Lifestyle

8 Things to Do in Bintulu, Sarawak 2026 — and Why the Official List Is Sixteen Years Out of Date

Bintulu is the town most travellers drive through on the way from Miri to Sibu, and the official reason to stop has not been rewritten since 19 August 2010. That is the date printed on the Bintulu Development Authority's own Places of Interest page, which still describes the nightly pasar malam as a place to buy smuggled cigarettes and liquor. Sarawak Tourism Board's Bintulu page is current but lists only five major attractions and leaves Similajau National Park — the division's best-known park — off it entirely, while its Useful Information boxes for Kidurong Tower and Tanjung Batu Beach are empty: no hours, no fee. Similajau itself is the bigger problem: Sarawak Forestry Corporation's own page for it says repair works have the park closed to visitors, and its live registration portal will not let you book a slot. So we went to the operators themselves. Taman Tumbina, the only zoo in northern Sarawak, publishes RM2.00 for an adult and RM0.50 for a child of seven and above, 9.00am to 4.30pm daily — on a website whose copyright line still reads 2004. Here is what is actually there in 2026, what it costs where anyone will say, and what has been built since the official list was written.

Marcus Wong26 August 202611 min read

Bintulu is a working town. It sits on the central Sarawak coast between Miri and Sibu, it was a fishing village until offshore gas was found in the 1960s, and today it is one of the country's heaviest oil-and-gas nodes. Sarawak Tourism Board's own overview says as much, and then adds, almost apologetically, that it also offers natural attractions "from national parks to scenic beaches". That is the honest framing: nobody flies to Bintulu for a holiday, but a lot of people pass through it, and there is more here than the two hours most of them give it.

The problem is that the official information has aged badly. The Bintulu Development Authority — the statutory body created on 8 July 1978 to run the town's development after the gas find — publishes a Places of Interest page that is dated 19 August 2010. It is well written and still broadly accurate on geography, but it is sixteen years old. It recommends Kuala Nyalau up a road it describes as narrow, hilly, winding and partly bare soil, warns you not to drive it in heavy rain, and lists among the wares of the nightly pasar malam "smuggled cigarettes & liquors". Sarawak Tourism Board's Bintulu pages are current by contrast, but thin: five major attractions, and a Useful Information panel under each that is empty — no opening hours, no admission fee, no contact.

So this list works the other way round. Where an operator publishes something itself, we quote it. Where nobody does, we say so, because "no published fee" is useful information in its own right and is very different from "expensive".

What that turns up is a single priced attraction. Taman Tumbina publishes RM2.00 for an adult and RM0.50 for a child of seven and above or a student in school uniform, and hours of 9.00am to 4.30pm daily. That is the only admission price any Bintulu attraction publishes on its own website, and even it comes with a caveat: the site carrying it has a copyright line reading 2004 and a latest-news entry from February 2017. Similajau National Park has a price too — RM10 for a Malaysian adult — but it is set by gazette rather than by the park, and the park is not currently letting anyone in to pay it. Treat RM2 as the order of magnitude rather than a guarantee, and carry small notes.

How to plan a stop. Bintulu rewards a half day rather than an afternoon, and the sequence matters more than the list.

Morning belongs to the market. Pasar Utama and Pasar Tamu sit side by side in the middle of town and are at their best early, when the produce, the belacan and the cincaluk are moving. The upper floor of Pasar Tamu is where the cooked food and the kek lapis are.

Midday belongs to Tumbina, because it closes at 4.30pm and the hill walk to the South China Sea viewpoint is the point of going. Sixty ringgit gets a family of four in, which is close to free by Malaysian attraction standards.

Late afternoon belongs to the water. Tanjung Batu Beach and the Bintulu Promenade both face west, and the promenade — 120 acres, described by BDA as the state's longest waterfront attraction — runs by the Kemena delta near the Parkcity Everly. Since 2025 the Bintulu–Jepak Bridge crosses the river beside it, which is the single most visible thing built here since the official list was written.

