Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
438km²
Area
97km
Coastline
174m
Highest point
15,000
People
30°C
Warmest sea
May
1,237km
To the mainland
When to go to Sebatik Island
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in May (30 °C) and coolest in February (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan Province, Indonesia
Sebatik Island is an island in Indonesia. It belongs to Malay Archipelago. It covers 438 km², with 97 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 174 m. About 15,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,237 km away.
Getting there
- Tawau Airport (TWU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 42 km in a straight lineCar hire at BKI airport (Kota Kinabalu)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesNunukan - Tawau Ferry, Sebatik - Nunukan, Sei Jepun - Binalawan
- 1,237 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Sebatik Island.
- 1beachesPantai Batu Lamampu
- 1lighthouses
- 5ferry terminalsPelabuhan Feri Liang Bunyu, Dermaga Penyeberangan Binalawan, Pelabuhan Kelas III Sungai Nyamuk and 2 more
- 4hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 1restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 50 m above the sea. 96 % of it is below 200 m.
- 68 %0–50 m
- 29 %50–200 m
- 4 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Wallace Bay2,987 people
- Sungai Nyamukno census figure
- Binalawanno census figure
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 225 | 156 | 227 | 222 | 250 | 219 | 230 | 230 | 198 | 234 | 244 | 280 |
| Wet days | 24 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Sun h/day | 5.2 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| 2024 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| 2025 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Nunukan Island
Indonesia235 km²114 m16 km away
Tarakan IslandIndonesia252 km²93 m89 km away
Sipadan
Malaysia0.17 km²27 m93 km away
Sitangkai Island
Philippines0.08 km²1 m187 km away
Sibutu IslandPhilippines105 km²23 m202 km away
Tawi-Tawi IslandPhilippines568 km²549 m272 km away
LabuanMalaysia88 km²94 m313 km away
Mapun IslandPhilippines63 km²49 m328 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q737814) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit