If you’re looking for a unique wildlife experience in Borneo Malaysia, Turtle Island is a great option!
Located about an hour’s boat ride from Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, this ialdn offers an extraordinary opportunity to get up close and personal with turtles – and learn more about these amazing creatures.
In this Turtle Island travel guide, we’ll let you know where the island is located, how to get there, tour details and more.
Where is Turtle Island, Malaysia?
Turtle Island is the informal name of Selingaan Island. It’s one of three islands where turtles regularly visit to lay their eggs. It’s about an hour’s boat ride (warning: very fast and bumpy – my kids were okay with it though my 8 year definitely wasn’t loving life) from Sandakan, located in the Sabah region of Malaysia.
Sandakan only offers a domestic airport, which can be reached from Kota Kinabalu, (which is an international airport), or from Kuala Lumpur.
How to Get to Turtle Island
You can’t travel to Selingaan Island independently. It’s only available as part of a tour.
Most tours offer a one-night package, including pick up from the airport or hotel in town, boat transfer to the island, accommodation, lunch and dinner on the first day and breakfast the next morning.
How to Book Your Turtle Island Tour
You can book directly with Crystal Quest Sdn. Bhd, who manages the island, but there are also other tour operators who book tours on the island’s behalf.
We couldn’t unfortunately get a response going direct, so we ended up booking with Nasalis Lavartus Tours, with whom we also booked our Kinabatangan River jungle tour.
The tour isn’t cheap – especially considering the accommodation is very basic and it’s only an overnight stay. We paid just over USD 1000 for two adults and three kids which covered all transport costs, accommodation and food at the island.
Given the costs of maintaining the island and the experience you get there, it was definitely worth it for our family travel adventures!
Borneo Malaysia – What to Expect on Turtle Island
After arriving at the island, you’re checked into your chalet (for us, we needed two as they’re usually only double or triple rooms) and then served lunch. There were mixed reviews online about the quality of the food, but we enjoyed it. There was plenty of variety, particularly for vegetarians. It was buffet style, with rice, vegetable curries, meat curry, noodles, soup and fruit. You could eat as much as you like, and juice and tea/coffee were also available.
After lunch, you’ll be given free time to explore the island, where you can rent snorkels and swim, look at the turtle hatchery and just go for a stroll around this tiny island. There is a dedicated area of the beach they have sectioned off to swim and snorkel, which is manned by a lifeguard.
Walking around the island, the kids loved spotting the MASSIVE iguanas, and we spent the afternoon building sandcastles at the beach. The water was a bit choppy and not great for small kids, and there were many small rocks. Another family with us had slightly older kids who spent hours snorkelling in the sea, spotting all types of sea life.
Because we were lucky enough to have only around 15 other people with us on our tour, it felt like we had the island to ourselves. As a result, we experienced a beautiful sunset on a stretch of the beach and felt like we were on a deserted island.
Seeing the Turtles Lay Their Eggs and Hatch
After dinner, it’s time to wait for the rangers to let you know when the turtles have arrived to lay their eggs.
The island is visited by green turtles and hawksbill turtles who both lay their eggs on the beach. While you wait, there are lots of games available in the dining area which the kids enjoyed. This was a great distraction, as the rangers advised that it could be anywhere between 7pm and midnight before the turtles turned up.
Thankfully for our kids (and us!), we got the call around 8.30pm and headed down to the beach. A giant green turtle was busy laying eggs in the sand. The turtle laid 86 eggs in one go, which were collected by the ranger to be placed in the hatchery to keep them safe from predators. We watched the collection and the placement, learning how the rangers categorise, monitor and count the volume of eggs over time.
Finally, we got to help place some baby turtles back into the ocean. This was the kid’s favourite part! The rangers had collected the babies into a basket and gently turned it over with another ranger standing in the ocean with a torch to help attract them towards the sea. We were told that if the turtles started going the wrong way, we could help them gently go in the right direction, so all the kids were delighted when the turtles closest to us began heading back up the beach instead of towards the water! Their little hands were super gentle, helping to turn the turtles in the right direction and find their new home.
Should You Visit Turtle Island in Borneo Malaysia?
If you’re looking for luxury, a tour to Turtle Island in Sabah probably isn’t for you! The amenities are pretty basic, the food is simple (but delicious) and the boat ride out was a little bumpy!
But, if you’re looking for an unforgettable wildlife experience where your kids will experience something truly unique, Turtle Island is a must if you’re visiting the Sabah region of Malaysia.