The third largest town of the state of Sabah, situated on the island of Borneo. It is a relatively new town in Malaysia, boomed in early 80's for its lumber and cocoa farming industry. Today Tawau is a bustling town where it is a transit point to all neigbouring islands such Sebatik, Nunukan, Tarakan, Jolo and Semporna islands.
Get in
By plane
Tawau International Airport (IATA: TWU, ICAO: WBKW) is the second international airport of Sabah. There are flights to Kuala Lumpur (2 hr 30 min, daily), Johor Bahru (2 hr 30 min, every Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun), Kota Kinabalu (45 min, five daily) and Sandakan (45 min, twice daily) on Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia and FlyAsianExpress (FAX).
The airport is about 35 km away from the town. Airport taxis available and operated by the Malaysian Airport authorities charge RM55 for one way trip to the town.
The going rate for a taxi ride from the airport to the city is around RM20 (as of October 2006).
Alternatively, there is an airport bus service operated by Kasah Transport (S) Sdn. Bhd. (Tel: 089-950208) to the city for RM10. The departure times of the airport bus from the city to the airport are as follows: 630am, 815am, 1100am, 100pm, 430pm (as of August 2006).
Caution: there are ATMs and a currency exchange at the airport but if you're arriving late it'll almost certainly be closed and the ATMs are not always working, so make sure you've got some Malaysian ringgit before you arrive as you'll need it for the taxi or the bus.
By coach
There are daily buses from Kota Kinabalu, but it's a long eight-hour journey. North City Bus Station provides several coaches to Tawau, one of them is Andisba Express. Depart daily at 8.00PM for RM55.50. There are also buses from Lahad Datu which take a two and a half hour journey, to name a few is Ali Topan Ekspress, departs at 3.30pm for RM15.00.
By ferry
The main ferry connections are to the Indonesian cities of Nunukan and Tarakan, both in East Kalimantan province.
To/from Nunukan: Two departures daily from Tawau at 10.00am on the Tawindo Express, and Mid East Express at 03.00pm. From Nunukan, departures are at 09.00am and 2.00pm. Tickets cost RM40 one-way and journey time is 1 hour.
To/from Tarakan: One departure daily except on Sunday from Tawau. Indomaya Express sails every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11.30am, while Tawindo Express departs every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10.30am. Tickets cost RM75 one-way and travelling time is 3 hours.
Get around
Taxi - Taxi fares around town would cost around RM5, and to housing area at RM7 at most.
Bus - 50 sen to travel within town areas. And about RM2 to the rural areas like Balung and Merotai.
Do
Diving
Buy
