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BeachesSematan

Tanjung Datu National Park

Sarawak's smallest, remotest park — pristine coves and turtle beaches at the state's western tip.

By · Editor, I Love Sarawak

Facts checked

The bay at Telok Melano, the gateway village to Tanjung Datu
Photo: Cerevisae (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The place

At the very western tip of Sarawak, where Borneo noses into the South China Sea beside the Indonesian border, Tanjung Datu is the state's smallest national park — and many would say its most beautiful. Clear water, coral close to shore and beaches of squeaky-clean sand sit beneath hills of untouched rainforest.

Its beaches are nesting grounds for green turtles, and the neighbouring village of Telok Melano — road-connected only since the Pan Borneo Highway spur opened in 2019 — makes the classic base: a Malay fishing village with homestays, a crescent bay, and the park a boat hop or jungle walk away.

The eastern sweep of Telok Melano's bay
Photo: Cerevisae (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Waves rolling into Telok Melano from the west
Photo: Cerevisae (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Highlights

  1. Some of the clearest water and cleanest beaches in Sarawak
  2. Green turtle nesting beaches (seasonal, protected)
  3. Telok Melano village life and homestays next door
  4. Rainforest trails that end on empty coves

Getting there

Ways to reach Tanjung Datu National Park, compared
HowFromTakesCosts
DriveKuchingabout 2–2.5 hoursto Sematan
BoatSematanroughly 30–45 minutessea permitting — boats don't run in rough seas
WalkTelok Melanocontinue by road from Sematan to Telok Melano and walk into the park

Drive about 2–2.5 hours from Kuching to Sematan, then either take a boat (roughly 30–45 minutes, sea permitting) or continue by road to Telok Melano and walk into the park. Boats don't run in rough seas — the calmer months of roughly March to October are the reliable window.

Good to know

  • Standard Sarawak national-park fees apply; facilities inside the park are basic
  • Sea conditions decide everything here — landings can be impossible in the landas (monsoon) season
  • Turtle nesting areas are protected: keep distance, no lights on the beach at night

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