The Best Of Sandakan – Visit Sandakan – Budget Travel In Malaysia

Sandakan is a popular destination for tourists seeking wildlife adventures on the island of Borneo in Malaysia. People come here to visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and to take cruises on the Kinabatangan River.

Sandakan Sabah was the former capital of North Borneo. During WWII, the city fell under Japanese occupation until it was completely destroyed by allied bombing in 1944. 1800 Australians and 600 British POW began the death marches from here, with only 6 Australians surviving. It is now one of the most popular travel destinations on the island of Borneo.

We arrived in Sandakan for a three night stay before heading onward to Kinabatangan River for the wildlife cruises. We planned to spend a day visiting the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and a day exploring the city itself. As it is a small city itself, if you are time-restricted, you could easily spend just one whole day here.

How To Get To Sandakan From Kota Kinabalu

There are relatively cheap flights available from Air Asia that will get you to Sandakan in around an hour. The cheaper, but much longer, option is to take a bus. Buses leave from the northern bus station in KK and cost 43 MYR. The journey can take up to 8 hours.

We had decided to take the bus but break up the journey with a stay in Mount Kinabalu. Our accommodation on Mount Kinabalu was on the main road and we were told to just wait by the road and the bus would stop. There was even a rough timetable to show when the buses would pass.

After waiting for approximately 45 minutes, a bus finally appeared and picked us up. Thankfully, there were some seats left but they were located right next to the toilet, meaning there was a strong smell of urine for the whole journey. Not ideal.

The bus still costs 43 MYR, despite us getting on halfway through the journey. After a couple of stops we pulled in to Sandakan bus station approximately 4 hours after we boarded the bus.

From here, we had to get a taxi into the centre of the city. Rather than use the taxis that were touting for business as we exited the bus, we phoned a grab. It arrived in no time and within 20 minutes we were at our accommodation.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST HOSTELS IN SANDAKAN

Food And Drink In Sandakan

Whilst there is plenty of choice when it comes to eating out in Sandakan, if you like to have a few drinks in the evening, you have come to the wrong city! There are two bars in the main tourist area, but both are expensive (‘Best Brew’ and ‘Balin Roof Garden’). If budget isn’t an issue, these are your best options. There are also some bars away from the tourist area but these were too far away for me to check out.

Also in the tourist area is a place called ‘VS Bistro’ that serves alcohol but I could not find it, even using Google Maps. There is one restaurant on the waterfront that serves beer but they had run out by day 2 of my visit (it wasn’t entirely down to me!)

Buhari Curry House

Our first meal in the city was at this typical self-service restaurant. I had a mutton curry which rice and a couple of vegetable side dishes. It was very tasty and cheap. There are plenty of places like this in the city and I’m sure they’re mostly as good as this place. You’re not short of options here. Map.

Kedai Kopi Aroma

CHEAP BEER IN SANDAKAN! CHEAP BEER IN SANDAKAN! CHEAP BEER IN SANDAKAN! Yes, it DOES exist. The only bars I had found online were either too far away from the hostel area or just way too expensive. I was convinced there must be a local dive bar somewhere but I just couldn’t find it. On our return to Sandakan for one night, the manager of the ‘Oceanus Backpackers’ hostel gave me the address to this place and it was EXACTLY what I had been looking for. This is nothing more than a local bar. It’s basic, there are cockroaches and no tourists but it sells very cheap beer. 12 MYR for a big bottle cheap! Despite being the only tourist in here, the staff were very friendly and some of the locals even attempted a conversation. I enjoyed trying to chat to the old fellow who was smoking a cigarette in each hand! Map.

My Harbour

We came here as we had heard it was the only place that sold beer. I was delighted to find they sold cans of Anchor beer at only 6 MYR. We ate here too and the food was OK, nothing special. The next evening, I returned for some more beer only to be told they had sold out. Not good when it’s the only place in town that sells reasonably priced beer!

Pezzo Pizza @ Harbour Mall

Surprisingly decent pizza in the Harbour Mall. They always have a choice of 6 pizzas and you can mix them up; you could have a full pizza slices of 6 different types. Prices are reasonable and the pizza is usually already made so only needs warming. Good place when you fancy a change from Malay food. Map.

San Da Gen Kopitiam

We came here for coffee. The coffee was good so we had to try their speciality; the UFO cake. This is basically a soft base with a custard and whipped egg white topping. It was very nice and a perfect accompaniment to the coffee. We came back to try the food and I had a beef rendang dish with some very interesting sides and it was delicious. Map.

Things To Do In Sandakan

Most people use Sandakan as a gateway for the ‘Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre’ and the ‘Kinabatangan River cruise’. You may also be interested in the following:

• Turtle Island
• Gomantong Cave
• Sam Sing Kung Temple
• Chinese Cemetery
• Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Center
• Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary

Central Market

Located near the waterfront, this market is the place to go to get your groceries. Cheap fruit and veg and the always-present dried fish. How durian is banned in places because of its smell and not this stuff, I’ll never know! Map.

Heritage Trail

On our second full day, we decided to follow the heritage trail to see more of the city. The trail starts at the city mosque, which is nothing special to look at. It then leads to the William Pryer (founder of Sandakan) monument before heading up the 100 steps. I’m not sure why it is called the 100 steps as I counted at least 230!

At the top of the steps is the ‘English Tea House’ (map). Serving traditional English food in pleasant surroundings with great views, it even has a croquet area. We stopped for a coffee but was told they only had instant Nescafe. Truly English! We declined and left.

Next stop was the ‘Agnes Keith House’ (map). Agnes Keith lived here during the war and spent time in a Japanese POW camp. Her fictional novels from this time were based on her experiences in Sandakan. The house, which has been renovated, gives information on the Keith family and the period in which they lived in Sandakan.

