Marine park fee: included or paid on arrival?

The marine park fee is sometimes inside the package price and sometimes paid on arrival, and the quotation should say which. If it does not, ask before you pay a deposit. The amount is small per person, but it adds up for a family and it is the line most often left out of a first comparison.

This guide belongs with our look at what a full-board package includes and excludes. Put the fee into the island trip cost calculator to see the full cost.

What are the reported rates?

For the east-coast marine parks, secondary sources report RM5 for a Malaysian adult with MyKad and RM2 for a child aged 6 to 12 ^[1]. Non-MyKad visitors are reported at RM30 for an adult and RM15 for a child, and disabled visitors are free ^[1]. We could not retrieve the official fee order, so treat these as reported figures.

At Perhentian, a Besut district council charge of RM5 per visitor was reported from 2022 on top of the fisheries fee, with its current status unknown ^[2].

Place	Reported fee per person
East-coast marine parks (MyKad)	RM5 adult, RM2 child
East-coast marine parks (non-MyKad)	RM30 adult, RM15 child
Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, per day	Malaysian adult RM8, teen RM5, children 12 and below free [3]
Sipadan conservation fee	Malaysian RM50, international RM100 [4]

What does it come to for a family?

Take two Malaysian adults and one child aged 8, all with MyKad, on an east-coast island. At the reported rates, that is RM5 plus RM5 plus RM2, a total of RM12 ^[1]. For the same group without MyKad, it would be RM30 plus RM30 plus RM15, or RM75 ^[1].

The sum is small, but for a group of ten it grows. The age bands matter too, so ask how a 13-year-old is counted. Use the child age limits the agency gives you in writing.

How do you tell whether it is included?

Look for these words in the quotation: “marine park fee”, “conservation fee”, “park fee” or “entrance fee”. If none appears, assume nothing.

• If it says “included”, ask whether it covers every person and every day.
• If it says “excluded” or “payable on arrival”, ask the amount and how it is collected.
• If it says nothing, send the question below.

“Is the marine park or conservation fee included in the package price? If not, what is the amount per person by age, and where is it paid?”

Why does it matter when you compare packages?

A package that includes the fee can look dearer next to one that leaves it out. Compare both on the same footing. Our guide on finding the real differences between two quotations shows how.

If you travel to Sipadan, permits and diver fees follow a different structure. Our guide on Semporna package inclusions explains it.

A better fit if…

A package that includes the fee may suit you if you want to know the full price on day one. A package that leaves it out may suit you if the base price is lower and you do not mind carrying cash. In both cases, the fee should be written down, not assumed.