Tawau travel guide
Waterfront seafood, Bugis soup and the road to Semporna
Tawau is Sabah's third town, a port near the Indonesian border that serves as the arrival point for Semporna and the Sipadan dive area. One or two days covers Tawau Hills Park and the seafood; February to April are the driest months. Costs are moderate, and the MDAC arrival card applies.
Tawau is Sabah's third-largest town, on the south-east coast facing Cowie Bay with Indonesian North Kalimantan across the water. Allied bombing flattened it in 1944, so almost everything dates from the post-war rebuild. Most travellers fly in on their way to the dive islands off Semporna, about an hour's drive away.
Around 30 minutes from the centre, Tawau Hills Park is worth a full day. Trails run through lowland forest to waterfalls fed by clear streams. Back in town, the Teck Guan cocoa museum explains the crop that built many local fortunes.
Eat at the Sabindo waterfront hawker centre, where seafood stalls cook the day's catch in Chinese, Malay or Thai style. After dark, roadside stalls sell coto Makassar (a Bugis beef soup from Sulawesi) plus banana fritters and onde-onde. Ferries also run from Tawau to Nunukan in Indonesia, about an hour by sea.
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Top things to do in Tawau
Waterfront seafood, a forest park and the onward run to Semporna.
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Best time to visit Tawau
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Rain drops to about 106-127 mm a month, the best window for the Tawau Hills trails.
Between 135 and 175 mm a month, with highs steady around 31-32C.
Over 190 mm a month; December, at about 214 mm, is the wettest.
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Getting there
Airport bus, coach and ferry
Tawau airport is about 33 km outside town, with daily flights from Kuala Lumpur (about 2 hours 45 minutes) and several a day from Kota Kinabalu. Take a fixed-fare taxi into town and carry ringgit, because the money changer often shuts for late flights. Minibuses run to Semporna in about an hour, and boats cross to Nunukan in Indonesia.
- Flights
- Kota Kinabalu about 45 minutes, Kuala Lumpur about 2 hours 45 minutes
- Coach from Kota Kinabalu
- About 9 hours from North City Bus Station
- Bus from Lahad Datu
- About 2.5 hours
- Ferry to Nunukan, Indonesia
- About 1 hour, morning and afternoon sailings
- Check the airport bus timetable before you fly; if your flight lands after the last bus, budget for a taxi.
- For Nunukan, turn up well ahead, since tickets and border formalities are handled before boarding.
Where to stay
Sabindo waterfront, Fajar or on to Semporna
Tawau's hotels are mid-range business places, such as the Belmont Marco Polo, the Shervinton Executive and the two Kingstons, and none is a reason to come. Choose by the next morning's plan: a base near the Shell station for an early Semporna minibus, or the Sabindo waterfront for an evening of seafood.
- Town centre near Sabindo
- The best all-round base for one night, with the waterfront hawker stalls for dinner and the Semporna minibuses close by
- Fajar
- The late-night quarter behind the seafood restaurants, home to Zenzi Dance Club; good for a night out, noisy before an early dive transfer
- Semporna
- If you are only passing through for Sipadan or Mabul, skip Tawau and sleep near the jetties an hour east
- For a morning flight, book a hotel in the centre and arrange the airport taxi the night before.
Getting around
Grab cars and the Shell-station minibus
Grab is the simplest way around Tawau, with up-front fares and cars anywhere in town. Taxis and cheap, slow local buses also run. Tawau Hills Park is about 30 minutes away, so arrange the return ride before you go, and minibuses to Semporna leave from near the Shell station, taking about an hour.
- Grab
- Widely available across town
- Local buses
- Around town and out to Balung and Merotai
- Minibus to Semporna
- From near the Shell station, about an hour
- Tawau Hills Park
- About 30 minutes by car
- Ask your Semporna dive operator about a pickup at Tawau airport; it saves a trip into town and back.
- Two dive agents have counters in the airport terminal, useful for last-minute bookings.
Know before you go
What makes Tawau worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Sabindo hawker centre, where you pick from the day's catch by the water.
- Tawau Hills Park, where forest trails lead to waterfalls and clear streams.
- Coto Makassar at a night stall, a Bugis beef soup that shows Tawau's links to Sulawesi.
Good to know
- Carry cash on arrival: airport ATMs do not always work and the exchange closes early.
- Buy Nunukan ferry tickets early, as sales close some time before departure for border checks.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Tawau, month by month
Tawau's driest month is February, about 106 mm, and December its wettest, about 214 mm. Highs stay at 31 to 32°C.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Tawau (World Meteorological Organization, via Wikipedia).
