🏝️Kota Kinabalu City 1-Day Guide – Just Got Back, So Save This!📍

#kotakinabalutrip
For the last day of our 4-day trip to Kota Kinabalu, our return flight was at 4:15 PM—so we planned all our city sightseeing for that day. And guess what? It was such a smart move! 🙌

Kota Kinabalu is a compact city, and there aren’t too many sights to cover, so half a day is more than enough if you're exploring on your own.

We booked a local Chinese-speaking driver for a private tour 🚗. He gave us explanations at each stop, which made it super convenient—no need to plan routes or book Grab rides ourselves, and we stayed cool in the car all day (no sunburns!).

👉 You can choose to:
Hire a private driver like us
Use Grab (local ride-hailing app)
Or join a local half-day or full-day tour group
Here’s our route and detailed guide👇

🏢 1. Yayasan Sabah (Sabah Foundation Building)
🕘 Departed from our hotel around 9 AM.
📸 You can’t go inside, but it’s worth a quick 10-minute stop to snap some photos.
It’s the tallest building in Sabah, with a fully glass exterior. The driver shared some fun facts, and even tried teaching us trendy photo poses—though I just stuck to back shots to avoid awkwardness 😅

🏫 2. University of Sabah (UMS)
⏰ Around 10 minutes’ drive from the first stop
📷 One of the highlights! Super photogenic. We spent 2–3 hours here.
The famous Pink Mosque looks even better in person!
You get a Chinese map after buying tickets—very tourist-friendly.
The campus is huge, so walking between sites can be tiring.
Must-visit spots:
Clock tower + library + rainbow steps
Pink Mosque + small forest
UMS beach + swings by the sea
🎟️ Entrance fee: 10 RM

🕌 3. Floating Mosque (Masjid Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu)
🚗 About 10 minutes’ drive from UMS
🎟️ Entrance + outfit rental: 10 RM
Lots of tourists just take photos from outside, but technically you still need to pay 5 RM for that.
We decided to go inside the mosque, which required Islamic attire rental.#travel