Planning your dates
Best Time to Visit Sabah
Sabah's coasts follow opposite weather calendars. The best time to go depends on whether you are diving, climbing or exploring the rainforest.
Sabah climate
Rainfall across the lowlands
Sabah sits in the equatorial doldrums, where the east coast and the west coast run on opposite weather calendars. Temperatures range from 24 °C at night to 33 °C by day. Around Kota Kinabalu, annual rainfall is 2,718 mm, with the driest window between February and April. The east coast receives 3,220 mm annually, with heaviest downpours in December and January. An itinerary crossing the state meets 2 different weather systems . You can expect rain in every month.
The rainforest requires immense volumes of water to survive. What changes is the river level on the Kinabatangan and the trail mud in Danum Valley. If you want the calmest seas at Sipadan and the lowest river levels for wildlife viewing, you should look at the peak season from March to October . The green season from November to February brings higher water and fewer visitors.
Further exploration
Other regional locations
The weather shapes how you get around and what you do each day. The best time to go depends on whether you are diving, climbing or exploring the rainforest.
Danum Valley
Explore 438 km² of primary forest reserve where wild orangutans are resident year-round.
Kinabatangan River
Look for feeding elephants along exposed grassy banks between March and October.
Sipadan Island
Sipadan's walls descend 600 metres; mainland rain rarely compromises their 40-metre underwater visibility.
Mount Kinabalu
Trek the maintained track from Timpohon Gate to Panalaban, then cross exposed granite slabs when weather permits.
Kota Kinabalu
Explore Kota Kinabalu between February and April for the clearest skies before afternoon squalls.
Related
Keep planning
Danum Valley
2.5 hours by road from Lahad Datu, Danum Valley is 438 square kilometres of lowland rainforest that was never logged with three very different places to stay inside it.
Kinabatangan River
The Kinabatangan floodplain holds the highest concentration of wildlife in Borneo. This is where you go to track orangutans and proboscis monkeys from a boat.
Sipadan Island
An oceanic island rising from deep water in the Celebes Sea, Sipadan is Sabah's flagship dive site. It is protected by a strict permit system with no accommodation on the island itself and offers exceptional encounters with schooling barracuda, reef sharks and turtles.
Sabah climate
Plan your Sabah travel dates
Tell the team when you plan to explore the rainforests and dive the islands to match your trip with the best weather.