As Sabah is a popular tourist destination, there are various ways to get into the state. While it is only connected by land through Brunei, Sarawak and Indonesia, for those who are from Peninsular, the only way to get to Sabah would be to fly there.

Served by the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, it is the major airport here for national carrier Malaysia Airlines and budget airline Airasia. Most large cities in around Malaysia is connected to Sabah via this airport. this being so, it is also connected to other international destinations like Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, Macau, Manila and Guangzhou. One could also fly in using other airlines like Silkair from Singapore, Royal Brunei Airlines, Dragonair from Hong Kong and Asiana from Seoul.

For those travelling by road, one would have to come in through Merapok near Lawas in Sarawak, otherwise from other Sarawak cities like Miri, it would take about a day’s drive to get to Kota Kinabalu.

Using boats, it is possible to get to Labuan from Kota Kinabalu and Sipitang. From Zamboanga, there are boats the comes and goes from Mindanao to Sandakan while There is a daily ferry service that operates between Nunukan and Tawau.

In the state, one of the best way to get around the towns and cities is to fly via budget airlines AirAsia that connects capital Kota Kinabalu with Sandakan and Tawau, while MASWings, links Kudat, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Kota Kinabalu and Tawau.

For the more adventurous, self driving is possible although it is never recommended as the roads might not be in the best possible shape. One could opt for the long distance express buses though as there are daily services available to and from The Kota Kinabalu Bus Terminal.

There is a small rail way line that connects Kota Kinabalu with Beaufort before going into Tenom. It is one of the oldest train rail networks and the only one in the Borneo island. although it looks very old and vintage, upgrades have already been in place and is safer compared to the older years.