Miri destination guide
Miri is a city in northern Sarawak, on Borneo, and the place where Sarawak's first oil well struck oil in 1910. The Sarawak Tourism Board frames it as a place where "adventure meets history": the oil story in the city itself, and national parks between half an hour and three hours' drive away, among them Niah, whose caves are a World Heritage Site. Offshore, the Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs give the city its own diving season.
The federal Transport Minister described Miri Airport in May 2026 as the main hub for Rural Air Services, the flights to remote and sparsely populated parts of Sabah and Sarawak. One of those routes runs to Gunung Mulu National Park, which is covered in the Gunung Mulu National Park guide. Malaysians flying in from Peninsular Malaysia should know that the flight still ends at an immigration counter, as set out under Flying to Miri below.
Sights in Miri city
The Petroleum Museum and the Grand Old Lady
The Petroleum Museum stands on the hilltop now named Bukit Tenaga (Power Hill), previously known as Bukit Kanada, or Canada Hill. It is on the site of the Grand Old Lady, Sarawak's first oil well, which struck oil on 22 December 1910 and produced until 1972. The museum opened to the public in 2005.
Entry is free, and the Sarawak Museum Department, which runs the museum, asks visitors to wear modest clothing. As listed on the department's page in September 2026, the museum opens from 9:00am to 4:45pm on weekdays and from 10:00am to 4:00pm at weekends and on public holidays. It closes on major holidays, and the department names Chinese New Year, Eid al-Fitr, Labour Day and Christmas among them.
Coco Cabana, closed for renovation
Coco Cabana is a marina-front event space with an art gallery, a gift shop, food stalls, a cafe and museums. As of September 2026 the Miri City Council reports it closed for renovation. The council reports the Deputy Tourism Minister's hope that it will reopen one day, but gives no reopening date.
National parks near Miri
Entry to Sarawak's national parks, Niah, Lambir Hills and Similajau among them, is registered and ticketed through the Sarawak Forestry Corporation's online self-registration portal. A Sarawak ID account is needed before booking, e-tickets arrive by email, and each ticket can be redeemed once.
Niah National Park
The caves of Niah National Park were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2024 as The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park's Caves Complex. The listing describes the longest known records of human interaction with rainforest, spanning at least 50,000 years, with prehistoric rock paintings, boat-shaped burials and evidence of the shift from foraging to rice farming. Local communities keep up a traditional practice called molong, "take only what you need", when they harvest guano and edible birds' nests from the caves.
The Sarawak Forestry Corporation, which runs the park, puts it about two hours' drive from Miri or from Bintulu. At the park, visitors cross the Niah River by motorised boat, then walk about an hour along a raised plankwalk through rainforest to the Great Cave. Inside are the West Mouth entrance, the Padang chamber, Lubang Hangus (Burnt Cave) and Gan Kira (Moon Cave), where you need a torch.
The Painted Cave holds prehistoric red hematite wall paintings of human figures, animals and longboats. The Sarawak Tourism Board lists the park as open from 8:00am to 5:00pm daily, with a marked Great Cave Trail of about 3 km and a Painted Cave Trail past ancient burial grounds. It gives March to September as the best period to visit.
The park has chalets and hostel accommodation, and an Iban longhouse homestay is run as community-based tourism. The Penan community harvests edible birds' nests from the cave walls as a traditional livelihood.
Lambir Hills National Park
Lambir Hills National Park is a 30-minute drive from Miri on the main Miri-Bintulu highway, and the Sarawak Tourism Board lists it as open from 8:00am to 5:00pm daily. The Latak Waterfall Trail is an easy 1 km walk to the park's popular waterfall, and the Summit Trail is a challenging 8.5 km trek to the top of Lambir Hill. The board gives March to October as the best period for hiking and wildlife spotting.
The Sarawak Forestry Corporation describes largely intact rainforest, pronounced escarpments and several waterfall systems. The park is classified as an Important Bird Area and, separately, as a global hotspot for plant diversity, with more than half of all Bornean fig species recorded there. Wildlife named by the corporation includes the great argus, the banded leaf monkey, the red leaf monkey, the western tarsier and hornbills.
Loagan Bunut National Park
The Sarawak Tourism Board describes Loagan Bunut National Park as Sarawak's largest natural lake, about three hours' drive from Miri, open from 8:00am to 5:00pm daily. The lake's water level changes through the year, and the board gives April to October as the best period, when the lake is at its fullest for boating and fishing. Both depend on the water level, so the board advises checking current conditions with park management before you arrive.
Similajau National Park
Similajau National Park lies on the coast about 30 km north-east of Bintulu, facing the South China Sea, with sandy beaches and rainforest trails. As of September 2026, the Sarawak Forestry Corporation's page for the park says access is temporarily restricted and no visitors are allowed in while repair and maintenance works are carried out. The page gives no reopening date, so check it before planning a visit.
Diving the Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs
Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park is a protected marine park off Miri. The Sarawak Tourism Board puts the nearest dive site about ten minutes from the marina bay jetty, close enough that a diver can land in Miri and be in the water within two hours. It gives reef depths of 7 to 30 metres, average visibility of 10 to 30 metres, and a best diving season of late March to November.
Local dive operators run certification programmes, according to the board.
Festivals in Miri
The Borneo Jazz Festival runs on 4 and 5 December 2026 at the Pullman Miri Waterfront, the first time the festival has been held in the city centre. Alongside the ticketed concerts there is a free-entry Festival Village and an All Borneo Pavilion with participants from Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei and Indonesia.
The WAK Miri Festival ran from 19 to 21 June 2026, organised by the Miri City Council with Sarawak's Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts. Its main venue was the Miri Handicraft Centre, with events at venues across the city. Check for the next festival's dates before planning a trip around it.
