Kota Kinabalu

Currency

Rates in Sabah are slightly worse than the peninsula. The changers in Wisma Merdeka are the best of what is available.

ATMs & cards

Fine in the city, scarce the moment you head inland — draw what you need before going to the interior or the islands, where nothing takes cards.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

Safe in the city and on the islands. Two real considerations: climbing Mount Kinabalu requires a permit, a guide and booking months ahead, and it is a genuine altitude climb rather than a walk. Governments have long advised against travel to the far east coast of Sabah near the Philippine border — check the current advice before booking anything around Semporna or Lahad Datu.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Worth having

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date
• Rabies if you will be near animals or staying a while
• Japanese encephalitis for long rural or Borneo stays

Getting treated

Kuala Lumpur and Penang have excellent private hospitals — Malaysia is a medical tourism destination in its own right, and standards and English are both high at a fraction of Western cost. Care thins out quickly in the interior of Borneo, where a serious case means a flight to the coast.

Dengue is endemic and Malaysia has large outbreaks; there is no prophylaxis, so repellent and covered arms at dusk are the whole defence. Rabies is present — any bite or scratch from a dog or monkey means a clinic the same day.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Sabah eats differently from the peninsula: seafood at the Filipino night market, hinava raw fish salad, and Sabah tea from the plantations near the mountain. The night market is loud, cheap and worth it.

Getting around

• Grab — cheap and the easiest way around the city
• Minivan — how you reach Kinabalu Park and the interior, from the Padang Merdeka terminal
• Boat — the Tunku Abdul Rahman islands are 15-20 minutes from the city jetty
• Car hire — worth it for the Sabah coast and the mountain road
• Airport: 15 minutes from the centre by Grab, ~20 MYR

Must-see

Things to do

• Climb or look at Mount Kinabalu
• Snorkel the Tunku Abdul Rahman islands
• Meet orangutans at Sepilok
• Watch sunset from Tanjung Aru
• Eat at the Filipino night market
• Take a river cruise to see proboscis monkeys

Nearby day trips

Religion

Sunni Muslim, officially

Islam is the religion of the federation and about 63% of people are Muslim, but Malaysia is genuinely plural: roughly 19% Buddhist, 9% Christian and 6% Hindu, largely along ethnic Chinese and Indian lines. Muslims are subject to sharia courts in personal matters, non-Muslims are not. In practice this means mosque etiquette matters, alcohol is available but not everywhere, and the conservative states of Kelantan and Terengganu are noticeably stricter than Kuala Lumpur or Penang.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Use your right hand to eat, to give and to receive — the left is for the bathroom
• Remove your shoes before entering a home, a mosque or most temples
• Point with your thumb over a closed fist; an index finger is rude here
• Dress modestly away from the beach, and cover your head and arms at a mosque — they lend robes at the door

Don't

• Do not offer alcohol to a Malay Muslim, and do not assume a restaurant serves it
• Do not eat or drink in public during daylight in Ramadan, out of ordinary courtesy
• Do not touch anyone of the opposite sex in greeting unless they offer a hand first
• Do not show affection in public — it draws real disapproval, and in the conservative north it can draw the authorities