Sabah Tours & Trips

Overall an absolutely fantastic tour. We booked this 8 day trip fairly last minute mainly because the dates fit with the rest of our trip, but I’m so pleased we did as it turned out to be a great decision. Firstly, Alister our CEO was AMAZING. Couldn’t have asked for a better guide - he was friendly, knowledgeable, funny and completely in control every step of the way meaning we basically didn’t have to think and could just enjoy the ride - plus he is excellent at karaoke, a definite bonus. Secondly, the itinerary was a wonderful mix of ticking off the touristy items and some much more unusual activities. The homestay at the beginning and the island stay at the end were highlights in terms of activities, as we really felt we saw the real parts of Borneo, not just the places geared towards visitors. Swimming with fish in the local river at the homestay and seeing baby turtles hatching and being released on the island were two things that I never thought I’d do! Highly recommend buying some rice wine at the homestay for the rest of the trip as well as it was delicious. Kinabatangan river and Sepilok were also great fun, and we particular liked the night walk in Sepilok, but do expect to be with other tourists the whole time. Worth noting that Alister’s relaxed attitude at the sanctuaries was massively appreciated as he didn’t have us rushing around like we saw other tour groups do. Thirdly, the accommodation - this was probably the one thing we were a bit concerned about but turned out, our fears were unfounded. All of the accommodation was fine - not amazing, but completely adequate and in line with what is advertised. We always had our own room as a couple (we had thought we might be in a dorm for the homestay) and although we didn’t have the best quality sleep over the week, it really didn’t matter as we were kept busy with activities, plus there were plenty of opportunities for naps. Make sure you bring earplugs and an eye mask and you’ll be fine. Fourthly, food - this ranged across the week a little bit, with the best food being the home cooked food at the homestay (you also get to join in as part of a cooking class!) and on the island, and the average food being that which was served buffet style at Kinabatangan river, but there were always plenty of options and I personally enjoyed every meal. If you’re still wondering as to whether or not to book this trip, hopefully this review persuades you to do so!

This trip was so much fun! It was really well coordinated with the right amount of free time. The first hotel in kota kinabalu is extremely nice but there are heaps of other cheaper hotels quite close if you're staying an extra day. If you want to see the city, stay an extra day or two as you don't get much time included in the tour. 1-2 days in KK would be enough as it's pretty small. Sepilok is really cool and there are heaps of things to do, however a lot of them are guided tours and they cost quite a bit. If you're trying to save, you could just opt to stay at the hotel as it has a pool and a restaurant. Wifi is only in the restaurant area and rooms have fans, no air con. Next is the eco camp which is really cool as it's right in the middle of the jungle. There are SO many mosquitos so don't think you can get away without repellant. Bring snacks as there's no where to get food outside of meal times. You'll probably also want lots of loose, long clothes to avoid sunburn. The tree planting you do here was pretty average but I guess cool to see. At lunch we got to do a cooking class which was pretty cool. The Batu Tulug caves were nice and worth a visit. The homestay depends a lot on your family but it's great to see how locals live. There's no wifi here or on the river at the eco camp, so if you need to check more than once every couple of days, get a local sim (they're pretty cheap anyway). Next you stay in the Kinabalu national park, which was bloody great for us because we got upgraded to this really fancy room. Once again there's no wifi and you have to buy something at a really expensive restaurant to use it. Food is all buffet here which is really fun. The hike was awesome and you can read reviews on it elsewhere, but some things specific to geckos might put some people off this tour. Firstly, we had some people on our group who had chronic medical conditions such as asthma. They were only told the day before the climb that they wouldn't be covered by insurance and if they wanted to climb it would be at their own risk. If you have something like this, it would be worth getting more comprehensive insurance and clarifying what this means for you with geckos before you go, as only learning about this the day before doesn't allow much time for decision making. Secondly, our group leader decided that we wouldn't go all the way to the summit as the weather was really bad. This was fine as we still got to base camp and got to do another smaller walk, and it's totally understandable of our group leader to put our safety first. However, a lot of other people went to the summit regardless (ie people not on our tour) and so if you're really really keen to get to the top, there's a risk you won't be able to with this tour. The poring hot springs were awesome as there are heaps of things to do there, but mostly the beds are comfortable which you'll need after the hike! The small waterfall (you'll find out when you get there) is awesome and definitely worth the 15 minute walk. The hot springs themselves are sort of gross, especially at the end of the day, as they get sort of dirty and you can see hair in them! So it's worth getting a private spa. There's also no wifi here but local cafes (ie across the road from the resort) have it. It's best to eat there too as the restaurant at the resort is really expensive. On the last day we didn't get back to KK until about 5pm and our guide organised a snorkelling trip for those of us who were still there for the next day which was really really good. Our tour guide, Felix, was absolutely awesome and was so passionate about Sabah and wildlife. This tour is a really comprehensive tour of Sabah and you get to see so much. It may seem expensive per day but we had a lot of transfers (including a flight) and got to climb Mt Kinabalu, and some of the hotels were a lot nicer than expected. One thing to keep in mind is that Malaysia is a Muslim country and for us they were celebrating ramadan at the time. This meant that a few restaurants were closed but we always found somewhere to go. We also got to experience the ramadan bazaars which were really cool! However it would have been marginally easier to go at a different time of year. This is also a great introduction into hiking and wildlife types of holidays if you haven't done that before. Sabah is a great place to travel and this tour makes it really easy and shows you the best bits.

We really enjoyed our three day tour in Borneo. Our guide, Shirley, was really knowledgable and took very good care of us. Her local information and wildlife knowledge made for a great trip.