Borneo Kinabatangan River Cruise Day Trip

Was ok

Roads are terrible - plan a long drive - don’t drive at night - stay at the lodge - the rivertour was ok but nothing g special

Day trip was average

It was okay, you get what you paid for pretty much. We got picked up at 12.15pm from Sandakhan airport, get to the resort at around 3pm, the other people staying overnight could check in but we just waited around bored until 4pm. No guarantee to see anything on the cruise because it is wildlife so that was fine. We did see a hornbill, kingfisher, eagle and monkeys. After you have another hr from 6pm to kill till 7pm for an average dinner before you leave at 7.30pm. Extra star for easy booking (did via WhatsApp) and our driver drove us back to our accomodation was a big plus. An okay day if you have an extra day in Sandakhan.

not too well organized cruise

Before and after cruise we had to wait one hour. Too much time had to be waited. No elephants. At least monkeys and crocodiles

Not worth your time, and pssst! definitely no elephants!

What to expect; pick up is at 11.45, and then a 2 hr 10 minutes mini-bus ride to a rustic riverside hotel where some passengers may stay overnight for different tours. Then nothing is planned for you to do until 4pm, when you start your boat trip. So you’re denied a normal lunch, and food is not available at the river (tea, coffee and a bun is) - why not just depart at 1pm? This two hour boat ride was ok, and we did see monkeys, and hornbill birds, but we weren’t given any chance of seeing pigmy elephants, as we didn’t venture anywhere near where they know they had been spotted recently, but returning to the hotel for dinner and then hopping back in the bus was unacceptable for us. We shamed them into giving us some fried rice for lunch, and paid extra (250MYR) to go on a jungle walk. A great shame all round. 10 hours for dinner and a two hour boat ride.

If you are serious about this, do multiple days, not the day trip

It's a 2 hour drive there on pretty ordinary roads & a 2 hour drive back for a 2 hour boat cruise. Our boat experienced engine trouble & so we sat stranded on the river for an hour. The tour operators were good about it & refunded half our money. But because we were only there for a day tour, we missed out on a lot. We only saw monkeys. Which is cool, but we were hopeful of a lot more. So if you are serious about this, stay for a day or 2 & do multiple river trips. We had hoped to see pygmy elephants, but they hadn't been spotted for a long time. It is suspected that because there is a lot of water around in December, so they don't need to come to the river to drink. You might have a better chance in the dry season. We were told by people who did the night walks that the mosquitoes were think & the trails muddy. And they didn't see a great deal of wildlife. Sleeping birds were probably the main thing they saw. But with wildlife tours, you can be lucky or not.

Highly recommended tour agency

My family 1 day trip to Kundasang (Kinabalu Park, Poring, Alpaca Farm, Canopy Walk etc..) was so much fun. Professional and friendly+helpful tour guide (Ah Keung) and the driver was nice too. Borneo Calling definitely a recommended and reliable tour agency!

A total rip off. Book locally with your accommodation.

We did the day trip and it was a truly bad day out. We were picked up at 11:45 and did not arrive until 3pm. When we arrived the staff did not give a lot of guidance and weren't communicative with the guests. We sat around until 4pm for the cruise, which was 2 hours long, although we understood there is no guarantee of seeing wildlife, we didn't see much at all. Two types of bird, a couple of proboscis monkeys (which was amazing in fairness) and lots of macaques. There wasn't really a lot of wildlife out which we understand is just the way it is, nothing you can do about that. Got back to the resort at 6pm, waited until 7pm for dinner which was pretty bad, the food was cold and not very tasty. We then had the minibus back at 7:30pm and the driver was horrendous, speeding on small dark and bumpy roads and overtaking in dangerous places. I had my head over a plastic bag the whole time because I really thought I was going to be sick. Overall not a great experience and we were really frustrated to learn we paid so much more than everyone else on the trip by booking through viator. Having spoken to people on the tour and our hostel reception, you can book this trip for a lot cheaper (2 days 1 night for example for 350 ringgit) if you book with your accomodation. We booked online with viator before we arrived in sandakan thinking it would be better to guarantee our space on the tour but I wouldn't recommend doing that. We were totally ripped off by viator. Also wouldn't recommend the day trip as its about 6 hours of driving in total for no guarantee of seeing any wildlife. According to some people we met, you see many more animals in the morning than the evening so it seems like it's better value to stay overnight.

