Tanjung Aru Beach

Tanjung Aru Beach at Kota Kinabalu (Capital City)

Located at the end of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and about 6 kilometers from KK City, this place is closest to the hearts of the locals, and just one visit to the beach will tell you why. Taking its name from the casuarinas or aru trees that fringe the fine sands, this is where one might get a ringside seat to the greatest sunset on earth every evening when the crimson sun dips slowly into the horizon, leaving the vast skies a brilliant red.

Footstalls serving local food and drinks are open till late at night. Enjoy coconut and sugarcane juice, chicken or beef satay and steamed peanuts and corn, or indulge in a full-course dinner at the seafood restaurant located there.

The Tanjung Aru beach is also home to Shangri-la's Tanjung Aru Resort, the Kinabalu Golf Club and the Kinabalu Yacht Club.

The First beach is nestled in between the Prince Philip Park and the Tanjung Aru Golf Club, along the 3km long and sandy Tanjung Aru Beach.

People come to Tanjung Aru 1st beach on public holidays and for night outings.
Late afternoon is one of the best time to be here for a drink, and enjoy the cool sea breeze blowing and the sunset at Tanjung Aru Beach.

Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort is at the northern end of the beach.

Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 2 is two kilometers away. Terminal 1 is 8 kilometers away.

Sunset at Tanjung Aru Beach

Special attraction of Tanjung Aru Beach is the spectacular sunset between 6.00 and 6.15 pm. Each sunset is captured by hundreds or thousands images by visitors from afar.

Magnificent sunset on earth every evening, (well, not every evening) when the crimson sun dips slowly into the horizon, leaving the vast skies a brilliant red.

Tanjung Aru Beach is one of the best place to watch sunset in Kota Kinabalu. The 3 km beaches offer numerous spots for each one to choose to view this wonderful nature at work.

One hundred years ago, the scenery was the same. One hundred years from now, one return to find the scenery will still be the same. What a time eternity!

With islands as its background, this place often displaying a very nice colors of sunset. The view is breath taking, with hues blue, black, orange, purple, red, gray swapping places up in the sky, and the sea’s color below changes to waves of shining gold. This colors changes happen so fast in with the last 10 minutes before the sun disappears into the horizon.

As in 2022 the development is in progress in 2022 as planned.
The present TAED project in developing in 2021 is revised and scaled-down from the original plan in 2010.
The project is pending approval in 2013. Meantime, the public continue to have access to the beach and public park.
The revised Tanjung Aru Eco Development Sdn Bhd (TAED) master plan for the beachfront project is expected to obtain approval in third quarter of 2023.

“maintained, improved and beautified for the public to access and enjoy.”
Under the revised plan, this iconic Tanjung Aru beach and the Prince Philip Park would be “maintained, improved and beautified for the public to access and enjoy.”

Design parameters considered include :
- development cells and parcels,
- heritage and nature assets,
- relocation of schools and institutions,
- access and circulation,
- utilities corridors and easement,
- drainage,
- flood and pollution mitigation measures and
- Green infrastructure.

The newly revised master plan will be :
- more open and public spaces,
- no reclamation,
- no canal,
- public have full access to the beach,
- existing 2km beachfront will remain and increased to 2.5km long

Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) Sabah has offered a close door engagement with TAED on the revise master plan before it is submitted for approval.

The delegation of 12 ACEM committee members also comprised
Datuk Ir. Chin Shu Ying,
Ir. Song Perng Yeu,
Ir. Wah Kheng Haw,
Ir. Mohd Arzahri,
Ir. Amirul Hisham,
Ir. Tan Kok Jyh,
Ir. Tan Koh Yon,
Ir. Chow Wai Ming,
Ir. Lo Chong Chiun.

The above two primary schools are to be relocated in the newly revised master 2022 plan.

Datuk Ismail Abdullah received his letter of appointment as Executive Director of Tanjung Aru Eco-Development (TAED) from Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor at his office at the State Administrative Centre on 30/12/2020.

The First beach Cafe serves mainly western and local food, and for drinks there are coffee, juices, and beers.
The First Beach Cafe outdoor wooden garden tables, that offer a scenic view of the South China Sea and Sabah Park Islands, are very well sort after, and there is a live band performing popular songs nightly.

There is a fully scale seafood restaurant called Tanjung Aru Seafood Restaurant, and it is only open for dinner. Live prawns, live fish and live crabs are the main selection, and the live lobster costs a whopping RM 180 per kg. Dinner goers can choose and pick on the many sea creatures that are kept fresh alive in the aquariums. Once ordered these sea creatures will be prepared and go under the wok, the freshness of the seafood is guarantee, and hence the extra delicious. Customers at Tanjung Aru Seafood Restaurant also have the privilege of being entertain by the traditional gongs band performing nightly for the dinner patrons.

