Kota Kinabalu, surrounded by spectacular waters, high mountains and great rainforest, is a famous island in Malaysia. Maybe you won’t be immediately overwhelmed for the first time landing in Kota Kinabalu. However, you will soon discover its true beauty: breathtaking fiery sunsets, endless blue beach, friendly locals, copious culture and delicious culinary. Don’t be surprised to know that you can do many things in Kota Kinabalu through this Kota Kinabalu Malaysia travel guide.
Kota Kinabalu is located in the state of Sabah – East of Malaysia. This place is a lovely island as well as the buzzing gateway to nearby tropical islands. Visiting and taking a break here, you’ll quickly fall in love with the spell of this charming and lively capital.
The perfect time to travel to Kota Kinabalu
Many people have the same question: What is the best time to visit Kota Kinabalu? The answer is that: You can go to Kota Kinabalu at any time of the year. Nevertheless, to facilitate the movement as well as visit, and participate in outdoor activities, you should avoid going in the rainy season from October to January next year. At other times, the weather is cool, not too hot with an average temperature of about 22 degrees. It is extremely advantageous to the travel of all visitors.
The places you need to visit
The bus is quite popular in Kota Kinabalu nowadays. Not only is it cheap and convenient, but this type of public transportation can bring to you exciting experiences.
The first destination in Kota Kinabalu is Sabah Museum. You just need to take a cab and go to the south of the city center. Then you will get an excellent insight into the culture and history of the region. The Sabah Museum has many fascinating historical artifacts. Besides, many heritage and traditional houses in the outside are open for visitors to explore.
Sabah Museum has many fascinating historical artifacts
From Kota Kinabalu, it is easy to have a day trip to some beautiful island such as Sapi Island, Gaya Island and Mamutik Island, etc. The fantastic scenery of the blue beaches, white sand, a long row of coconuts, along with the cool air in this pristine island will splash away the summer heat. Tourists will feel free and highly elated when having many activities like surfing, scuba diving, or strolling the island by a canoe. And if you want to spend the night on the island to feel the true wilderness, you can rent tents and other necessities to camp overnight in the isle.
Pristine island with fresh air
Besides, don’t forget to spend a little time visiting Kota Kinabalu’s Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. Kota Kinabalu is very famous for orangutans, and in this park, many orangutans, along with other exotic animals, are living in a zoo environment. The time visiting the animals will make you feel comfortable.
Wild animals in Lok Kawi Wildlife Park
Another appealing place to visit is the City Mosque. As a religious building, the City Mosque has the look of a contemporary, simple design. It typically represents Islam and gives visitors an excellent impression. Interestingly, this building is located opposite a beautiful, windswept seafront with a shady busway for cyclists and joggers. You can just spend an hour to visit the facility, then take a leisurely walk along the beach, enjoy the fresh air and the brilliant sunshine.
Sunset moment in Kota Kinabalu City Mosque
Enjoy the unique and delicious food
In Kota Kinabalu, you can find many eateries serving from the upmarket to upscale cuisines, as well as from traditional dishes to international dishes of foreign countries. It’s very easy to find them along the city’s main streets such as Jin Tul Stephens, Jin Pasar Baru. Another choice is Kota Kinabalu’s night market – an ideal place for dinner. This lively open-air eating center has shops opened in the early evening to serve authentic cuisine from Indonesia, the Philippines, China, and Malaysia.
Malaysian food at Kota Kinabalu night market
Fast food from world famous brands such as Lotteria, Starbucks McDonald’s, KFC… are available in big shopping centers like Center Point or Suria Sabah. However, after a long day of sightseeing, the culinary appeal of a coastal city is nothing but seafood. The seafood market and nightclub run along the coast, becoming a nightly food festival for everyone. You have numerous options for food. You can choose any bar, choose the fish you want to eat, or try new ones suggested by the salesperson. Just a few minutes later, the food you want is presented at a reasonable price. The specialty here is not only shrimp and fish, but also fresh seaweed, a bit hard to eat with new people tasting for the first time, but addictive to anyone who is familiar with eating fresh local seafood. These eateries and restaurants there are designed to make diners feel comfortable and close to beautiful nature. Just enjoy the delicious meal, and then the tiredness will disappear.
Seafood in Kota Kinabalu
Shopping in Kota Kinabalu
If you want to go shopping, don’t miss the Handicraft Market that located next to the 5-star hotel – Le Meridien in the center of the city. You can buy many handicraft souvenirs for family’s members or relatives, especially products made from pearl. You can find many interesting things like twinkling masks, cute puppets, the colorful shawls for women.
Beautiful handmade souvenirs
Fruit market and handicraft market open all day and close in 19:00. So, in the evening, you can come to some supermarkets and shopping center like Suria Sabah, Centre Point, Parkson, KK Plaza, Wisma Merdeka, Warisan Square… also, give you a chance of shopping. The distance among them is short; therefore, you can combine shopping with walking and scrutinizing bustling scenery in the crowded street.
Fruit market is very tumultuous
Kota Kinabalu Malaysia travel guide has given you a total sight of visiting this fascinating island. Make sure that you won’t miss anything listed in this article, or your trip won’t be complete as you want.
