Tawau

Tawau is town located in Sabah and it is  the capital of Tawau District as well as Sabah’s third largest town after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. Tawau is located on the Semporna Peninsula in the southeast coast of Sabah and is the administrive centre of Tawau Division. It borders Sulu sea on the east, Celebes sea on the south and shares a border with North Kalimantan.

Getting to Tawau is easy via road, air and sea. The only route that connects Tawau to other parts of Sabah is the Pan Borneo Highway. Getting around in the town is a breeze as you can rent a car and drive around town, hail a taxi or take the local bus. Long-distance expresses buses are also available. If you choose to get to Tawau by flight, Tawau Airport has regular direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Besides, there are daily ferry services from northeastern Kalimantan.

Tawau Hospital is the town’s main hospital and it is further complemented by numerous public health clinics and village clinics serving the medical needs of those from Semporna, Lahad Datu, Kunak and Sandakan. The Tawau Specialist Polyclinics (TSPC) is a walk-in healthcare clinic which offers a range of specialist services and radiology services and serves the medical needs of those from Tawau and its surrounding areas as well as neighbouring Indonesia and Philippines. Meanwhile, Tawau Specialist Hospital is the town’s only private hospital.

The town’s main economic activities are timber, cocoa, palm oil plantations and prawn farming. Besides that, tourism, eco-tourism and fishing are also a major contributor to its economy. Some of Malaysia’s largest listed palm oil companies like Sime Darby, TSH Resources, and KLK owns plantations here in Tawau and its surroundings area. These industries provides ample investments and work opportunities for both locals and foreigners alike.

As far as education is concerned, Tawau offers ample educational opportunities through its many schools such as public schools like Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kobota, Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Tawau, SM St Patrick and SMK Tawau. In addition, private school such as Sekolah Tinggi Cina  Sabah (Sabah Chinese High School) are also good options to consider. For tertiary education, there the Tawau Teachers Training Institute, a teachers training college, as well as Tawau Community College.

Since Tawau is surrounded by abundant water and nature, it is a haven for those who enjoy outdoor recreational activities, many of which are popular with visitors and locals. Amongst these are Teck Guan Cocoa Musuem, Columnar Basalt Basung Cocos, Tawau Hotspring,Bukit Gemok, Tawau Tanjung Markets and Tawau Hills National Park which is great for trekking. Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai and Mataking islands are not too far away from Tawau and good for diving. For those into golfing, head to the Tawau Golf Club, Kubota Golf & Country Club and Shan Shui Golf & Country Club while the Kubota Driving Range is also within close distance from town to practice your swings. Besides that, there is also a sports complex in town where one for badminton, tennis, volleyball and basketball.

For shopping, do visit Eastern Plaza and Sabindo Plaza, both of which offers an array of retail, entertainment, food and services options. Additionally, there are several supermarkets in town which that carry a wide range of products such as Tai Yang Supermarket,MIBO Supermarket, Gemilang Supermarket, One Stop Supermarket and City Freshmart while for fresh produce head on to Tawau Tanjung Market which houses some 6,000 stalls and is Malaysia’s largest indoor market and the older Pasar Besar Tawau.

Tawau is famous for its fresh seafood and coffee shops that offers authentic local Malay and Chinese food. Some popular eateries patronised by locals include Indo Café, Restoran Haji Tamrin which serves Tawau’s best Nasi Kuning,  Kedai Kopi Hing Lee known for their Pork Noodles, Union Tea House and their The C is a must try as well as the many traditional coffee shops around Jalan Kuhana and Jalan Budi which the locals call as Yam Char street for the many eateries available here for lunch and tea.

Some of the places of worship which the local goes include the Guan Yin Temple Muhibbah, Tawau Baptist Church Masjid Habib Abd Rahman and Gereja Bethany Tawau amongst others.

Properties in Tawau are mostly leasehold and affordable for both investment and own-stay with median price of RM 292,500 or median price psf of RM 255 based on data from February 2019- December 2019. Currently there are more than 74 projects to choose from in Tawau like Ria Heights, Residensi Ranggu and Kuhara Court.

Buying, selling, or investing property is a very big decision. Even moving to your desired location can sometimes be very emotional. Using data from more than 19 listings in Tawau, PropertyGuru aim to help you make the right decisions on selecting property, by providing you helpful news and property statistics such as median and growth in the area, but also our opinion on local neighborhood area.