Transportation in Sandakan

Sandakan is a great place to just sit back and relax watching the world go by!

This Sandakan transportation guide gives a breakdown of getting to and from Sandakan, as well as getting around within the city. General travel information can be found in our Malaysia transportation guide. Use this guide, along with our Sandakan tours page, in order to get the most out of your holiday in Sandkan.

Getting to Sandakan

By Air

Sandakan Airport in the domestic airport that serves Sandakan, Malaysia. Located just 13 km from the city, Sandakan Airport in connected to Kuala Lumpur directly daily by AirAsia and by Malaysia Airlines to Kota Kinabalu. The flight from Kota Kinabalu takes approximately 40 minutes and from Kuala Lumpur approximately 1h 50 mins.Taxis are readily available at the airport to transport you to the city.

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Flights to Malaysia

By Bus

Buses also operate between Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. While the trip is extremely long in comparison to taking a flight, it is a great way to see the countryside. The long distance bus trip from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan takes approximately 7 h and costs around RM20. 

By Ferry

Some passenger ferries are operated between Zamboanga in Philippines and Sandakan. This route is often taken by the Filipinos who live abroad, when they come to visit. You can also take a boat ride on the Kinabatangan River from the Karamunting Jetty, which is at a distance of 4 km westward from Sandakan. The Kinabatangan River runs all of 560 km, making it Sabah's longest river. Boat rides from this place to the Turtle Island (Selingaan Island) are operated from this jetty.

Getting Around Sandakan

Walking

You will enjoy walking around Sandakan's city centre and before you know it, your sightseeing will be done. However, taxis rides are not very expensive and they do save you time and energy.

The English Tea House, the city centre and the uphill observatory are accessible by walking. If you are pressed for time or running out of steam you can hire taxis or board a bus. Local buses in Sandakan are also a good option. These buses can be boarded at the local bus stands, which you see everywhere. Sepilok can also be reached by bus. However, if you take a taxi to Sepilok, the driver will wait for you for a small fee and then bring you back.

By Taxi

Getting off your flight to Sandakan, you can take a taxi from the airport to your destination. Rickety non air-conditioned taxis are what you will get. So just sit back and enjoy the ride as best as you can.

By Road

Your other option is to rent a car and drive into town on your own.

In recent years, Sandakan has seen a rapid increase in the number of vehicles plying on the roads. The laying of new roads linking Sandakan with Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kota Kinabalu and several other small towns like Sukau has resulted in a lot of vehicular traffic. In fact the town area gets clogged with traffic every now and then. The number of private vehicles, such as motorcycles and cars, is steadily increasing in Sandakan. With increased commercial activity, the number of Sandakan taxis, buses and other commercial vehicles has also gone up, taking the total number of vehicles plying in Sandakan to about 126,367. A sizable part of these vehicles are privately owned two wheelers and four wheelers. Road congestion is thus unavoidable.

Travelling in Sandakan you will be moving over sealed roads, gravel roads and earth roads. The earth roads lead mostly to timber camps, estates and settlement schemes. The Labuk Road, a Federal arterial road, links the west coast of Sabah with Sandakan. Internal roads like the Jalan Buli Sim-Sim, Jalan Batu Sapi, Jalan Leila, Jalan Seguntor and Jalan Karamunting are referred to as state roads. Sandakan boasts of 230 km of sealed road, 203 km of gravel road and 29 km of earth road waiting to be upgraded.

Ongoing improvement work on the Jalan Utara makes it a bit difficult to traverse. The improvement work is aimed at increasing the road's safety and efficiency.

Bridges

The Sandakan administration has built around 30 bridges to facilitate movement of people and vehicles all over town. While most bridges allow vehicular traffic, some are meant only for pedestrians. Both timber deck bridges and concrete bridges have been built with the one at Sungai Kebun Cina measuring 27.4 m. Bridges have been built wherever roads encounter blocks in the form of drainage channels or natural water courses.