Kota Kinabalu, Borneo - Anyone Been?

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Has anyone been to Kota Kinabalu, Borneo?  I'm on a cruise that visits there, but I'm not finding a whole lot about "KK" as apparently it's called.  Where might  cruise passengers be tendered?  Are taxis, rideshare, tours, available at the place where cruisers are dropped off?  Does anyone have any information on Kota Kinabalu?

[uktog]

5 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Has anyone been to Kota Kinabalu, Borneo?  I'm on a cruise that visits there, but I'm not finding a whole lot about "KK" as apparently it's called.  Where might  cruise passengers be tendered?  Are taxis, rideshare, tours, available at the place where cruisers are dropped off?  Does anyone have any information on Kota Kinabalu?

It’s a mix of modern and temples. We couldn’t find reliable independent providers so used a ship tour. Two in fact DH went on a bike tour and I went to temples. It was very nice I’m glad we did that. It’s not a DIY place we felt 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Thank you.  I got the same impression as you, uktog, and am so far leaning towards a ship's tour that goes to 1 or 2 temples that look quite interesting.  But I'm trying to find out more.  Do you remember if you docked or tendered?    I just looked at our itinerary again, and now see there's no indication of tendering.  

 

[Mrs. Claypool]

We have been to KK a number of times by cruise ship and we have never had to tender. It was an easy walk along the dock from ship to street. 
 

Unfortunately, I can’t speak to your question about taxis and tours available at the port.  We were always met by friends, so I wasn’t looking out for them. 
 

It’s a nice city with pleasant people and an interesting area, although not so crammed with sights and activities that it would be easy to DIY for a first-timer.  So a ship’s tour would probably be your best bet, as others have said. 
 

There’s good eating to be had on shore!

 

Emily

[Jaxbingo]

Mrs. Claypool; do any of your friends in KK have any tour operators they can suggest?  

[Mrs. Claypool]

We are going to KK in December. I will ask around. 

[Mrs. Claypool]

We are presently in KK for two weeks. I have put out feelers to our friends who are in the tourist lodging business, and they said that they’ll consider the question and get back to me with some recommendations, which I will pass along. 
 

I have learned that for local transportation, “Grab” is the way to go. It operates just like Uber here in the States. You can download the app before you leave and it is a safe, quick, cheap and convenient way to travel around in KK. And other parts of SE Asia as well. 
 

One tip, you’ll need a local number, so make sure you have a SIM card or connection otherwise you can’t make a reservation.  (I learned that the hard way!)

 

Also my friends tell me that due to the increased number of cruise ships that are stopping in KK, there are big plans afoot to expand the present barebones terminal into a world class facility with shops, restaurants, tour agencies, etc. etc.  But right now they are just in the process of taking design bids. 
 

 

 

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

21 hours ago, Mrs. Claypool said:

We are presently in KK for two weeks. I have put out feelers to our friends who are in the tourist lodging business, and they said that they’ll consider the question and get back to me with some recommendations, which I will pass along. 
 

I have learned that for local transportation, “Grab” is the way to go. It operates just like Uber here in the States. You can download the app before you leave and it is a safe, quick, cheap and convenient way to travel around in KK. And other parts of SE Asia as well. 
 

One tip, you’ll need a local number, so make sure you have a SIM card or connection otherwise you can’t make a reservation.  (I learned that the hard way!)

 

Also my friends tell me that due to the increased number of cruise ships that are stopping in KK, there are big plans afoot to expand the present barebones terminal into a world class facility with shops, restaurants, tour agencies, etc. etc.  But right now they are just in the process of taking design bids. 
 

 

 

 

Thank you for this information.  I especially appreciate the warning about the local number to use Grab, as I wasn't aware of that.  And I don't think I can put a sim card in my phone, although in Europe I didn't need one to be able to make calls (T Mobile service, Samsung phone). But I guess if I have service in KK, I WILL be able to order a Grab???

[Mar1987]

On 10/6/2023 at 11:11 AM, Mrs. Claypool said:

We have been to KK a number of times by cruise ship and we have never had to tender. It was an easy walk along the dock from ship to street. 
 

Unfortunately, I can’t speak to your question about taxis and tours available at the port.  We were always met by friends, so I wasn’t looking out for them. 
 

It’s a nice city with pleasant people and an interesting area, although not so crammed with sights and activities that it would be easy to DIY for a first-timer.  So a ship’s tour would probably be your best bet, as others have said. 
 

There’s good eating to be had on shore!

 

Emily

Hi, can you suggest something interesting for kids to visit in K.K.? (Zoo, parks...) Thanks!

[Mrs. Claypool]

Depending on the age and interests of the children, within the central city area, I would suggest—

 

Tanjung Aru beach, a nice place for families.

Suria Sabah Mall, lots of shopping, eating and entertainment. 
Gaya Street market, if you’re there on a Sunday. The best time is before 9 am.

The Sabah Museum.

Jesselton Point Ferry terminal, where you can take a ferry or a boat out to the little pleasure islands for hiking, swimming, barbecues, picnics, etc.

 

Further out of town there are various wild animal sanctuaries, diving, the North Borneo tourist train(which may or may not be running, check before you go), beach resorts, Poring Hot Springs, and the Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden. 
 

 

 

[Mar1987]

14 hours ago, Mrs. Claypool said:

Depending on the age and interests of the children, within the central city area, I would suggest—

 

Tanjung Aru beach, a nice place for families.

Suria Sabah Mall, lots of shopping, eating and entertainment. 
Gaya Street market, if you’re there on a Sunday. The best time is before 9 am.

The Sabah Museum.

Jesselton Point Ferry terminal, where you can take a ferry or a boat out to the little pleasure islands for hiking, swimming, barbecues, picnics, etc.

 

Further out of town there are various wild animal sanctuaries, diving, the North Borneo tourist train(which may or may not be running, check before you go), beach resorts, Poring Hot Springs, and the Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden. 
 

 

 

Thanks for your suggestions! Lots of stuff then! Their age is between 5 and 7 so they will enjoy most of those places for sure! Will check them out!

[roaming_kiwi58]

We had two days at KK from a Windstar cruise in March 2023. The city seemed rather rundown and badly affected by Covid. Many shops were closed - in fact the majority were closed. Not just the food outlets (it was Ramadan), but every sort of shop.

The ship was docked, not anchored. There was not much at the port. They ran a shuttle to the other end of town, to a large shopping mall, which could have been a mall anywhere in the world. The mall was busier. We went walking from here, but everything outside the mall was so quiet and mainly closed.

The second day we did a ship tour to Mt Kinabalu Park and the Botanical Garden there. To be honest we found the whole experience somewhat underwhelming. 

Edited December 22, 2023 by roaming_kiwi58
Addition of info