Labuan Travel Tips

Practical information

Currency, entry requirements, safety, connectivity and local etiquette. These are the practical questions that come up between booking and arriving.

Things worth knowing before you arrive

• Labuan is a Federal Territory, not part of Sabah. Saying so at check-in desks avoids confusion.
• The currency is the Malaysian ringgit (MYR). Brunei is a short ferry ride away and prices there are in Brunei dollars (BND), which are not equal in value to the ringgit.
• Dress modestly when visiting the water villages.
• The town centre is walkable, but the rest of the island is not. Plan transport for anything outside the centre.

Numbers on this site, such as allowances, fares and opening hours, are published only when they can be traced to a named, current source. Where a page carries no figures, that is deliberate rather than an oversight.

Currency and Money in Labuan

The currency is the Malaysian ringgit. Brunei is a short ferry away and uses a different currency, which is the mistake most visitors make.

The currency

Labuan is a Federal Territory of Malaysia and uses the Malaysian ringgit (MYR, written RM). Being duty-free changes what things cost, not what currency they cost it in.

Cash and cards

Financial Park has ATMs, along with several restaurants and a post office, and it sits in the walkable town centre. Carry some cash regardless: markets, water taxis, small stalls and boat operators are more likely to want it than a card.

Source: ATM availability at Financial Park from Tourism Malaysia, Labuan Map & Guide (updated December 2023).

The Brunei mistake

Brunei Darussalam is one of Labuan’s ferry connections and prices there are quoted in Brunei dollars (BND). The ringgit and the Brunei dollar are not equal in value. If you are adding a Brunei day, work out what you are actually spending before you spend it.

What this page will not tell you

No exchange rates, ATM fees, card acceptance percentages or typical prices appear here, because none of those could be verified from a current source and all of them move. Check a live rate before you travel and ask your own bank about its foreign transaction charges.

Paying for things on Labuan

• Seafood is sold by weight at market rate. Confirm the price per kilogram before ordering.
• Boat trips are normally priced per boat. Agree the total and the return time before leaving the jetty.
• The Weekend Tamu is a market. Bring cash.
• Duty-free purchases are subject to customs allowances when you take them off the island.

Etiquette and Cultural Advice for Labuan

Labuan has several long-established communities living close together. A small amount of care goes a long way, particularly in the water villages.

Dress

Dress modestly away from the beach, particularly in the water villages.

Shoes come off when entering someone’s home.

In the water villages

Kampung Patau-Patau 2 and the neighbouring villages are homes, not exhibits. The residents descend from fisherfolk, sailors and traders from neighbouring Brunei who settled here generations ago. Ask before photographing anyone, keep to the main boardwalks, and book the homestay through the village programme rather than arriving unannounced.

At the war cemetery

Labuan War Cemetery is an active burial ground holding 3,908 war dead. Dress appropriately, keep noise down, stay on the paths between the rows, and do not photograph other visitors, who may be family.

General points

• Use your right hand for giving, receiving and eating.
• Ask before photographing people, especially in villages.
• Public displays of affection are best kept minimal.

Around festivals

Festivals change what is open and how busy places are. Remembrance Day is a formal military ceremony rather than a public event to wander into.

Photography Spots in Labuan

A 106-foot brick tower, a stilt village over water, a war cemetery and a west-facing coastline. Labuan gives you four very different subjects in a small area.

The Chimney

The Chimney at Tanjung Kubong is the island’s most photographed structure: 106 feet of red brick standing alone in open ground. Early morning gives you low light and an empty site, and the northern position means you can shoot it and continue to the bird park in the same trip.

The water villages

Stilt houses linked by boardwalks over the water, reached by water taxi, make the strongest images on the island. They also require the most care.

The water villages are private homes. Ask before photographing people or into houses, and accept a refusal without argument. A long lens pointed at someone’s front door from a boat is not a solution to asking.

The west coast at sunset

The long beaches face west across the South China Sea. Layang-Layangan, next to Surrender Point, and Tanjung Aru are the two viewpoints most often recommended. The 9 km stretch from Batu Manikar to Sungai Miri received a UNEP Clean Beach Award in 2008.

The war sites

Labuan War Cemetery holds 3,908 graves in ordered rows, which is a powerful subject and a sensitive one. Peace Park next door has a raised mound, two arched walls, gazebos and Japanese-style bridges and ponds.

At the cemetery, photograph the place rather than the people in it. Other visitors may be family.

Source: All site descriptions, the beach award and the burial figure from Tourism Malaysia, Labuan Map & Guide (updated December 2023).

Underwater

The Blue Water Wreck sits in clear water with a wide variety of fish and is the site divers name for photography. The Cement Wreck, covered in soft and hard corals, ferns and sponges, is the one for macro.

Practical

• Salt spray on open boats. Bring a dry bag and something to wipe a lens.
• Humidity fogs a cold lens taken out of air conditioning. Let it acclimatise before you shoot.
• The best light is early and late, which also happens to be when the heat is bearable.

Public Holidays in Labuan

Malaysian and Labuan public holidays change what is open and how busy the island is. The dates of several move each year, so they are not listed here.

Why the dates are not listed

No holiday dates appear on this page. Several Malaysian public holidays move each year, and federal, state and territory holidays differ. Publishing a fixed list would guarantee it is wrong within a year. Check the official Malaysian public holiday calendar for the year you are travelling.

What is observed

Labuan observes Malaysian federal public holidays.

The one fixed date worth knowing

Remembrance Day is held at Labuan War Cemetery on 11 November, or on the Sunday closest to it. It is not a public holiday, but it is the island’s most significant annual ceremony and accommodation is harder to find around it.

