Getting from your hotel to the islands: jetties, boats and timings

Three departure points

Jesselton Point, city waterfront

The public ferry terminal. Day-trip boats to Manukan, Sapi, Mamutik and Gaya run from around 8am, with the last returns mid-afternoon. It's also where Gaya Island Resort guests check in at the Gaya Lounge before their scheduled speedboat, and where the Bunga Raya boat leaves. Hotels within a real walk: this list. The Hyatt Regency is next door; Hyatt Centric, Grandis, Gaya Centre and the Gaya Street hotels are five to ten minutes.

Sutera Harbour marina

Sutera's own boats to Manukan, Sapi and Mamutik, and the only boat to Manukan Island Resort, whose guests register at the marina jetty. Ten minutes from the airport, a short drive from the centre. Guests of the Pacific and Magellan Sutera walk to it.

Shangri-La Tanjung Aru marina

The resort's own boats for its guests, from its own marina. If you're staying at Tanjung Aru you don't need Jesselton Point.

What it costs beyond the boat

Everyone entering the marine park pays a Sabah Parks conservation fee, and the jetty charges a small terminal fee. Resort guests pay the park fee per night. Boat operators quote per person return; a private boat costs several times more but leaves when you want.

Timing mistakes people make

• Booking an island resort and a city hotel on the far side of town for the same day, then discovering the boat leaves at ten.
• Assuming a resort boat runs on demand. Scheduled boats are every couple of hours; missing one means waiting.
• Planning an island morning before an afternoon flight. It can work from Manukan via Sutera Harbour; it's tight from Gaya Island.

Weather

Boats can be suspended in rough sea, more often from October to January. Build a spare day if the island is the point of the trip.

We book the hotel, the boat and the park fees together and confirm the departure time in writing, so the morning of the transfer is a walk to the jetty and nothing else.