The Kota Kinabalu islands are one of the city’s main tourist attractions. While you can go with a tour, it’s also possible to DIY a trip and save some money. I found it difficult to get info about getting to and from the islands, so here’s everything you need to know about planning your own DIY day trip.
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Organizing a Kota Kinabalu islands day trip
If you’re someone who loves a schedule and prefers to know where you’re going and when — you won’t like this DIY method. But if you’re ready to roll with it, a Kota Kinabalu islands day trip can be lots of fun.
There’s no way to book a boat ticket in advance, you just have to show up on the day. We went for 8:30 AM, which I recommend. But if you’d rather head out later you could show up any time between 8:30 AM and 12:30 PM. All the boats are back by 4:30 PM.
The jetty stuff is a bit confusing because it recently moved. But as of June 2026, you need to go to the DBKK Jetty.
There are several ticket offices all along the jetty, and they all charge the same for the boat trips, so you can just pick whichever one. We went with Nadzwa Travel & Tours and paid 60 MYR each to visit 3 Kota Kinabalu islands: Manukan, Manutik, and Sapi. Note you will also need to pay a one-time conservation fee of 25 MYR per person when you arrive at the first island.
You can rent stuff for 10 MYR per item: snorkel, flippers, beach mat, life jackets. Note you get a free life jacket for the boat journeys. You’d only need to rent a life jacket if you want it for swimming when you get to the islands. We rented two snorkelling masks and a beach mat and we were happy that we did.
Gaya Island and Sulug Island
You can also visit Gaya Island on the same day, but it’s so big there’s more to do and it deserves its own day trip. And you might even turn it in to an overnighter by staying at the luxe Gaya Island Resort.
If you’ve seen Sulug Island on Google Maps and wonder what’s over there, it’s not open for tourism. So you’ll never know, sorry.
In my opinion, the perfect Kota Kinabalu island hopping day trip involves the three islands I went to. They all offer something a little different and it’s easy to see all three in one day.
Total cost of a DIY Kota Kinabalu islands hopping day trip
We paid a total of 200 MYR for two people on our DIY Kota Kinabalu islands adventure. This includes:
- 120 MYR for the boat between 3 islands and back to the mainland
- 30 MYR for rentals: 2 snorkels and 1 beach mat
- 50 MYR in conservation area fees
That’s about half the price of an organized tour! They usually run about 300 MYR.
We also spent about 15 MYR on Grab getting to and from the jetty, and 3 MYR on a pretty mid lunch and some cold drinks throughout the day. (Wish we’d brought our own lunch.)
If you book just one island is costs 40 MYR per person, two islands is 50 MYR, and three islands is 60 MYR. I cover more below about paying for stuff throughout the day.
Important tips for your island hopping day
Here are some quick tips to consider before you head out on your Kota Kinabalu island hopping day trip.
What to expect on the boats
Most importantly, they are not like standard day tour boats — they’re really just transport to the islands. Don’t expect a guide, bottles of water, or anything like that.
When you first leave in the morning, the boats kinda go when they’re ready and have enough people to fill the seats. There’s no official start time. But when you’re ready to catch the next boat, you have to navigate the chaotic docks. There’s a coordinator at every dock who will remember you or call your ticket colour to let you know when your boat has arrived.
It’ll be a different boat and driver every time, and they’re supposed to come on the hour, but you usually spend 10-15 minutes waiting around.
What to wear for island hopping in Kota Kinabalu
Wear your most modest bathing suit. 90% of people will be in full coverage — men and women alike. You may even spot people swimming in jeans.
There were some Westerners in little bikinis and no one cared, but it was a notable difference. I wore a simple one piece bathing suit and felt suitably covered up. I suggest packing something to throw on overtop for the boat rides between islands.
Packing for the day
Pack everything in one bag that you can easily carry around. You have to bring everything with you because you will be on different boats every time you move islands.
On Manukan, you can rent a locker for 10 MYR if you want to leave your stuff and go snorkelling or do the little hike without the weight.
I highly recommend a dry bag like ours, because we definitely got a little wet on the boat rides when the water was choppy.
All of the islands have bathrooms, showers, picnic tables, shops, and the essentials.
When to visit Kota Kinabalu for island hopping
The dry season, between March and October, is the best time to go to Kota Kinabalu for island hopping. However, that doesn’t mean every day will be a stunner.