Tawau, the gateway to Sipadan and Semporna
Most divers bound for Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai and Mataking land at Tawau, then continue about an hour by road to Semporna, where the boats leave. Decide on arrival whether to push on: the airport is about 33 km out, and if your flight lands in the evening, a night in Tawau beats a drive in the dark.
Sipadan is the big name: the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising from very deep water, which is why its walls draw turtles and big schools of fish. Semporna, the jumping-off town for the islands, is about an hour's drive east.
The airport is about 33 km from Tawau town; an airport bus and taxis run in, and minibuses for Semporna leave from near the Shell station. Many resorts send their own vehicle to the airport, and two dive agencies keep desks in the terminal, so ask before you book separate transport.
If your flight lands in the evening, spend the night in Tawau and drive on in daylight. Eat at the Sabindo seafood stalls, then give the next morning to the waterfalls at Tawau Hills Park before heading to the coast. Coming back, avoid flying out on the same day as your last dive, and leave a buffer for the road. Carry ringgit from the start, as airport cash machines are unreliable.
Sabindo crab, coto Makassar and night-stall kuih
Eat seafood at the Sabindo hawker centre on Tawau's waterfront, where you point at the day's catch and choose how it is cooked: steamed, with sambal or in a Thai tom yum. After dark, stalls across town sell Bugis and Sulawesi dishes such as coto Makassar, and kuih kacang, a peanut pancake, rounds off the night.
Prices are low by Sabah standards. For crab and shellfish cooked with vegetables, Makanan Laut 101 has a strong local following.
After dark, food stalls set up across town, and many reflect the Bugis families from Sulawesi who settled here. The one to try is coto Makassar, a rich beef soup thickened with ground peanuts. Alongside it you will find saggar (banana fritters, also called pisang goreng), fried tapioca, onde-onde and pandan cakes.
Sweet snacks round things off. Look for kuih kacang, a peanut pancake spread with coconut jam, curry puffs for the bus ride, and bubur cha cha, a warm coconut broth with sweet potato, tapioca and sago. Fajar, the area behind the main seafood restaurants, is where the late-night crowd ends up.
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How we research our Tawau travel guide
Tawau changes fastest at the airport, so this page's transfer, bus and Nunukan ferry notes are rechecked against Tourism Malaysia, the city's official site, the MDAC page and Wikipedia's Tawau entry.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of TawauMalaysia Digital Arrival CardTourism Malaysia
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Tawau.
Getting there
Not reliably. The airport bus has run only a handful of timetabled trips, so late arrivals usually take the fixed-fare taxi for the 33 km into town. Carry ringgit, as the airport ATMs are unreliable.
About nine hours from Kota Kinabalu's North City Bus Station. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
About 30 minutes by road. Trails lead through lowland forest to waterfalls, so allow most of a day.
Yes, buses take about 2.5 hours between the two towns.
General
Minibuses leave from near the Shell station in town, and the drive takes about an hour. Many dive resorts also pick up at the airport.
Boats sail to Nunukan, usually once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and the trip takes about an hour. Arrive early, as ticket sales close before departure for border formalities.
Coto Makassar, the Bugis beef soup, is the best known. Look for it at the evening stalls that set up around town.
If your flight lands late, yes; driving in the dark is best avoided. Add a day only if you want to walk in Tawau Hills Park.
Grab is the simplest way around Tawau, with up-front fares and cars anywhere in town. Taxis and cheap, slow local buses also run. Tawau Hills Park is about 30 minutes away, so arrange the return ride before you go, and minibuses to Semporna leave from near the Shell station, taking about an hour.
Booking
Yes, Grab cars are easy to book across town, and they are the simplest way to reach Tawau Hills Park.
Timing & weather
February to April, when rainfall drops to about 106-127 mm a month. December is the wettest month at around 214 mm.
The best time to visit Tawau is Feb to Apr, Sep. The driest stretch of the year, with about 106-135 mm of rain a month.
- Driest: February - April (Rain drops to about 106-127 mm a month, the best window for the Tawau Hills trails)
- Shoulder: May - June, September - November (Between 135 and 175 mm a month, with highs steady around 31-32C)
- Wettest: July - August, December (Over 190 mm a month; December, at about 214 mm, is the wettest)
February is the warmest month in Tawau, with average highs of 32°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 23°C. December is the wettest month, at about 214 mm of rain; February is the driest. Tawau's driest month is February, about 106 mm, and December its wettest, about 214 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.
