Private 2-Day Sandakan Wildlife Tour with River Cruise | Book Now

Great experience

My daughter and i stayed 2 nights at the River lodge, and it was an all round great trip. The proboscis monkeys were amazing, i could've watched them all day, as are the Hornbills. We missed the pygmy elephants by minutes - you could smell them, so was a little disappointed but the boat ride was great in itself. I kept thinking of the David Attenborough documentary i saw years ago on this very river, and how much it has changed. You can see the palm oil plantations throught the thin band of forest in lots of places, and it is pretty depressing. Glad that the locals are gaining financially from tourism, this can only lead to better protection of wildlife. Still a great experience..

Nice place with a sad story behind

We spend three days and two nights at the Kinabatangan river and saw almost all animals possible: pygmy elephants, wild orang-utans, hornbills, proboscis monkeys, leaf monkeys, crocodiles, tarsiers etc. The only thing that spoils the experience a bit is a realisation that there is a very narrow jungle corridor, everything else is just palm plantations.

Da non prenotare!

Iniziata tutto molto bene Ma appena arrivati al resort ha iniziato andare tutto storto, non avevano la nostra prenotazione, non c’era una stanza per noi, abbiamo letteralmente rischiato di dormire per strada perché pieno. Abbiamo provato contattare i numeri assistenza, ma niente da fare, dopo più di 4 lunghe ore i signori del resort hanno trovato una “soluzione” al nostro problema e sono riusciti a liberarci due letti (meno male). Mattino seguente da itinerario dovevamo avere tre tappe ma ne abbiamo fatte SOLO due! Il tutto doveva essere guidato da una guida ma anche qua non abbiamo avuto niente! Ho provato a scrivere per un rimborso (almeno locale) ma chissà se lo avrò mai.

Great stay on the banks of kinabantangan river

Borneo Natural Sukau Bilit Resort Is a great play to stay in addition to the wonderful river cruises. The night cruise was amazing and got a chance to see crocodiles, birds like kingfisher, owls..

Interesting tour

It was an amazing tour discovering the Sepilok reserve and the nature among the river kinabatangan. Our taxi driver was so nice and with particular attention to us. Maybe I had been preferred a guide tour who should explained more the magical attraction we visited. Good experience, very suggested!.

Eddie Nazreen, a kind and friendly driver in Sandakan

I visited Sandakan to took an individual nature tour. I enjoyed watching endangered animals roam freely in their natural habitat, including observing a feeding session at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, seeing a troop of proboscis monkeys, and getting up close to a very rare Malay bear. Since I’m traveling by myself and planned to spend only one night in Sandakan, I contacted Eddie in advance to let him know the places I wanted to see and he pre-scheduled the appropriate tour content to ensure a lean trip. In my free time, I was taken to Sandakan town, food markets, and buffet lunches where only locals come, and I was able to experience things that I would not have been able to experience with other tour guides, thanks to their careful guidance. The car used for guiding was clean, new, and a great ride. I would definitely recommend him! This is a contact information: Eddie Nazreen +60 117 117 1178 [email protected].

Even though only an overnight stay it was crammed full of activities

Enjoyed the whole experience. Lots of options to add and no rush at each activity. Saw lots of wildlife and even a baby croc!.

Amazing

Amazing trip. Our driver ahmed waa amazing nothing was too much trouble. We loved it all. We packed so much in to this trip. Wonderful..

Total rip off - book directly through Sukau Bilit Resort and Sepilok Centre instead.

