Snorkeling, what better way to see the spectacular underwater marine life if you are not yet ready to step into the world of diving. Gliding through the water with your fins, mask & snorkel viewing the beautiful corals & other marine life.
First off, let’s get down to the basics. What is snorkeling? The dictionary defines snorkeling as the practice of swimming on or underwater water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and fins.
The snorkeling equipment allows you to swim while breathing with your face and body submerged underwater. Unlike scuba diving though, you are confined to staying on the surface (unless you are taught to skin dive – but we will talk about this in a different blog) as you don’t want your snorkel to fill up with water.
A snorkeling trip with Scuba Junkie KK starts early in the morning at Jesselton point where you meet our friendly team. The destination is decided on the morning of your activity but it will be a few sites within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine park. Your day is designed to give you plenty of time in the water exploring three different spots around TARP as well as some time to relax on the flawless white sandy beaches & enjoy the ocean view.
The boat ride will take around 15-20 minutes. Upon reaching the island, everything is prepared for you & all you have to do is jump into the crystal blue ocean!
Depending on numbers, our snorkelers will either join our dive boats or have their own dedicated snorkeling boat, either way our staff will be on hand to help you with safety advice, tips on the best places to snorkel as well as helping you identify a variety of marine life.
Two morning trips which are around 45 minutes to 1 hour are followed by a relaxing lunch on one of the Islands, while enjoying the tropical paradise. The third and final trip of the day takes place after everyone has had enough time to digest lunch, usually around 2pm. After the third trip our speedboats safely shuttle you back to Kota Kinabalu, while you enjoy the views of the Islands and Mt. Kinabalu while discussing the marvels that you have just seen with buddies and our team.
We have a great variety of sites which are amazing for snorkeling, popular ones being Eel Garden, Gaya & The Rock, Mamutik which are known for seeing Black tip Reef Sharks in the shallows, don’t worry though they are super chilled and just swim pass not even noticing you are there! Fish Feeding & Coral Garden around Sapi Island along with South Sulug are great sites known for seeing schools of Barracuda, bigeye snapper, turtles & lots of Clownfish in anemones, all shallow enough for snorkelers to enjoy!
If you are inspired by this post to try snorkeling, let us know!
Diving uses up a lot of energy & always makes us feel hungry at the end of the day after some amazing dives. What better way to sort out those hunger pains with going to eat a delicious meal & drink at one of these restaurants that we have rated our top 7 in Kota Kinabalu!
El Centro Cafe is an excellent meeting place for travelers and locals that offers delicious international food and drinks at really reasonable prices. The atmosphere is fun, relaxed and has a great vibe for hanging out with friends and enjoying good food and music! El Centro has a variety of daily happy hour drink specials & tapas and hosts regular events like pub quiz, live music and local art exhibitions. This is the perfect place to unwind after a day of diving in KK!
As you can tell from the name, Shamrock is an Irish Bar that serves not just beer, but also some great food too. Shamrock is located at Waterfront Kota Kinabalu, one of the best places you can enjoy the amazing sunset of Sabah with a beer in your hand. The restaurant can be quite crowded in the evening as early as before sunset time as everyone is eager to get the best spot to view the sunset so be sure to come here early! It’s a great place to go for those who are looking for fun & chilled night as it has live music at night.
Shoney’s is a western restaurant located in the heart of Kota Kinabalu, it is famous among locals & tourists. From lamb chop, steaks, spaghetti to desserts, you can find any western cuisine that you like here. Like the two restaurants above, Shoney’s serves alcoholic drinks as well. The atmosphere in the restaurant is very cozy & it feels good to hang out here with your friends.
Sri Latha is an Indian restaurant located at Bandaran Berjaya area. They serve your foods here on a banana leaf. You can eat with either your bare hands or with cutlery. If you are looking for a unique dining experience, then be sure to visit this place! The foods here are tasty & you get several side dishes & curries together with your rice. Sri Latha also offer vegetarian & vegan options. Besides main dish, you can order a variety of rotis that they have here for a light snack.
Ang’s Hotel Restaurant is located just beside Ang’s Hotel, it is an open restaurant just beside the street. Ang’s Restaurant is a famous local dining restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine. Their chicken wings with oyster sauce is must-try dish here! The place is pretty packed in the evening so you might have to wait for a while to get a table here but they serve foods quite fast once you sit down.
Bak Kut Teh is one of dishes that you got to try when in Malaysia. It is literally translated as pork bone tea soup. It is a dish where meat & pork ribs are cooked in a herbal soup. There are several bak kut the restaurants you can find at the city centre, one of them is Yu Kee Bak Kut Teh. the food here are served in individual portions so you will be able to order & taste different dishes even if you come here by yourself.
Living Seed restaurant has been open for quite some time in Sabah. Their 1st restaurant is located outside of Kota Kinabalu, but they have recently opened another branch at the city centre so you won’t need to go far to get some vegetarian food! This new Living Seed Restaurant is located inside Suria Sabah, one of the most frequently visited shopping malls in Sabah. They have this economy rice set where many pre-cooked dishes laid out in one corner & you can just choose whichever dish that you like to go with your rice. Otherwise they also have ala-carte option where there are a variety of vegetarian foods that you can choose from the menu.
