How To Visit The Beautiful Semporna Islands, Tawau – 5D4N Travel Guide

What’s the most beautiful place in Sabah you may ask? Well, we have the “perfect” place for you, its called “Semporna” (which literally means perfect or beautiful in Bajau and Malay).

Located on the eastern coasts of Sabah, Semporna is home to one of the best diving sites in the world compromising of; Sipadan, Kapalai, Mantabuan, Mabul and Sibuan. Even if you’re not a diver, Semporna’s white sandy beaches, gorgeous islands and turquoise waters will make you want to visit this beautiful paradise! 

When should you visit the Semporna Islands, Tawau?

The best time to visit Semporna islands is between March to May, where you can expect a more humid and sunnier season with less tourists around. Another perk of visiting this time is the lower air fares, huge discounts and promotions on accommodations and also island hopping packages. 

We made our trip here in April and it was still busy even during the non-peak season. So you can expect it to be very crowded during the other times of the year. 

 

Semporna Weather & Seasons

How to visit the Semporna Islands, Tawau?

To visit these beautiful islands, prior booking with either a tour agency or the island’s resort is the most convenient solution. You will need to do quite a bit of travelling to get here. First of all, you will need to take a flight to Tawau via either Airasia or Malaysia Airlines. From Tawau Airport, it takes another 1:30 hours drive to get to Semporna Town/Pekan Semporna.

Once you arrive at Semporna Town, head towards the jetty which should be located nearby. There are a few jetties here, the public jetty and the private ones. From there you can purchase your tickets to whichever island you want. However, it will definitely save you a lot of time and hassle if you book through a local agent like we did. 

As we booked our trip with an agent (Pakej Pulau Semporna), they handled everything from the moment we landed in Tawau Airport. It was quite relaxing as we didn’t have to worry about finding transport, accommodation and island hopping tours as all of it was already taken care of. There are plenty of tour packages available online, so be on the look out for the best deals.

 

How much does island hopping at Semporna Islands, Tawau cost?

Depending on which agency you buy from and the packages that comes with it, the prices of island hopping may vary from one operator to another. Here’s a rough estimate on the prices to expect if you wish to do a day trip to Semporna Islands.

 

 

 

How long is the boat ride to the Semporna Islands, Tawau?

Depending on which island you plan to visit, the boat ride varies from 20 minutes to the nearest island (Bum-Bum Island) to 1:15 hours to the furthest island (Sipadan Island). 

Is it safe to visit Semporna, Tawau?

You may have heard about the kidnappings which happened in Semporna by the infamous Abu Sayyaf pirates years ago. Since then, a special forces team known as ESSCOM (Eastern Sabah Security Command) has been set up to ensure the safety of Semporna’s coast. 

During our trip to the islands, we could see plenty of army patrols and bases on most of the tourists spots such as Sipadan Island, Sibuan Island and Mabul Island. Besides that, each group of tourists which visit the islands here will be assigned a guide who will follow them during their entire trip to prevent any mishap/abduction from happening. We felt quite safe during our 5 days stay at Semporna and can confidently say that there is nothing to worry about.

Can I stay overnight at the Semporna Islands, Tawau?

Yes, you will be spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing your accommodation here. Depending on your budget you can stay at Semporna Town and do a day trip (lowest cost $), stay at a water chalet on one of the islands (medium cost $$) or go all out and stay at the luxury water bungalows here (high cost $$$)

Useful tips

• If you get sea sick easily, do bring along motion sickness tablets in case you need it. Consume light and bland food such as; bananas, bread, crackers and rice before the boat ride
• Keep hydrated as it can get really hot and humid on this tropical islands
• Pack some snacks/meals for you to enjoy on the island
• Make sure to apply lots of sunblock as you will definitely get sunburnt
• Look out for the jellyfish while swimming/snorkelling. Jellyfish seasons here generally occur during the drier and warmer months. We suggest using long sleeves diving/swimsuit to prevent getting stung by jellyfish
• Use beach socks or snorkelling shoes to protect your feet from stepping on any sharp corals and rough surfaces
• Stay close to your guide at all times
• If possible we suggest staying at the same resort throughout your entire stay here. We had to change hotels a few times and it was quite a hassle as we had travel back and forth
• Please help keep the island clean, so others can appreciate them too
  
