Miri travel guide
Shell's first oil well, hawker noodles and the flight to Mulu
Miri is Sarawak's second city, an oil town near Brunei that most visitors use as the springboard for Mulu and the Kelabit Highlands. Give the town a day or two for Canada Hill and the hawker food, and travel between February and September, before the late-year rains. Costs are moderate, and visitors file the MDAC arrival card.
Miri sits on the north-east coast of Sarawak, a short drive from the Brunei border, and owes its existence to oil. Shell drilled its first well here in 1910 and the town grew up around the industry. Most travellers come for the onward flights: small planes run by AirBorneo (formerly MASwings) leave Miri for Gunung Mulu National Park and for Bario in the Kelabit Highlands.
Canada Hill is the place to start. The Grand Old Lady, Shell's No. 1 well, still stands on the summit beside the Petroleum Museum, which is shut on Mondays. In the evening locals sweat up the jungle trails on the hill's slopes. Come down for sunset on the City Hall roof, open to the public for an hour or so before dark, then walk it off in Central Park below.
Food is the better reason to linger. The Chinese hawker centre next to the wet market in the town centre runs from breakfast until late, with laksa and fried rice noodles at most stalls. Order mee kolok (Sarawak's dry-tossed noodles) and ask for tuak, the Iban rice wine poured freely at Gawai in June. Skip the town beaches; if you must swim, the Esplanade at Luak Bay is the locals' pick.
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Top things to do in Miri
Oil history on Canada Hill, Taoist temples and hawker food, with Sarawak's cave parks beyond.
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Best time to visit Miri
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Rain eases to about 160 mm a month from February to April and stays near 200 mm into September, good for Niah, Lambir and Canada Hill.
December averages about 370 mm; forest paths turn to mud and the sea off Luak Bay is rough.
Gawai Dayak on 1 June is the harvest festival of Sarawak's indigenous communities, and the best time to try tuak.
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Getting there
AirBorneo rural routes and the Pan Borneo coaches
Miri International Airport (MYY) is the air hub for northern Sarawak, with several daily flights from Kuala Lumpur, links to Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Singapore, and AirBorneo small-plane routes to Mulu and Bario. Express buses from Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching arrive at Miri Sentral on the Miri Bypass, which also has a bus to Brunei. A taxi or Grab gets you from the airport into town. Overland, express buses from Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching arrive at Miri Sentral on the Miri Bypass, which replaced the old Pujut terminal in January 2025. A cross-border bus to Bandar Seri Begawan started from there in March 2026; departures are few, so check the timetable.
- From the airport
- Taxi or Grab into the centre
- Miri Sentral
- Long-distance terminal on the Miri Bypass, open since 2025
- Bus from Bintulu
- About 4 hours
- Bus from Sibu
- About 7 hours
- AirBorneo
- Mulu, Bario, Limbang, Lawas and Labuan
- Book AirBorneo seats to Mulu and Bario before you arrive; the planes are small and seats run out.
Where to stay
Jalan Sri Dagang guesthouses or the old shophouse grid
Stay in central Miri to save taxi rides to dinner. Family-run guesthouses in the Waterfront Commercial Centre suit families and backpackers, the old grid around Jalan Melayu suits early risers bound for the hawker centre, and Jalan Bendahara has mid-range rooms. Canada Hill and Luak Bay are a short ride from all three.
- Waterfront Commercial Centre
- Small guesthouses on Jalan Sri Dagang, flexible about late check-out
- Old town around Jalan Melayu
- Steps from the visitor centre and the Chinese hawker centre
- Jalan Bendahara
- Mid-range hotels near the Mega Hotel and halal cafes; busier traffic
Getting around
Town buses, taxis, hire car
Walk Miri's old centre around the hawker centre, the 1913 Tua Pek Kong temple and the visitor centre on Jalan Melayu, and use Grab or taxis for Canada Hill and Luak Bay. Flat-fare town buses leave from Wisma Pelita Tunku for the suburbs. Hire a car or join a tour for Lambir Hills and Niah.
- Town buses
- From Wisma Pelita Tunku, flat fare
- Taxis
- 24 hours, with a surcharge after midnight
- Hire car
- Best for Lambir Hills and Niah; buy council parking coupons in town
Know before you go
What makes Miri worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Grand Old Lady on Canada Hill, Shell's very first oil well, now a national monument next to the Petroleum Museum.
- Sunset from the City Hall rooftop, with Central Park spread out below.
- Breakfast at the Chinese hawker centre by the wet market, with milk tea and a bowl of laksa.
Good to know
- The Petroleum Museum closes on Mondays, so put Canada Hill on another day.
- Buses to Brunei only restarted in March 2026, with few departures from Miri Sentral; a taxi or private transfer is the fallback.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Miri, month by month
December is Miri's wettest month, about 368 mm, and February the driest, about 156 mm. Highs barely shift from 31 to 32°C.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Miri (World Meteorological Organization, via Wikipedia).