Dark belongs to Kidurong. This is the recommendation that makes Bintulu Bintulu. Sarawak Tourism Board says plainly that Kidurong Tower is best shortly after dark, when the flame-offs from the refineries and processing plants at Tanjung Kidurong light the sky. It is an industrial view, and it is genuinely spectacular, and no brochure anywhere else in Malaysia sells you one.

A note on Similajau, and it is the one thing on this page that can ruin a day. It is the attraction people mean when they say Bintulu has a national park — a long golden-sand coast backed by mangrove and dipterocarp forest, roughly forty minutes up the coastal road. As at 26 August 2026 it is not admitting visitors. Sarawak Forestry Corporation's own park page for Similajau carries a notice, dated 19 December 2025 and still displayed, that repair and maintenance works are being carried out, that access is temporarily restricted, and that no visitors are allowed to enter. SFC's live visitor-registration portal says the same thing in a different way: asked for a visit today it offers Bako, Fairy Cave, Gunung Gading, Kubah, Lambir Hills, Matang Wildlife Centre, Niah, Semenggoh and Wind Cave, and Similajau is simply not on the list — even though the Sarawak Government's own service description names it as one of the parks e-ticketing covers. The price, by contrast, was never a mystery, and the RM10 figure floating around aggregator sites turns out to be the gazetted one: the Second Schedule to the National Parks and Nature Reserves (Amendment) Regulations 2010, published by the Forest Department Sarawak, prices every national park in the state at RM10 for a Malaysian adult, RM5 for a Malaysian senior citizen or disabled person, RM3 for a Malaysian child above 6 and under 18, and free for 6 and under, with non-Malaysians at RM20, RM10 and RM7. Sarawak Tourism Board does have a Similajau page — just not on its Bintulu town list — and it gives 8.00am to 5.00pm daily and a park phone of 086-314306. Phone 086-314306 or the Forest Department number BDA publishes, 086-336101, before you drive out; a reopening is unlikely to be posted anywhere you would think to look.

And two things worth building the day around if the dates fall right. Bintulu hosts the Borneo International Kite Festival, promoted on BDA's own homepage and run from its own site at borneokites.com. Check the year before you plan around it: the site states that the 19th Borneo International Kite Festival 2026 took place on 22–26 July 2026 at Bintulu Old Airport, so this year's edition is already past — the next one is a 2027 trip, and borneokites.com is where the date will appear first. And the Bintulu Golf Course, an 18-hole course BDA describes as international standard with a hilltop clubhouse looking over the South China Sea, is the town's other genuine draw for anyone who plays.

What each Bintulu attraction publishes, checked against Taman Tumbina's own website, Bintulu Development Authority, Sarawak Tourism Board, Sarawak Forestry Corporation and the Forest Department Sarawak's gazetted fee schedule on 26 August 2026. "Not published" means no official source states it, not that it is closed — Similajau is the one entry that is actually closed to visitors.

Attraction	Published fee	Published hours	Who publishes it
Taman Tumbina	RM2.00 adult / RM0.50 child 7+ and students in uniform	9.00am–4.30pm daily	Taman Tumbina's own site (copyright line reads 2004)
Similajau National Park	RM10 Malaysian adult / RM5 senior or OKU / RM3 child 7–17 / under-7 free (RM20 non-Malaysian)	8.00am–5.00pm daily — but access restricted, see note	Gazetted Second Schedule, National Parks and Nature Reserves (Amendment) Regulations 2010, via Forest Department Sarawak and Service Sarawak; hours from Sarawak Tourism Board
Tanjung Batu Beach	Free	Not published	Sarawak Tourism Board (Useful Information panel empty); BDA warns of monsoon drownings
Bintulu Promenade	Free	Not published	BDA — 120 acres, described as the state's longest waterfront
Pasar Utama & Pasar Tamu	Free to enter	Not published	BDA and Sarawak Tourism Board
Masjid Assyakirin	Free	Not published	BDA
Kidurong Tower	Not published	Not published	Sarawak Tourism Board — recommends going shortly after dark
Council Negeri Monument	Free	Open site	BDA — 1867 first legislature meeting, centenary stone 1967

Taman Tumbina — RM2 an adult, 9am to 4.30pm, and the only Bintulu gate you can currently walk through with a published price

