Labuan Island itself is situated at the west coast of Sabah and is about 8 km from the nearest point of Sabah and about 123 km from Kota Kinabalu which is the State Capital of Sabah. Waters surrounding 3 small islands, stretching uptill two nautical miles from the shore of these islands, have been declared as Marine Park since 1994. The three islands concerned are Pulau Kuraman, Pulau Rusukan Kecil and Pulau Rusukan Besar, which are situated at the south-west of Labuan Island.

Labuan Marine Park Administrative Building

The Marine Park Centre

The Labuan Marine Park Centre is situated in the building of Labuan Fisheries office, nearby the Labuan Town Centre. This centre has an exhibition hall, a audio-visual room and an office. It is manned by staff who can provide useful information on Marine Parks to visitors.

What Are The Attractions?

Underwater Photography	Ship Wreck Diving

Pulau Kuraman is situated about 14 km from Victoria Harbour, Labuan and is about 5.2 sq. kilometre in size. It has two beautiful white beaches, perfect for picniking and sun-bathing.
The island is surrounded by hard corals, the most conspicuous species of the coral reef is the Acropora tubinaria. The corals are found in water 8 - 13 meters deep. Pulau Rusukan Kecil is situated near Pulau Kuraman and it has a land area of only 8 ha. The coral reefs nearby consist of mostly Acropora and Platygyra species.

The water surrounding this island is very suitable for snorkelling and swimming. There are places for camping and picniking as well. Pulau Rusukan Besar is about 14 ha. in size and is situated just next to Pulau Kuraman, and about 15km from Victoria Harbour. There are coral reefs in the waters to the west, east and south of the island. The waters east and south of the island is very good for snorkelling and viewing from glass-bottom boats, as well as scuba diving.

Besides these 3 islands, visitors to Labuan can also make trips to some "wreck" for diving where corals, especially soft corals and marine lives are found in abundance. These wrecks are known as "Cement Wreck", "American Wreck", "Australian Wreck" and "Blue Water Wreck". The types of diving at these wrecks ranges from "novice" to "serious" dives with penetrations into the hulls. There are 3 "Dive-tour" operators in Labuan bringing visitors to these 3 islands and wrecks for snorkelling and diving.

Getting There

By Air:

Labuan is assessible by air from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.
The time taken is about 2½ hours and 20 minutes respectively.

By Vessel:

The journey by vessel from Victoria Harbour to the 3 islands takes about 30 minutes.
The rides from the Harbour to the wrecks ranges from 30 minutes to 1½ hours.

Best Time To Visit

The best time to visit the Labuan Marine Park is between February and October