Canada Hill's oil derrick, then the forests of Lambir Hills and Niah
Miri needs two days. Start the first at the Chinese hawker centre beside the wet market, then take a taxi up Canada Hill to the Grand Old Lady, the derrick over Shell's first well, and the Petroleum Museum, which closes on Mondays. Spend the second in the forest at Lambir Hills or the Niah caves.
The view from the top takes in the town and the coast. Walk back down through the old centre past the Tua Pek Kong temple, built in 1913 to mark the end of an epidemic, and stop at the visitor centre on Jalan Melayu for maps and onward advice. In the late afternoon, go up to the City Hall roof, open to the public in the hour or so before dark, and wander Central Park below once the sun has set.
Give day two to the forest. Lambir Hills and Niah are both reached by road from Miri, so hire a car or join a tour, and leave early before the afternoon rain. If you are heading for Mulu or Bario, book the AirBorneo flight before you arrive, since the small planes fill up, and plan on at least two nights at Mulu itself.
Mee kolok, Tamu Muhibah fruit and tuak
Eat first at the Chinese hawker centre next to Miri's wet market, open from breakfast, where the order is mee kolok, springy egg noodles tossed in shallot oil. For fruit you will not see on the peninsula, browse the Tamu Muhibah market, and try tuak, the rice wine of the Iban community.
Mornings mean milk tea and a bowl of Sarawak laksa; later, look for curry rice, fried rice noodles and the dry-tossed noodles the state is proud of.
That noodle is mee kolok, springy egg noodles tossed in shallot oil and topped with sliced char siu and minced pork, and every Sarawakian has a favourite stall. Halal versions are easy to find: Cafenika on Jalan Bendahara, near the Mega Hotel, does mee kolok along with chicken chop and nasi briyani.
For fruit you will not see in the peninsula, browse Tamu Muhibah, a market for fresh and unusual fruit, vegetables and local foodstuffs. And if you are in Sarawak around Gawai, the Dayak harvest festival on 1 June, someone will press a glass of tuak, sweet rice wine, into your hand.
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How we research our Miri travel guide
Miri's transport changed twice recently, with Miri Sentral replacing the Pujut terminal in 2025 and AirBorneo taking over rural flights in 2026, so we recheck this page against Tourism Malaysia, the city's official website, the MDAC page and Wikipedia's Miri entry.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of MiriMalaysia Digital Arrival CardTourism Malaysia
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Miri.
General
Fly. AirBorneo, the former MASwings, runs small planes from Miri to Mulu, and there is no road. Book early, as seats are limited.
One full day covers Canada Hill, the temples and the hawker food. Add a day for Lambir Hills or Niah, and keep at least two nights for Mulu itself.
February to April are the least wet, at around 160 to 175 mm of rain a month. December is the wettest, at about 370 mm.
Shell's No. 1 oil well, drilled on Canada Hill in 1910 and now a national monument beside the Petroleum Museum, which is closed on Mondays.
At the Chinese hawker centre beside the wet market, with milk tea in the morning. Cafenika on Jalan Bendahara does a halal mee kolok.
Not for a beach holiday. Esplanade Beach on Luak Bay is the locals' pick, and Taman Selera fills with picnicking families on Sunday afternoons.
Walk Miri's old centre around the hawker centre, the 1913 Tua Pek Kong temple and the visitor centre on Jalan Melayu, and use Grab or taxis for Canada Hill and Luak Bay. Flat-fare town buses leave from Wisma Pelita Tunku for the suburbs. Hire a car or join a tour for Lambir Hills and Niah.
Getting there
Yes again, since March 2026, when Bus Asia (Biaramas) started a service from Miri Sentral to Bandar Seri Begawan. Departures are few, so check the timetable, or fly AirBorneo to Limbang, Lawas or Labuan to skip Brunei.
There is no dedicated airport bus; a taxi or Grab is the way into the centre.
About 330 km. Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia both fly the route, far quicker than the road through Brunei.
Express buses leave from Miri Sentral on the Miri Bypass: about 4 hours to Bintulu and about 7 to Sibu.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Miri is Feb to Sep. February to April are the least rainy months; October to January bring the heaviest downpours.
- Best overall: February - September (Rain eases to about 160 mm a month from February to April and stays near 200 mm into September, good for Niah, Lambir and Canada Hill)
- Monsoon: October - January (December averages about 370 mm; forest paths turn to mud and the sea off Luak Bay is rough)
April is the warmest month in Miri, with average highs of 32°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 24°C. December is the wettest month, at about 368 mm of rain; February is the driest. December is Miri's wettest month, about 368 mm, and February the driest, about 156 mm.
Visa & documents
Citizens of the UK, the EU, the US, Canada, Australia and many other countries can visit Malaysia visa-free, usually for up to 90 days. All foreign visitors must complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) online before arrival. Sabah and Sarawak have their own immigration controls.
Health & safety
Malaysia is generally safe. Bag snatching occurs in cities, and governments advise against non-essential travel to islands off eastern Sabah.
