Sabah · Malaysia
Kota Kinabalu travel guide
Kota Kinabalu is a city in Sabah, Malaysia, home to about 452,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- BKI5 km · Kota Kinabalu International Airport
- Currency
- MYRMalaysian ringgit
- Time zone
- Asia/Kuala Lumpur
- Language
- Malay
About
About Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu, colloquially referred to as KK, is the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is also the capital of the Kota Kinabalu District as well as the West Coast Division of Sabah.
Kota Kinabalu is a growing city of around 500,000 inhabitants. Economic growth has resulted in urbanisation of the city reaching adjacent districts of Penampang and Putatan with a total population of almost 800,000. Its growth and importance is due to being the administrative capital, a major transportation hub, growing port, manufacturing hub, growing tourism and because it is the major gateway into Sabah and East Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu was granted city status in 2000, becoming the sixth city. It is the sixth largest urban/metropolitan area in Malaysia.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Kota Kinabalu
See
- Atkinson Tower
- City Park
- Chinatown
- Sembulan Riverfront
- Double Six Monument
- Sabah State Museum
- Islamic Civilization Museum
- Sacred Heart Cathedral
- Sabah State Mosque
- Gurdwara Sahib Sikh Temple
- Perdana Park
- Tanjung Aru Beach
Do
Try dives, leisure diving, technical diving and snorkelling are all available from Kota Kinabalu. Several interesting dive sites can be enjoyed as day trips from Kota Kinabalu with nearby World War II wrecks accessible for scuba diving. Some are in the 24-45 m depth range whilst other wrecks are only suitable for technical diving. Advanced and basic diver training courses are run from Kota Kinabalu by several dive centre operators.
- Scuba Junkie KK
- Borneo Dream
- Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures
- Sabah Divers
- Sensi Borneo Diving Resort & Tours
- Borneo Crystal Sdn. Bhd.
- 7 star fishing
- Mr. K.K. Law
- Golf Academy Borneo
- Sabah Extreme Sport Association
- Ultimate
- Likas Bay, Taman Awam Teluk Likas
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Kota Kinabalu to stay in
Kota Kinabalu has accommodation from expensive to cheap. This is such a changing price market the best way to check prices is the internet pages such as Sabahbah.com, MySabah.com Sabah tourism.com, or Trip Advisor searches until you find the price you want.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 29 °C; October is the wettest, with about 258 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Kota Kinabalu: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), about 5.4 km from the city centre in a straight line; Labuan Airport (LBU, 118 km) is also within reach.
Getting around
The city centre is quite small, and you can walk from one end to the other in less than 30 min. The city is set out along a grid system with the long main roads running parallel to the nearby waterfront with intersecting roads forming the local districts within the city. As KK has grown there are dual carriageways that weave around the city on the land available and the new buildings/malls, hospitals, etc. Further from the old city centre the roads do not conform to the original grid planners used.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
BKI · Kota Kinabalu International Airport
LBU · Labuan Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Kota Kinabalu
Eat
Kota Kinabalu is a cultural melting pot. Here Chinese meet Malays and Bruneis, Javanese, Filipinos and even a couple of Europeans, all of whom have brought along their own cuisine. Try out the many specialties offered at the various kedai kopi (often in buffet form making it easy to order) and shun fast food chains. For meals, head to the outdoor food stalls fronting the sea or coffee shops along the streets. The less adventurous could make a beeline for fast food outlets in the Centrepoint shopping centre while those with deeper pockets could try the pier-side restaurants just after the open air fish market.
Drink
The main entertainment areas in Kota Kinabalu can be found in KK Waterfront (opposite Warisan Square) and Times Square. Other areas include Pantai Street, Jalan Datuk Salleh Sulong. There are also smaller bars concentrated in the areas of Inanam, Likas, Donggongon and Penampang Baru, these areas are out of the KK city and are not within walking distance of KK city centre they are more local district centres. Types of drinking places popular in Kota Kinabalu are café/coffee shops for breakfast, open air bars, karaoke joints and a few nightclubs. Nightclubs and bars have live bands performing almost everyday except Mondays.
Stay safe
Kota Kinabalu is a safe city by Malaysian standards. The crime rate is lower than in the Western states of Kuala Lumpur or Johor Bahru, or any city of similar size in Peninsular Malaysia. Violent crime is especially rare, and it's generally safe to roam the streets at night, though of course it's still best to remain alert as you would in any other city. There is moped/scooter ride-by crime in KK.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Kota Kinabalu: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Kota Kinabalu?
Kota Kinabalu has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 29 °C; October is the wettest, with about 258 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Kota Kinabalu?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), about 5.4 km from the city centre in a straight line; Labuan Airport (LBU, 118 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Kota Kinabalu?
Malaysian ringgit (MYR).
Nearby
Destinations near Kota Kinabalu
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.