• Use a waterproof bag to keep your belongings dry

Our 5 Days 4 Night Itinerary (Semporna Islands), Tawau

– 2 Nights Stay at Water Chalet
– 2 Nights Stay at Semporna Town/Pekan Semporna
– 8 Islands (Bohey Dulang, Sibuan, Mantabuan, Mabul, Kapalai, Timba-Timba, Mataking and Pom-Pom)

We had put off the idea for a while now, and on one fine Sunday evening made an impromptu decision to visit the islands as they were having a special promotion during the off-peak season. 

Seizing the opportunity, we packed our stuffs and that following week, found ourselves frolicking on the most breath-taking islands in Sabah.

Day 1 – First Day In Paradise 

As it was our first day in Semporna, we didn’t have much activities lined up as we would be doing a lot of travelling to get there. For the first 2 nights, we would be staying at the water chalets at Sea Star Resort, followed by another 2 nights at a hotel a Semporna Town.

We had an early start on the first day, taking the earliest flight out to Tawau. Upon arrival, we hopped on to our transport and headed to the Semporna Jetty. It took us just over an hour to reach the jetty as there was not much traffic early in the morning. Since we arrived early, we couldn’t check in yet and had to wait until 12.30pm before the resort would allow us to check in. 

So, we waited at the Starbucks just opposite the jetty until it was pick up time. It took us less than 10 minutes via boat ride to Sea Star Resort. Upon arrival, we were greeted with warm and friendly smiles by the staff here which helped us to carry our luggage to our room. 

If you haven’t been to Sea Star Resort Semporna, then we’d highly recommend you to stay here. Since there is only 12 water chalets here, it felt as if we stayed at our own private resort. After we had our lunch, we did a bit of exploring around the chalet and ended up kayaking till sunset.

Day 2 – Island Hopping Adventures & Jellyfish Stings!

We woke up early around 5.30am just to watch the sunrise here from our water chalet. The view was absolutely stunning and a great way to start the day.

After having breakfast, we waited for the boat operator to pick us up at the resort for the island hopping. Depending on the boat operator, they might bring you to a different island first, instead of following the scheduled itinerary. Your agent will inform you prior to your trip if there are any changes. 

Timba-Timba Island

Our first island of the day was the gorgeous Timba-Timba Island. This island is quite unique as it has a 1km stretch of sand bar surrounded by the crystal clear waters of Semporna. The views here looks straight out of postcard and probably the reason why this idyllic island receives so many visitors daily. 

At the far end of the island, we could see a resort, however we couldn’t find much information on the accommodation yet as it could be undergoing some renovations. If you have more information on the resort they’re building here, do let us know!

We were given half an hour to wander around the island before going for snorkelling. To be honest half an hour wasn’t enough for us to fully take in the beauty of the island and we’d wish we had more time here. As for snorkelling, we were really lucky as we managed to spot the green turtle multiple times swimming up close to us. They were probably wondering what we were doing snorkelling on their turf. 😆

Mataking Island 

After about half an hour snorkelling, the boat operator dropped us at Mataking Island, where we were given a few hours to have our lunch and rest at the island. Mataking is made up to 2 islands, Mataking Besar (bigger/main island) and Mataking Kecil (smaller island). As Mataking is a private island, we were not able to visit the resort here and only able to visit the beach at Mataking Besar. 

If you are staying at the resort here, you would have ample of time to check out the sandbar which connects the main island to the smaller one. You don’t need a boat to get to the smaller island as it takes just under 20 minutes to walk across these 2 islands. 

