Malaysia Destinations | Places of Interest in Malaysia

Sabah > Layang-layang Island

In the middle of ancient South China Sea, 300 kilometers North West off the coast of Sabah, Layang Layang lays like a beautiful emerald kissed by the sun and teased playfully by the winds. Time and tide has linked 13 coral reefs to form a languid lagoon with just a fraction of it breaking the calm surface of the sea. This atoll is also the home to one of the most converted diving sites in the world.

The island is man-made and was constructed for the Malaysian Navy and later developed for the only dive resort around- Layang Layang Island Resort. The island location offers absolute isolation, luckily there is an airstrip with regular flights from Kota Kinabalu which is the only mode of transport for guests visiting Layang Layang.

The extreme location of Layang Layang, the pristine excellent visibility, steeps walls down to 2000m and regular sightings of pelagics has given Layang-Layang a much deserved reputation of being one of the top ten dive locations in the world. With resident schools of barracuda and big-eye trevally and frequently seen

green and hawksbill turtles the reef has something to offer everyone. The corals are plentiful and healthy with sea fans more than three meters across that filter plankton from the passing currents. The 20m deep lagoon has some great macro creatures to be found including seahorses, cuttlefish and pipefish but it is the pelagics visiting the outer walls that truly excite divers. Schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks, grey reef sharks, leopard sharks and the occasional threshers and silvertip sharks can all be seen.

Stingray are also regular visitors including manta rays, pygmy devil rays, marbled rays and eagle rays. Rare sightings such as whale sharks, orcas and melon headed whales have all been seen over the last few years. Spinner and bottlenose dolphins frequently follow the dive boats to each location and divers are sometimes rewarded with snorkeling and diving with these amazing creatures. With its pristine reef, diverse fish life and visiting pelagics, Layang Layang has rightly gained world wide recognition.

The best recommended visit period is between February to October annually. Anyway, the Resort is opened throughout the year.

How to get there

There are many daily flights available direct from Kuala Lumpur via Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia. To save your money, we strongly recommend you to take AirAsia flight. AirAsia operates 7 daily direct flights to Terminal 2, Kota Kinabalu Old

Airport from the LCC ( Low Cost Carrier ) Terminal, Sepang. Booking may be made through www.airasia.com or walking into AirAsia’s sales offices which are located at KL Sentral and Airport. Alternatively, you are welcome to contact the Nationwide Call Centre at 1300-88-99-33 ( within Malaysia ) or ( +6 ) 03-78849000 ( outside Malaysia ).

The Flight from Kota Kinabalu to Layang Layang only takes an hour.

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