From here, we walked down the road to the ‘Clock Tower’ which isn’t a clock at all and then we progressed to the ‘old staircase’ which was pretty much just an old staircase.

Next stop was a Chinese Temple and this was where we got a little confused. The map told us to go up a staircase to discover the next site but the staircase seemed to be taking us into a school. I don’t mean the school grounds, I mean into the ACTUAL school! We decided to go for it and, with the exception of a few sniggering schoolgirls, no-one made us think we had made the wrong decision. And sure enough, we came out of the other side of the school at the next site, St Michael’s Church. So far, we had seen a mosque, a Chinese temple and two Catholic churches.

Next up was another Chinese temple overlooking an old stadium. We walked around the stadium before arriving at the next site: a water fountain. It was switched off.

The tour ends at the ‘Sandakan Heritage Museum’ (map): a small and run-down museum showing some of Sandakan’s history but missing a lot of the interesting stuff (nothing here about the POW camps, for example).

The tour took just under two hours. Whilst some of the sights on the trail were not incredibly exciting, it did get us around the city into areas we would not have otherwise ventured. It is worth doing for this reason alone.

Outdoor Market

Not shown on Google Maps, this market is open from the daytime through to around 10 pm. There are lots of food stalls, though there is a lot of repetition. There were also lots of children begging for money here. Just say no! The market is located on Jalan Pryer street. Head towards here and you will see it.

Padang Bandaran Sandakan

The field is used for many purposes, but the surrounding seating arena has definitely seen better days. When I came, there was a small market selling mainly second hand clothes and some food. There was a decent live band playing and also some sort of ‘light tunnel’ which cost 5 MYR to enter. I was a bit of a novelty for the locals and one youngster even became my personal photographer. Some of the locals even wanted their photo took with me! And the guy didn’t run off with my phone! Brilliant!

Rainforest Discovery Centre

Following our visit to the ‘Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre’, we walked up the main road to visit the ‘Rainforest Discovery Centre’ (map). We were not sure what to expect as some reviews said the place was run down and not worth a visit. I couldn’t disagree more.

Upon entrance, you get an immediate idea of how beautiful this area is, as the lake presents itself before you.

We then visited the botanical gardens which were also beautiful and had a massive variety of plants. The diversity of the plants here will take your breath away.

We then walked along the canopy trail. The trail has a number of bell towers from which you can climb even higher and look at the rainforest (though still not from above as some of the trees are VERY tall) and try to spot the tropical birds. There are information boards showing you which birds to try and spot and to also look out for orangutan, snakes, pig-tailed macaques and various other creatures. We didn’t spot any!

Bizarrely, the canopy trail came to a sudden dead end, meaning we had to walk back two bell towers aand climb down to ground level. It was here we saw a very bizarre looking plant, growing on just 3 trees.

We then walked through the rainforest, following a trail on the map. The wildlife was staying hidden, with the exception of some interesting bugs, but it was still exciting knowing they were definitely out there, probably watching us. We had to make do with the incredible plant life and keep an eye out for snakes and spiders! The trees looked even bigger from below!

We had a great time at the Rainforest Discovery Centre. I am not sure why some people gave it negative reviews. It was not busy and we felt like we were alone in the vast forest. Combine this with a trip to the Orangutan Centre for a great day out.

Rainforest Discovery Centre Opening Times: 8 am – 5 pm, every day.
Rainforest Discovery Centre Entrance Fee: 15 MYR.

Sandakan Memorial Park

This memorial park is actually located on part of what used to be the Japanese POW camp during the second world war. The infamous Sandakan death marches began here and finished in Ranau. Out of the almost three-thousand prisoners, only 6 survived.

The park is very pretty and well-maintained and also offers information on the camp, the marches and its victims. At the entrance to the park, there is an information centre where you can use free WiFi to download the free app. This app acts as a guide to the park, giving information at specific points. It is an excellent way to learn about the horrors that took place here.

Sandakan Memorial Park Opening Times: 8 am – 6 pm, Mon – Sat.
Sandakan Memorial Park Entrance Fee: Free admission.

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

On our first full day in Sandakan, we decided to visit ‘Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre’ (map). ‘Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre’ and ‘Rainforest Discovery Centre’ are within walking distance so you can visit at least two of these in the same day. We chose to skip the ‘BSBCC’ as we had already seen a sun bear conservation area in Luang Prabang.

How To Get To The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre By Bus

To reach the orangutan centre, you can take a grab or a bus. The bus (number 14) leaves at 9 am from here and takes around 30 minutes. This is perfect timing to be at the centre for the 10 am feeding. We didn’t know this but it is important to be at the feeding as this gives you more chance of actually seeing the orangutan. There are two feedings a day (the other at 3 pm) so time your visit accordingly.

Once you have paid your admission fee and dropped off all your bags in the lockers, you enter the centre and the path leads you straight to the feeding area. It is made clear that you are not guaranteed that any orangutan will come but we were lucky and had 3 orangutan with their babies all come to feed.

We stayed and watched the orangutan feed for around half an hour then proceeded to the outdoor nursery area. This is where the orangutan are taught the outdoor skills needed for survival in the wild. Not all make enough progress to be released.

After we had finished in the park (which took around an hour), we then watched a film about the rehabilitation process. They do incredible work here and the film shows just how dedicated the team are.

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre Opening Times: 9 am – 11 am, 2 pm – 3 pm, Fri – Wed. 9 am – 11 am, 2 pm – 4 pm, Thur.

Is Sandakan Worth Visiting?

Sandakan is a lively city and is more than just a gateway to the Kinabatangan River or the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Like Kota Kinabalu, there isn’t much excitement at night time but that’s not the reason you come to Borneo, right? There is enough here to keep you occupied for a couple of days before you move on to the jungle!