The one attraction here you can budget for. Taman Tumbina is a combined zoological and botanical garden run by the Bintulu Development Authority, officially opened on **2 August 1991**, spread over **57 hectares** of hilly, undulating ground overlooking the South China Sea, Bintulu town centre and the Tanjung Kidurong industrial estate. The name is a compound of the Malay words *tumbuhan* (plant) and *binatang* (animal), and the park describes its vision as a living heritage of the flora and fauna of Borneo, with objectives of recreation, tourism, education, conservation and research. Its own visitor page publishes **entrance at RM2.00 per adult and RM0.50 for children aged 7 years and above and students in school uniform**, **opening hours of 9.00am to 4.30pm daily**, and a special group rate available to parties who write or email at least **two working days** before visiting. BDA's own description calls it the only zoo in the northern region of Sarawak and notes that most visitors come for the jungle trekking and the hill climb — the view from the top is the reason to walk it rather than drive past it. Contact is **086-337709**, through the Bintulu Development Authority at Wisma Bintulu, No. 1, Jalan Tanjung Kidurong. **Read the price with care:** the website carrying it has a copyright line reading 2004 and a latest-news entry dated 24 February 2017, and third-party listings currently claim both RM3 per person and free entry with donations. Carry small notes and confirm at the gate.

Photo: Bintulu Development Authority official website (bda.gov.my)

Similajau National Park — RM10 an adult under the gazette, but SFC says no visitors are being let in

The reason people who know Bintulu stop here — and, as of this update, the reason to phone before you drive. Similajau runs along the coast north-east of town, roughly forty minutes up the coastal road, and its draw is a long beach of genuinely gold-coloured sand backed by mangrove and dipterocarp forest. Bintulu Development Authority's description is characteristically direct: a park of golden beach — "it's really gold in colour" — and very harsh mangrove woods, with a hike deep into the jungle to reach the true Golden Beach. **The access problem comes first.** Sarawak Forestry Corporation's own park page for Similajau carries a notice, dated 19 December 2025 and still displayed, that **repair and maintenance works are being carried out, access to the park is temporarily restricted and no visitors are allowed to enter**. That is corroborated by SFC's live visitor-registration portal at selfregister.sarawakforestry.com: asked for a visit on 26 August 2026, it offers nine locations — Bako, Fairy Cave, Gunung Gading, Kubah, Lambir Hills, Matang Wildlife Centre, Niah, Semenggoh and Wind Cave — and **Similajau cannot be selected**, even though the Sarawak Government's own service listing names Similajau as one of the parks the e-ticketing service covers. **The price, though, is settled, and it is not an aggregator's guess.** Sarawak's park entrance fees are gazetted in the Second Schedule to the **National Parks and Nature Reserves (Amendment) Regulations 2010**, made under the National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance 1998, and published by the Forest Department Sarawak. Similajau is a national park, so the National Park column applies: **RM10.00 for a Malaysian adult, RM5.00 for a Malaysian senior citizen or disabled person, RM3.00 for a Malaysian child above 6 and under 18, free for 6 and under**; non-Malaysians pay **RM20.00, RM10.00 and RM7.00** on the same tiers. Sarawak Tourism Board's own Similajau page gives **8.00am to 5.00pm daily**, the Golden Beach Trail at 9km and the Turtle Beach Trail at 6km, April to September as the better window, and a park telephone of **086-314306**; BDA separately publishes a Forest Department number of **086-336101**. There is no accommodation to book — Similajau does not appear on the state eBooking portal, which handles lodging for Bako, Gunung Gading, Kubah, Lambir Hills, Loagan Bunut, Matang Wildlife Centre, Piasau and Taman Perpaduan. **Ring 086-314306 or 086-336101 before you commit the forty minutes**, and note that entry, when it reopens, requires pre-registration and a MyKad, MyKid or passport at the gate.