Complete rip off. The only good parts of this trip are: 1. The overnight stay at Sukau Bilit Resort and the Kinabatangan river safaris that come with it, which are an amazing experience and a must do in Borneo - however you can book these WITH an airport/hotel transfer and return from the resort themselves for hundreds of pounds cheaper so please just go and do that! Your driver booked through this tour is not one of the safari guides, they just drive you from place to place - so why pay hundreds of pounds for that when you could get a free transfer from the safari resort itself? 2. The visit to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre - although we didn't get to see the sun bears as promised. You can do this really easily yourself as well - taxi drivers in Malaysia are really honest and will give you a fair price to Sepilok and back (probably very cheaply!) so don't feel the need to book it through this tour. Everything else was a waste of time, and we didn't even get taken to the caves, one of the main reasons we booked in with the tour (to be fair they're closed at the moment, but we weren't told that until we were literally driving past them). The sights in Sandakan are really not worth visiting sadly, and not worth the crazy amounts of money they're charging to add them on to Sepilok and Suka Bilit. We also weren't taken to the English tea cafe but instead to a restaurant where the menus were literally crusted brown with filth. The drives themselves were complete ordeals as well. Our driver Ahmad was misogynistic and pretended my partner didn't exist, which was really weird. And his phone kept going off literally every 2 minutes of the long drives with an incredibly annoying ring tone. He also insisted on taking photos of us every half an hour, which was v intrusive. We never do this but we've asked for some of our money back for the experiences were missed at the very least, and the company hasn't responded to us, weeks later. Do yourself a favour and avoid MAM Holidays Malaysia and this trip specifically..

Beautiful rainforest, river trip.

Our guide was excellent, what he had for eyes I don’t know, we did not see any pigmy elephants but we did see lots of different types of monkeys, probiscus, silver, capuchins. Also saw Hornbills, alligators, Python (in a tree branch) Orangutan in her nest with her baby, sandpipers, snake head bird, eagles, monitor lizard. The trip was excellent.

A beautiful location but it rains alot!

It is a beautiful river area but the weather can be pretty bad. We were not able to do much on the river on the afternoon boat ride because of the heavy rain. We also heard that the morning ride was also fogged in and with low visability. I was hoping to see pygmy elephants but we were told they are no longer in the area. We did see a few monkeys on the river banks but monkeys are easy to find in many other places in the world so this was not worth the long journey to get there. Maybe your luck will be better. Good luck!.

Beautiful Rainforest.. almost untouched and worth it.

I booked with Asia Green Travel. No fuss and easy. I stayed in a mixed dorm with AC at Borneo Natural Sukau Biiit Resort. For RM371, it covered all meals, 4 river cruises, 2 night walks and 1 day jungle walk. Transfer to and from airport or Sandarkan town or anywhere inbetween. I realised that the river cruise on day 1 and 2 go different places and it's good to sit with the same group so that you will explore the different routes.. This is unsaid so you need to be a little aware. Would suggest bringing a small binoculars or rent one. As with the rubber boots.. it's all for rent. Bring a good mosquito repellent (Deets doesn't work fyi) for the jungle walks.. no kidding.. and a torch for the night walks. The weather is cool at sunrise so a light jacket or windbreaker is good to bring along..

Amazing and wonderfully experience

Good things: the river, the cruise, the walking safari. Rangers very good; a lot of animals including the elephant Bad things: a lot of children, too small, the families must be all together in the same boats not disturbing the rest of the tourist or the animals. I can’t understand how parents take the 2 years old children to a morning cruise at 6 a.m. One more bad thing: food in the lodge is very limited. If you are not coming the first you will be probably left with nothing..

We liked it very much

The drivers/guides didn't really explained much, what was a little bit sad. Still we enjoyed the tour very much with extra visits to the sun bears and crocodikes. (We had to pay a little extra for the entrances of these facilities ofcourse). And they also took us to a Chinese Temple and the water village in Sandakan. Nice two days. Saw a lot of monkeys in the wild (incl. Orang-utangs), as well as pygmee elephants and some beautiful birds :).

