Traveling to Mabul Island
Getting to Mabul is three legs — a flight to Tawau, a road transfer to Semporna, then a boat — and the only one with a hard deadline is the last. The sections below give the current times and fares for each leg, and where a resort transfer usually replaces the do-it-yourself version.
Flying to Tawau Airport
From Tawau airport, pickup, drop off, land transfers to Semporna, boat journeys to the islands are often managed by the resort you are staying at.
Tawau Airport (IATA: TWU) is the closest to Mabul island, Sabah, Malaysia. There are daily flights to Tawau from the cities of Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tarakan (Indonesia).
What are Tawau arrival flights?
- From KL: Malaysia Airlines (MASwings) and Air Asia operate 6 flights daily to Tawau (flight duration: 2.5 hours)
- From KK: MASwings and Air Asia operate 7 flights daily from KKIA to Tawau (55 minutes)
- From Sandakan: MASwings operate 2 flights daily to Tawau (40 minutes)
- From Tarakan: MASwings operate 5 flights Weekly to Tawau (40 minutes)
- From Johor Bahru: AirAsia operate 4 flights weekly to Tawau (2.5 hours)
How much is a Taxi to Semporna?
A taxi trip to Semporna boat jetty from the Tawau airport will take around 75 minutes and cost around 95 MYR (20 USD). Taxis are cost-effective if shared by a group. Alternately, you can travel in a taxi up to Sabindo Square in the Tawau city from the airport. The trip will take 35 minutes and the taxi will cost you around 48 MYR (10 USD).
How to catch a Minivan to Semporna?
Minivans are available at Tawau Airport and for direct travel to Semporna. The only problem is that the minivans will wait till they are full of passengers to start the journey. Sometimes the journey will be delayed because the vans stop at Tawau town before proceeding to Semporna. Alternatively, you can just travel to Sabindo Square in a minivan.
How to get from Sabindo Square to Semporna?
There are regular buses from Sabindo Square Bus Terminal to Semporna. The bus ticket costs 15 MYR (3 USD) and the journey takes one and a half hours. Always remember to check the latest bus timetable because bus timings are subject to frequent changes.
Ask us about the transfers to Mabul
How to catch a Boat from Semporna to Mabul?
A journey by speedboat to Mabul from Semporna takes about 45 minutes
(depending on the tide). Such boat trips are regularly organized
by the dive resorts and dive operators.
Note that the last boats depart at 4pm - 4.30pm from Semporna to
Mabul island. It is highly recommended to plan all your transfers
in advance.
Mabul is the gateway to Sipadan, and getting there is a three-legged journey that sounds longer than it feels: fly to Tawau, drive to Semporna, boat to the island. Here's the honest, current version of each leg.
1. Fly to Tawau (TWU). Tawau Airport is the closest to Mabul, with daily connections from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu (plus other Malaysian cities on varying schedules). International travellers typically route KL or KK to Tawau; book the domestic leg on the same day only if your inbound flight lands by early afternoon — tight connections and boat schedules don't mix.
2. Tawau → Semporna by road. Roughly 75–90 minutes. Resorts and operators (us included) arrange transfers matched to your flight; shared vans and taxis fill the gaps. Aim to sleep in Semporna if you land late — the town exists for exactly this.
3. Semporna → Mabul by boat. About 45 minutes by speedboat from the jetty, usually on fixed morning departures (commonly one late-morning run, with resort-specific schedules) — which is the single most important planning fact: miss the boat window and you've bought a Semporna night. Build your flights around the boats, not the reverse.
Luggage rides fine on the boats (soft bags easier than hard shells), and the whole journey door-to-door from KL is very doable in a day with a morning start.
Contact us with your flight options before booking them — matching flights to boat schedules is the free advice that saves the most holidays.