Ara Dinawan Island Resort

We took a boat to Dinawan Island from the pier (Beringgis Seafood Restaurant), located 30 minutes from the center of Kota Kinabalu and 15 minutes from the airport. The boat leaves the pier at 9:00 and arrives at the island in about 15 minutes. The beautiful sea is sure to take your breath away. Check-in to the room is after 14:30, so you cannot use it immediately after arriving, so it's better to change into your swimsuit when you head to the pier. We head to the island with about 40 other day trippers, and when we arrive, we have free time until 10:00, where we can swim, kayak, or rest in a hammock. At 10:00, we head to the snorkeling point by boat and can do boat snorkeling. Unfortunately, when I went there, there were jellyfish, so I had to retreat 5 minutes after entering. (I was stung...) It was unlucky because there were no jellyfish the day before. . They take you to the top of a large coral reef. There were a lot of fish, but unfortunately the coral wasn't very colorful. After we got back, we had free time again, and we kayaked in the beautiful sea, snorkeled over the coral reef near the buoy to see the fish. My son enjoyed playing in the sand on the beach. In the lounge (a lounge and dining room with a roof and sofas underneath), you can drink coffee, water, tea, etc. for free. We had a BBQ for lunch, and the chicken skewers were delicious. We also had Malaysian food, yakisoba, fried rice, etc. I like Asian food, so I enjoyed it, but my husband and son, who don't like it, didn't seem to like much. After that, we had snack time while snorkeling and playing on the beach. We were served donuts with round crusts and banana donuts. (My husband and son were very happy to eat them, saying they were the best they had eaten in Malaysia lol) After we were relaxing, we were told that our room was ready, and we had three suitcases carried to our tent. The toilet and shower in the room were a bit questionable, but the bedroom was clean and nice! The family tent was spacious, with a large bed and a bunk bed behind it. There was also a simple air conditioner, which worked surprisingly well. Please note that the electricity is only on from 2:30 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. the next morning. Unfortunately, it started raining in the evening, so we couldn't do the evening kayaking, sunset viewing activities, or the campfire we had planned after dinner, but we played billiards and table soccer until dinner. The day-trippers had left by the time we checked in, and there were only two families, including us, and one other guest at dinner. There were no Japanese people there, including the day-trippers. Dinner was also mainly Malaysian food. When I said I wanted to fish, they lent me my fishing rod at the pier from around 9 p.m., and I fished from there. There are tens of thousands of fish like silver-striped herring under this pier, but we didn't catch a single one even after an hour and a half of perseverance... The German father and son who were with us also didn't catch anything. It was a very pleasant early morning, and we could see Mt. Kinabalu clearly, which we couldn't see at all in Kota Kinabalu. We went snorkeling before breakfast, and my son swam with the schools of fish under the pier. Breakfast was at 8:00, and they also had juice and yogurt. *They also grilled it on the spot. The return boat departed at 11:00, but we were able to use the room until then. The electricity was already gone lol, but we took a cold shower and got ready. The next guests arrived, and we returned on that boat. Compared to places like Sapi Island, which is easily accessible, you can enjoy the quiet and beautiful sea. The snorkeling level may be about the same as Sapi Island, but even looking back now, the beauty of Dinawan Island is outstanding. It may be a bit of a tough beach resort for those who want cleanliness. If you don't mind that much, I think you'll have a great stay!

This is glamping on an island. Quite nice tents with all the amenities. The downside is that the beach is small. After the excitement of the sea, you don’t want to swim. Garbage, the sea is muddy. Snorkeling is so-so.