Mantanani Islands

Mantanani is a group of three islands - Besar, Kecil and Lungisan - about forty kilometres off the Sabah coast, with the white sand and turquoise shallows that put them on every Kota Kinabalu day-trip flyer. The diving is the more serious draw: several wrecks lie in the surrounding water, including Japanese vessels sunk in 1944, and dugongs are occasionally recorded in the seagrass beds, which is unusual anywhere. There is a Bajau village on Mantanani Besar. The honest picture is that success as a day-trip destination has cost the islands a good deal - crowding on the main beach, waste that outstrips what a small island can handle, and coral damage from anchors and fins - and reporting on this has been consistent enough that operators have begun capping numbers. Staying overnight after the boats leave is a different place entirely.

What you actually see

• White sand and shallows - the beaches the day-trip boats come for.
• Wartime wrecks - Japanese vessels sunk in 1944, dived from the islands.
• Seagrass beds - with occasional dugong records, rare in Malaysia.
• A Bajau village - the community on Mantanani Besar.

When to go

March to October; overnight to avoid the day boats. A day, or overnight.

Honest expectations

Day-trip crowding is heavy and the main beach can be packed by midday. Waste management on the islands is a known problem and coral has been damaged. Facilities are limited.

Nearby

Kota Belud and its Sunday market are on the mainland; Kota Kinabalu is south.