mikesaidyes

I'm headed to KK with a friend this weekend. We're planning on two days at Sutera Magellan doing nothing but relaxing....but our first two days we are planning on tours. Our hotel can book us a private car for 400 MYR (total) which seems a fair rate compared to 178-250 a piece for a bus tour. The car doesn't include admission fee or lunch...but it does provide space and quiet!

But then there are so many islands...that all seem the same. My friend, a Korean, mentioned Mantanani...but that seems annoyingly far for a day trip. He's also convinced the close by islands (marine park) won't have good water and it will be dirty.

So then I discovered Mengalum Island. There seems to be just one tour company going there and it's kind of pricey....but the island seems to be the cleanest in quality and water.

Has anyone been recently? I'd love some ideas on which island we should visit for a day. Thanks!

RustyC

Labuan by ferry? Probably more trouble than it's worth and the beaches aren't so great, but you can buy duty-free stuff, there are a couple of excellent Chinese restaurants and anything with alcohol costs a lot less than in most of the country. Also the "Darth Vader mosque."

It doesn't seem like there's a huge visitor feed going to TAR national park or places nearby, so that could explain some of the pricing. I looked into it but didn't bite. Could be a good trip if the weather cooperates, though: In Thailand, some of the daytours of islands used to be very pleasant, but nowadays there can be so many tour groups on some things that it gets overcrowded. Parts of Malaysia are still reasonable.