Photo: Paul White, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tanjung Batu Beach — free, sandy and rocky at once, and BDA's own page warns about the monsoon

Bintulu's everyday beach, and the one place in town where the whole population turns up at 6pm. Tanjung Batu sits a short drive west of the centre and its defining feature is that sand and rock sit side by side — which is where the name comes from, glossed by Bintulu Development Authority as "rocky isthmus". BDA describes it as the place where people in Bintulu jog and stroll along the beach or the road with their families, and where they sunbathe. Sarawak Tourism Board's page adds the practical part: it is a popular recreational and picnic spot with plenty of food and drink stalls along the strip, with fresh coconut juice a common order. There are picnic areas and a children's playground. **No admission fee and no published opening hours** — Sarawak Tourism Board's Useful Information panel for the beach is blank, as it is for every Bintulu attraction on that site. **The line worth taking seriously** is BDA's own: beware the coastline during monsoon season, as there have been drowning cases annually. That is a government body warning about its own town's main beach, and it is the sort of sentence that gets edited out of tourism copy elsewhere. Come for the sunset — the view west takes in the cargo ships waiting off the LNG terminal, which is a more honest picture of Bintulu than any postcard — and treat the water as scenery rather than a swimming pool.

Photo: Acapbob123, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Bintulu Promenade — 120 acres on the Kemena, with a 2025 bridge the official list has never heard of

The town's best free walk, and the clearest illustration of how out of date the official page is. Bintulu Development Authority introduces the promenade as "the latest attraction to Bintulu" — **120 acres**, described as **the state's longest waterfront attraction**, similar in intent to Kuching's, and strategically located near the delta of the Kemena River beside the Parkcity Everly Hotel. It is a commercial and recreational park in one, and BDA's suggested use of it is exactly right: a relaxing stroll, the sunset, and the evening breeze off the river. What that 2010 description cannot tell you is what now stands beside it. **The Bintulu–Jepak Bridge opened in 2025**, a cable-stayed crossing of the Kemena that gives the town a second road link into the centre and, incidentally, the most photogenic structure in the division — a pair of tall ochre pylons that you drive straight through. Between the promenade boardwalk, the river mouth and the bridge, this is the stretch of Bintulu that has changed most in the last decade and the one the official literature covers least. Free, open, and best in the ninety minutes before sunset when the light comes off the water and the boats are coming back up the Kemena. Park at the promenade end near the hotel and walk out; the boardwalk runs long enough to be a proper walk rather than a photo stop.

Photo: Anwarul, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pasar Utama & Pasar Tamu — belacan, cincaluk and the kek lapis counter by the stairs

The most-visited spot in Bintulu according to the town's own development authority, and the one thing here you should not skip. The two markets sit side by side in the middle of town under the distinctive blue roofs, and BDA's description of them is the best guide anyone has written: they are divided into many parts, each for a different type of trade — fruit; **belacan** (shrimp paste) and **cincaluk** (fermented shrimp); a wet section for fish and seafood; vegetables; and basic commodities. They are visited by rural folk and tourists alike, which is exactly what a working market should be. Two specific instructions from BDA are worth following. First, **the upper floor of Pasar Tamu is where the local delicacies are** — that is where you eat rather than shop. Second, on that same upper floor near the staircases there is a souvenir shop selling inexpensive handicrafts and the famous **kek lapis**, Sarawak's layered cake. BDA is emphatic that Bintulu belacan and cincaluk are the things to carry home, and that the traditional, natural processing is why people keep coming back for them — pack them well, because both are pungent enough to make a car journey memorable. Go early, when the produce is moving and the wet section has just been washed down. Free to enter, no published hours, and the closest thing Bintulu has to a town square.

Photo: Cerevisae, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Masjid Assyakirin — the red-and-white mosque with a man-made waterfall

Bintulu's landmark building, and a five-minute stop that is worth the detour on the way between the market and the beach. The Bintulu Mosque is named **Masjid Assyakirin**, which Bintulu Development Authority translates as "Gratefulness to God", and its own description calls it a uniquely designed and structurally modern mosque with its intrinsic spiritual value preserved. The architecture is unmistakable in a Malaysian mosque: a deep red façade framed in white, three ribbed domes over the prayer hall, an arched portal filled with white geometric screens, and a slim white minaret standing separately to one side. What BDA singles out is the grounds rather than the building — a **man-made cascading waterfall adorned with crafted fountains**, landscaped with flowers and plants, and its recommendation is simply to walk up to it, which it describes as a spiritual and soothing experience. It sits in the middle of town, surrounded on both sides by residential blocks, on a rise with a lawn in front of it, which makes it easy to photograph from the road without intruding on anyone at prayer. **No fee and no published visiting hours.** As at any working mosque in Malaysia, dress modestly, avoid the five prayer times if you are visiting rather than praying, and ask at the office before entering the prayer hall — robes are usually available for visitors at the door.

