Borneo Tropical Island Vacation at Pulau Tiga Survivor Island

Pulau Tiga is an excellent spot for a one-of-its-kind tropical island vacation in Borneo. Pulau Tiga's endless stretch of white sandy beach offers a perfect island beaches and tropical retreat vacation. Since accommodations at the current time are still limited, you can be guaranteed of a relaxed and tranquil tropical island vacation.



Pulau Tiga means "Island of Three" in English as three islands actually make up Pulau Tiga Marine Park. They are Pulau Tiga itself, and two adjacent uninhabited islands of Pulau Kalampunian Damit or better known nowadays as Snake Island and Pulau Kalampunian Besar. Pulau Tiga is one of the more popular islands in Borneo courtesy of the CBS Reality Show "Survivor I", which was conducted and filmed there in 2000. Today, Pulau Tiga is also commonly known as Survivor Island.

If you are an ardent fan of the Survivor series, a visit to Survivor Island is a chance to relive the first Survivor series as some of the props utilising local and imported materials created for the show are still there. You may tend to imagine yourself as one of the contestants marooned on Pulau Tiga with Richard, Rudy, Kelly, Susan, Jenna and the rest of the gang. Your every move being filmed by television cameras. Your challenge is to be the last one standing after 39 days and win the 1 million dollars prize...

Back to reality for a second... There is no $1 million on offer and Jeff Probst won't be around to sent you home. Furthermore, You don't need 39 days to fully explore Pulau Tiga. It is only a tiny island about 4.5 km (2.8 miles) long and 1.5 km (1 mile) wide. A day or two will be sufficient. Check out Pagong Beach on the northeast side of the island and Tagi Beach on the southeast side of the island (which are names of the Survivor Tribes) as well as where the Tribal Council was located during the show, somewhere in the middle between both Pagong and Tagi beaches. You can even try out Survivor-style competitions at the island (subject to availability) or buy Survivor T-shirts as a proof that you "survived" Survivor Island.

Also, you may want to check out the Sand Spit, the beautiful white silver of land about 1.6 km (or a mile) from Pulau Tiga where a number of the land and sea based challenges were held. While you are there, you might as well hop over to the nearby Snake Island to catch a sight of banded sea snakes. It is advisable not to swim across to Snake Island unless you are insured by CBS. At Snake Island, be careful to lean or sit on the rocks as sea snakes may be hidden in between. There will be an additonal charge incurred if you plan to visit the Snake Island from Pulau Tiga.

But Pulau Tiga is more than just for the hardcore Survivor fan. The island is in fact, a unique tropical island paradise on its own right. There is always something to do whether action or relaxation is what you seek. The island is believed to have been formed by the eruption of several mud volcanoes triggered firstly by a large earthquake on the Philippine island of Mindanao in 1897. The eruption of mud and rock is said to have formed a new island 20 meters (66 feet) wide. Over the next 40 years or so, the island was expanded and formed into its current size thanks to subsequent mud volcano eruptions.

There is no significant eruptions since then. The only volcanoes the current generation knows about at Pulau Tiga is the loosely-termed "mud volcanoes". Not the eruptive kind but a pool of bubbling mud from deep inside the earth. The mud volcano was actually made famous by the TV show where one Survivor tribe had a volcano mud bath. But for visitors, many think that a soak in the pool of volcanic mud will cleanse and beautify your skin. It will make them look younger. You can be the judge to this claim when you submerge yourself inside the "mud volcano".

Since it is a Marine Park, the natural environment, flora and fauna and coral reef-filled sea at Pulau Tiga are well protected. There are several species of mammals, numerous birds (including the very rare megapode), a variety of reptiles and amphibians and hundreds of species of insects can be found on Pulau Tiga making it truly wild tropical island. But the island is not as wild as it appeared in Survivor I. Producers of the show actually rented non-indigenous animals such as tarantulas and lizards from Hollywood to make Pulau Tiga seemed more "dangerous" for the filming. So, there is no need to worry about giant tarantulas creeping from behind your back.

You can enjoy a nature trek around the island, which has a network of trails of about 11 km (7 miles) in total length. It is easy to trek or hike through the island. Popular trails include the Larai-Larai Trail (2,800m) and the Pagong-Pagong Trail (1,200m), which proceed to the mud volcanoes.

As for the waters, the surrounding coral reef-filled sea is excellent for water activities such as swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving and other sea sports. Water visibility within the beautiful reefs is recorded to be in the range of 6 metres to 20 metres. With marine life in abundance here (more than 130 species in the park including nudibranchs, bamboo sharks, cuttlefish, marbled stingray), you can snorkel and dive among a kaleidoscope of colors.

There are also excellent facilities at Pulau Tiga for a tropical picnic. Facilities for BBQ and sun bathing with complete shelter and toilet facilities are available at the island. If you are visiting Pulau Tiga for a day trip, you will need to pre-arrange your food and beverages with Pulau Tiga Resort, the only resort in the island, as they service in-house guest only. But if you follow a tour package, then your tour operator would have taken care of that.

OVERNIGHT STAY: A day trip may not be sufficient for a true Tropical Island or Survivor enthusiast. You wouldn't be able to enjoy this marvellous island to the fullest if you did not spent a night or two. There is currently only one established private resort on the island, Pulau Tiga Resort, in addition to the Sabah Park's resthouse-type acommodations (note: there is another private accommodation provider but its chalet-type rooms are only targeted to be in operation in early 2006).

Pulau Tiga Resort provides chalet-type accommodations ranging from Standard to Superior air-conditioned rooms. There are also a restaurant, a bar called the Survivor Bar, a Game Room, and an Audio Room. A wide range of water sports activities are also offered by the Resort including snorkelling, diving, fishing, and such water kayaking, banana boating, jet skiing.

For scuba diving, Pulau Tiga Resort also offers PADI dive courses operated by Sipadan Dive Centre for for the novice. Experienced divers can explore the many dive sites around the island including some unexplored dive locations. You do not need to bring your own diving equipments to the island as dive as well as snorkelling equipments can be rented from the Resort.

Although a vacation at Pulau Tiga is possible at any time of the year, the best time is during the relatively drier months of March to July. However, due to the Greenhouse effect, the rainy season (or Monsoon) is harder to predict nowadays. As accommodations are limited, it is advisable that you make a reservation well in advance. A special permit to visit Pulau Tiga is also necessary. You can arrange this through the Sabah Parks office in Kota Kinabalu. Best that you arrange your trip through a travel company so that everything will be taken care and in order.

GETTING THERE: Pulau Tiga is located about 10 km (6 miles) offshore of Sabah near Kuala Penyu town on the tip of the Klias Peninsula. If you are in Kota Kinabalu, it will take about 90 minutes by road followed by a 20-30 minutes powerboat trip from town (a sub-district of Kuala Penyu) to the island and its marine park. If you are in Labuan, you can take the ferry to Menumbok and then the speedboat to Pulau Tiga. Alternatively, you can also charter a speedboat from Kota Kinabalu or Labuan.

Daily Standard Boat Transfer Schedule