Kota Kinabalu Travel Forum

I will spend 4d3n at KK staying at Promenade Hotel.

1) What is the lowest car rental rate per day ?
2) Is foothill of Kinabalu Park worth visiting ? I'm traveling with my elderly parents and not going to overnight there. Prefer walking nature trails, viewing flora & fauna.
3) What are the must eats & where ?
4) What are the best buys ?

Thank you.

I have enjoyed reading this site, and all the advise on things to do, it's great, I have already learned so much. Our main interest this long awaited break is some rest and relaxation. We would also like to do some shopping, markets, swimming, diving, perhaps visit one of the islands and a little sight seeing. We are looking forward to the food, our last visit to Malaysia (Penang) was in 2003. Accomodation has been booked for us at Magellan Sutera.
So any advise and must do's are welcome.
(Thanks for the prompt to post - Rrajah)
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Shaz

hi all in KK
my name is steve and live in perth WA. My family and i recently visited KK staying at the Shangri La Tajung Resort, absoluetly marvellous. Anyway when we got back all anyone was interested in was my headhunter T-shirt i'd bought at Gaya St Sunday market, so on behalf of my friends i am looking for someone who would be willing to purchase and post about 3 or 4 to me in perth West Australia.
Please advise if you'd be interested.
Many Regards
Steve

I'm headed to KK in March and wanted to know the availability of cash machines and how much would i spend on average each day...any suggestions?

What's the easiest way - does the airport bus pass by this hotel or is it relatively cheap to get a taxi?

Is it possible to hire a small boat without a driver so that my partner and I can drve to visit the nearby islands at our own lesure???

I am planning a 3D2N trip to KK, and I hope to cover:
1) Kinabalu Park (not going up to Mt KK)
2) Nexus Karambunai (first night)
3) Sutera Harbour (second night)

Would anyone know how much will a taxi cost from Kinabalu Park to Nexus? The distance looks nearer than Kinabalu Park-Airport on the map, but the travel time is still 45 minutes according to my research.

If it's too far maybe I'll forget about Nexus - is it REALLY worth going all the way there?

Thanks heaps.

Hi...

Can anybody help me getting the cheapest rented car (maybe kancil or kelisa). I planned to rent the car for 1 day only, this 26 Jan 2008.

Tq in advance

I read on a previous post that there were no cash machines at Terminal 2. Is that still the case? Thanks again for your help

From Kota Kinabalu airport to city centre, are there any airport bus shuttles or do i have to depend only on taxis?
Incase there are airport bus shuttles, any idea which one goes nearer to Shangri-La hotel( not the resort one but the one located in the city centre)?What will be the approximate taxi and bus fares?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Hello all!

It would be my family's first time to travel to KK. The OC that I am, I'd like to do a LOT of research in advance...and I guess it's also because I'm very much excited already :)

Anyway, has anyone tried booking with AirAsia and availed of their airfare + hotel package? Is it better to get that or to book with the hotel separately?

Also other things I need your help on:
1. How many days is adviseable to stay in KK?
2. Which is better to stay at: STAR or Shangri-La Rasa Ria?
3. Food - anything we shouldn't miss?
4. Nightlife
5. Tours - what to try when you're staying for 4d/4n only? Also, where can we get a tour package for 7-8pax that's not too expensive?
6. Shopping
7. Budget - how much should we bring per pax?

Thank you in advance!
Sansan

Is there any contact number for the rafting at Sungai Padas? I would like to go for the cheap in prices.

Will be flying in to KK on 29 December and arriving late morning and we want to proceed straight up to Mount Kinabalu where we have already booked our hotel. I notice that the public vans normally leave early in the morning. Is there any that leave after lunch? If not,how much would it cost to take a taxi up?

Many thanks.

Hi, me and my family will be traveling to KK for the first time in January. We will be staying at Sutera Harbour and would like to know how we can get to Sepilok Orang Utan sanctuary. Is it too far away for a drive? Are there boat trips to the sanctuary?

Please advise.

Hi,

I have planned to visit these places in my one-day trip, is it possible?
FYI, we'll arrive KK city around 1pm and checkin hostel at Gaya Street.

- Menara Tun Mustapha for lunch @ the revolving restaurant
- Signal Hill Observation Platform
- Monsopiad Cultural Village
- Handicraft Market
- Dinner @ somewhere
- Waterfront

Regards,
Mark

Hi,

We, a group of 11, would like to take a "budget" one day tour around KK city.
Hereby asking for any options/suggestions for the following questions:

1) Comparison among van rental and van chartering, which one is more worthy?
2) If van rental and drive by ourselves, is it easy for us to find the tourism spot based on the KK map? Based on my knowledge, the signs along the road sometimes are not reliable.
3) Can you give me the contact number for van rental/van chartering as well as the price they charged?

