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We chose Sabah, Malaysia
So about 6 months ago, my husband decided to attend MATTA Fair, one of Malaysia’s pioneering travel fairs that partner up with a bunch of reputable travel & tour companies, promising good deals. I remember this MATTA fair as being one of the more organised ones. They had shuttle buses to and from KL sentral , which encouraged a lot of people to take public transport (it was held at MITEC so the nearest public transport would have been KL sentral)
We didn’t have much of a plan, I remember feeling sceptical that my husband would even find good deals. A little bit of background, my husband is a stickler for saving money and I was SURE no amount of “good deals” would pass my husband’s “frugality” test.
I was surprised when he started asking me if we should travel Sabah, I had never been to East Malaysia (shameful for a Malaysia, I know) and the only time my husband had gone was for work back when he was still an auditor. So that was that, we decided on SABAH!
Shopping around for good deals
Because we had planned for this trip almost 6 months in advance, we got to shop around and take our time browsing for good deals. If you know Sabah, you know that it’s one of the most famous spots for diving which means beautiful beaches — which also mean, expensive room and board.
My husband and I used to dive (way before we had a kid) but because our experience was centered around Peninsular Malaysia, we definitely did not expect Sabah resorts to be quoting us prices according to the amount of people PER room, a.k.a PER PAX.
We were really taken aback because for water chalets/ villas, prices ranged from RM500-1000 PER PAX and we have 2 adults, 1 child — (some basic math will tell you , you could fly Internationally to Thailand for that kind of money.) Some resorts insisted on counting our 4 year old as an adult which was crazy. — so , NO.
Given, these resorts came with full room and board (meaning they provide 3 square meal a day) but we just couldn’t justify spending that amount of money on one holiday.
We spent a good few hours browsing every travel and tour booth, asking for opinions and from there we managed to narrow down our wants and needs
Start with the basics
As excited as I was to be in the most beach worthy state in Malaysia, we had to start with the basics — getting flight tickets. Only AFTER you get your flight tickets will you be able to narrow down the dates of when you’ll be traveling right? So definitely, start with that.
We managed to get a pretty sweet deal from the Malaysia Airlines booth. Tickets included luggage allowance of up to 20kg! Plus MAS is a full service flight which meant meals on board too! (definitely needed when traveling with an unpredictable toddler)
After we decided on the flight dates and time, we went back to the travel & tour booths so sus out accommodations. This took a long time, not gonna lie but the trick is to be patient and honestly if you can’t make up your mind, never fear!
Pro Hack!
So let’s say you really can’t decide on which is the best hotels and itinerary for you and your family — don’t feel pressured to decide everything on the spot!
MATTA Fair runs for a couple of days which means you can always go home , research a bit more and come back.
OR
If you’re like us and planned WAYYY ahead (i.e: your flight is more than 6 months away), you can keep a look out for OTHER travel fairs including other MATTA fairs that usually will take place 3-6 months later.
But definitely, if you’re serious about traveling, I would always recommend to secure those flight tickets first!
Hotels and Deals
After flight tickets we sorted out what we would like to do and see …. mountains? the Beach ? the city? Cultural Village?
Sabah had everything and narrowing it down to just 3 basic things was pretty difficult, I’ll admit!
In the end, we did
- Tawau
- Semporna
- Kota Kinabalu
- Kundasang
- Kota Kinabalu (back to KL from KK)
Flights into Tawau was significantly cheaper so we took that. From there we travelled by land (chartered van provided by the resort) to Semporna (Mabul Island). The resort we stayed in was uh-may-zing! The food was good, the room was comfortable and everyone was friendly and attentive! It was also a full board situation so we never had to worry about food.
Take note if you’re doing island stays that it’s most likely you’ll be sitting a speed boat into the resort (ours took roughly 30-40 mins) while speed boat operators are fairly safe and provide you with life jackets, years of beach holidays taught me they don’t usually carry child sizes — which as a toddler mum is worrying. There’s all sorts of possibilities that could happen on a speedboat and what if at the resort we wanted to snorkel? were floats enough for a toddler in the sea?
I immediately got to searching and although not entirely 100% life jacket quality, I found the next best thing which kept my toddler safe and lessened my worries.
PLUS POINT: it was SUPER easy to fold and squish into my carry on luggage (a samsonite wheeled luggage, not a duffel — yes, still easy to squeeze!)
Here’s the one I got for my very active toddler son who got really excited when the boat when over rough waves, I on the other hand was praying vehemently while clinging on to him . Gone are the days of enjoying speed boat rides when I have a toddler to worry about!
The resort we stayed served us 3 square meals a day, not having to worry about food meant worrying about my waistline!
Until today I am STILL thinking about the FRESH FRESH tuna they served up on their BBQ night!
HERE’S where we stayed!
This resort was located near some local water villages, on a gloomy day we decided to explore a little — there was another divers resort next door with a turtle sanctuary and then we walked through the local village (if I’m not mistaken the people were orang Bajau) .
It was really eye opening to see how the local natives lived!
Oh yea, if you’re a turtle lover like me — just know that in Sabah , turtles appear ALL YEAR ROUND!! We managed to spot a few while swimming from the jetty.
My husband and I , we have our dive license but we haven’t dived in ages since our son came along.
Not gonna lie though, watching the turtles swim from afar really tempted me!
the resort had a dive shop with a well-built jetty that had beautiful scenic views of the sea , this is where we spotted a few turtles and yes you can snorkel here too! the house reef was beautiful!!
The views at night were equally as breathtaking! As an island lover, this view was just uh-may-zing!!
Pro Hack:Travel friendly toy!!
ok so PAUSE. STOP.
Before you assume that my kid was an ANGEL through out this trip…. I had to come prepared.
But being the typical toddler, my son got bored very quickly… coloring books, stickers, you name it — he threw it. lol
but there was this ONE toy that I found very versatile, fun and multi-tasking ….
THISSSS memory tile game! was so fun to play — and when he wanted to play alone, I thought him how to spell out words or make a domino line with it! Totally recommended! (Just please make sure to pack it up in a ziplock for convenience)
Oh Btw did I mention this resort also comes with a POOL? super handy when your kid is sick of the sand — hop into the pool and prevent a meltdown!
In case you missed it , THIS is where we stayed, totally recommended!
Ending this part 1 with some photos!
Our very delicious BBQ dinner on one of the nights that we were there — can’t remember which day but dayummm the food was good!!
Fresh Tuna guys — in Malaysia !!! I was so floored!
(sorry , tuna in a can girl here! lol)
Last day photos which took my breath away — look at that clarity guys! Nowhere else but Sabah!
Waiting for our speed boat while admiring (for the last time) the beautiful house reef!
yup , this is just zoomed in but you can already see the fishes, the stripes and the color of the fishes… just beautiful!!
Thanks for reading!
Follow us to Kundasang in Part 2!