Great trip with Mr Aji

We contacted Mr. Aji for a 2D1N trip and luckily he had availability at quite short notice ([email protected]) quick reply. He picked us up from Sepilok at 10.30am. We drove to Kinabatangan which was about 2 hours away, checked in to our room. Basic but yes it was clean and there was AC which is all we really wanted. We did the afternoon cruise which was about 2pm to 6pm where we saw orangutans, and lots and lots of different types of monkeys. We then went back for dinner, and did our jungle night walk. We were so lucky to spot a clouded leopard. Weren’t expecting to see any at all as Mr. Aji said he had only seen them on 4 occasions in 2018, and this was the first of 2019 (it was only 27th Jan but still!!!) other than this we saw bats, fireflies, lots of spiders, and other cats I can’t remember what they were called. Next morning we did morning cruise from 6.30am to 8.30am, we saw snakes (again very lucky) lizards, baby croc (quite hard to spot crocs during rainy season because the water is high so again lucky) more orangutans, more monkeys, and a flying lemur. After this we were dropped back to Sepilok by lunch time. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip with Mr. Aji. He has some kind of magical vision that allows him to spot wildlife from far I’m sure!! We found him to be friendly, if he didn’t answer our questions it was because he was concentrating on what he was doing, not because he was ignoring us! Mr. Aji actually does a lot of work on the river, he showed us some rope bridges he had built which allowed the monkeys to cross the river. And all of this is his own expense, the government don’t fund this. It rained for about an hour on our cruise, and there is no roof on boat, so Make sure you take a rain jacket. We wore wellies also which we are happy about as our feet remained dry and we also felt comfortable wearing these on the jungle walk as it kept all the bugs and biting ants out! So I’d definitely reccomend wearing wellies. P.s take snacks like crisps or something because breakfast isn’t huge and you might not like dinner (all Malaysian food)..

Enthusiastic guide and a great condensed Kinabatangan River 2 days wildlife experience.

We did the two day one night “expedition” with Mr Aji and loved it. Despite reading all I could on tour options and location etc I did not really have a clear idea of what to expect. After reviewing the area on Google earth and checking transit times it was clear we were not really penetrating that deep into the jungle and were never far from a road out. On this basis I convinced my less adventurous wife to join. From my reading it appears that the Sabah government gazetted the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary around 2005. This protected area forms a narrow wildlife corridor that follows both sides of the river. The sanctuary now safeguards an area of 27,800 hectares from the widespread Palm oil plantations. The Kinabatangan River has a reputation as one of the top wildlife watching destinations in Southeast Asia. Sukau, located 132 km from Sandakan, is the main centre for wildlife tourism along the river. Sakau serves as base for boat-based wildlife watching tours of the lower Kinabatangan river. I was actually surprised how small an area had actually been protected and Mr Aji can elaborate on the efforts to maintain just this area. Mr Aji and his two sons run a very tight and safe operation. The pick up at the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center at Sepilok was on time and the 2 hour drive in Mr Aji Van was uneventful and comfortable. On arrival we were given a key to our Air-conditioned room in a small settlement at the side of the river. The room was very basic but clean and tidy. The wide canoe like boats used in our 2 -6pm river trip were very stable and easy to board and disembark. We had a total of six people in comfortable plastic seats on the boat. The trip was fun and we saw a range of wildlife in including a Crocodile, Proboscis monkeys and many other monkeys, birds etc but only one Orangutan high in his nest for the night. Mr Aji is very knowledgeable and obviously very passionate in preserving the jungle area and its wild life from the encroaching Palm oil Plantations. After a simple local open air dinner we went for a night walk in the Jungle behind the village. We saw various nocturnal creatures and bugs, including a civet cat. It is amazing how Mr Aji can spot the smallest of creatures at night in the jungle. All questions were happily addressed with detailed information. After a night’s sleep we went a for 2 hour walk in the jungle with one of Mr Aji’s sons who showed us various trees and a variety of jungle creatures. The walk was again on flat land and apart from the heat and humidity was not a difficult walk but gave an indication of what it would be like to venture further into the jungle on a more serious adventure. We and a tasty local breakfast before being driven back to Sepilok by noon. We thoroughly enjoyed our short “expedition” and would highly recommend Mr Aji and his Team for an introduction to the Boneo Jungle. If you are looking for transportation from the Airport to the Sepilok meeting point and back the following day we found Mr “Magical” Rizal as recommended by another reviewer to be most punctual and reasonably priced Tel +60 143585 441.

Wow

Did a 2 day river tour- just amazing. Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys. Birds Crocodiles really worth it. On the night hike we saw a Tiger Cat- I would recommend this. The camp we stayed in had good bed, hot showers, a/c and the food was very good..

Incredible

So we arrived here and were only meant to stay for one evening but we extended our stay to one more night. The reason being; The staff here are so friendly and so welcoming, they take grate care of you and grate care of their establishment. We stayed in a deluxe lodge which is just perfect. Small four poster beds, very rustic but it also has a very good shower and AC which is paramount in the jungle :) We purchased some river prawns from the local fisherman and the kitchen cooked them all for us, they were incredible! The food here is spot on, every where is kept very clean and the view is just unbelievable, especially from the top floor above the restaurant where the hammocks are. I highly recommended visiting here if your in Borneo. A great end to our trip. Note, ask the reception to book you the Gomatong Caves! Well worth a visit!.

