10 Snorkeling Trips in Kota Kinabalu Worth Booking

1.Guided Snorkeling Day Trip, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 282 reviews · from $65Our pick

Join Borneo Dream from Kota Kinabalu for three guided snorkeling sessions in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. A PADI professional leads a group of up to 12, with equipment, boat transfers, purified water, and island lunch included. Guides such as Alex, Didi, Ian, and Azmi are praised for calm, attentive help.

“Fun short day out with 2 snorkelling trips and some chill time on the beach after lunch. Friendly guide and skipper”

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2.Full-Day Guided Snorkeling Tour from Kota Kinabalu

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 101 reviews · 7 hours · from $66

Meet at 8:45 AM at Kota Kinabalu’s DBKK Jetty for a guided catamaran trip into Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Guides such as Didi, Alex, and Asri tailor the snorkel sites to sea conditions and your confidence, with reef fish, turtles, rays, and clownfish possible. Lunch is served at an island café.

“Highly recommend this tour. Alex was a very knowledgeable and wonderful tour guide for our snorkelling day tour.”

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3.Snorkeling & Island Hopping Sapi & Manukan

★★★★★★★★★★3.9 · 97 reviews · 1 day · from $67

Spend a full day touring Sapi and Manukan islands from Kota Kinabalu. You’ll get hotel pickup, boat transfers, snorkeling gear, a guide, lunch, and beach time. Sapi offers easy shore snorkeling and optional water sports, while larger Manukan gives you more room to swim, stroll, and relax.

“Tour guide was friendly and positive, spent over three hours on the first island (sapi) and an hour on the second (Manukan) which was nicer of the two. Felt like the long stay on sapi was mainly to pressure you into paying for the additional activities. Lunch wasn’t bad but quite greasy and not worth the price”

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4.Manukan & Sapi Islands Snorkeling with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 61 reviews · 7 hours · from $74

Join an English-speaking guide, including guide Cris on some departures, for a full day at Manukan and Sapi Islands. You’ll ride from Jesselton Point, snorkel, swim, enjoy lunch, and have time for optional watersports at your own cost. Shared transport covers pickup, boats, entrance fees, and return to your hotel.

“Bardzo profesjonalna obsługa. Przewodnik był cały czas z nami i troszczył się abyśmy byli zadowoleni. Polecam tego organizatora.”

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5.Fun Boat Snorkeling and Island Visit from Kota Kinabalu

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 35 reviews · from $130

Spend about eight hours cruising from Kota Kinabalu to Tunku Abdul Rahman Park with PADI-certified instructors, two snorkeling stops, and lunch on Pulau Gaya. Hotel pickup, boat transfers, park admission, and jetty fees are included. The group can reach up to 40 people, so expect a social, shared-boat outing rather than a private trip.

“Recomendado. Muy bonita experiencia de snorkeling, muy atentos y amables. Lo más bonito de Kk fue hacer este tour.”

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6.Island Hopping with Snorkeling & Meal

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 9 reviews · 1 day · from $63Best value

Spend a full day island-hopping from Jesselton Point to Manukan and Sapi islands. You’ll get boat transfers, entrance fees, snorkeling equipment excluding fins, beach time, and a simple buffet lunch. This is an independent snorkeling day rather than a guided marine tour, so it suits confident swimmers who value flexibility over instruction.

“Es war total schlecht organisiert. Ich habe im Vorfeld Anweisungen bekommen, die ich genau befolgt habe, allerdings wurde man gefühlt immer hin und her geschickt, wobei keiner genaue Informationen hatte. Auf den Inseln war der Strand wirklich schön, aber dieser Eindruck wurde gleich von vielen Touristen zerstört, die sich teilweise wie die Axt im Walde benommen haben. Das hat man beispielsweise an den vielen toten Korallenriffen bemerkt. Einige haben sich einen Spaß daraus gemacht die kleinen Komodowarane zu jagen. Bei der Wartezeit am Strand war es super chaotisch, weil es viele verschiedene Anbieter gibt, die jeweils nur ihre Gäste mitnehmen, was zu langen Wartezeiten und überfüllten Stege...”

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7.Mamutik + Sapi Island SnorkelingTrip from Kota Kinabalu

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 7 reviews · from $95

Set out from Kota Kinabalu’s Jesselton Point for a half-day island trip in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. You’ll snorkel among clown fish, relax on Manukan Island, and may add Sapi or Mamutik Island. Hotel pickup, boat transport, equipment, entrance fees, and a beachside BBQ lunch are included. The small group is limited to four people.

“I can’t say enough about this tour, it was the highlight of our trip! We were able to see so many islands and see lots of marine life. We were able to customize the experience a little, and ask for certain islands. There’s basically a huge boat taRead more”

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8.Sabah: Dreamer Island Snorkeling Day Tour Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 4 reviews · 1 day · from $66

Spend a full day from Kota Kinabalu at Dreamer Island, with hotel pickup, boat transfers, snorkeling gear, an English-speaking guide, lunch, and beach time included. You can snorkel over coral, look for clownfish and sea turtles, then pay extra for water sports such as jet skis, banana boats, parasailing, or scuba activities.

“i like how free we were to just have our own time. was able to relax on the shore. our guide, was very informative.”

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9.Kota Kinabalu | Snorkeling Sapi Island/Manukan Island

★★★★★★★★★★3.1 · 3 reviews · 7 hours · from $69

Leave Kota Kinabalu for Sapi Island in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park on a seven-hour trip with English or Malay tour support. You get boat transfers, park fees, snorkeling gear, life jackets, buffet lunch, and long free time for swimming, snorkeling, or resting on the sand. Hotel pickup is optional.

“Veel te druk op sapi island daardoor geen tropisch eiland gevoel. Ook de manier hoe tijdens ons bezoek de bepaalde nationaliteiten hun vakantie willen vieren met grote groepen is niet wenselijk. Ook de hoeveelheid afval/plastic overal is zeer treurig om te zien. Geen aanrader.”

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10.Snorkeling at Ara Dinawan Private Island

★★★★★★★★★★3.6 · 3 reviews · 1 day · from $110

Spend a day at Ara Dinawan Island with shared transport, a 15-minute boat ride, tea, lunch, snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboards, and beach time. The island feels quiet and rustic, with lounge chairs, huts, hammocks, and showers. Snorkeling quality can vary, and the advertised sunset may not fit the actual return schedule.

“The island was quiet, felt secluded and rustic with ample lounge chairs. The food was delicious and staff amazing. The meeting times were confusing - the tickets said 7:30am. The booking info said 7am. The corresponding person who was very prompt and helpful said 9am! So we arrived at 8am and waited for an hour. With no hotel pick up its was a little over priced for the one snorkel trip only 3 mins from the island for 1 hr. The rest of the time was leisure time swimming.”

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