Boring forest cemetery adventure

We did the 3D2N kinabatangan experience, sleeping in Borneo natural sukau bulky resort. The facility looks good and it’s well maintained. Beds are comfortable and the buffet dinner is decent. Breakfast is a bit less satisfying. What doesn’t work is all the rest. The hosts and the tour guides are not so welcoming, not rude, but they limit all the possible interaction with the tourist, making it feel like we are just of money for them which don’t need attention at all. This is way different in other lodges we visited in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand for example. The 3D2N tour is just pointless. The place doesn’t have enough to offer in this timespan to make it a valuable experience. The right amount of time here would be 2 days and 1 night if you want to see animals. The boat tour is the same experience for 4 times in a row and the “trekking”, which is walking around the lodge for 30 minutes, are also really repetitive. The scenery is just not fascinating: you will only see little trees and muds filled with mosquitos. No trace of animals despite from macaques trying to steal some food from the resort’s restaurant. It’s not a jungle, it’s more like a swamp. The rainforest is only limited through the length of the main river, while in the remaining part is just palm trees plantations. All the animals that are visible are all along the river just for the reason that is the only place in which they can survive. It’s a really sad show, and the palms are easily visible with Google maps/earth and on the way with the bus to the lodge. I felt that the forest remains along the river makes it able to bring tourist with the little boat, making it easier for them to manage and more profitable.You see the animals, don’t get me wrong, but the reason why you see them it is just not ethical and for a sensitive tourist like me, ruins all the experience. There is no possibility to leave the boat on the side of the river and explore because the owners of the palm tree plantations don’t want tourist to see the disaster they created. The animals hear this loud sound every day in the morning and at night, they shouldn’t be happy. UNESCO also didn’t protect these lands, so they really can do what they want. Choose something else if you want to see jungle wildlife! PS: I talked with other tourists from other companies and they managed to pay a bit less than us.

2 days 1 night trip to Borneo Natural Sukau Bilit Resort

We went for a 2 days 1 night trip with our own transport. We enjoyed the drive from Sandakan. The accommodation which is chalet was great and spacious. The evening cruise was the best of all as we managed to see some animals such as hornbills, prosbocis monkey and other types of monkey too as well as the rare elephants. We were so lucky to be able to see the elephants as we were told that it's rare and the chance of seeing it is low for about 4 to 5 times only a year. Not forgetting, thanks to Borneo Calling for their excellent service in booking arrangement etc. It is a highly recommended spot for sight seeing and exploration. Also, the food provided was really good too with friendly, warmth and helpful staff.

We had an amazing time during our Kinabatangan river cruise thanks to Borneo Calling.

My wife and I went to the Kinabatangan River Cruise last November 2021. It was a smooth sailing experience from contacting Borneo Calling to book the half day cruise up until we returned to our hotel in Sandakan after the entire advanture. The journey to and from the Resort was relatively far but we were grateful that Borneo Calling provided us with transportation with a reasonable additional fee, considering how long the drive was. Once we arrived at the base camp, we were greeted by hospitable hosts who prompted us on our cruise activities and served us with warm Bornoen tea. The Resort was beautiful and nestled in the middle of the jungle next to the tame Kinabatangan River. The design and architecture of the Resort truly blend in with nature with rustic wooden floor, poles and had walkways taking you to homie chalets dispersed throughout the area. Unfortunately for the life of me I couldnt remember the name of the Resort. Once we embarked on the boat and began our river tour, the humble river guide gave us quite an extensive information regarding the river's geography and the local wildlives. The river guide was very alert and made sure that we didnt miss any animals native to the river in the likes of orangutan, probocis and macaque monkeys, hornbils, etc. According to him, we were very lucky to see two orangutans living quitely up on the trees as this was a rare sight in the Kinabatangan River. My wife and I really had a good time during the cruise and our interaction with the river guide is one we cherished as he was always accomodating with our requests such as having a closer look at a big family of short tail monkeys next to the river banks. After our river cruise, we were served with delicious local cuisine for our dinner and enjoyed dining next to the tame Kinabatangan river under the stars. All in all we had a wonderful time and we really owe it to Borneo Calling for arranging all of it for us.

Perfect holiday spot.

Its wonderful. I enjoyed everything. Staffs are very welcoming and helpful. Great service. Food is amazing. Accomodation is clean and cozy. Into the nature holiday for break from busy worklife.

Ondanks de lange...

Ondanks de lange hobbelige reis van dik 3 uur een fantastische ervaring. Tijdens onze dagtrip waarvan 2 uur op het water zagen we een krokodil, neusapen, verschillende groepen andere soort apen en een groep dwerg olifanten. Dat alles begeleid door allervriendelijks kundig personeel.