Labuan Island - 'Pulau Labuan'

Pulau Labuan is situated off the coast of East Malaysia, near the state of Sabah. It is also quite near to Brunei Darussalam. You can reach Labuan by flight from Kuala Lumpur, which will take around 2 1/2 hours.

There are also flights from Miri (Sarawak) and Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) and Brunei. Another alternative is to reach Labuan by express boat or ferry from Limbang (Sarawak), Lawas (Sarawak), Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) or Menumbok (Sabah). Going by boats will take around 3 hours, depending on weather and sea conditions. Labuan Island, with an area of only 92 square kilometres, packs a wide range of sights and activities to do. Bird lovers can go to the Labuan Bird Park which is free for the public.

Not too far from there is also the Labuan's Chimney, a landmark built in the 1800s. There is a marine museum at the Labuan Sports Complex and also facilities to hire boats. Don't forget to visit the Labuan Water villages - a whole village of wooden homes buit on water! The best way to see the sights in Labuan is to rent a car and drive yourself around the island. Get yourself a good Labuan Map or map-brochures of Labuan from the tourist information centre or hotel that you're staying. Of course, it's better to stay in the hotels around the main town so that you'd have easy access to the shops, airport and ferry / boat terminal. There are many duty free stores in Labuan where you can purchase duty-free goods such as chocolates, liquor, cigarettes and leather products.



There are several diving spots around Labuan, mostly shipwrecks, that you can go to. There are four shipwrecks around Labuan that divers can explore: the Australian Wreck (southwest of Rusukan Besar Island) the American Wreck (southeast of Rusukan Kecil Island) the Blue Water Wreck (northeast of Kuraman Island) the Cement Wreck (east of Kuraman Island) You can also go for diving certification on the island at registered diving training centres.

There are several smaller islands around Labuan Islands such as Pulau Daat, Pulau Papan, Pulau Burong, Pulau Rusukan Besar, Pulau Rusukan Kecil and Pulau Kuraman. These islands are great for snorkelling, diving, swimming or just relaxing on the beach. You can reach these islands by chartering boats from the boat jetty next to the Waterfront Hotel in Labuan. A trip to Pulau Burong will take around 20 minutes by boat whereas it takes 40 minutes to Pulau Kuraman.