Enjoy the underwater world of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, with a Guided Snorkelling Tour. Our snorkelling takes place in the local marine park called Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. The local marine park has five islands, four inhabited, and you can go ashore. The park is spread over 4,929 hectares, two-thirds covering the sea. Before the Ice age, it formed part of the mainland’s Crocker Range mass of sandstone and sedimentary rock.
However, about one million years ago, the melting ice brought about changes in the sea level and parts of the mainland were cut off by the sea to form the islands of Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug. Evidence of this can be seen from the exposed sandstone of the coastline, including the cliffs, caves, honeycombs and deep crevices. The park was named after Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s first Prime Minister. Further information on the park can be found on Wikipedia using the link https://bit.ly/3k6Pvhh
Jesselton Point Jetty | Gateway to your adventure
To access the park and enjoy your snorkelling tour, you first need to catch an island transfer boat or ferry. There are 3 points of departure, Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa, Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club or the cheapest and most direct is the public jetty at Jesselton Point in central Kota Kinabalu. Borneo Dream runs Guided Snorkelling Tours daily from Jesselton Point and can be booked online.
Tours depart from JP at 09:00, but guests meet up first at 08:45 to complete any necessary paperwork or last-minute questions. It is around a 20-minute boat transfer to your first snorkelling site. Before each snorkelling session, a briefing includes valuable facts about the area and any safety points.
We provide complete snorkelling equipment and even wet suit and fins. Which is not often supplied on other snorkel tours in our area. So, we provide a mask, a snorkel (vented), full foot fins, a 3mm shortie wetsuit and a life jacket if required. Our group size is around six customers to one PADI Instructor. Yes, we only use PADI Diving Instructors as our snorkel guides. They are professional and are first-aid trained.
The advantage of guided snorkelling tours with Borneo Dream is we are not constrained by the bouy lines around the public beaches. Meaning we can take our customers beyond the bouy lines and explore less travelled paths 🙂 Your guided snorkel session can last 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the site, your abilities and your fitness levels. Our boat is always on hand should there be an issue you need to return to the ship. This is called Surface Cover and is also used for our scuba diving clients.
Should you have enjoyed your snorkelling experience with us, which I know, you will. Maybe next time you fancy trying scuba diving with a PADI Discover Scuba Diving DSD Experience. After a short introduction and a hand full of skills, we can take you to a maximum depth of 12 metres.
Following the first snorkel session, we usually take about a 45 to 60 minutes break on our boat with the chance to dry off and take on some drinking water. In the second session, we take you to another snorkelling spot where you get to see a different reef and possibly other amazing marine life. If you wish to know more about coral reefs and fancy a fun but educational course, you might want to consider a Coral Reef Conservation Day Tour.
After the second snorkelling tour, we head to either Padang Point on Gaya Island or Mamutik Island for lunch at one of the local-style cafes. The food is tasty and fairly simple and is mostly local delights. There is a menu to choose from, and they do cater for Halal and vegetarians etc. But, if you do have special dietary concerns, then please speak to your snorkel guide before ordering so the kitchens can be as helpful as possible.
After lunch, we move again to the final snorkelling site of the tour. Following this, we make our way back to Jesselton Point Jetty unless we need to drop other guests off at either Manukan or Gaya Island Resort. We arrive back at JP sometime around 15:30 to 16:00 – Ready to book?