Best way to explore Kinabatangan River is with Mr Aji Expenditions!

Me and my boyfriend booked with Mr Aji after reading all the good reviews on trip advisor and weren't disappointed! Mr Aji is a great guy, heavily involved in conservation and with true passion and love for the animals. The tour groups are quite small - only me and my boyfriend were on it for our dates, so that was quite good. I don't think it goes over 2 couples at once. We booked 2 days / 1 night tour, which included a boat tour, night walk and a short tour in the next morning. February is the end of the rainy season, so dont expect many animals, as they dont go near the water in those times i think. We were lucky to spot an orangutan with its baby, lots of monkeys and proboscis monkeys. The orangutan and the proboscis were very high in the trees, but Mr Aji was kind enough to offer a binoculars so i we were able to see them. Just set your expectations right - this is not a zoo, it is a wildlife spotting tour and you cant really control the actions of wild animals, so there is always a chance you wont see much. However if you are lucky you might be able to see even elephants close to the river. For best chances to see the animals, probably best to go in dry season. The accommodation was very basic, but had all amenities and I enjoyed staying locally, where profits go to local people from the village. The restaurant where we are was really nice on the river and served us dinner and breakfast consisting of local dishes..

see the wilds and wildlife now before they are gone .....

We had just a bit of time to take the two day, one night Kinabatangan River Cruise. It’s well crafted for a good experience – mid day pickup in Sandakan/Sepilok, evening cruise, dinner, night hike, sleep, morning cruise, breakfast, transfer out to Sukau to catch the public buses to Semporna or Kota Kinabalu or other destinations. We booked through River Junkie who did a great job of integrating all of our needs and making for one smooth transition from place to place. Our hotel was the Nature Lodge Kinabatangan. We saw a lot of monkeys (langurs, macaques, proboscis monkeys), a few hornbills. Max, our river guide, said he saw the top of the crocodile, but it slipped into the water as the boat approached. No elephants – Max said they haven’t been seen for several months now. We were extremely fortunate to see a male orangutan on the evening cruise and then a mother and baby in the morning. I recall that on our first trip to the area (over ten years ago), we saw much more wildlife, but not sure if that’s because we came at a different time of the year. The night hike is recommended just to see creatures up close and personal – the scorpion and a couple of tree frogs – in other words, something different from what you’d see on the cruise. You will definitely need flashlights (obviously) and ask the staff about the recent weather, since it was recommended that we rent boots …. But it should have been made mandataory !! (we rented them anyways). Since it had rained off and on in the past few months, we ended up mucking through up to six inches of water and mud … thank goodness for the boots, otherwise we’d have to deal with the leeches !!! Overall, an interesting experience, especially to see that vast swaths along the river are being given up to palm plantations. See it now before it’s all gone ….. PS if you're interested in seeing the elephants, there are other areas such as Tabin where they are more plentiful.

Mr Aji is the man

I would 100% recommend booking your trip with Mr Aji! The man is armed with an arsenal of animal calls and eyes that could spot a needle in a haystack. Any animals that are there to be seen will be seen on a tour with Mr Aji We managed to spot 6 types of Primate including 4 Orang utans; a mother and baby being my personal highlight. Multiple species of bird and also a couple of crocodiles. Mr Aji will help you take professional photos of all the animals. The tour includes 2 long boat cruises to different locations, 2 morning walks and a night walk. All really good fun. The accommodation is clean and the people are friendly. The food is good and the price for the all inclusive tour is the cheapest I could find (rm475). It was an amazing experience and would recommend it to anyone!.

One of the best experiences of my life!

Wonderful, exciting, exhilarating, thrilling, interesting....adjectives do not cover just how good this river is for spotting wildlife. We went of a day cruise and a night cruise and saw 3 wild orangutan, proboscis monkeys, long tail macaques, kingfishers, hornbills, saltwater crocodiles and lots more. Highly recommended!!.