Sandakan Travel Guide

Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah and sits on the northeast coast of Malaysian Borneo, facing the Sulu Sea. It was once the capital of British North Borneo and later a major trading centre for timber and palm oil. The city of roughly 400,000 is functional rather than beautiful — much of the original centre was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt with little architectural ambition. But Sandakan’s value to travellers is not its streets or its waterfront; it is its position as the gateway to some of the most important wildlife experiences on the island of Borneo.

Within a 30-minute radius of the city: Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, the world’s most visited orangutan sanctuary; the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, the only facility of its kind globally; and the Rainforest Discovery Centre, with a canopy walkway through lowland dipterocarp forest. A two to three hour drive east reaches the Kinabatangan River — the most productive wildlife corridor in Malaysia, where pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, orangutans, and hornbills concentrate along the forest-fringed riverbank.

Getting to Sandakan

The most practical approach is to fly. Sandakan Airport (IATA: SDK) is connected to Kuala Lumpur by Malaysia Airlines (approximately 2 hours) and to Kota Kinabalu by MASwings and Malaysia Airlines (approximately 45 minutes). Fares are reasonable and flights run multiple times daily. The airport sits about 11km from the city centre.

From the airport, taxis (metered or agreed price, RM20–30) and Grab reach the city centre in 20–25 minutes. Several guesthouses in the Sepilok area can also arrange pickups.

Overland from KK, long-distance minibuses take 5–6 hours and are available from the Padang Merdeka terminal in KK for RM40–60. This is viable for budget travellers with time and is a reasonable scenic journey through Sabah’s interior, passing through Ranau and near Kinabalu Park — but it is significantly slower and less comfortable than flying.

Getting Around Sandakan

Grab operates in Sandakan and is the most practical option for getting between the city, the airport, and Sepilok (25km from town). Taxis are available but metered fares and agreed prices both apply — confirm before you get in. For the Kinabatangan River, most travellers join a package tour that includes transport from Sandakan city or from Sepilok.

Minivans from Sandakan’s central bus terminal run to Sepilok throughout the morning for around RM3–5 per person. The journey takes 30–40 minutes.

How Long to Stay

Most travellers who visit Sandakan as a wildlife base stay two to three nights. A realistic itinerary might look like this:

• Day 1: Arrive Sandakan. Afternoon visit to Sepilok (3pm feeding session). Dinner in town.
• Day 2: Sepilok morning feeding (10am) plus Sun Bear Centre and Rainforest Discovery Centre. Depart afternoon for Kinabatangan (2.5 hours).
• Day 3–4: Kinabatangan River — two boat rides per day (morning and evening), full board at a river lodge.
• Day 5: Return to Sandakan or fly onward.

This structure places you at Sepilok for both feeding sessions without doubling up, and gives the Kinabatangan the two nights it deserves. Trying to do the Kinabatangan in a single day is not practical.

The City Itself

Sandakan city has some worthwhile points of interest beyond the wildlife sites. The Sandakan Memorial Park in the north of the city commemorates the Sandakan Death March — the forced march of Allied POWs by Japanese forces in 1945, in which approximately 2,500 prisoners died. The memorial is well-maintained, thoughtfully presented, and sobering. Entry is free. Agnes Keith House, a restored colonial villa where the American author lived and wrote “Land Below the Wind” in the 1930s–40s, gives insight into the colonial period for RM15. The Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple above the city has panoramic views over the harbour and is accessible by a short staircase climb.

For food, Sandakan’s seafood is among the freshest in Sabah. The hawker stalls around Harbour Square (the waterfront shopping and food complex) serve grilled seafood, prawn noodles, and local Chinese-Sabahan dishes. Budget for RM15–40 for a full seafood meal at the waterfront stalls.