Turtle Islands, East Malaysia

Turtle Islands National Park is located some 40 kilometers north of Sandakan in Sabah, east Malaysia. It consists of 3 islands - Selingaan, Bakkungan Kechil and Gulisaan including the surrounding coral reefs and ocean. The Park is famous for its green turtles and hawksbill turtles which lay their eggs on the beaches of the islands.

Selingan is the largest and is the only one of the three Islands's which allow visitors to stay overnight. Park rules and regulations are strictly enforced and visitors are not allowed on the beach from sunset to sunrise as not to disturb the turtles. A ranger will call all visitors to observe only one turtle laying eggs per night. The eggs are collected and the visitors leave the beach immediately as not to shy away other turtles which are very susceptible to movement on the beach. After the laying and collection of eggs, and eventual tagging of the turtle. If it is a ‘first time visitor' tourists are allowed into the hatchery to observe the further work of the rangers: the transplantation of the freshly laid eggs into a man-made incubation chamber.

Things to See & Do

* Selingan Island
* Green & Hawksbill turtles
* Turtle hatchery

General information

Cruise Season - Jan - Dec
Currency - Ringgit (RM) (MYR)
Language - Bahasa Malaysia, English
Land Area - 17.4 km2
Electricity - 2 vertical square pins and one perpendicular below British style
Time - GMT plus eight hours
International Country Telephone Code - +6o

Travel Links - Sandakan Airport is connected directly daily with Kuala Lumpur amd Kota Kinabalu by AirAsia, and to Kota Kinabalu by Malaysia Airlines and its subsidiary MASWings.

Visits to Selingan are only available as part of organised tours. Travel to the Island takes about an hour by boat from Sandakan.