Sandakan
Sandakan formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia.
Sandakan formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of the state in the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo. In 2010, the city had an estimated population of 157,330 while the overall municipal area had a total population of 396,290. The population of the municipal area had increased to 439,050 by the 2020 Census.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Sandakan
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Sandakan District Mosque
The Sandakan District Mosque is a mosque in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. Built in 1985 and completed in 1989, it is the main mosque for the district of Sandakan.
2 km · mosque in Malaysia · Wikipedia - 02St. Mary's Cathedral, Sandakan
St. Mary's Cathedral, or Sandakan Cathedral, is the cathedral and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandakan in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.5.840196°N 118.111502°E / 5.840196; 118.111502 Founded in 1883, it is the oldest church in Sandakan.
900 m · church in Sandakan, Malaysia · Wikipedia - 03Sandakan Memorial Park
The Sandakan Memorial Park is a memorial site built in the former grounds of the former Sandakan camp in the Malaysian state of Sabah. The site is dedicated as a memory for all prisoners in the camp who died during the Sandakan Death Marches, and to those died during a march to Ranau.
9.8 km · monument in Malaysia · Wikipedia - 04St. Michael's and All Angels Church, Sandakan
The Parish of St. Michael's and All Angels or for short St.
900 m · church in Sandakan, Malaysia · Wikipedia - 05Sandakan Jamek Mosque
The Sandakan Jamek Mosque is a mosque in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. Opened in 1890, it is the oldest mosque in Sandakan, part of Sandakan Heritage Trail.
900 m · mosque in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia · Wikipedia - 06Sam Sing Kung Temple
Sam Sing Kung Temple is a Chinese temple in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. Built in 1887, the temple is the third oldest temple in Sandakan, after Goddess of Mercy Temple and Tam Kung Temple.
900 m · Chinese temple in Malaysia · Wikipedia - 07Puu Jih Shih Temple
Puu Jih Shih Temple is a Buddhist temple located at the hilltop of Tanah Merah at Sandakan Bay in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. The temple was built in 1987 and officiated by Joseph Pairin Kitingan, the Chief Minister of Sabah at the time.
3.4 km · Buddhist temple in Sandakan, Malaysia · Wikipedia - 08Sandakan Massacre Memorial
Sandakan Massacre Memorial consists of three monuments which commemorate 30 Chinese victims, most of the members are local elite of an underground movement who been executed on 27 May 1945 along with several other victims during the Japanese occupation of North Borneo. The memorial was built on the spot where the massacre took place and where the victims were buried.
1.2 km · monument · Wikipedia - 09Agnes Keith House
Agnes Keith House is a historic house museum in Sandakan District, Sandakan Division, Sabah, Malaysia. The museum is named after Agnes Newton Keith, an American author known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in British North Borneo.
1 km · museum in Sabah, Malaysia · Wikipedia - 10Sandakan Heritage Museum
Sandakan Heritage Museum is a museum located at the 1st floor of Wisma Warisan building in Sandakan of Sabah, Malaysia. The museum building is located next to the Sandakan Municipal Council and is part of the Sandakan Heritage Trail.
700 m · museum in Sandakan, Sabah · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Sandakan Memorial Park
Negotiate a taxi to take you there (15 min), and expect to pay around RM 30 including waiting time.).
- 02Puu Jih Syh
A Chinese temple on top of a hill behind Sandakan where you can get beautiful views of Labuk Bay.
- 03St Michael and All Angels Cathedral
Erected in the late 19th century, it is one of the oldest stone buildings in Sabah.
- 04Agnes Keith House and Museum
Former home of author Agnes Newton Keith, now restored as a museum.
- 05Gomantong Caves
- 06Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary
From Wikivoyage: Sandakan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Cruise on the Kinabatangan River. The 560 km Kinabatangan River, the longest in the state, flows pass some of the richest ecosystems on earth, especially just before it meets the sea. The Lower Kinabatangan and Sukau areas are known for its mangrove swamps and flood plains, and is home to its most famous inhabitants, the proboscis monkeys.
From Wikivoyage: Sandakan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Sandakan has good and fresh seafood. Restoran Ajmeer Located at mile 3 (Hing Lee) and mile 4 (Bandar Prima). Specialize in South Indian food and Malay-styled fried food. Also serve lamb briyani, fish head curry, dosai, idli, vadai and other Indian traditional food. They have been awarded as Cheap and Best Restaurant in town by Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.
- 01English Tea House
Mile 1 of Jalan Utara, info@englishteahouse.org.
From Wikivoyage: Sandakan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Sandakan
- Airports
- Kota Kinabalu (BKI), 229 km
- Stations
- Sandakan Airport, 9.8 km
- Kota Kinabalu → Sandakan227 km · quickest by road, 5h 45m · RM65–90
- Bandar Seri Begawan → Sandakan367 km · quickest by road, 10h 4m · $47–65
- Kuching → Sandakan987 km · quickest by road, 26h 17m · RM285–385
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Sandakan
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Sandakan. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inAleson Lines runs a ferry from Zamboanga City in the Philippines every Monday at 1PM.
- Get aroundThere is a water taxi from Buli Sim-Sim to Pulau Berhala.
- Get aroundFor individual explorations of the islands within Sandakan Bay, it is highly recommended to book local boats only via tour agencies or experienced guides.
- Get aroundThere is a walking trail which covers all the main sites.
From Wikivoyage: Sandakan, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-03.
- 01367 km
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- 03690 km
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- 05723 km
If you know how people move in Sandakan – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.