Selingan Turtle Island Chalet — Hotel in Sabah

This is one of the ‘must-do’ things while in Sandakan, although if you can afford to go to one of the private islands (like Lankayan) you’ll likely have a more intimate turtle experience. The tour starts with a 50 min boat ride from Sandakan through the Sulu sea. There is a disappointing amount of rubbish in the Sulu sea and our boat had to stop twice because plastic bags had fouled the propeller. The island is scenically beautiful with white sand and a small copse of trees and plenty of monitor lizards. Once you arrive you have to pay the National Park Fee (which is collected separately from the tour fee for some reason). Accommodation is a short walk from the restaurant area and is very basic. There are a few older buildings which are in need of repair and some newer buildings which have nicer accommodation. Our accommodation had aircon and a small ensuite (which had no toilet paper and smelt terrible). Showers are cold only. Beds were uncomfortable and I’m pretty sure have bed bugs as we all woke with many nasty bites (and I don’t react to mosquitoes). There was no drinking water in our accommodation and the restaurant ran out of drinking water by before breakfast the following day. There is a vending machine that only takes RM5 notes which sells soft drinks and juices but this had also been depleted by breakfast. Wifi is available free at the restaurant but is very slow. All power on the island comes from a noisy, smelly diesel generator which spoils the ‘eco’ feel and there are soldiers with guns patrolling to keep away pirates. To see the turtles you have to wait in groups in the restaurant area after dinner and once a ranger finds a turtle laying (time is variable) your group will be called. Although amazing to see, I found the approach a bit sad. The guide shines a bright light on the turtles laying the egg (no one else is allowed to use a light) and yells in a loud voice the whole time. You are not allowed to record video (for reasons that are beyond my understanding) and staff will wander the crowd and force you to delete any video if you do record it). This is not part of the rules of the park (which stipulates no video recording for commercial use) but does not prohibit recording for personal use, but this subtlety seems lost on the staff who are literally yelling repeatedly ‘no video, no video’. People are rotated rapidly through for their ‘photo’. You are then taken to the turtle hatchery where the just laid turtle eggs are buried, then down to the beach where a bunch of baby turtles (which may have been hatched and kept in a box for a couple of days) are released. Compared to other turtle releases I have seen, these baby turtles are confused and some crawl off in the wrong direction up the beach. At least 2 were inadvertently stood on by people in the group because of this. Once again, much yelling about ‘no video’. I do wonder if keeping them in a box for a couple of days adds to their confusion. Once they hit the water there is a lot of splash noises as the reef sharks come in and get their fill of turtle baby. It was very sad to see.

The following morning we came across a turtle laying her eggs without all the crowds and yelling and being able to just sit with her and watch silently, really made the trip.

Suggestions for improvements: Have the tour operators collect the park fee so it’s not a separate process when you arrive. Invest in solar panels and some batteries to reduce need for diesel or get rid of it totally. Invest in solar hot water for showers. Stock up on drinking water - it’s not ok to run out of this. Allow video on phones - it’s never going to be good enough for ‘commercial’ purposes. Do turtle releases in the evening before sun down like they do in other places to avoid people...

We just went to turtle Island, and I feel compelled to write a review because we all had such an amazing time in the reviews I read were somewhat mixed and I was nervous going into the experience. We were three generations (my kids, me and my husband and grandparents) and it was so special. For context, I'm used to camping and some basic accommodations, so after reading the reviews I was really pleasantly surprised with the accommodations on the island. Our room was clean and the bedding was clean and it was certainly nicer than many places I have camped! It's definitely basic - so if you're used to five Star hotels and may not be for you, but it was great for us. There was no hot water, but the lukewarm shower felt amazing after the day at the beach! If you can, I recommend bringing your own snorkeling masks, a beach towel, and some snacks, and maybe some drinks. Although they do have a vending machine for drinks. We were able to rent some extra beach towels there, but I understand they're not always available. We used our own snorkeling masks, and while the coral was a little bit dead, there were really beautiful fish and things to see there and it was a gorgeous Beach. The island was so beautiful and the water was so clear. We really enjoyed the day swimming there before the night program where we got to see the turtles. Everything runs on a schedule so you need to be okay with that, lunch is at 12:00 or 12:30, dinner exactly at 7:30, so it may be good to bring snacks if you would get hungry between. But it's nice because you have at least four or so hours to relax on the beach after you get there before the evening program. We got lucky for the evening program and the mom came to lay her eggs around 9:00 p.m.! I understand sometimes people have to wait really late until like 1:00 in the morning and sometimes they come even earlier at like 8:00 p.m., so it's good to bring games and stuff for the waiting. It was really cool to see the mom turtle lay eggs. Our mama laid 56 eggs and then we watched them transplant the eggs to protect them to the hatchery and got to participate in releasing the baby turtles that just hatched. The island is really magical and the conservation program is awesome. And the food wasn't amazing but it wasn't bad. I actually really enjoyed the lunch! We were all so glad we came to...

The first trip with our toddler daughter 14 years ago was chosen to be Langkawi, an archipelago off the coast of Malaysia.|This time, we picked the tropical greenhouses in Borneo, a large island partly under the sovereignty of Malaysia. My wife told me we should not just visit Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre at Sandakan, and suggested visiting the Turtle Islands Park. That would be an overnight stay at a relatively primitive chalet, I know. |But you won't be disappointed by the otherwise uninhabited island. The close-up wildlife experience in Sandakan-Sepilok region is hard to beat. |Our family spent our afternoon swimming and snorkelling, followed by evening turtle experience. Most of us should be able to watch the release of protected hatchlings by the rangers. But if you're lucky - like our family - you might be able to get a glimpse or even close-up view of wild young turtles rushing to the sea after hatching. Their race to the sea after hatchling’s emerging from eggshells is the most dangerous part of a turtle's life. If they do not make it to the water, they die. Many animals, including crabs and birds, prey on hatchlings. Once the hatchlings are in the water, sharks or fish may eat them. We saw four of these green turtles from naturally hatchling eggs around evening. Three of them reached the sea, and one didn't. Poor little one was the dinner of a hungry water monitor lizard.|The chance to watch them and taking photos of them at natural daylight, I must say, looks like winning lottery...