We went at the end of May and the water was pretty choppy and not very clear for snorkelling. Chesney still got some good sightings, but the conditions were not ideal so I didn’t even put my rented snorkel gear to use. But he saw a clown fish, huge puffer fish, and more cool stuff that made it worth it.
Visiting on a weekday is probably a huge help is avoiding crowds. We were on a weekend during school holidays around the Kaamatan Festival, so it was pretty busy. Even still, it’s nothing like trying to visit Maya Bay in Thailand or something equally painful.
Paying for stuff during your day trip
Bring both cash and card. We had to pay cash for our boat tickets at the jetty, and then when we got to our first island (Manukan), the conservation fee payment had to be cashless. You only pay the 25 MYR conservation fee once, on whichever island you visit first.
QR code payments are almost foolproof, but Sapi island didn’t have much cell reception, which made it hard to pay for stuff at the convenience store. Just bring both cash and card/QR.
What to expect regarding food
Ok, so every island is a little different but to keep this simple: bring your own lunch lol.
On Manukan, there’s a fast food restaurant with things like nasi goreng — room temperature and mid for 7 MYR. There’s a nicer alternative at the Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, but it was much more expensive. It has pretty low reviews (3.7/5) and most reference the exorbitant pricing.
So split the difference and bring your own lunch. All of the islands all have convenience stores for snacks and cold drinks. Prices are also pretty high but when you’re just buying an iced tea it hurts less.
Water safety
Swimming and snorkelling in Kota Kinabalu are obviously popular activities and pretty safe overall, but there are warnings about crocodiles and “stingers.” The stingers sign features a picture of jellyfish, but there were also a ton of sea urchins. And coral is sharp and hard to avoid at low tide. So take care! Lifeguards are around to keep an eye out for these hazards and the water conditions, but still.
There were no monkeys on the island, but we did see a couple of monitor lizards wandering around. Harmless, though.
Cell reception on Kota Kinabalu's islands
You actually get decent cell service on all of the islands, though not so much on Sapi. If you don’t have an eSIM yet, get one! I have an Holafly eSIM subscription with unlimited data every month, but if you’re on a tighter budget, Saily is a great alternative.
Travel essentials for Malaysia
📶 eSIM
Stay connected with internet access all over Malaysia and beyond.
💸 TravelSpend
Track your budget easily (ft. a colourful doughnut chart with stats).
✈️ Skyscanner
Find the best deals on international and domestic flights.
💳 Wise or Revolut
Compare the best multicurrency cards for spending in MYR like a local.
Things to do around the Kota Kinabalu islands
Island hopping in Kota Kinabalu is very chill. The day trip will mostly consist of hanging out by the beach and soaking up the vibes. But there are a few notable activities on each island.
- Manukan Island: The highlight for us was the trail out to Sunset Point. It’s about 30 minutes each way on an easy (but crumbling) path. Most people stick to the beach, so were the only people out there. Beach wise, Manukan was by far the busiest, and unfortunately, dirtiest. I’m talking used nappies/diapers and plastic everything scattered on the beach.
- Mamutik Island: Smaller than Manukan and a popular diving spot. Wayyy cleaner beach, and this is where Chesney spotted his clown fish and puffer fish while snorkelling.
- Sapi Island: This had the calmest water, maybe because the beach is sheltered by neighbouring Gaya Island. You can also camp overnight here, but you need to bring all your own stuff. It’s a tiny island and could definitely be fun to have it mostly to yourself once the tourist crowds have gone.
- Gaya Island: Gaya is bigger and more touristed than the other islands, so it has more hiking trails, restaurants, and activities. This is where you’d catch the Coral Flyer. It holds the (wordy) title of “second longest zip line between islands in the world,” and connects you to Sapi Island.
To go beyond casual island hopping, you can book parasailing, banana boat, tubing tours. But you need to book those separately, and usually in advance, though you might get lucky at the jetty. For the island hopping you just roll up.
Booking an island hopping tour in Kota Kinabalu
If all of the above feels to complicated and you just want to relax, you can definitely book a more organized tour. This also means you get to skip all the chaos at each island’s dock by going for something a little different like a catamaran trip. Even a regular speed boat trip lets you skip the line, and you’ll have a guide to coordinate everything.
Naomi Lai
Naomi is a Canadian travel editor and writer with 13 years of international travel across Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, New Zealand, and beyond. She covers everything from budget backpacking to luxury travel — always from personal experience.
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