence it later in trip so to hit a market before hand (or might there be one at the pier?).
- Do US passport holders need a visa to enter Malaysia? If so, how is it obtained (in advance or upon arrival), and if upon arrival and I arrive not from KUL (e.g. direct from HKG) will the arrival airport (I think only BKI has arrivals from non-Malaysia airports) have the visa window/staff open so early to allow for my connection if I must immediately connect on to make my pier departure requirement?
- I’ll have a iPhone (AT&T) with an unlimited data plan. How is the cellular service in Sabah, specifically on the travel route(s) or in Sandakan or Semporna (if I’m too early arriving at a pier, or at the airport, etc.).
Again, thanks!!
And many of you have helped get me to this point, thanks for your posts and PMs!
After hours of researching posts and info online (scubaboard, tripadvisor, lonelyplanet, google searches) I’ve finally came up with a rough plan for a Sabah trip. I’ve identified the destinations and resorts, and now I have some detailed questions on specifics and on putting the whole thing together. If you can help with answers/comments/experiences for any of the questions it would be appreciated:
Here is the rough plan:
- three or four complete days diving Sipadan (area) staying at Kapalai
- one or two nights at Myne Resort with river cruises and visit to Labuk Bay
- three or four nights stay at Lankayan
- travel starting later October
Here are some quick notes on our choices, to help in case you may offer comments:
We want nicer the budget/backpacker, but don’t need 5-star luxury, even if we do have some picky requirements. Kapalai was chosen over Mabul for better shore-accessed freediving/snorkeling, less chance of trash, and fewer mosquitos… even if the ND wife will risk boredom of an isolated tropical “island” and have few activities (thus the short 3-4 days diving for me – but even so will I be too dissapointed by Sipadan permit allocation, even in Oct/Nov?).
Myne Resort and the Kinabatgan River is kind of on the way between Semporna/Sandakan, so it seems we’d do that between the two island destinations, although if instead we fly between Tawau and Sandakan then it’s done adjacent to Lankayan destination…
We chose Lankayan as a compliment to Sipadan to offer the beach experience, and a location where I could do some diving in the morning but spend the afternoon with the wife, yet still have the underwater nature experience while together (e.g. I freedive from shore while she’s on shore some few 100m’s away – I hate just relaxing/sitting on a chair or beach). But, as it seems, consensus is the diving is so much better at Sipadan area, we couldn’t just do Lankayan alone (I’d be too dissapointed to miss it).
OK, the questions:
1. How should we travel between destinations? We have our dive gear, so backpacking type travel is not preferred… I could rent a car although it wouldn’t be a round trip… We could hire a car with driver for each leg although would that restrict super early travel to meet any required arrival time (e.g. “boat leaves peir only once a day at X a.m.”
… Or do we fly between cities (allows for a round trip car rental out of Sandakan for the river segment but will we pay too much for all our gear which includes not only dive gear buy my business travel stuff which I can’t just leave at any point on itinerary with no reverse path)? 2. What is the best sequence of the three destinations? One variable is the answers to question #1 above, but another consideration (which I have yet to completely determine) is to which airports (e.g. Sandakan and Tawau) can we fly into or out of, and at which times can we arrive and/or depart given the flights we need to take, and what are the connecting (i.e. boat at pier) requirements. For example, if Lankayan only has daily early a.m boat service from pier to island, then I need to either find an early arrival to Sandakan (as first segment from BKI or KUL, or as mid-trip from TWU), or I must do Lankayan immediately after the river destination with an early a.m. drive).
And some more more one-off questions:
- How might the late October and even possible early November schedule impact diving weather… does that impact the destination squence preference? And what of the one national holiday in late October, does that impact vacationers at any of the three destinations?
- Do any of the resorts, and the transfers they offer, lend to a specific sequence of my destinations?
- From the numerous web posts, Labuk Bay for the proboscis monkey feeding sounds pretty interesting to me, but Sepilok - as much as I’d love to see arangutans – sounds to be too touristy for me (and too hit and miss). Is Labuk Bay an easy stop before/after Myne Resort, or as a side trip middle of the stay at Myne? Does Sepilok’s location being so close and so easy to do from Labuk’s that it’s just foolish not to do both together, even given my “tourist loathe”?
- Does Sandakan have an ATM, as if it’s the first arrival point I won’t have any MYR and Lankayan’s transfer to the pier may not allow me an opportunity to hit an ATM?
- I’ve read that Lankayan does not offer fresh juice, which we’ll want (we can do without liquor), so best to sequence it later in trip so to hit a market before hand (or might there be one at the pier?).
- Do US passport holders need a visa to enter Malaysia? If so, how is it obtained (in advance or upon arrival), and if upon arrival and I arrive not from KUL (e.g. direct from HKG) will the arrival airport (I think only BKI has arrivals from non-Malaysia airports) have the visa window/staff open so early to allow for my connection if I must immediately connect on to make my pier departure requirement?
- I’ll have a iPhone (AT&T) with an unlimited data plan. How is the cellular service in Sabah, specifically on the travel route(s) or in Sandakan or Semporna (if I’m too early arriving at a pier, or at the airport, etc.).
Again, thanks!!