Thanks!
-mark

I have a spare place on the climb on 28 Feb - 1 Mar 08. 2 nights accommodation, meals, guide, transport from KK etc. Anyone interested? You can email me at lilbucuk@yahoo.co.uk

hi,guys. i ll be travelling alone to kk during 1-4 feb 2008. anyone interested to accompany me? hope there ll be some local guide. :)
i can be reached thru vic19rick@yahoo.com

I will be hopefully travelling over to KK this coming December - dates have not been fixed yet - but it should either be the weeknd of 8th Dec or the 15th weekend. I would love to have some company while I explore this place. I am a Malaysian who has not ventured into East Malaysia as yet. Please do not hesitate to drop me an email at benjamin.chelliah@gmail.com

My husband and I are travelling to Kota Kinabalu over the holiday period. We are booked into the Shangri la Tanjung Aru, and the hotel has included both Christmas Eve and New Year eve dinners with our package at the hotel. From past experience of these types of hotel events, neither my husband or I want to attend these dinners, as we find them very boring and contrived. We would prefer to find restaurants that will also be festive and different from the norm. Can any one make any suggestions for good restaurants that might be more fun and exciting for us in town?? Any websites or information you can recommend us to check out? Is Christmas and New Year a big deal in KK?

Hi, the total 6 of us will climb the KK Mt the coming March. Anyway, just notice that 1 of my friend has ashma...is her still encouraged to climb the Mt?
Is it dangerous coz as i know the air will get thinner up at the mountain....any precautions we can take??? In the case like part of us unable to continue the journey, is it better for us to get 2 or more mountain guides?
Thanks.....

Hi, dear all, thanks a lot for all the precious advices and suggestion. Just a question to be cleared...can we just leave our luggage in the KK Park hostel or is there any locker for us to keep it? If we leave it in the hostel but we can only check out most probably after 2pm, are the hostel going to charge us?
Thanks again....

Hi, this is my 6D/5N plan to KK...any comment???

Thu : Reach KK airport at 1pm. Take a minivan to KK Mt.(not yet decide where to stay yet :( , walk around National Park.
Fri : Start the journey to KK Mount, overnight at Laban Rata.
Sat : Down from KK Mount, if got time, have a walk at Poring Hot Spring then heading for KK Town by minivan again...Enjoy the night life at KK town
Sun : Go to Sunday market in the morning, then join the Island Trip (Manukan, Sapi & Memutik island)at Jetty. (My fren say cheaper if take the package at jetty,is it?)
Mon : Sign up for the White water Rafting package at RM180...(one day journey)
Tue : Go back to KL at 10am...Sayonara Sabah.....

Hi, i'll reach KK airport on 13th Mar around 1pm. I plan to heading for the KK Mount right after that coz the next day will continue with the climb to KK Mt. I search through the net but can only found "Kinabalu Rose Cabin" which i think is the nearest place to stay from KK Mount. Is there any budget hotel near the KK Mt area? Can i get the minivan/bus to get there? It cost around how much?
Thanx for the help...

Can anyone help indicate how far it is to the town so we can try the local restaurants etc? Is it walkable or is a taxi required and are these inexspensive? Thanks for any help supplied.

Can anyone supply any information about horse riding aroung this area? Many thanks in advance Andrea

hi fellow travelers thinking of going to sabah next year and then on to thailand couple of questions
1) what is the best way to get from KL to sabah
2) is asia air ok to fly with
3) how do we get from sabah to phuket or krabi do we have to go via bangkok
we are flying back to oz from phuket
thank for your help

Hi, I'll be in KK from Dec.8th to 13th. While I'm travelling alone,I'd like to find someone or join a group of young people to travel together,particularly to enjoy tasty food. I'm a Chinese girl from Shanghai, and I know some really good small restaurants in KK. You could reach me at: zhen_li@yahoo.cn.

Hello everyone,

Can anyone please tell me how I can get from the base of the mountain to Poring? I'm climbing the Mesilau trail and down the other one... I'll probably be leaving some luggage at the office at the start of the trail and will then need to pick it up later before going to Poring.

Also, how do I get from Poring to KK again? There's 3 of us travelling.

hope someone can help

HI

Can anyone let me know if there's a 'better' tour group that I can book with for probiscus monkey and firefly cruise?

Also, am I able to visit the plant life in Kinablu National Park and go to the canopy walk myself without having to join a tour?

Thank you for any help