Region · Malaysia
Where to stay in Sabah
This guide covers 5 destinations in Sabah, a first-level administrative division of Malaysia, with 224 places to stay between them. The largest by population are Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Lahad Datu. The airport most of them name as their nearest is Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI).
- Destinations in this guide
- 5
- Places to stay
- 224
- Main airport
- BKIKota Kinabalu International Airport
- Currency
- MYRMalaysian ringgit
- Time zone
- Asia/Kuala Lumpur
Destinations
Destinations in Sabah
Every destination in this guide in Sabah, the ones with the most places to stay first. Best months are the months that are comfortable there (average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month); the nearest airport is by straight-line distance from the centre.
| Destination | Population | Places to stay | Nearest airport |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kota Kinabalu | 452,058 | 140 | BKI · 5 km |
| Ranau | 94,000 | 38 | BKI · 70 km |
| Sandakan | 396,290 | 19 | SDK · 9 km |
| Tawau | 113,809 | 17 | TWU · 27 km |
| Lahad Datu | 199,830 | 10 | LDU · 2 km |
Where to stay
Hotels in Sabah
224 hotels in Sabah recorded in Wikidata and not marked closed; the 30 best known are shown, by the number of Wikipedia editions that cover them. Each is listed under the destination it is within 25 km of.
| Hotel | Where | Opened |
|---|---|---|
| Jesselton Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | 1954 |
| Le Méridien Kota Kinabalu | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Adel Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Asia Adventure Lodge Backpackers Hostel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Asiana Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Aston Boutec Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Ayana Holiday Resort | Ranau | |
| Beringgis Beach Resort & Spa | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Bike and Tours Bed and Breakfast | Lahad Datu | |
| Borneo Beach Villas | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Borneo Coastal Residence @ Imago Mall | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Borneo Eco-House Hashtag 12 Boutique Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Borneo Royale Hotel | Tawau | |
| Borneo Tree House | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Borneo Vista Suites Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| C'haya Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Casuarina Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Ceaser's Place | Ranau | |
| Celyn City Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Celyn Hotel City Mall | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Celyn Resort Kinabalu | Ranau | |
| Century Hotel Kota Kinabalu | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Check Inn Hotel Tawau | Tawau | |
| Cititel Express Kota Kinabalu | Kota Kinabalu | |
| City Garden Hotel | Tawau | |
| Courtyard Hotel 1Borneo | Kota Kinabalu | |
| D'Borneo Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| De Galleria Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| DM Hotel | Kota Kinabalu | |
| Dream World Resort | Ranau |
When to go
Best time to visit Sabah
From the climate of 5 destinations in Sabah with climate data: how many are comfortable each month (average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month), and the typical high and rainfall across them. No month is comfortable in any of them by this measure.
| Month | Comfortable destinations | Typical high | Typical rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 of 5 | 29 °C | 221 mm |
| February | 0 of 5 | 29 °C | 188 mm |
| March | 0 of 5 | 30 °C | 173 mm |
| April | 0 of 5 | 31 °C | 167 mm |
| May | 0 of 5 | 32 °C | 199 mm |
| June | 0 of 5 | 31 °C | 197 mm |
| July | 0 of 5 | 31 °C | 180 mm |
| August | 0 of 5 | 31 °C | 207 mm |
| September | 0 of 5 | 31 °C | 186 mm |
| October | 0 of 5 | 31 °C | 225 mm |
| November | 0 of 5 | 30 °C | 229 mm |
| December | 0 of 5 | 29 °C | 241 mm |
Typical = the median across the destinations. 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
Airports serving Sabah
The airports with scheduled flights that the destinations in Sabah name among their nearest, by how many name each as the nearest. An airport can lie outside the region. Distances are straight lines from a destination's centre.
BKI · Kota Kinabalu International Airport
LDU · Lahad Datu Airport
SDK · Sandakan Airport
TWU · Tawau Airport
TRK · Juwata International Airport / Suharnoko Harbani AFB
LBU · Labuan Airport
Good to know
Public holidays in Sabah, 2026
Shops and offices may close and transport may run reduced timetables on these dates. Source: python-holidays (MIT).
Nationwide in Malaysia
Regional holidays observed in Sabah
Nearby
Regions near Sabah
Other regions of Malaysia with a page in this guide, nearest first by the straight-line distance between the median positions of their destinations.
Sources: destinations and their regions from Wikidata; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia, ODbL); public holidays from python-holidays (MIT); further hotels from Wikidata. A region has a page here when at least 3 destinations of this guide lie in it. How this guide is made.