Kota Kinabalu: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Kota Kinabalu is a city of 500,421 people in Malaysia (Sabah), 5 m (16 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre. It has 1 railway station on record, including Tanjung Aru railway station. Our booking partner lists 1,131+ places to stay.
Key facts
Open Kota Kinabalu in Google Maps
Daylight in Kota Kinabalu runs from about 11 h 49 min a day in late December to 12 h 30 min in late June (computed for 5.97° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Kota Kinabalu is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre, whose 12,402-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.
Flights to Kota Kinabalu: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Tanjung Aru railway station. Trains to Kota Kinabalu
Buses to Kota Kinabalu · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 1,131+ places to stay in Kota Kinabalu (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 624 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (258), and 12 are five-star. Across 332 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.2 out of 10. Guests have left 149,522 reviews in total.
Hotels in Kota Kinabalu: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 23 hostels in Kota Kinabalu, out of 1,131 places to stay of every kind — 2% of everywhere it lists in the city, around the middle of the range for the cities we hold figures for. Across 11 hostels with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.3 out of 10, level with the city’s hotels. Guests have left 4,889 reviews across them.
Hostels in Kota Kinabalu: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Sandakan, 227 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Tawau, 279 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Miri, 289 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Tarakan, 340 km (Indonesia)
- Lahad Datu, 271 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Bandar Seri Begawan, 174 km (Brunei)
Twin towns and sister cities: Vladivostok, City of Rockingham, Heyuan, Yongin, Jiangmen, Yeosu, Nakhchivan.
Common questions
Which airport serves Kota Kinabalu?
Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre.
How big is Kota Kinabalu?
About 500,421 people live in Kota Kinabalu, across 352,238,383 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Kota Kinabalu in?
Asia/Kuching, currently UTC+8.
What currency is used in Kota Kinabalu?
The Ringgit (MYR). Traffic drives on the left.
Are there hostels in Kota Kinabalu?
23 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Kota Kinabalu.
How many hotels are there in Kota Kinabalu?
Our booking partner lists 1,131 or more places to stay in Kota Kinabalu, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Kota Kinabalu?
Sandakan (227 km), Tawau (279 km), Miri (289 km), Tarakan (340 km), Lahad Datu (271 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.