GAYA STREET
Jalan Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Plan Gaya Street in Kota Kinabalu: Sunday morning market, Friday/Saturday Api-Api food market, opening-hour differences, food, parking and directions.
Compare market days ↓Checked 2026-10-19
Google Maps: Sunday 05:00–12:45. Sabah Tourism Board’s weekend guide, last reviewed in October 2023, gives 06:00–14:00. These sources differ; check current notices and your chosen stalls before making a special trip.
Open the relevant guide →Api-Api Night Food Market is on Jalan Gaya on Friday and Saturday evenings. Google Maps lists 17:00–00:00; the tourism guide gives 18:00–00:00. It is not a daily market or a separate five-minute walk away.
Open the relevant guide →The map listing shows Monday–Thursday closed for the market. This does not mean all permanent shops on Gaya Street are closed. Weather, closures and individual stall hours can change.
Google Maps: 4.4/5 from 9,075 reviews, checked 2026-10-19. This is a dated snapshot.
Not a checklist of sights — the pulse of a street.
Gaya Street is the best part of old Kota Kinabalu to get to know on foot. On weekdays it is coffee shops, faded signboards and afternoon shade; on Sunday the whole of Jalan Gaya gives way to the market, and people arrive with fruit, handicrafts, breakfast and the mood of not being in a hurry.
Hear its story first →These notes are for first-time visitors — and for anyone who always stops ten extra minutes when passing by.
Sources & checked facts
Use published tourism sources for background; the guide does not claim interviews or on-site reporting.
Built in memory of Francis George Atkinson, Jesselton’s first district officer. He was not the first governor of British North Borneo.
Sabah Tourism Board dates its inauguration to December 2018 and describes Friday and Saturday evening trading.
Pick a Sunday morning or a Friday/Saturday evening before choosing transport.
Plan your visitAsk before taking close-up photos of people and leave shop entrances clear.
Plan your visitCarry water and rain protection; confirm any temporary closure before travelling.
Plan your visit
GAYA STREET / SUNDAY MARKETStart at the street corner — no need to rush the route. Drift first to the steaming stalls for a hot breakfast, then linger over woven rattan, plants and local snacks. The pleasure of the market is not what you buy, but how every stall lays the city’s everyday life out in the sun.
The five-foot way links shop, pedestrian and weather. Faded façades, narrow signboards, old louvred windows and deep shadow under the eaves — the quietest scenery on Gaya Street.
← Walk slower, and the buildings begin to talk.
Set the destination to Gaya Street Market on Jalan Gaya. Use a current taxi/e-hailing quote, and confirm pickup outside any road closure. Ask the operator for current bus services rather than relying on an old timetable.
Choose legal parking outside closed market lanes and follow the posted tariff. Do not block stalls, loading areas or crossings.
Plan Sunday for the morning market and Friday or Saturday for Api-Api. Do not assume a Sunday morning visit can continue into the same night market that evening.
Planning estimate; allow more time for food or shopping.
Carry small cash as a backup; ask before relying on cards or QR payment. Bring water and rain protection, and agree a meeting point if travelling as a group.
Check a suitable route and toilet access with your accommodation or a nearby business. Pavements, crowds and wet surfaces can affect access; a street guide cannot guarantee a step-free route.
Compare the menus and products actually available. The Sunday market offers shopping as well as food; Api-Api focuses on evening food stalls. Ask about ingredients, dietary needs and prices at the stall.
Put the flavours on the map →
Check a suitable route and toilet access with your accommodation or a nearby business. Pavements, crowds and wet surfaces can affect access; a street guide cannot guarantee a step-free route.
Each guide answers one question visitors actually search for — opening hours, what to eat, and what to do nearby.
8 existing photos · click to enlarge
Keep this map on your phone. Once you arrive, start at the corner and follow the voices, the aromas and the shadow under the eaves.
Open Google Maps ↗Google Maps: Sunday 05:00–12:45. Sabah Tourism Board’s weekend guide, last reviewed in October 2023, gives 06:00–14:00. These sources differ; check current notices and your chosen stalls before making a special trip.
Api-Api Night Food Market is on Jalan Gaya on Friday and Saturday evenings. Google Maps lists 17:00–00:00; the tourism guide gives 18:00–00:00. It is not a daily market or a separate five-minute walk away.
Jalan Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah — Api-Api Night Food Market is on Jalan Gaya on Friday and Saturday evenings. Google Maps lists 17:00–00:00; the tourism guide gives 18:00–00:00. It is not a daily market or a separate five-minute walk away.
Set the destination to Gaya Street Market on Jalan Gaya. Use a current taxi/e-hailing quote, and confirm pickup outside any road closure. Ask the operator for current bus services rather than relying on an old timetable.
Carry small cash as a backup; ask before relying on cards or QR payment. Bring water and rain protection, and agree a meeting point if travelling as a group.
Plan Sunday for the morning market and Friday or Saturday for Api-Api. Do not assume a Sunday morning visit can continue into the same night market that evening.
Google Maps: 4.4/5 from 9,075 reviews, checked 2026-10-19. This is a dated snapshot.
Check a suitable route and toilet access with your accommodation or a nearby business. Pavements, crowds and wet surfaces can affect access; a street guide cannot guarantee a step-free route.
Public-source visitor guide; reviewed 2026-10-19.
Times are attributed to their sources. This independent guide does not represent the market or tourism board.