Kota Kinabalu - Where do cruise ships berth.

Can someone who has been to Kota Kinabalu on the Diamond Princess tell me where the ship berths?

A Google map location would be good so I can see where it is in relation to points of interest.

I would think that it would be a tender port.

We were there on QM2 last year and she is bigger than Diamond but there didn't appear to be a pier big enough to berth a cruise ship but perhaps I just didn't notice.

Does the itinerary mention whether it's a tender port?

Hmm I just checked a blog for Sun Princess which was there in July and it looks like she docked there so perhaps Diamond will too although she is a lot bigger.

Well I don't think I helped much here - sorry

I would think that it would be a tender port.

 

Does the itinerary mention whether it's a tender port?

The itinerary says tender port for a couple of other stops but not this one.

When did the tender drop you off? The ferry terminal?

Try searching the net for Kota Kinabalu cruise port. or port authority -that is how I usually find that info, or the Ports of Call website often has a link to a map for most ports http://www.cruisetimetables.com/

I always find Google Earth very useful as well, especially when researching the less visited ports.

We docked in Kota Kinabalu about 7 years ago and I think the town was fairly near, but we went on the trip to the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, which was excellent. It was 2 hours each way so was a ship's tour from our point of view - would not like to have got stuck there. People who stayed in the town were disappointed and wished they had gone on a trip. I have read comments from other recently and the town does not seem to have got any more interesting.

Try searching the net for Kota Kinabalu cruise port.

I make it a habit of googling for answers first but nothing I could find showed where the cruise ships berthed. One reference indicated the container wharf, another in the vicinity of the ferry terminal. I asked here hoping someone who had visited recently would know.

Thanks for your input.

The itinerary says tender port for a couple of other stops but not this one.

When did the tender drop you off? The ferry terminal?

The tender ride was quite short and it dropped us off at a pier where there were a number of shops/stalls and it was quite close to town.

As Tring mentioned, it's best to do a tour of some sort as those who just went for a wander were disappointed.

We booked the cruise at the last minute so didn't have time to arrange for any private tours so took a ship's tour to a wildlife park and heritage village. It was OK, but Tring's tour sounds better.

I'll do some further checking and see if I can find out where Sun Princess docked in July.

When Sun Princess called at KK in July she docked a short distance from town. There were constant shuttles into town at the cost of $8 and the ride was quite quick. Taxis were plentiful but not allowed into the terminal however you could pick them up at the port gates.

The shuttle dropped passengers off at a covered market in town. The couple whose blog provided this info had a wander around and then returned to the ship.

It sounds as though Diamond Princess will dock at KK seeing as they have not specified it as a tender port although actually for once, it seems as though our tender trip was less hassle ;)

We stayed in KK for a couple of days when in Sabah and actually enjoyed the city. But we did do a full day tour to Mt Kinabalu and that was really enjoyable. We went to the hot springs and various other places. Just make sure you allow enough time to get back to the ship because the afternoon peak hour traffic was really bad for such a small city.

We had an amazing holiday in Sabah, it is a wonderful place.

Thanks to those who have replied. You have been most helpful.