Where to Stay in Tawau

Tawau is a commercial port city in southeast Sabah, primarily used as a transit point for travellers heading to Semporna and the world-class diving sites around Sipadan Island. The journey from Tawau to Semporna takes around 1–1.5 hours by shared minibus or taxi. Most divers who fly into Tawau Airport continue directly to Semporna without spending a night in the city at all.

If you do need to stay in Tawau — because of flight timing, an early-morning departure, or a connection through the city — accommodation is practical and affordable, if uninspiring.

City Centre Hotels

Tawau’s accommodation is concentrated in the city centre around the main town square (Tawau Town Square) and the commercial streets near the waterfront. The city is a functioning trading hub with links to Indonesia, so business hotels are built around reliability rather than tourism.

Le Maison Hotel is a clean mid-range option near the commercial centre, popular with business travellers and transit passengers, at RM100–180 per night. Hotel Soon Yee is one of the longer-established options in the town square area, with reliable air conditioning and good WiFi — a practical choice at RM80–150. Both include or have easy access to a cooked breakfast nearby.

For budget travellers, several guesthouses and Chinese-run hotels in the streets off the main square offer private rooms from RM50–80. These are transit standard — acceptable for a night, not somewhere to base a longer stay.

Tawau Hills Park

Tawau Hills Park, a small protected forest reserve 24 km from the city centre, has no accommodation. It is a day-trip destination from Tawau — the park is known for its hot springs and tall dipterocarp trees — but not somewhere you can base yourself overnight.

The Case for Going Straight to Semporna

If Sipadan, Mabul, or the Semporna archipelago is the goal, staying in Tawau serves little purpose. Semporna town has a good range of budget guesthouses and dive resort transfers start from there. Mabul Island — the most practical base for Sipadan diving — has several dive resort options directly on the island, and the experience of waking up surrounded by the sea is meaningfully different from an overnight in Tawau’s city centre.

The calculus is simple: if your flight lands in the afternoon or evening and Semporna transport has stopped running, spend a night in Tawau. If you land in the morning, take the shared minibus or taxi directly to Semporna.

Getting from Tawau to Semporna

Shared minibuses (RM15–25 per person) leave from the Tawau town area bus station throughout the day. Private taxis cost RM80–120 for the vehicle. The road is surfaced and the journey takes 1–1.5 hours depending on traffic. No booking required for the shared minibus — just show up and depart when the van is full.