Sabah family itinerary

Presenting our Sabah family itinerary. To be honest, Sabah never crossed our minds when we were planning for seaside vacations. Philippines (Cebu and Boracay), Indonesia (Bali) and Thailand (Krabi) are the more popular options.

As our kids are now older and more active, we wanted a sporty and adventurous itinerary for them.

Under the sea, high up in the mountains. Island hopping, snorkeling, hiking, white water rafting and even flying fox. These activities are all available within 2 hours from Kota Kinabalu city center. We were sold at a Tourism Malaysia exhibition 🙂

…… ……Sabah family itinerary 8D7N, A trip of many firsts.

Island Hopping with kids. Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park consists of 5 islands, all 20 minutes from Kota Kinabalu city.

Parasailing, Banana boat and snorkeling. I had always wanted my family to be adventurous 🙂

We even did a flying fox between two islands Gaya and Sapi! (Coral zipline).

Exploring Kota Kinabalu city on foot.

Food, glorious Food. Seafood in East Malaysia is even cheaper and fresher than West Malaysia. Generally, we still prefer street food from West Malaysia and Singapore, but we still had fun hunting down some of the famous food in Sabah (生肉面 pork noodle, pineapple bun etc).

White water rafting is one of the highlights for us. Rapid along Kiulu is milder, and harder to topple the boat. Nevertheless, it offers thrills and spills for my family 🙂

Enough of water activities, we headed up the hills. Majestic view of Mount Kinabalu.

Summary of locations in West Sabah. (A-City KK, Island hopping), (B- White Water rafting near Tamparuli), (C- Kinabalu Park, Desa Cow Farm), (D- Poring Hot spring, Canopy walk, waterfall)

Desa Cow Farm is up in the mountains. From certain angles, and with the low lying clouds, we might believe this is a valley somewhere in New Zealand. Kids were eager to feed the hungry animals or taste some fresh ice cream.

Garden Lodge is our bungalow at Kinabalu Park. This lodge is huge, enough for 3 families and it even come with a fireplace! (pricey tag of RM 3000 per night!)

After a refreshing night (where temperature drops to 15 degrees, we drove to Poring Hot Spring vicinity.
Over 3 hours, we did a mini hike, cross a tree-top canopy and enjoy some fish spa at the waterfall. We did not soak ourselves in the hot spring but kids did enjoy some swimming at the pool (non hot spring).

The last two nights of our vacation is spend on luxurious Gaya Island Resort. From our boats, we could only marvel at the magnificent villas constructed on hillside.

Every meal on Gaya island offered us a glimpse of South China Sea. We just need to take our time to enjoy our cuisine 🙂

Guests will enjoy Gaya Island’s swimming pool or snorkeling at their house reef. We love both!

After all the hiking and walking from the earlier part of our itinerary, Gaya Island Resort offers an opportunity to relax and enjoy some slow moments. Massage and spa indulgence for Mummy at Spa Village.

Disclaimer.
1) All expenses on Gaya Island Resort had been sponsored.
2) Amazing Borneo Tours provided some discounts for our itinerary.

Do pop by our Sabah itinerary and photos below.
– Sabah Family Itinerary 8D7N
– Sabah Day 1 – Street food discovery
– Sabah Day 2 – White Water Rafting!
– Sabah Day 3 – Twin Islands Hopping
– Sabah Day 4 AM – Desa Cow Farm
– Day 4 PM – Kinabalu Park
– Day 5 – Poring Hot Spring + Waterfall + Canopy walk
– Day 6 – Gaya Island Resort – Luxury Villa
– Day 7 Gaya Island Resort Family Activities

More photos have been uploaded on our Fanpage album :
– Day 1 and 2 – Klagan hotel, White Water rafting
– Day 3 – Water sports, Island hopping
– Day 4 – Desa Cow Farm and Kinabalu Park
– Day 5 – Poring Hot Spring and vicinity
– Day 6 – Gaya Island Resort
– Day 7 – Snorkeling and private beach
– Day 8 – Hiking, Home sweet home

I hope to climb Mount Kinabalu with Boon Wee (perhaps with Boon Kang too) in a few years time 🙂