Kota Kinabalu is the capital of the state of Sabah on Borneo. With an estimated population of 532,129 in the city and 700,000 in the urban area, it is the largest urban centre in Sabah and the sixth largest in Malaysia. It is located close to Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South-East Asia.

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 about 45,000. The island is a declared duty-free zone.

The peak season is from December to March when moonson at the eastcoast shuts down most of the Islands there (Perhentian etc.). This makes Langkawi a good island alternative during that time period. Generally though, Langkawi can be visited all year around.

Largest island of Malaysias east coast. It’s located 32km off the coast and is some 20km long and 12km wide and the highest peak is Gunung Kajang with 1038m. In the 70ies TIME magazine selected Tioman as one the world’s most beautiful islands but lost some flair in recent years due to do development. The island has eight main villages, many beaches and is densely forested and is surrounded by numerous coral reefs, making it a scuba diving haven.

Pulau Redang (or Redang Island)  is a beautiful tropical island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia in the state of Terengganu. Most travellers visiting Redang come on pre-booked packages from one of the resorts on the island. It is a more up-market destination than Perhentian Islands.