PULAUMY

Guide No. 19 of 20

Island · Sabah · Borneo

Pulau Tiga

A bleached fallen tree lies across a sandy beach into the shallows on Pulau Tiga, with small waves breaking and calm sea out to the horizon.
A fallen tree on one of Pulau Tiga's beaches. Photographed in 2008.Photo: Dcubillas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Boat from
Kuala Penyu jetty
Crossing
20–40 minSpeedboat
Season
All yearResorts open all year
Park charge
RM20MyKad holders RM6

Facts checked 9 November 2026 against operators and Sabah Parks.

The short version

Pulau Tiga is a low, forested island in Pulau Tiga Park, about 18 km off Kuala Penyu on Sabah's west coast, reached by speedboat from Kuala Penyu jetty in 20 to 40 minutes, about 2 hours by road from Kota Kinabalu.

Stays, rankedThe boat from Kuala Penyu jetty

I

Where to stay

Order is editorial, not paid. An editor sets each stay’s tier by hand; within a tier, stays follow the beach. Booking partners have no say.

Pick: our first choice on the island. Good: sound, with a catch. Listed: facts only.

GoodSound, with a catch

1 stay
  1. 1

    Borneo Eagle Resort

    South-east bay · Own bay on the south-east tip

    Thirteen very large villas on a quiet bay, with the boat from Kuala Penyu included and guests' steady praise for the staff and the food. It is very expensive, Wi-Fi does not reach the villas, and some recent guests found it in need of repair.

    Read the entry: Borneo Eagle ResortRates on Trip.com

II

Things to do

Not sold by our partners. Ask your resort.

  • Mud volcano walk and mud bath

    About 1 km by trail and boardwalk from the park base camp. The Sabah Parks mud bath fee is RM10 for foreigners and RM8 for Malaysian adults, per 3 hours

  • Pulau Tiga Park trails

    Eight named trails across the island, including the Volcano, Larai-larai and Pagong-pagong trails. Borneo Eagle guests trek with a guide

  • Sand spit and Snake Island snorkelling

    Boat trip to Kalampunian Besar, a sandbar islet, and Kalampunian Damit, where banded sea kraits breed. A paid trip at Borneo Eagle and a stop on agents' day trips; snorkelling is allowed only in zones set by Sabah Parks

III

When to go

Resorts open all year

Pulau Tiga is open all year: no source reports a seasonal closure for the park or for Borneo Eagle Resort. The driest months are about February to April. The wettest run from October to January, during the north-east monsoon, when boats from Kuala Penyu are more often delayed or cancelled. MetMalaysia names October as the wettest month on this coast, with a second peak in June, and warns that from April to November typhoons can push south-westerly winds of 20 knots or more off north-west Sabah.

IV

Getting there

  1. Kuala LumpurFly to Kota Kinabalu (BKI).
  2. Kota Kinabalu airportRoad about 100 km to Kuala Penyu, about 2 h. Resort pickup on request, or your package's transfer.
  3. Kuala Penyu jettySpeedboat 20–40 min: Borneo Eagle's boat at 10:30 or 15:00, a package boat or a charter.
  4. Pulau TigaThe park jetty, or Borneo Eagle Resort's own pier on the south-east tip.

There is no public boat. Drive about 100 km from Kota Kinabalu airport to the jetty beside the Pulau Tiga Park office in Kuala Penyu, about 2 hours, then cross by speedboat in 20 to 40 minutes. Borneo Eagle Resort's boat leaves at 10.30 am and 3 pm and is included in its rate; day trips and packages from Kota Kinabalu bring their own boat, and some operators leave from Jesselton Point in Kota Kinabalu instead. Otherwise, charter a boat.

Boats, times and fares

V

Pulau Tiga Park

Pulau Tiga is one of three islands in Pulau Tiga Park, run by Sabah Parks and gazetted in 1978. The park covers 158 km², most of it sea. The other two islands are Pulau Kalampunian Besar, a sandbar islet used as a snorkelling stop, and Pulau Kalampunian Damit, known as Snake Island, north-east of Pulau Tiga. The park headquarters is on Pulau Tiga, with a branch office in Kuala Penyu town. The island itself is about 6–7 km², low and forested, named for the three humps you see on the way in. Only park and resort staff live there.

Pulau Tiga has been on maps of Borneo since at least 1554. A 2024 peer-reviewed study shows that the story of it rising from the sea in a mud volcano eruption in 1897 is a myth. Its mud volcanoes are still active, and Sabah Parks records an eruption in 1941.

  • The mud volcano is about 1 km by trail and boardwalk from the park base camp. Sabah Parks charges for the mud bath; see the fees below.
  • Snake Island is a breeding ground for the banded sea krait. Sabah Parks says the snake is highly venomous but not normally a threat to divers.
  • The park has eight named trails: Larai-larai, Pagong-pagong, Volcano, Ramis, Sibamban, Casuarina, Vokong and Tagi.
  • Sabah Parks lists pied hornbills, megapodes, sea eagles, long-tailed macaques, monitor lizards and flying foxes.
  • There are picnic shelters at Pantai Asmara, Pagong-pagong and Ramis, a designated camping site, and public toilets and showers.
  • The exhibition centre in the park’s administration building is open 9 am to 4 pm daily and is free.
  • Sabah Parks has one chalet for 4 and two cabins for 8, each with a kitchen, but rents them only when its own guests and staff are not using them. Book through Sabah Parks headquarters in Kota Kinabalu on +6088-523500; no rate is published.
VI

Rules and practicalities

Sabah Parks charges a conservation and entry fee per person per day: RM20 for non-Malaysians aged 18 and over (RM12 for 17 and under) and RM6 for Malaysian adults (RM2 for ages 13 to 17). Malaysians aged 12 and under or 60 and over, and Malaysians with disabilities (OKU), go free. Packages from Kota Kinabalu may include it; Borneo Eagle Resort does not say whether its rate does, so ask. Non-Malaysians also pay tourism tax of RM10 per room per night.

  • The mud bath costs RM10 for foreigners of any age, RM8 for Malaysian adults and RM5 for Malaysians aged 13 to 17, per 3 hours.
  • The park is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Sunday. Sabah Parks says access can vary with the weather and the activity.
  • Since 1 January 2026, Sabah Parks bans single-use plastic bags in all its parks. Bring a reusable bag.
  • Diving and snorkelling are zoned; ask the park office where. The park rents no gear and no boats.
  • Food is only at the places to stay. The island runs on groundwater, so drink bottled water.