Signal Hill Observatory

Signal Hill, the highest point in the city, is one of the best places to get a good view of Kota Kinabalu. Just a couple of minutes drive from Padang Merdeka will bring you to the airy deck where you can get amazing views that extend to the outlying islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park and further.

You will have to use a taxi as it is off the normal bus route. Taxi fare to the Signal Hill Observatory Platform is RM10-RM15. It is Open Daily from 8.00am till 12.00 Midnight. Admission is free.

An evening view from the Observatory

Sabah State Mosque

One of the most outstanding pieces of architecture in Sabah is none other than the State Mosque. With its majestic dome and stunning gold inlay motifs, the mosque sits a stone's throw away from the city centre. It is a unique combination of prevailing Islamic architecture and contemporary design.



The mosque can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers at one time. There is also a special balcony exclusively allocated for Muslim women during prayer time, with room for up to 500. Visitors are advised to adhere by the dress code when visiting places of worship. Avoid visiting on Fridays which is the day of prayer for Muslims.


City Mosque

The Kota Kinabalu City Mosque is the second main mosque in Kota Kinabalu after State Mosque. Sprawling above a man-made lagoon at Likas Bay, the Likas mosque or City mosque was built as such that it created an impression to be floating above water. The architecture is marvelous, closely and immaculately resembles the design of Nabawi Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The sky-blue dome blends perfectly with its white masonry.

This floating mosque has a prayer hall which houses three madrasahs and accommodates from 9, 000 to 12, 000 people at a time.

The Kota Kinabalu City Mosque is open for public visits daily except Fridays from 8am to 5pm. There are no fees charged on visitors.





Atkinson clock tower



Aquarium and Marine museum

The marine museum is situated within the Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) Complex inside the Universiti Malaysia Sabah campus adjacent to the Sepanggar Bay area.

Among its facilities are the free standing exhibition tanks, live open water reef exhibition centre, live shallow reef exhibition centre, mangrove walk, contemporary Marine and Maritime Museum, Multimedia Interactive Information Kiosk, and Sipadan deep dive diorama.

Finding the exact location is a bit difficult as there are no sign boards. Once you enter the UMS campus, you will come across a roundabout. Take the first left turn and keep going ( you will start going uphill)

The UMS Aquarium and Marine Museum is open every day except on Wednesdays and public holidays. Visiting hours are from 9.30am – 12.30pm and 2.00pm – 4.30pm

Menara Tun Mustapha

It is 5 kilometres or about 15 minutes away from the KK City Centre. Formerly known as the Sabah Foundation Building, this circular tower of steel and glass stands 30 storeys high in the Likas Bay area and is instantly recognizable as a Sabah icon. It has a central core with steel brackets supporting each floor.

Inside are housed an auditorium, two mini-theatres, exhibition foyer, a gymnasium, kindergarten and Research library. On the 18th floor is the revolving restaurant @tmosphere where you can enjoy a different dining experience.

@tmosphere Revolving Restaurant and Lounge
Opening Hours
Daily from 10.00am till 2.00am

Handicraft market

Handicraft market aka Filipino market is the best place to get handicrafts and souvenirs. Before buying any souvenirs from other stores, have a look here as you will surely get a much better bargain.




International Airport

Many international flights from around Asia Pacific, including Osaka, Seoul, Hong Kong, Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, fly into Sabah via it’s capital city, Kota Kinabalu. Kota Kinabalu with its many hotels and resorts house many tourists before they venture to the many interesting places around Sabah.

Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, has the most flights to Kota Kinabalu daily, this flight will take 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Malaysia Airlines has 14 non-stop or indirect daily flights to Kota Kinabalu and
Air Asia has 10 daily flights to and return from Kuala Lumpur.

Penang

Air Asia has one daily flight to and from Penang.

Singapore
There are 3 daily flights from Singapore with Malaysia Airlines and Silk Air operating this route, the flight time from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu is 2 hours and 30 minutes. Malaysia Airlines has 2 flights from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu daily, one with a stop over at Kuching International Airport.

