Getting from Kota Kinabalu International Airport to the city

The bus

• A bus runs between Padang Merdeka in central Kota Kinabalu and the airport.
• Adults pay 5 ringgit, children under 12 pay 3.
• It runs from about 07:30 to 20:30, every 30 to 45 minutes, though in practice minibuses on this route often leave when they fill rather than to the clock.
• Coming into town it calls behind the Horizon Hotel and at the Asia City Complex.
• Ticket booths are on the ground floor of the terminal.
• The trip is 25 to 40 minutes depending on the traffic.
• For a solo traveller with a small bag, this is the obvious choice.

The taxi coupon

• Buy a coupon at the counter in arrivals before going out to the taxi bay. That fixes the fare.
• The city centre is 30 to 35 ringgit, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Between midnight and 06:00 a 50 per cent surcharge applies, making it roughly 45 to 55 ringgit.
• Grab is about 20 to 30 ringgit off peak, picked up from the marked e-hailing area, and less reliable between midnight and 05:00.

One terminal

• KKIA terminal 2 closed on 1 December 2015 and all flights moved to terminal 1.
• Any guide, booking or map that sends you to terminal 2 is a decade out of date.
• AirAsia used to fly from T2, which is why the confusion persists.

Where you are going

• Kota Kinabalu is the gateway to Sabah: Mount Kinabalu, the islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman park, Sandakan and the Kinabatangan.
• The islands leave from Jesselton Point in the city, so the airport bus or a taxi to the waterfront is the first leg of most itineraries here.