Kota Kinabalu, Tourist Attractions, Activities and Hotels Guide

Kota Kinabalu (also known as KK) is a modern state capital of the land below the wind – Sabah. Formerly known as Jesselton, this fantastic city has a warm hospitality and is famous around the world. It is a nature city with world renowned sandy beaches, paradise islands, virgin coral reefs, tropical rain forests and the significant Mount Kinabalu, where the city got its name. Kota Kinabalu is a growing city with more than 600,000 population. There are mixture of different races and ethnicities here with majority are Chinese, followed by Bajau, Kadazan, Dusun, Malays, Murut, Indian and others.

Attractions in Kota Kinabalu:

1. Mari Mari Cultural Village	2. TARP Islands	3. Jesselton Point

4. Gaya Street	5. North Borneo Railway	6. Signal Hill

7. Aquarium & Marine Museum	8. Klias River	9. Monsopiad Cul. Village

10. Atkinson Clock Tower	11. Borneo Art Gallery	12. Double Six Monument

13. Kipandi Butterfly Park	14. Lok Kawi Wildlife Park	15. Outdoor Dev. Centre

16. Petagas War Memorial	17. State Museum	18. St. Michael’s Church

19. Tamu Penampang	20. Tanjung Aru Beach	21. The Green Connection

22. Tun Mustapha Gallery	23. Water World Theme Park

Recommended Hotels in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah:

1. Gaya Centre Hotel

One of the most popular and highly rated hotel in the city centre.

Reserve through Agoda.com

2. Horizon Hotel Kota Kinabalu

Located in the city centre within walking distance to city attractions.

Reserve through Agoda.com

3. The Pacific Sutera

Suitable for family vacation with onsite golf course and kids club.

Reserve through Agoda.com

4. Hyatt Regency Kinabalu Hotel

Located near to the waterfront and major attractions in the city.

Reserve through Agoda.com

Browse all Hotels in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah >>

How to get there:

By Air

Visitors may visit Kota Kinabalu by plane, by car, by bus as well as by sea. There are direct international flights which stop at Kota Kinabalu International Airport daily, be it from Indonesia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Australia, Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan and other cities in Malaysia. Plus the aiport is very closeby to the city, at only 7 kilometers away.

By Land

For those who are driving from other cities, you can basically follow any main road in Sabah as all will lead you to Kota Kinabalu. As for buses, there are 2 long distance bus terminal available which are the South Bus Terminal and North Bus Terminal. The first serves cities from the south of Kota Kinabalu like Beaufort, Sipitang and Lawas. The latter serves the cities from the north and east such as Mount Kinabalu, Sandakan, Semporna and Tawau.

By Sea

There is a regular access by sea which is only from Labuan. There two trips of ferry services which take about 3 hours daily to and fro Labuan to Kota Kinabalu. The ferries will depart from Labuan docks and arrive at Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal in Kota Kinabalu.