Photo: M. Adrian Jurhami, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Menara Kidurong — go after dark, when the refinery flares light the sky

The single most Bintulu thing you can do, and the one recommendation the state tourism board gives with real conviction. Kidurong Tower stands at **Tanjung Kidurong**, on the industrial edge of town about fifteen kilometres from the centre, on Jalan Tanjung Kidurong. Sarawak Tourism Board describes it as a small observation tower offering views of Bintulu's oil and gas facilities and structures, and then adds the instruction that makes the trip: **it is best to go shortly after dark, when the flame-offs from the refineries and processing facilities make an awe-inspiring sight.** That is a state tourism agency telling you to come and look at a petrochemical complex at night — and it is right. Tanjung Kidurong is the site of the LNG plant and power station complex that turned a fishing village into an industrial town, and seeing it lit is the fastest way to understand what Bintulu is for. The tower itself is a distinctive structure, a stack of stepped circular decks with a flying-saucer viewing platform on top, visible from a distance across the industrial estate. **No admission fee and no opening hours are published** — Sarawak Tourism Board's Useful Information panel for it is blank, and no operator publishes a contact — so treat access as uncertain and have the promenade or the beach as a fallback if the tower itself is closed when you arrive. Even from the base and the surrounding road, the after-dark view is the point.

Photo: Richard W Sinyem, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Council Negeri Monument — where Sarawak's legislature met for the first time, in 1867

The reason Bintulu appears in Malaysian constitutional history, and a two-minute stop most visitors drive past without knowing what it is. Bintulu was the site of **the first-ever meeting of what became the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, held in 1867** — the oldest state legislature in Malaysia. Bintulu Development Authority's account is specific: **Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak, was in the chair**, and with him sat **five of his British officers and sixteen Malay and Melanau members**, which the authority describes as marking a new era in the conduct of the affairs of the state. The site was marked with **a centenary stone in 1967**, on the hundredth anniversary of the meeting, and the monument was **improved in 1987 to add a clock tower and a fountain**; the fountain was **fenced in November 1998** for safety and appearance. BDA notes that visitors will find it on the way into the heart of Bintulu town, which is exactly where it is — an open, unstaffed civic monument you can walk up to at any hour, free. It is worth the two minutes for the arithmetic alone: a legislature that first sat with twenty-one men present in a coastal village, in a state that would not join Malaysia for another ninety-six years. Read the plaque, then walk on to the market — the two are minutes apart.

Photo: Cerevisae, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Taman Tumbina cost, and is it really free now?

The park's own website publishes RM2.00 per adult and RM0.50 for children aged seven years and above and students in school uniform, with opening hours of 9.00am to 4.30pm daily and a special group rate available if you write or email at least two working days before the visit. That is the only official figure available for the park, and it is the one this article uses. It comes with a real caveat: the page carrying it sits on a site whose copyright line reads 2004 and whose latest news item is dated 24 February 2017, so it is possible the gate price has moved without the website following. Third-party travel listings currently circulate two contradictory claims — that entry costs RM3 per person, and that entry has been free with donations accepted since the Bintulu Development Authority took over operations. Neither appears on the park's own site. Carry RM10 in small notes, expect RM2 to RM3 a head, and treat any online figure as indicative. The park runs to 57 hectares of hilly ground with a South China Sea viewpoint at the top, and the phone number published for it is 086-337709.

Is Similajau National Park open in 2026, and what does it cost?