How holidays affect a trip

• Government offices, some businesses and some attractions close or shorten hours.
• Ferries and flights fill up, particularly around major holidays when people travel home.
• Accommodation is harder to find and more expensive.
• Restaurants may close, especially family-run ones during their community’s own festival.
• The Weekend Tamu and other regular fixtures may not run as usual.

What to do about it

Check the holiday calendar for your dates before booking. If your trip does fall over a holiday, book accommodation and transport earlier than you otherwise would, and confirm that any attraction central to your plan is open.

Safety and Health Advice for Labuan

The genuine risks on Labuan are water, sun and diving, not crime. This page covers what to actually prepare for.

Water

There are no lifeguards on Labuan’s beaches. Swim within your depth. Take extra care near river mouths and headlands, where currents and depth change. Do not swim alone.

Boat safety matters more here than on a mainland trip, because reaching the islands and the water villages means getting on a boat. Check the boat carries lifejackets for everyone aboard, including child sizes if you have children, and that the operator is licensed.

Diving

• Dive within your certification and your recent experience, not within your logbook total.
• Confirm depth and conditions with the operator for each of the four wreck sites.
• Do not enter a wreck without the relevant certification and a guide who knows the interior.
• Do not dive on the day you fly. Follow your agency’s surface interval guidance.
• Carry travel insurance that covers diving to the depth you intend to dive. Standard travel policies often do not.

Sun and heat

Labuan is tropical and much of what you have come to do is outdoors. Heat exhaustion and sunburn are the most common problems visitors have. Drink more than you think you need, cover up on boats where there is no shade, and plan strenuous activity such as cycling for the early morning.

Medical facilities

Hospital and clinic details, emergency numbers and the availability of a recompression chamber for diving emergencies could not be verified from a current source, so they are not published here. Confirm the nearest recompression facility with your dive operator before you dive, and note your insurer’s emergency line before you travel.

Health preparation

• Check current vaccination and health advice for Malaysia with a travel clinic or your own health service before departure.
• Bring insect repellent. Mosquito-borne illness is a consideration across tropical Malaysia.
• Bring any prescription medication in its original packaging, with a copy of the prescription.

General

Take the same precautions you would in any unfamiliar town: keep valuables out of sight, use licensed transport, and tell someone where you are going if you head out to the north of the island alone.

SIM Cards and Internet Access in Labuan

Labuan is a Malaysian federal territory, so Malaysian mobile networks and prepaid SIMs apply. Coverage on the offshore islands is a different question.

The basic position

Labuan uses Malaysian mobile networks. A Malaysian prepaid SIM or eSIM bought anywhere in the country works here, and international roaming works as it does elsewhere in Malaysia.

Buying a SIM

Prepaid SIMs are sold at Labuan Airport and in the town centre, including at Financial Park. Malaysian regulations require identification for SIM registration, so carry your passport.

Operator names, plan prices, data allowances and coverage maps are not published here because they could not be verified from a current source and they change constantly. Compare at the point of sale.

Where the signal stops

Do not rely on mobile coverage offshore. The six smaller islands, the marine park and the water around them should be treated as having no reliable signal. Tell someone on shore where you are going and when you expect to be back, and agree a return time with your boat operator rather than planning to phone them.

Practical

• Download offline maps before you leave town. See the map page.
• Hotels and the mall generally have wifi. Boats and beaches do not.
• If you are adding Brunei, that is a separate country with separate roaming charges.

Sunset and Sunrise Viewpoints in Labuan

Labuan’s long beaches face west across the South China Sea, which makes sunset the fixture of the day. Two viewpoints are named more often than any others.

Why sunset, not sunrise

The island’s major beaches run down the west coast, including the 9 km stretch from Batu Manikar to Sungai Miri that received a UNEP Clean Beach Award in 2008. Facing west across open sea is why the evening is the event here and the morning is not.

The two most recommended

• Layang-Layangan Beach. Next to Surrender Point, which itself overlooks the South China Sea. The reason to choose this one is that it lets you finish an afternoon of war heritage in the right place.
• Tanjung Aru Beach. A headland setting rather than a long open strand.

Source: The 9 km award stretch, the 2008 UNEP award and Surrender Point’s outlook from Tourism Malaysia, Labuan Map & Guide (updated December 2023).

Other options along the same coast

Any point on the west coast works. Pancur Hitam, Pohon Batu and the UN’08 stretch all face the same direction.

Sunrise

For sunrise, look east: the town centre waterfront and the ferry terminal side of the island. It is a working harbour view rather than a beach one, which some people prefer.

Practical

• The beaches are not walkable from town. Arrange your transport both ways before you go out. See getting around.
• Tropical dusk is short. Arrive well before the sun reaches the horizon, not as it does.
• Insect repellent. Dusk is when you need it.
• There are no lifeguards, and swimming in low light is a bad idea.

Weather and What to Wear in Labuan

Hot and humid all year, with the sea state mattering more than the air temperature. Dress for heat and sun.

The climate in short

Labuan is a tropical island in the South China Sea, about 8 km off the coast of Sabah. Temperatures are warm and humidity is high throughout the year. Practically, that means you will be hot outdoors regardless of when you come.

Source: Island position from Tourism Malaysia, Labuan Map & Guide (updated December 2023).

What is not stated here

No monthly temperature, rainfall or monsoon figures appear on this page, because a set for Labuan specifically could not be verified from a source we can name. Check a current forecast close to travel, and ask a dive operator about sea conditions if your trip depends on getting a boat out.

What to wear

Practical points about the heat

• Plan outdoor activity for early morning. The northern sites and any cycling are far more pleasant before the middle of the day.
• There is no shade on the offshore islands or on open boats. Carry your own.
• Humidity means laundry does not dry quickly. Pack accordingly for a longer trip.
• A light rain layer is more useful than an umbrella on a boat.

Full list

See what to pack for Labuan.