The best beaches are northwest of Kuching because they have the softest sand and clearest water.
In Sarawak, the best beaches are northwest of Kuching, at Damai, Santubong, or Bako National Park; in Sabah, either at Kota Kinabalu's offshore islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park or up at Kudah on the northernmost tip of Borneo; over on Sabah's east coast try the islands in and around Sandakan Bay.