Sandakan is a starting point for ecotourism destinations such as the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary,Turtle Islands Park, Kinabatangan River and Gomantong Caves.

Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of Malaysia’s Kedah state, but are adjacent to the Thai border. By far the largest of the islands is the eponymous Pulau Langkawi with a population of some 45,000. The island is a declared duty-free zone.