At the beach where we were dropped off, there is a small stall which serves both cold and hot drinks to quench your thirst. There’s also light meals and snacks here. Since we took the island hopping package, lunch and drinks was already pre-packed for us. 

Once we were done, we checked out the beach area for a bit before heading over to Mataking Kecil for snorkelling. There were plenty of corals and fishes swimming around here and it was quite delightful to see them in action.

 

Pandanan Island

The last island for the day was supposed to be Pom-Pom Island. However, as Pom-Pom is also a private island, only guests staying at the island’s resort is able to come here. For those island hopping like us, we were only allowed to snorkel in Pom-Pom island’s waters. According to our tour guide, there is not much to see when snorkelling here as very few corals and fishes can be found here. 

So, they offered to take us to Pandanan Island which is located just next to Mataking Island. Similar to Pom-Pom, Pandanan is also privately owned, meaning we were not able to go down to the beach and explore the island. From afar we could see that the island looks quite deserted with only a bunch of workers which seem to be constructing a resort here. 

Despite not being able to visit the island, we were still allowed to snorkel within a certain distance away from Pandanan Island. The views here were absolutely beautiful just as the guide had described.

After snorkelling for about 15-20 minutes, both of us felt a stinging sensation on our bodies. At first, we brushed it off, not thinking too much about it. But then, as we swam back to the boat, we could see numerous jellyfish already swarming the boat!

There was even a jellyfish swimming past our eyes as we hastily got back to the boat. Upon checking with the guide, it was confirmed that we had been stung by the jellyfish. One of the guides who also snorkelled with us also had been stung on his neck. We then poured a solution of soap on the infected area to ease the pain. 

 

After the rest of our group went up, the boat operator sent each of us back to our resorts. We arrived back at our water chalet at around 4.30pm. When we got back to the resort, the staff welcomed us back and quickly cooked up some snacks and served hot drinks for us at the café. We felt so pampered while we were here! We took the rest of the evening off to relax and enjoy the scenic views from our room.

 

Day 3 – Beautiful Hiking Views & A Rainy Day!

As this was our last day at Sea Star Resort, we packaged our bags and left them at the lobby before going for island hopping. Our plan was to pick up our bags after island hopping and then directly check in at our hotel which is just beside the jetty at Semporna Town. We didn’t plan on doing any snorkelling on Day 3 as we wanted to stay dry since we would have to change hotels later that day.

Bohey Dulang

Bohey Dulang was first on the list of islands we visited that day. After taking a half hour boat ride from the resort, we finally arrived the island that we both have been longing to visit. We have seen numerous pictures and reviews online about this place and it was actually one of the reasons why we wanted to visit Semporna. 

We were quite lucky to be able to visit Bohey Dulang as we were told by the guide that if it rained the night before, the hiking trail to the view point will be closed due to safety reasons. Before we were allowed to hike up, there was a short briefing on the routes and safety procedures whilst hiking up here.

There are 2 trails here, one to climb up and the other to descend from the view point. Before you start hiking up, you may want to consider using the toilet located near the entrance as there are none available along the hike to the view point. If you forget your shoes, you can rent the “Adidas Kampung” (a locally made footwear often used for outdoor activities) for a small fee of RM5 near the entrance. 

The view point sits at an elevation of 353m and takes around 30 minutes – 1 hour to get there. Depending on your stamina, the hike might be challenging for you, so do come prepared if you intend to reach the view point. Most parts of the trail is made up of boardwalks and stairs, so climbing up actually isn’t that difficult. During our hike, our guide also accompanied us all the way to make sure we didn’t wander off in the wrong direction. 

After around 30 minutes we finally reached the view point! No words can describe how stunning the view of Bohey Dulang is. These pictures speak for themselves.

Right after we reached the peak, the soles of our shoes came off. Probably a good idea to check your shoes condition before making the hike up Bohey Dulang!

Mantabuan Island

Our second island of the day was Mantabuan Island which was located around 20 minutes boat ride from Bohey Dulang. Similar to the day earlier, we were given a couple of hours on the island to have our lunch and relax. 

