Situated off the coast of Kota Kinabalu, mere minutes from Sutera Harbour’s Marina, the Tunku Abdul Marine Park is comprised of 5 jewelled-islands. Due to their close proximity to the main city, the islands are popular with locals and tourists and may be very busy with day-visitors.

However, the islands are dotted with private coves, ideal for quiet relaxation and snorkelling. Marine life is equally rich around the shores of all the islands, especially on the sheltered eastern and southern sides where the sandy beaches slope gradually into the water to the reef drop-off. In contrast the north-western beaches with rocky cliffs and steep coral slopes are exposed to the monsoon winds and the open sea. During the migration season, the resident bird life is enriched by a large number of migrant waders, which arrive from Europe and Japan around August and September, escaping the northern winter, and returning home in April and March.

The largest island off the coast of Kota Kinabalu, Gaya is rich in many of Sabah’s diverse flora and fauna. There are several trekking paths you can follow that criss-cross the island, many of which may take several hours to complete.

There are numerous pristine beaches that are reachable only by boat, and due to their distance, are not popular with locals and tourists. Police Beach, on the far side of Gaya, is the largest of these beaches and is well worth a visit. Gayana Resort is a quaint hotel with chalets on stilts overlooking the calm waters and Mount Kinabalu in the distance. Gayana’s cove is a popular resting point for sailboats. Gaya Island is also home to several ’Kampong Ayer’ or water villages, with hundreds of homes perched on stilts precariously over the water.

A tiny island outcrop, once part of, but now adjacent to the biggest island in the TAR Marine Park, Gaya Island. One can still cross between the two by foot during low tide. Sapi is popular for snorkelling, as the reef is rich in corals and marine life.

The white sand beach and crystal blue waters are two aspects that make Sapi one of the most popular spots for tourists. Sapi is famous for its resident monkeys, but take note, they are cunning thieves and will take just about anything they can get their grubby little paws on.

Manukan, a mere 5 minutes from the Sutera Harbour Marina, is graced by white sandy stretches of beach and some of the best snorkeling opportunities around.

Under the auspices of Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, luxurious accommodations and dining facilities provide overnight accommodation on the island. Manukan is famous for it’s exquisite and elaborate BBQ buffet lunches.

Trekking is a popular alternative pastime on the island, and various paths wind around the island for an up-close encounter with the local flora and fauna and as far down as Lookout Point, a rocky outcrop stretching into the clear, blue ocean.

A small island with the most basic of facilities, famous as Borneo Divers’ dive station, frequently utilised for both novice and advanced PADI courses. It’s also an access point to the more vibrant corals of the TAR Marine Park. The beaches white sand and the reef is immaculate and starts almost immediately in the shallows.

The island beach is formed by a large sandbar. There is a day resort with decent facilities and water sport equipment for hire. The rocky north-western side of the island provides interesting diving with many sitings of sea turtles and rays.

Made famous by the American television series "Survivor", Pulau Tiga (5.44’N and 115.40’E) is a exquisite island, just off the coast of Bongawan, 50 km to the south of Kota Kinabalu. Survivor is a reality-based television show on the CBS network where sixteen Americans were "marooned" on Pulau Tiga as their every move was filmed by television cameras. Prior to this show, few foreign visitors came to Pulau Tiga, but the publicity changed the tides.

Pulau Tiga National Park was established in 1985 to protect the uninhabited island and its adjacent coral reef-filled sea plus two adjacent islands (Pulau Kalampunian Besar and Pulau Kalampunian Damit - also known as Snakes’ Island). In addition to park headquarters and a lighthouse beacon, 11 km of hiking trail exist on the island. On Tiga itself, trekking is fabulous, with ample flora and fauna to encounter, including wild boar and the famous hornbill. Mud volcanoes dot the island and provide a refreshing bath for the adventurous. The mudflows are remnant of the island’s volcanic formation between 1897 and 1941, and ooze from the geothermal vents on the island. There is a small chalet-style resort on the island with an access dock, or you can anchor off Pagong-Pagong (north-east side) or Tati (south-east side) beaches.

Labuan Island (5.17’N and 115.15’E at Victoria Harbour) is situated 115 km south of Kota Kinabalu and lies 8 km off the mainland of Sabah at the northern mouth of Brunei Bay. It is a busy duty-free seaport and Malaysia’s International Offshore Financial Centre. There is some mooring for large boats in the harbour but a tender must be used to shuttle to the dock.

Since early times, it has been a pivoting point in the maritime history of Borneo, with the first record of trading being visits by Chinese Junks to the Sultanate of Brunei. In the 1800’s, Britain and other Colonial powers used Labuan as a trading and coaling station. The Island saw a lot of action during World War II from both the Allies’ and Japanese navies and airforces.

Four shipwrecks have been identified off the coast of Labuan and provide excellent wreck diving opportunities; two from World War II and two from the 1980’s. These ships lie in 30-35 metres of water, with the top portions at 8-12 metres. Visibility varies greatly season to season from 6 metres to 20 metres. The wrecks vary from novice to advanced dives, with two wrecks (the "American" and the "Australian") requiring certification in Wreck Diver Speciality.

Mantanani is a group of 3 isolated islands (06-42.8N by 116-18.3E) north-east of Kota Belud (about an hour’s drive from Kota Kinabalu). Mantanani boasts crystal blue waters and perfect beaches with tall slender coconut palms standing like sentries on the shores. Until recently, the islands were only known to a few locals. The surrounding waters offer splendid fishing and scuba diving adventures. Sailfish and juvenile marlin are the main quarry of sport fisherman in these waters.

Divers come here for the wrecks, which hold plenty of secrets from the day they first settled on the sea floor and have now become a menagerie of marine creatures. For the novice scuba diver, the coral reefs of these islands offer some of the best scuba diving this side of Sabah.

The view of Mount Kinabalu from here is unbeatable, particularly at sunrise as you capture the entire mountain crest lit up at dawn. Another spectacular site is found at sunset, when thousands of frigate birds fly to roost on Pulau Lingason, or "Frigate Island" as the magical colours play out against the dramatic skyline.

Mantanani Resort lies at the edge of a white sandy bay at the western end of the largest island, with cosy beach chalets. The channels to the lagoon are quite tight for large boats, but yachts can find safe anchorage behind Mantanani Kecil.