AirAsia has two daily flights from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu.
Jetstar, Silk Air & Tiger Airway have one flight to and from Singapore daily.

Hong Kong
The flight time from Hong Kong to Kota Kinabalu is 3 hours.

Tuesday to Saturday 2 flights from Hong Kong and return, one by Malaysia Airlines and one by Dragon Air. Sunday one flight to and from Hong Kong by Dragon Air, and Monday one flight to and from Hong Kong by Malaysia Airlines.

Macau

One daily flight from Macau to Kota Kinabalu, by Air Asia.

Manila
Malaysia Airlines has daily flights from Manila to Kota Kinabalu, and Air Asia through Clark (2 hours drive from Manila) has one daily flight to Kota Kinabalu.

Seoul
Korea Air and Malaysia Airline have twice weekly services from Seoul to Kota Kinabalu, on Wednesday and Sunday. Asiana Airlines have daily flight to and from Seoul.

Shenzhen (China)

Air Asia has one daily flight from Shenzhen to Kota Kinabalu.
Shenzhen Airline has 4 weekly flights to Kota Kinabalu.

Jakarta

Air Asia has one flight to and from Jakarta on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Japan

Malaysia Airline has weekly flights from Osaka and Tokyo.

Other parts of the world

From Europe fly to Kuala Lumpur, Brunei and Singapore, these cities has good connecting flights to Kota Kinabalu. Airlines to look out for Malaysia Airline, Singapore Airline (with Silk Air), and Royal Brunei Airlines.

From North American fly to Hong Kong or Seoul, these two cities has good connecting flights to Kota Kinabalu. Korean Air and Cathay Pacific (with Dragon Air) are the main ones here.

From Australia and New Zealand fly to Kuala Lumpur, Brunei and Singapore, these cities has good connecting flights to Kota Kinabalu. Air Asia, Malaysia Airline, Singapore Airline (with Silk Air), and Royal Brunei Airlines have good flights service to Kota Kinabalu.

Terminal 1

Terminal 2 / LCCT


KK Esplanade

The KK Esplanade (Also called Segama waterfront, KK waterfront)is located at the heart of the city, surrounded by famous landmarks such as the Hyatt Regency hotel, Cocoon bar, and Wisma Merdeka shopping complex.

In addition to the benches provided and the wooden platform overlooking the islands, visitors will be amused by the dolphin monument and the smaller statues of fishes decorating the esplanade.

Overlooking the sea, the esplanade is a perfect place to enjoy the atmosphere of KK city





Getting here

By Air
The easiest way to come here is by airplane. Kota Kinabalu has an international airport with two terminals, one for regular flights and another for budget airlines.It is connected from most major cities around South East Asia and North East Asia. Brunei, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Hong Kong, Osaka, and Seoul are some major cities that have connecting flight to and from Kota Kinabalu.
By Land
Being on the Borneo Island, Kota Kinabalu is disconnected from the mainland Asia, and can be accessed by land only from within Borneo Island.There is a good road link from Brunei via Limbang, Lawas (Sarawak), Sindumin (Sabah), Sipitang town, Beufort, Papar and toward Kota Kinabalu. This Journey will take about 6 to 8 hours.
By Sea
KK is a port city and does receive Ocean liners. I am not sure if any known Ocean liners make a stop here. There are ferry services from Labuan to KK, and vise versa, daily. This journey will take 3 hours.From Brunei you need to take a ferry to Labuan first (about 1.5 hours)before proceeding to KK by another ferry.

There are also ferry services from Nunukan, Kalimantan, Indonesia to Tawau.

Travelling around KK

KK city is only about 2km from one end to the other, and if you are up to it, you can easily walk from one place to another inside the side.

But many areas are outside the main city and need some kind of transport.There are three main modes of transport. Bus, Taxi and rented car.
By Bus
The major bus companies that service routes in and around Kota Kinabalu are located just opposite the Court House, along Jalan Pantai (Beach Road), right in the middle of the city. Most buses operate with a 30 minutes interval.
City Bus

City Bus operates two major routes one north of KK City and the other one toward the south of KK City. City Bus buses are all fully air-cond. Bus fare starts from RM 1 to RM 2.