Being the smallest island in the Tun Sakaran Marine Park, there is very basic facilities here with nothing much to do on the island. Once our group was done exploring the little island, we headed back to the boat to the snorkelling spot at Mantabuan Island. Just as we were approaching the snorkelling spot, it began to pour heavily.

The boat operator asked the rest of the group whether they would like to proceed snorkelling since it was raining, but they still insisted. So the rest of us which didn’t want to snorkel stayed back on the boat. Even so, we were all drenched as the winds were quite strong blowing the rain in our direction.

Sibuan Island

We then proceeded to the last island for the day, Sibuan Island. It is the furthest among the previous 2 islands, taking us about 40 minutes to get there. Even as we arrived at the island, it was still raining cats and dogs. We had to get down at Sibuan Island, as the boat operator wanted to send those who were going diving to another location.

So all of us went down to the beach and ended up swimming at the island even as it was drizzling away. If we were to stay on the shore, it would be freezing cold, so we opt to stay warm in the water whilst waiting to be picked up.

Despite being a small island, Sibuan is actually quite popular among tourists due to its pristine beaches and outstanding diving spots. The island is occupied by the Sea Gypsies or more commonly known as the Bajau people. You can see them here along with a few military personnel which are stationed here to protect the tourists from any abductions. 

Once we were done with Sibuan Island, we picked up our luggage at Sea Star Resort and proceeded to our hotel at Semporna Town. After a nice warm bath and a change a clothes, we went for dinner at a nearby seafood restaurant. Do take note that the shops and restaurants here close early. We noticed that most of them close by 8pm, so be sure to come early!

 

Day 4 – Visiting the most luxurious and exclusive islands!

It was our last day of island hopping on Day 4, and we were already feeling quite exhausted and sunburnt. Despite that, we were still looking forward for the trip as we were to visit 2 of the most luxurious and exclusive islands. Unlike the other islands which are located near to each other, Mabul, Kapalai and Sipadan are all located towards the southern side of Semporna Town.

Since Sipadan Island is open only to divers with permits, we were only able to visit Mabul and Kapalai Island. Both of these islands are also privately owned, however as visitors we can only visit Mabul Island. Kapalai Resort on the other hand doesn’t allow any non-staying guest, so we can only snorkel in the vicinity of the island.

Mabul Island

It takes approximately 45 minutes to get here depending on the tide, so be prepared for a long journey here. Along the way, we could see plenty of other smaller islands which look quite scenic as we passed by. 

There are quite a handful of lodgings at Mabul Island for those who are wondering. You can definitely dive or snorkel here on a budget without spending a fortune. And for those of you that don’t mind spending a bit more, we highly recommend you to stay at the Mabul Water Bungalow. 

During our trip to Mabul, we visited the luxurious Mabul Water Bungalow. We had to pay a entrance fee of RM 30 per person to enter the resort. Nevertheless, it gave us a glimpse on how luxurious these water bungalows can be. We were given a few hours to explore the resort before going for our snorkelling session.

While we were here, we saw some Sea Gypsies selling their fresh catch by the side of the resort. We wanted to purchase some, but it was going to be quite troublesome to carry it back, so we had to give it a pass.

After we were done exploring the resort, we went snorkelling near the shores of Mabul Island. The unique part about snorkelling or diving here is artificial reefs which was built to promote marine life in the area. You can see schools of fishes and various types of corals growing abundantly on the Belian-wood structures laid here decades ago by the resorts owner. 

Day 5 – Till we meet again Semporna!

On the last day, after checking out from the hotel we took the airport shuttle back to Tawau Airport. With heavy hearts, we got on our flight back to KK (Kota Kinabalu) and reflected back on all our adventures and encounters here. Semporna really is a magical place and the most beautiful place in Sabah.

Have any experience or tips on visiting the Semporna Islands ? Let us know and share your thoughts and questions in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you! 

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