About Labuan

Geography - Climate and Weather

Labuan is located on the east of Malaysia. It has a tropical climate like the rest of the parts of Malaysia. Labuan experiences two annual monsoon seasons which are the South West monsoon which takes place from April to June and the North East monsoon which happens from September to December. Its climate is hot and humid all year round without hurricanes or typhoons. The temperature in Labuan ranges around 28 to 32 degrees Celsius.

Overview

Shopping Guide

The highlight in Labuan is the Duty Free Shopping. You can enjoy duty free shopping at the many stores found on the island. These stores carry a large range of products which are both found locally and imported. Shopping can be done either at the larger and air-condition equipped stores or at the smaller stores which are located at the downtown. Most visitors come to Labuan to shop for textiles. There are also readymade garments for sale. Visitors will be spoilt for choices when they see the collections of bags, accessories, shoes and many more.

Besides garments, there are also sweet delights like imported chocolates, biscuits and candy. There are also electronic gadgets of numerous brands found here. Duty free outlets also sell products like cosmetics, perfume, skincare, leather goods and many more at lower prices. However, you will need to survey on the prices before you make your purchase.

Dining / Restaurant

Labuan is famous for its fresh and reasonably priced seafood. There are many places where you can get your hands on such seafood in Labuan. The more popular places to dine for fresh seafood would be at the Mawilla seafood restaurant, Anjung Ketam and The Grill Restaurant.

Activities

There are plenty to do in Labuan. One of the main tourist attractions in Labuan is the Labuan Bird Park. The bird park is a fantastically landscaped garden complete with paths for tourists to walk on. This truly is a relaxing and enjoyable place to visit as you can stroll at the garden while watching the birds at the park. The Labuan Bird Park is the home to many species of birds which are indigenous to Borneo.

Another place tourists should visit is the Labuan Square. At the Labuan Square are houses of colonial designs located in front of the Town Padang. There are four old Flame of the Forest trees which were planted by the Chinese, Indian, Malay and European communities in Labuan back in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 11. There is an interesting granite slab with inscriptions done by sailors on Captain Rodney Mundy's ship 'Iris' on route to Labuan from Hong Kong. It was intended for the handing over ceremony of Labuan by the Bruneis. During the Japanese Occupation, it was tossed aside by the Japanese but was later retrieved and remounted. It is amazingly in good condition despite all this.

The Peace Park is located near to Surrender Point where the 32nd Japanese Southern Army surrendered to the 9th Australian Imperial Forces on the 9th September 1945. The Peace Park was built in order to commemorate the horrors of the war. The park is occupied by the memorial mount that is surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens.

Accommodation

Labuan offers various hotels for visitors. The hotels range from various prices thus it depends on your budget when deciding where you want to stay.

Transport

The best transport to use in Labuan would be by car however, there are other public transports in Labuan such as the bus and taxi.