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Lankayan Island Resort

A jewel like tiny island in the Sulu Sea, and an hour and a half boat rides north of Sandakan, Lankayan has been declared part of an immense Marine Protected Area. Unpopulated and covered by thick tropical island vegetation on its topside, this peaceful, untouched little bit of paradise is ringed by an endless pure of white sandy beach, offering simply elegant and exquisite accommodation in a handful of wooden, roomy and perfectly appointed seafront double-occupancy chalets.

Meals are informally served at the central open building, which boasts an amazing beautiful open-air wooden terrace, the ideal spot for after dinner relaxation and chatting, all the while admiring the dozens of juvenile blacktip sharks swimming leisurely a few feet beneath.

While the ideal destination for those who search for tranquility and relaxation in a virgin natural setting and for families with children, Lankayan Island is also one of the hottest diving destination on the map today: its dive sites - all just a few minutes away - boasting unbelievable colourful macro, fauna, fascinating wrecks and, in season from March to May, regular sightings of gigantic and harmless whale sharks, the "dream date " of every diver in the world.

Facilities

Lankayan Island is a small island fully covered with tropical vegetation, featuring tall casuarinas trees and the ubiquitous pandan screwpine. The island is pristine as not having suffered human occupation for long, and has some interesting fauna subjects.

Despite the remoteness we are proud to offer all the amenities of a tropical resort. Visitors stay in bungalows, made out of local wooden materials to blend into the natural surroundings. Twin/triple sharing bungalows are available. Our chalets are well appointed, with hot bath and fresh water from mainland. Power is available with 220 V or 110 V. All chalets offer direct access to the beach. Internet access is available at the resort's main building. It is open daily from 0800hrs to 2300hrs. 

We have chalets and standard apartment rooms on Lankayan. Deluxe Apartment rooms are 10% cheaper.

After a dive, the place for relaxation is the upper lounge which overlooks the western beach and jetty. Here, the tourist can enjoy some sun while sipping to their chilled tropical drinks. A TV room is also available for viewing the day's video shots or other footages. A small over the counter shop offers film, batteries, and toiletries for sale.

Latest News Update

Lankayan Island Dive Resort currently has 24 Beach Chalets. Commencing 1st April 2019, we will have Chalets on stilt (referred as Water Chalets), a total of 9 tastefully Water Chalets, all with a private sundeck and bathroom will be fully completed and will be added into our line of products at Lankayan Island.

All new Water Chalets have absolute sea views, come with a range of standard facilities to make your stay comfortable, built nearby the resort main building and restaurant.

Diving

Lankayan Island is a true Macro world paradise. Saved are large stretches of beautiful hard and soft corals belonging to numerous genera, among which are multitudes of macro world subjects and juvenile fishes, colorful to the extreme.

It is possible that some of the species found here are yet to be described. Pelagic also abound here, from large schools of scads, yellow tail barracudas, jacks, and many more. The many schools of medium to large hump head parrotfish are always an exciting encounter. Sometimes, the diver is lucky enough to meet large rays, guitarfish and even manatees.For those more inclined towards the smaller denizens of the reefs, there are numerous juvenile fishes, clown anemone fishes, decorator and spider crabs, coral shrimps, nudibranchs, prawn gobies and abundant of rarer subjects such as jawfish, ornate ghost pipefish and frogfish.

Lankayan Island is a true Macro world paradise. Saved are large stretches of beautiful hard and soft corals belonging to numerous genera, among which are multitudes of macro world subjects and juvenile fishes, colorful to the extreme.It is possible that some of the species found here are yet to be described. Pelagic also abound here, from large schools of scads, yellow tail barracudas, jacks, and many more. The many schools of medium to large hump head parrotfish are always an exciting encounter. Sometimes, the diver is lucky enough to meet large rays, guitarfish and even manatees.

For those more inclined towards the smaller denizens of the reefs, there are numerous juvenile fishes, clown anemone fishes, decorator and spider crabs, coral shrimps, nudibranchs, prawn gobies and abundant of rarer subjects such as jawfish, ornate ghost pipefish and frogfish.Divers are sure to appreciate the remaining large stretches of unspoiled lettuce, staghorn and other hard corals as well as the many varieties of soft corals, feather stars, sponges, sea fans etc. The many different types of anemones and their different partners, the clown anemone fish, shrimp and porcelain crabs are a definite sight.

We have four totally different wrecks home to abundant of fishes large and small. Our "Lankayan Wreck" was an ocean going fish poaching vessel appropriately demised in the area of its illegal activities. It is now the base of numerous fishes, from small cardinals and yellow pikes to large groupers, cobias and emperors. A very impressive site and at only 23 meters. Look out for the ornate ghost pipefish here.