From Kuala Lumpur to Tawau - 3 Hours
From Kota Kinabalu to Tawau - 45 Minutes

BY ROAD

From Kota Kinabalu to Tawau - 10 Hours
From Sandakan To Tawau - 6 Hours
From Lahad Datu To Tawau - 2 Hours

BY BOATS

From Nunukan to Tawau - 1 Hour
From Tarakan To Tawau - 2 Hours

Getting to Tawau By Air

Malaysian Airlines operates a daily Boeing 737 direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau. Other cities like Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Bandar Seri Begawan, Kuching, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Kaoshiung, Xiamen, Shangai, Sydney, Balikpapan, Minado and Bangkok will have to transit at Kota Kinabalu International Airport and to connected to Tawau within the same day. As for Air Asia, it operates two non-stop daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau.

1. From Kuala Lumpur

Air Asia flies direct to Tawau daily ; www.airasia.com

Malaysia Airlines flies to Kota Kinabalu with connecting flights to Tawau daily ; www.malaysia-airlines.com

2. From Kota Kinabalu

Malaysia Airlines flies from KK to Tawau daily ; www.malaysia-airlines.com

3. From Singapore

Malaysia Airlines flies to Kota Kinabalu on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday ; www.malaysia-airlines.com

SilkAir flies to Kota Kinabalu on Monday and Friday ; www.silkair.com

Flights coming in from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu normally arrive late evening. It will be advisable to spend a night in KK (accommodation is much better than in Tawau..) and then take the connecting flight to Tawau early the next morning. Flight time from KK to Tawau is about 40minutes.

Those of you waiting in between flights, and have 3 to 4 hours to spare, just catch a bus from Tawau airport to town for a walkabout. Cost is minimal , about RM5 and takes about 20min. Tell the driver you want to be dropped off near the market place.

Tawau Airport Bus Schedule to Tawau town : 7.15am, 9.15am, 10.50am, 12.15pm, 2.30pm, 3.50pm 6.50pm

Tawau town to Tawau Airport Bus Schedule:5.30am, 8.00am, 8.30am, 10.30am, 1.00pm, 2.30pm, 5.00pm

If you're unsure, take a taxi to town for about RM35 per way. But on the way back from town, you can bargain with the taxi driver for a cheaper rate taking you back to the airport. You can pick up a taxi from the 'bemo station'.

By Bus - Coach Services

For those not wanting to take the private van or arriving at Tawau from another part of Sabah, it's possible to take a public van like a bemo, from Tawau to Semporna. This 'station' is situated close to the markeplace. But be prepared to wait.

Those not wishing to fly on return to Tawau from Semporna, there are buses leaving for the larger towns in Sabah from the outstation bus terminal eg to Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan.

 
Coach services from Kota Kinabalu are available from various local operators. It operates during the night time which leaves for Tawau at 8.00PM and during day time it leaves as early as 7.00AM. All coaches are fully air-conditioned.

From Sandakan, the coaches operate early morning till noon time.

Mini buses are also available from near by town such as Lahad Datu, Kunak and Semporna and they operate regularly from morning till late afternoon.

By Boat

The speedboat ride from Semporna to Mabul is about 45min depending on the weather and to Sipadan is about 1+hr

By Ferry Services
From Tarakan and Nunukan Indonesia, ferry services are available. There are 9 daily ferry services from Nunukan which will take approximately about 1 hour journey and 2 ferry services from Tarakan which will take about 3 hours. These ferry services are chargeable at reasonable price.

By Taxi

If you wish to take a taxi from Tawau airport to Semporna, cost is around RM80.

How do you get around?
Tawau's public transportation is only suitable for locals. So, It is recommended that visitors are to take taxis if they would like to go around the town. The taxi fares are relatively cheap and they charge at flat rate. Local people mostly travel by buses. Traffic jam is not a problem in Tawau. The main roads such as the Dunlop Street and Jalan Utara only get jammed before and after office hours. But you won't get caught in a jam for more than 15 minutes.