About Water Village

The best thing to do while visiting Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia is to visit the peaceful water villages, or it is commonly known as Kampung Air, which is home to a predominantly fishing community. The wooden houses are built on high stilts with wooden walkways over the water and the two more popular water villages are on Sipadan Island and Labuan Island.

Sipadan Island is one of the best diving spots in the world on the east coast side of Sabah with beautiful sandy beaches and outstanding marine life. Accommodations are not available on Sipadan Island, so visitors will have to go to Mabul Island to stay at places like Sipadan Water Village Resort that is inspired by Bajau architectural design.

The water village in Labuan Island in Sarawak is called Patau-Patau Water Village or Kampung Air Patau-Patau occupied by mostly Brunei Malay people. The village provides homestay accommodations that are raised over the water for tourists which creates the illusion of them floating. Locals in Patau-Patau Water Village practise Brunei Malay culture; thus everything from the food to activities has been passed down through generations.

Popular Ferry Routes

• Ferry from Semporna Jetty to Mabul Island
• Ferry from Mabul Island to Semporna Jetty

How to Get to Water Village

Semporna Jetty from Tawau acts as the gateway to Sipadan Water Village Resort. For convenience purpose, passengers can require for resort transfers to Sipadan Water Village Resort from the Tawau Airport. It takes a 90-minute drive to reach Semporna Jetty from Tawau Airport and the boat ride from Semporna Jetty to Sipadan Water Village will take another 45 minutes. The boat trips are scheduled three times daily at 9:30 AM, 12:00 PM and 3:30 PM.

For those who are arriving at Labuan Airport to get to Patau-Patau Water Village can book a taxi or car rental service that takes about 10 minutes. For a cheaper option, passengers can take a ferry either from Menumbok Ferry Terminal, Kota Kinabalu Ferry Terminal or Brunei, where the ferries provide trips to Labuan.

Facilities

Serving the role of a resort, Sipadan Water Village Resort houses many facilities such as the convenient store, dining hall, bar lounge, dive centre, as well as different types of rooms with fixed prices by the resort management. There are also houses, mosque, shops, community hall and restaurants in Patau-Patau Water Village with affordably priced homestay accommodations.

Top features:

1. Sipadan Water Village
   • Reception counter
   • Housekeeping
   • Types of cottages
   • Dive centre
2. Kampung Patau-Patau
   • Mosque
   • Shops &restaurants

Conclusion

Water villages are among the popular attractions in Malaysia Borneo that receive plenty of visits both from the local and foreign tourists. The water villages showcase the culture and tradition of the tribes that live in the villages. Both water villages are situated in different parts of the Borneo Malaysia with Sipadan Water Village in Semporna, Sabah and Patau-Patau Water Village is in Labuan, Sarawak.

Sipadan Water Village is more well-developed for the tourist attraction with advanced facilities at the resort for guests. Patau-Patau Village, on the other hand, gives visitors a more hands-on local experience by engaging and socialising with the people.

Water Village Contact Details

Sipadan Water Village Resort
Address: 91031 Semporna, Sabah
Telephone: +608-9751 777
Location:

Patau-Patau Water Village

Kampung Patau-Patau 2, 87000 Labuan, Sarawak
Not available