The number 7 airport bus from Sandakan airport to the town is no longer running. You will need to take either a taxi or use Grab.
A quick internet search will tell you that a bus is available from Sandakan airport to the town. As I found out on a recent visit to Sandakan, and a never ending wait for the number 7 bus outside the airport, this information is outdated. This is due to the popularity of Grab in the area. As a result, the number 7 bus has now been cancelled.
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Grab: Best option
If you are travelling in South East Asia and don’t have Grab installed on your phone already, you really should have. If you haven’t left your home country yet, install the app before you leave to save time when you arrive with that jet lag.
The bus used to be the cheapest option to get from the airport to the town at a cost of 2 MYR. Grab is now the cheapest and absolute best option. To get from Sandakan airport to the Harbour Mall area of the town, a Grab ride will cost you between 13-15 MYR and take no more than 25 minutes.
Heading from the airport directly to Sepilok?
Taxi
Do not take a taxi. For the trip above, you will be charged significantly more than 13 – 15 MYR. Local taxi drivers will charge foreigners twice the cost of a Grab ride, if not more.
Local taxi drivers know that most people use Grab here, therefore if you find yourself even approaching one of these drivers then they already know you are stuck between a rock and a hard place and have no choice but to use them. They know they can name their price!
Getting around the Sandakan area – Sepilok
If you are on a budget, there are still buses available from the Harbour Mall area of Sandakan to Sepilok. However, there is so much more to see and do in the area beyond Sepilok, that you will need to use either Grab or taxis to see everything else.
Why you should invest in a local sim card
If you plan to explore the Sandakan area to its fullest, you will save a significant amount of money by making use of Grab, compared with using taxis. If you plan to explore all that the Sandakan area has to offer, then you really should invest in a local sim card so you can use Grab on the go and not rely on WIFI.
For example, you may be able to use WIFI to order a Grab from your hotel or hostel to get to Sepilok, but there is no WIFI available at Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre to book your return journey to the town.
When you consider that a Grab ride is half that of a taxi ride from the airport to the town alone – saving you at least 10 MYR, then this saving actually covers the cost of you buying a local sim card anyway.
This will greatly reduce the cost of exploring the Sandakan area and make getting around much more enjoyable throughout the rest of your time here.
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