1) Kota Kinabalu > Likas Bay Highway > Yayasan Sabah Building >King Fisher Park> Federal Administration Building > University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) > 1Borneo Hypermall > Alamesra Shoplots > King Fishers Park IV > University Apartment > Taman Indah Permai >Institute Technology Malaysia

2) Kota Kinabalu > Komplex Karamunsing > Sacred Heart Cathedral > State Mosque > Tanjung Aru Town > Terminal 2 (KKIA) > Tanjung Aru Beach
Penampang Bus Transport (PUT)
PUT operates on two major routes, and most of the buses don’t have air conditional. Bus fare start from RM 0.60 to RM 2.00.

1) Kota Kinabalu > Karamunsing Komplex > Luyang Phase 1, 2 and 3 > Damai Commercial Centre > Foh Sang > Taman Fu Yen > Taman Jindo > Lintas Plaza > Bukit Padang > Taman Khimat > Beverly Hill Apartment

2) Kota Kinabalu > Karamunsing Komplex > Sacred Heart Cathedral > Sabah Museum > Queen Elizaberh Hospital > Taman Fortuna > Lido Market > Towering Commercial Centre >Penampang New Town Shoplots> Kadazandusun Cultural Association > Donggongon Town
Tuaran Union Transport (TUT)
Tut has non air conditional buses, and bus fare from RM 0.60 to RM 2.00

1) Kota Kinabalu > Komplex Karamunsing > Sunny Garden > Kian Kok Secondary School > Likas Sport Complex (Outside) > Shan Tao Secondary School > All Saint Secondary School > Kampung Likas > Kolombong Industrial Area > Northern Bus Terminal > Inanam Township
Mini-Bus Station
The mini-bus station is situated next to Wawasan Plaza at the southern end of Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen. Mini-bus mostly goes to areas where the Major bus companies do not go. Noted: Most mini-bus has very little legs room and almost all does not have air condition. Mini-bus can also be very untimely, it will only go when the bus is full. Fares are between RM 1 to RM 2.

Some notable places cover by the mini-bus are Papar, Lok Kawi, Kinarut, Telipok, Tuaran,.

These fares could have changed since publication.

1Borneo Shuttle Bus
1Borneo provides free shuttle bus service  to and from 1Borneo. The timing of the bus service is given below. You will have to book your seats at their counter at least half an hour in advance.

Places of Interest

I have taken the list of places from the Official tourism website for Kota Kinabalu i.e www.sabahtourism.com. I have modified the list by categorizing them into three broad headings

Inside KK City
Outside KK City
  • Double Six Monument
  • Kipandi Butterfly Park
  • Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre
  • Layang-Layang Island
  • Lok Kawi Wildlife Park
  • Mandara Spa, Magellan Sutera
  • Mari Mari Cultural Village
  • Monsopiad Cultural Village
  • Nexus Golf Resort Karambunai
  • North Borneo Railway
  • Orchid de Villa
  • Petagas War Memorial
  • Sabah Golf & Country Club
  • Sabah State Museum & Heritage Village
  • Sabah State Railway
  • Sutera Harbour Golf & Country Club
  • Tamu Penampang
  • Tanjung Aru Beach
  • The Coffee Experience Tour at Cap Kuda Coffee Factory
  • Tunku Abdul Rahman Park
  • Water World Theme Park
  • St. Michael Church Penampang 
  • Puh Toh Tze Temple
Galleries, Spas
  • Borneo Art Gallery 
  • Cres Moment
  • Tun Mustapha Gallery 
  • Chi, the Spa at Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa
  • Jari Jari (Day Spa) for Body & Mind Relaxation
  • Ka'andaman Traditional Healing Garden 





1sulaman

1Sulaman Model


One of the itinerary on my trip was to visit the construction site of 1Sulaman, a self contained neighbourhood consisting of shoplexes, multi-storied condominiums and a water theme park.







Pictures taken 6 months back





Pictures taken now (Oct 2009)












Construction seems to be moving at a very slow pace. Looks like it is a long way to go