As at 26 August 2026, the answer to the first half is no. Sarawak Forestry Corporation's own page for Similajau National Park carries a notice, dated 19 December 2025 and still live, stating that repair and maintenance works are being carried out, that access to the park is temporarily restricted, and that no visitors are allowed to enter. SFC's live visitor-registration portal agrees: asked for a visit today it offers nine locations — Bako, Fairy Cave, Gunung Gading, Kubah, Lambir Hills, Matang Wildlife Centre, Niah, Semenggoh and Wind Cave — and Similajau is not selectable, although the Sarawak Government's own service listing names Similajau among the parks the e-ticketing service covers. The cost, by contrast, is not in doubt and never was an aggregator's number. Sarawak's entrance fees are gazetted in the Second Schedule to the National Parks and Nature Reserves (Amendment) Regulations 2010 and published by the Forest Department Sarawak: for any national park, a Malaysian adult pays RM10.00, a Malaysian senior citizen or disabled person RM5.00, a Malaysian child above 6 and under 18 RM3.00, and children 6 and under go free; non-Malaysians pay RM20.00, RM10.00 and RM7.00 on the same tiers. Sarawak Tourism Board's Similajau page lists opening hours of 8.00am to 5.00pm daily and a park telephone of 086-314306; BDA publishes a Forest Department number of 086-336101. There is no accommodation to book — Similajau is absent from the state eBooking portal. Ring before you drive: a reopening will not necessarily be announced on the page that carries the closure.

What has changed in Bintulu since the official attraction list was written?

The most visible single change is the Bintulu–Jepak Bridge, which opened in 2025 and gives the town a second road link across the Kemena River into the town centre — it cannot appear on a page dated 19 August 2010. The Bintulu Promenade, described on that same page as the town's newest attraction at 120 acres and the state's longest waterfront, is now a mature park rather than a new one. Sarawak Forestry Corporation's website has moved to sfc.sarawak.gov.my. Bintulu Development Authority's own homepage now leads with Taman Tumbina and the Borneo International Kite Festival, and carries a strategic plan running to 2030, none of which the 2010 page reflects. What has not visibly changed is the shape of a visit: the market, the zoo, the beach, the waterfront and the tower are the same five things they were, and the official page's descriptions of them still read true. Use the 2010 page for orientation and geography, and check anything with a price, an opening time or a road condition attached against a current source.

Is Bintulu worth a stop between Miri and Sibu?

Worth a half day, and the half day is best built around two fixed points rather than a long list. The first is Taman Tumbina, because it is the only attraction here that is both open to visitors and publishes its hours — 9.00am to 4.30pm daily — and closing time is what constrains the day; at RM2 an adult it is also the cheapest zoo admission you are likely to pay in Malaysia. The second is Kidurong Tower after dark, which is the one thing in Bintulu that exists nowhere else: Sarawak Tourism Board's own description recommends going shortly after nightfall for the view of flame-offs from the refineries and processing plants at Tanjung Kidurong. Between those two, the market in the morning and the promenade or Tanjung Batu Beach late in the afternoon fill the day without any admission charge at all. Similajau's coast is normally the reason people who know Bintulu stop here, but leave it out of the plan for now: Sarawak Forestry Corporation's own page says repair works have the park closed to visitors, and its registration portal will not issue a slot — confirm on 086-314306 before you build a day around it. What Bintulu is not is a beach holiday: BDA's own page warns of drowning cases at Tanjung Batu during the monsoon season, and the swimming here is not the attraction.

#Bintulu#Sarawak#things to do#East Malaysia#Similajau#Taman Tumbina#travel#Borneo#attractions#Kidurong

Share:Facebook WhatsApp Telegram X (Twitter)

LifestylePutrajaya

Putrajaya's Parks and Sports Facilities 2026: The Netball Court Is Free, the Football Field at Night Is RM200

10 Sept 202610 min read

Lifestyle

Dying Without a Will in Malaysia 2026: Your Spouse Does Not Get Everything, and Sabah Uses a Different Rulebook

9 Sept 202611 min read

LifestyleKuala Lumpur

Nursing Home Prices in KL and the Klang Valley 2026: The Room Moves the Bill Five Times Further Than the Illness

9 Sept 202612 min read