A sale in AirAsia is the main reason why I booked this trip. Usually I plan my vacation outside the Philippines 6 months ahead so I have ample amount of time to plan it and book a very cheap airfare ticket. It only costs P1,902 or $42.68 for a roundtrip ticket: Manila to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. I asked my colleague Elsie to join me for this trip and she enthusiastically agreed. Elsie flew in first from Malaysia. We spent our first night together just roaming around Kota Kinabalu where we met a lot of new friends.
Kota Kinabalu is the capital of Sabah, Malaysia which is located an hour flight from Manila Philippines. It is a popular destination for travellers visiting Sabah and Borneo. Island hopping is one of the most popular activities in this island where you can visit 3 to 4 islands beautiful islands in one day.
Accommodation
1. Cititel Express Kota Kinabalu Hotel (3 days/2 nights)
If you want something simple, clean and affordable, Citadel Express Hotel is the best place to stay. Located in the heart of the city, this hotel is near the supermarket, bus station, airport, port and restaurants. The room is quite small that it can only fit up to 2 people as there are no more space to for an extra bed. It has a television, air condition, bottled water, usual toiletries set and clean towels. That’s it, plain and simple. Convenience and affordability is the main reason why we book this hotel.
Around the Island:
Day 1: Bar Hopping
Our first day in the island was spent on a night out. Since my flight was delayed, I arrived at 1:00 pm instead of 11:00 am. We just went to the port where all boats are located for island hopping. We were supposed to go island hopping that day but then the boatman said that it was too late already. We were advised to start at 8:00 am the following day.
There are a lot of bars and clubs in Kota Kinabalu, you just need to walk around the area and near the port, you will see all the clubs, bars and restaurants lined up. The good thing about travelling to a new place is you also get to meet new faces. You can ask advise from them where to go and or what is the best thing to do in the island or place you are visiting.
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| Me and Elsie just love to have ciders and talk a lot :-) |
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| Met some new friends from Korea and US, who also like us are exploring the beauty of this island |
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| People following Elsie and her famous steps |
It is always more expensive to book a tour in a travel agency online or even in the hotel. The best and cheapest way to book one is in the main place itself, in this case in the jetty port. During our research most of the tours online (island hopping in Kota Kinabalu) costs about RM140 to RM200, in the hotel it cost RM160. When we went to the jetty port the tour costs about RM50 for all 3 islands!
From our hotel we travel by taxi to the Jesselton Point Port. This is the place where you can inquire about island hopping in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. The Marine park is consists of five islands namely Pulau Gaya, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Sulug, Pulau Manukan and Pulau Mamutik. We did not go to all five for we have a tight schedule but we manage to visit three out of five islands. In my opinion it is such a rush if you go to all five islands in one day. It is better to visit 3 islands per day and soak yourself in the beach and explore the underwater.
Pulau Sapi (Sapi Island)
First stop is Sapi Island, a place famous for snorkelling and scuba diving. Upon our arrival we paid RM20 for environmental fee for all the islands, take note that you have to show this in every island that you visit. If you lose it, then you need to pay another RM20. The beach does not really appeal to me, if you have been to Nasugbu Batangas, then this place is the same as that. The problem with this beach is it is densely populated. We saw some tourists going to the rocky place in the island and being two curious ladies, we did follow them. They led us to a smaller secluded beach where one could just chill with their friends and listen to good music.
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| Ready to conquer the beach |
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| Sapi Island: secluded beach away from all the people who are in the main beach in Sapi Island |
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| We got the beach all to ourselves |
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| Snorkelling area in Sapi Island |
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| I can see the future already. Me and my future daughter will definitely have matching outfits |
The second largest island in the tour. This island has lodging and recreational facilities. In my opinion it has the best beach among all the three islands we visited. There are again two beaches in this island, the first one would be the main snorkelling area and dining area where a lot of tourists are and the second is the secluded beach where the hotel/ lodging facility is located. You are allowed to stay in the latter beach as long as you do not eat there. We stayed there for more than an hour as we were the only ones in the beach area. The water is so clear and the sand is very fine like that in Boracay. For me, you should stay longer in Manukan Island to relax and enjoy the amazing view of the island.
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| The very clear water in Manukan Island |
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| It is better to buy food in the main island for it is cheaper. We just bought eggs and borrowed the canteen’s utensils. |
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| Beautiful Manukan Island |
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| Sun-kissed beauty |
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| Clear and clean waters |
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| Elsie and Me :-) |
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| Boat Ride |
Our last stop is the Mamutik Island. It has small beach area overlooking the South China Sea. The beach is very small that it can only accommodating less than 100 of people. The beach is rocky and there are some floating branches in the water, so one must be careful of falling branches. We found a number of sea urchins in the beach as well besides the big rocks and corals. One must be really carful in swimming in this island.
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| Mimetic Island |
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| It’s time for us to go snorkelling |
Address and Contact Information:
Cititel Express Kota Kinabalu Hotel
Jalan Singgah Mata, Pusat Bandar
88000 Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah, Malaysia
Phone number: +60 888521 188
Website: www.cititelexpress.com/kk/
Jesselton Point Port
Ferry Terminal, Jalan Haji Saman
88000 Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah, Malaysia
Travel Cost:
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