Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with other travellers at the park and share a boat back to Bako Bazaar, your return voucher
- valid whether you come back the same day or overnight at the park - is theoretically re-
imbursable. Changing your return time is easy: just phone your boatman's mobile phone
(it's a good idea to note his boat number as well).
Most day trippers try to get back to Bako Bazaar by 4.15pm to catch the 4.30pm bus to
Kuching (the 5.30pm bus is not 100% reliable). Note: buses have been known to leave a
few minutes before their scheduled departure time.
When the tide is low, boats may not be able to approach the jetty at Telok Assam so you
may have to wade ashore. Boatmen may insist on an early afternoon return time to beat a
late afternoon low tide - but bold outboard jockeys have been known to make the trip
back to Bako Bazaar even at the lowest of tides.
From late November to February or March, the sea is often rough.
Bus
Bright red bus 1 (RM3.50) leaves from 6 Jln Khoo Hun Yeang in Kuching (in front of
Toko Minuman Jumbo buffet restaurant), right across the street from the food stalls of the
Open-Air Market. Departures from Kuching are every hour on the hour 7am to 5pm, and
from Bako Bazaar every hour on the half-hour from 6.30am to (usually) 5.30pm. If you
miss the last bus, ask around the village for a minibus or private car (RM40) to Kuching.
In Kuching, bus 1 also picks up passengers at stops along the waterfront, on the river
side of the street; motion to the driver to stop. These include bus shelters on Jln Gambier
across the street from the Brooke Memorial; across the street from 15 Main Bazaar, next
to the Chinese Museum; on Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman next to the 7-Eleven in the River-
side Suites; and on Jln Abell in front of Alliance Bank, a block northwest of the Lime
Tree Hotel.
Taxi
A cab from Kuching to Bako Bazaar (45 minutes) costs RM40.
Santubong Peninsula
Like Bako National Park 8km to the east, the Santubong Peninsula (also known as Damai)
is a 10km-long finger of land jutting out into the South China Sea. The main drawcards
are the longhouses of the Sarawak Cultural Village, some beaches, jungle walks, a golf