SugarBun Destination Centres - Tanjung Aru

With cafes, restaurants and numerous stores that sell local delicacies, there are a lot of things to eat and drink at Tanjung Aru First Beach.

The cafes and restaurants also cater to a wide range of customers from the budget conscious ones to the big spenders, which just about satisfy every one’s pockets.

Tanjung Aru Beach
FIRST BEACH TANJUNG ARU
The beach is 3 Km long
Kota Kinabalu City

The beach which we called FIRST BEACH is still there, but the land is in the hand of a developer who have knocked down all the concrete structures in 2020 for new project. But because of public objection, new development has not started yet and the empty land is used as car park.

How to ge to Tanjung Aru Beach :
1) Bus - No. 16. direction to Tanjung Aru. MYR1.50 per person one way. departure from bus station near Wawasan Plaza.
2) Taxi. MYR15 oneway.
Tanjung Aru Beach is a few kilometers south of the city, this beach is popular hang out area for Kota Kinabalu young people.

Tanjung Aru Food Center in 2013

At the far end of Tanjung Aru First Beach was this large open building Food Center with many local food stalls run by local entrepreneurs. This was the place to shop for the hugely popular coconut drink, steamed sweet corn and steamed ground nuts. Here visitors tried the fresh Seafood, Lakor, Steamed peanuts and corn and many others.

This was one of the best places in Kota Kinabalu to have coconut drinks, and popular here are the delicious sweet corns and tasty steamed ground nuts. A coconut was priced at RM 3, The steamed sweet corn was RM 1.5 per stick or Rm 2.00 per cup, and the steamed ground nuts RM 2 per packet.

The hawker style food stalls serve the common fried noodles and fried rice. Drink stalls serve drinks like coffee and juices. Local Malay delicacy beef and chicken satay is very popular among the local. Also try out the yummy BBQ honey chicken. Enjoy coconut and sugarcane juice, chicken or beef satay and steamed peanuts and corn here.

Also check out the many mouth watering pickles (cucumber, guava, mango, papaya, etc), and local biscuits available at many stalls.
These local food and drink stalls serving customer till late at night.

Most foreign tourists prefer indulge in a full-course dinner at nearby seafood restaurants located nearby.
The dinning area was an open area under one big roof, so that you could watch the sun go down as you sip coconut water and chew down on satay, chicken wings or noodles.

Tanjung Aru Regeneration Planner 2012
The Sabah Government has a re-development plan for the city's famous Tanjung Aru beachfront.

The Tanjung Aru beachfront would be re-developed following the state's legal victory in 2012 in taking back the area from a private company that had failed to develop it.

Dubbed the , Musa said that while the re-development would involve international planners, local stakeholders would also be consulted.

Wong said the involvement of the public and all concerned groups was crucial in the re-development of the 52ha beachfront, which was neglected after a failed development plan for over 15 years.
Tanjung Aru is a Sabah icon and that of Malaysia as the beach provided one of the best sunset views in the world.

The focus would be towards creating a green lung for the city without over-commercialization of the popular tourist area.

Protect Kota Kinabalu coastal areas

The Sabah State Legislative Assembly on July 16, 2013 approved a bill prohibiting coastal areas in this city to be alienated to others.

The areas encompass 1,550 hectares stretching from Tanjung Aru to Teluk Likas, said Minister in the Chief Minister's Department Datuk Radin Malleh when tabling the bill to amend the Sabah Land Ordinance 1930.

The intensive development in Sabah has no reason to sacrifice the natural environment. Unplanned development would only damage the natural environment, beauty, uniqueness and landscape of Kota Kinabalu.

SugarBun Destination Centre launched at Tanjung Aru Beach in 2003. This is SugarBun's 2nd Destination Centre. This fast food outlet closed business in 2019. The location is now a temporary open are market

The town of Semporna is the starting location of sea journeys to these fairytale islands.

Butterfly Park
Kuala Lumpur
... located in Lake Gardens on the edge of downtown Kuala Lumpur

In this garden is a dense, humid, tropical forest, netted against birds and other predators, where 6,000 butterflies filled the air like the living chips of a kaleidoscope.

GO FURTHER

ANIMALS

Wildlife and Environmental Protection in Sabah

ENVIRONMENT

Environment of Tawau

HISTORY & CULTURE

Tawau Cultural Festival

TRAVEL

Tourism in Sabah