Stand at the foot of the Tawau Bell Tower and you are looking at the only intact pre-war structure left in town. Everything around it was rebuilt, which tells you something about how Tawau works: it keeps what matters and starts again on top of it.
Tawau suits travellers who are passing through on the way to the dive islands, or who want a working Sabahan town with markets, cocoa, jungle and a layered history rather than a resort strip. It rewards a day or two of curiosity.
This guide covers the sights named for the town, the diving and trekking you can arrange from here, and how to string them together if your time is short.
Top things to do in Tawau
1. Tawau Hills National Park
About 30 minutes from the town centre, this is a nature reserve of jungle, clean river water and plenty of wildlife. Come for trekking and swimming, and stay the night if you want an early start on the trails.
The park has good and cheap hostel accommodation, which makes it the easiest way to combine a jungle day with a comfortable night rather than rushing back to town.
2. Diving from Roach Reefs and Semporna
Within the Tawau region you can dive from the islands of Roach Reefs, or take an hour's drive to Semporna for the better-known sites: Mataking, Mabul, Pompong, Kapalai and Sipadan, the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising about 5,000 feet above the seabed.
Dive shops and agents in Tawau include Aquatastic and SWV Travel and Tours, both based at the terminal building at Tawau Airport, so you can sort out a trip on arrival.
3. Tawau Bell Tower
The bell tower is the only intact pre-war structure left in Tawau, standing after the town was razed. It is a quick stop, but it gives you the one physical anchor to the town's wartime history.
Pair it with the Japanese War Cemetery and the Confrontation Memorial, which sit in the same stretch of the town's story.
4. Japanese War Cemetery
The cemetery relates to the Japanese presence in Tawau during the Second World War and the surrender that followed. It is a quiet site rather than a spectacle, and worth the time if you have read anything about the town's wartime period.
Visit alongside the Bell Tower and the Confrontation Memorial to make a single, coherent half-day of it.
5. Confrontation Memorial
This memorial marks the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, during which Tawau was the main point of conflict because of its position near the international border. Shootings, bombings and an attempt to poison the town's water supply all happened here.
It is best understood after the Bell Tower and the Japanese War Cemetery, so do those first if you are working through the town's history in order.
6. Teck Guan Cocoa Museum
Cocoa is one of the town's main economic activities, and this museum is where that side of Tawau is explained. It is a useful counterweight to the war sites and a good stop if you are travelling with people who prefer industry to history.
Combine it with the Tawau Tanjung Markets, where the produce of the surrounding plantations turns up in stalls.
7. Tawau Tanjung Markets
The markets are one of the town's named attractions and the most straightforward way to see daily Tawau: timber, cocoa, oil palm and prawn farming all feed into what is sold and traded here.
Go as part of a morning that also takes in the Teck Guan Cocoa Museum, so the connection between the plantations and the stalls is fresh.
8. Bukit Gemok
Bukit Gemok is listed among Tawau's attractions and is a straightforward outdoor stop for anyone who wants a walk without committing to a full national park trip.
If you are short on time, treat it as the lighter alternative to Tawau Hills National Park rather than trying to fit in both.
9. Tawau International Cultural Festival
The cultural festival is one of the town's named attractions and is the reason to time a visit around it if the dates suit you. It brings together the communities that make up Tawau, including the Chinese migrants whose arrival the North Borneo Chartered Company sponsored and the earlier settlers from Bulungan and Tawi-Tawi.
Check the dates before you book, since this is a scheduled event rather than something you can turn up for on any given week.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at the Tawau Tanjung Markets while the town is busy, then move on to the Teck Guan Cocoa Museum to see where the cocoa sold in the region actually comes from.
Afternoon: Work through the town's history in order: the Tawau Bell Tower, the Japanese War Cemetery and the Confrontation Memorial. If you would rather be outdoors, swap this block for Bukit Gemok or the trails and river at Tawau Hills National Park.
Evening: Return to the town centre for a meal, and use the time to confirm a dive trip with Aquatastic or SWV Travel and Tours for the following day, whether from Roach Reefs or by the hour's drive to Semporna.
Frequently asked questions
Can you dive directly from Tawau?
You can dive from the islands of Roach Reefs within the Tawau region, or take an hour's drive to Semporna for Mataking, Mabul, Pompong, Kapalai and Sipadan.
Where can you arrange a dive trip in Tawau?
Aquatastic and SWV Travel and Tours are both based at the terminal building at Tawau Airport, and both handle dive trips and tours.
How far is Tawau Hills National Park from the town?
It is about 30 minutes from the Tawau centre, and it has hostel accommodation if you want to stay overnight.
What can you see in Tawau if you are interested in the Second World War?
The Tawau Bell Tower, the only intact pre-war structure, along with the Japanese War Cemetery and the Confrontation Memorial.
Decide whether you are coming for the jungle, the diving or the town's history, and build the rest of your Tawau plans around that one choice.