When to go to Miri
The Malaysian Meteorological Department puts the northeast monsoon, the country's main rainy season, from November to March, and it brings heavy rain to Sarawak. The southwest monsoon, from late May to September, is relatively drier across most of the country.
The Sarawak Tourism Board gives its own best periods for Miri's sights: March to September for Niah, March to October for Lambir Hills, April to October for Loagan Bunut, and late March to November for diving at Miri-Sibuti.
Sarawak has its own state public holidays, dated in the Prime Minister's Department schedules for 2026 and 2027:
- Gawai Dayak, Sarawak only: 1 and 2 June in both 2026 and 2027
- Sarawak Independence Day, Sarawak only: 22 July in both years
- The Sarawak Governor's Birthday, Sarawak only: 10 October 2026 and 9 October 2027
- Good Friday, a holiday in Sarawak and Sabah: 3 April 2026 and 26 March 2027
The Petroleum Museum closes on major holidays. For 2027 the official schedule puts Chinese New Year on 6 and 7 February and Hari Raya Puasa on 10 and 11 March, and marks the Hari Raya date as subject to change.
Flying to Miri
Flights land at Miri Airport (MYY), which the federal Transport Minister described in May 2026 as the second busiest airport in Sarawak after Kuching International Airport. Terminal facilities and the transfer into the city are on the Miri Airport page.
Arriving from Peninsular Malaysia
Section 66 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 restricts Malaysian citizens' right of entry into East Malaysia and makes them subject to holding a pass or permit to enter and be in Sabah or Sarawak. A domestic flight from the Peninsula, such as the Kuala Lumpur route, therefore ends at an immigration counter in the arrival hall at Miri. Malaysia Airlines states that original documents must be presented for verification on domestic flights within Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak.
The federal Immigration Department issues Malaysians from West Malaysia a Document in Lieu of Internal Travel Document, free, at the immigration counters in Sabah and Sarawak airport arrival halls. It covers a single journey and gives a Social or Business Visit Pass of up to three months. A longer stay needs a Restricted Travel Document, and the Immigration Department's issuing offices in Sarawak include one in Miri.
The Section 66 exemption endorsement covers living or working in Sabah and is issued only by the Sabah State Immigration Department; the Immigration Department's site shows no Sarawak equivalent. For a domestic flight out of Sarawak, the Immigration Department asks for an identity document such as a passport, MyKad or Restricted Travel Document, a valid pass and a boarding pass.
For entry to Malaysia itself, see the Malaysia travel guide.
Direct flights recorded from Miri
Direct domestic flights recorded from Miri go to these places, with the airlines recorded on each:
| Destination | Airlines recorded |
|---|---|
| Kuala Lumpur | AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines |
| Kota Kinabalu | AirAsia |
| Kuching | AirAsia |
| Gunung Mulu National Park | AirBorneo |
| Bintulu | AirBorneo |
| Sibu | AirBorneo |
| Labuan | AirBorneo |
| Limbang | AirBorneo |
| Lawas | AirBorneo |
| Mukah | AirBorneo |
| Marudi | AirBorneo |
| Long Akah | AirBorneo |
| Long Banga | AirBorneo |
| Long Lellang | AirBorneo |
| Long Seridan | AirBorneo |
For Kuala Lumpur, both airlines are recorded to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). AirBorneo took over MASwings operations on 1 January 2026, so older references to MASwings on these routes are out of date.
Guides to places at the other end: Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Bintulu, Sibu and Labuan.
AirBorneo's rural flights from Miri
The federal Ministry of Transport defines Rural Air Services as air services to remote and sparsely populated areas of Sabah and Sarawak, where air transport is the primary way of reaching the outside world. AirBorneo describes Long Seridan, Long Akah and Long Lellang as reachable only by Twin Otter aircraft or by longboat. For Gunung Mulu National Park, the Sarawak Tourism Board lists the flight from Miri to Mulu Airport under how to get there.
Check-in and baggage rules for these routes are on the AirBorneo page.
Getting around Miri
The Miri City Smart Bus is a free public bus network that started in October 2024, using low-floor buses. At its launch it ran daily from 5:30am to 7:30pm on fixed routes, among them Permyjaya, Kuala Baram, Senadin and Tudan. The buses carry free wifi and can be tracked in the SMART CITY app.
The routes named at the launch do not include the airport. For Miri Airport, Grab runs airport rides with upfront fixed fares and advance booking.
Miri Sentral, the regional bus terminal, began full operation on 18 January 2025, and the Miri City Council gives its hours as 8:00am to 11:00pm daily.
Questions about visiting Miri
Do Malaysians from the Peninsula pass immigration when they fly to Miri?
Yes. Section 66 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 makes Malaysian citizens subject to holding a pass or permit to enter Sabah or Sarawak, so a domestic arrival from Peninsular Malaysia goes through an immigration counter in the arrival hall. The Document in Lieu of Internal Travel Document, issued at those counters, gives a Social or Business Visit Pass of up to three months.
How long does it take to get from Miri to Niah National Park?
The Sarawak Forestry Corporation puts the park about two hours' drive from Miri. At the park, visitors cross the Niah River by motorised boat and then walk about an hour along a raised plankwalk to the Great Cave.
Is Similajau National Park open to visitors?
Not as of September 2026. The Sarawak Forestry Corporation's page for the park says access is temporarily restricted and no visitors are allowed in while repair and maintenance works are carried out, and it gives no reopening date.
Does the Miri City Smart Bus go to Miri Airport?
The routes named when the free service launched in October 2024 do not include the airport. Grab runs airport rides at Miri Airport, with upfront fixed fares and advance booking.
When is the diving season at Miri?
The Sarawak Tourism Board gives late March to November as the best diving season at Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park, where the nearest dive site is about ten minutes from the marina bay jetty.