Kota Kinabalu, Sabah has been famed as Nature Resort City where nature-baseddestinations in and around the city have been the major tourist attractions. Nonetheless, the questionwhether the visitors are satisfied with their experience at the major nature-based tourism destinationor otherwise is still vague. The purpose of this study is to understand the recreational experience andsatisfaction of tourist in selected nature-based tourism sites in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. A mixedmethod approach incorporating quantitative data derived using Driver’s Recreation ExperiencePreference Scale, and qualitative data using Herzberg’s Critical Incident Technique were deployed.The sampling technique used in this study was purposive non-probability sampling with theparticipation of 240 tourists. Factor analysis was run on the quantitative dataset to derive the majoroutcome which is the set of profile on tourist recreational experience. While content analysis wasconducted on the qualitative dataset to derive explanation for tourist satisfaction/dissatisfaction.Triangulation between the two types of datasets strengthens the major finding which is the touristsatisfaction in nature-based tourism destination around Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The finding of thisstudy is crucial for satisfaction enhancement and critical for identification of areas to be improved,subsequently solutions to be recommended.