Scenic Kinabatangan Wildlife River Cruise Tour from Sandakan
Scenic Kinabatangan Wildlife River Cruise Tour from Sandakan | Book Now
Overview
Join us on an unforgettable Scenic Kinabatangan Wildlife River Cruise Tour from Sandakan, an 8-hour eco-adventure that offers one of the best opportunities for wildlife watching in Borneo. Travel from Sandakan through lush countryside to the renowned Kinabatangan River, where your guided boat cruise awaits. The Kinabatangan River is the second-longest river in Sabah and a premier destination for jungle river safaris. This Kinabatangan day trip is ideal for nature lovers hoping to spot proboscis monkeys, crocodiles, hornbills, macaques, and even the elusive Borneo pygmy elephants in their natural rainforest habitat.
Your Scenic Kinabatangan Wildlife River Cruise Tour from Sandakan includes a comfortable private pickup and drop-off from your Sandakan hotel, a two-hour Kinabatangan River cruise, and a local dinner at a local restaurant. Whether you’re planning a Sandakan day tour or looking for the best Borneo wildlife cruise, this Kinabatangan River tour offers a perfect balance of adventure and comfort. Ideal for solo travelers, couples, families, or small groups, the Kinabatangan River safari is a must-do in any Sandakan travel guide.
Tour Highlights:
- Pickup and drop-off from your hotel in Sandakan
- Scenic 2 to 2.5-hour drive through rural Sabah to Kinabatangan River
- Guided Kinabatangan River cruise for up-close wildlife sightings
- Spot proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, crocodiles, hornbills, and more
- Local dinner at a local restaurant
- Small-group shared experience with private hotel transfers
- Perfect Kinabatangan day trip from Sandakan for nature photography
- Explore one of the richest ecosystems in Borneo eco tourism
Tour Amenities
Any amendments can be made up to 24 hours before the tour starts.
The sightseeing will proceed according to the itinerary.
Confirmation will be received at time of booking.
We offer 24/7 global customer support.
Included
Pick-up from your Sandakan Hotel.
Tour and transfers on a seat-in-coach basis.
One afternoon wildlife cruise on the Kinabatangan River.
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Services of an experienced in-house guide.
Drop-off at your Sandakan Hotel.
Excluded
Personal expenses are not included.
Tour Plan
Why Choose Our Kinabatangan Wildlife River Cruise Tour?
- Professionally guided Kinabatangan river safari with local experts
- Includes traditional riverside dinner and all transport
- Ideal for families, couples, and solo travelers
- Perfect for Borneo wildlife watching and nature photography
- Private hotel transfers included, even on a shared boat tour
- Opportunity to witness rainforest river cruise Borneo scenery and rare animals
- Trusted by travelers for quality Sandakan to Kinabatangan tours
- Small group sizes for better wildlife spotting and personalized attention
- Great for eco-conscious travelers seeking Borneo eco travel experiences
Book Your Kinabatangan Wildlife River Cruise Tour Today!
Discover the wild heart of Borneo with our all-inclusive Kinabatangan River day tour from Sandakan. Whether you're searching for a crocodile and monkey safari, hoping to spot the iconic proboscis monkeys, or dreaming of hornbill spotting tours, this experience offers it all. Our guided Kinabatangan day safari includes every detail—from hotel pickup in Sandakan to riverside dinner—ensuring a seamless, safe, and scenic journey. Don't miss your chance to explore one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in Southeast Asia on a top-rated Kinabatangan jungle river tour. Book early to secure your place on this unforgettable Kinabatangan River eco tour.
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Reviews (19)
Verified Reviews You Can Trust
Maggie
Source Makhus
Incredible nature- it exceeded our expectations by far!
It was heavy rain when we got on the boats, and we were a bit anxious about how it would go... ( please bring raincoats! ) but it did stop and we were treated to the most amazing wildlife. Over 30+ elephants, and we watched them for so long and were so close. Our boat driver and guide were incredible, got us so close and helped point out everything. Sooo many proboscis monkeys, hornbills, macaques, and we even spotted a croc and bat! The only drawback was the driver was supposed to bring us to the riverside lodge for dinner which we were so looking forward to but we arrived at a very basic roadside cafe, very far from the river. That was the only disappointment- the rest was excellent!...
Written August 12, 2025
Bourlinguer
Source Trip Advisor
Kinabatangan river
For this activity and many others in the sector, we recommend the services of Azrien Alimuddin , mail: azrienalimuddin738@gmail.com. She is a pleasant, efficient and honest person. He organized for us tours over 4 days, with very good advice, and a car always on time, for very decent prices. And all this despite the monsoon that tarnished our experience on the Kinabatangan River. An excellent record for him, as an independent, and we thank him for it! (independent of MAM Holidays).
Written February 17, 2025
Peter L
Source Trip Advisor
Nonexistent Excursion
I would love to write a review of this excursion, however we didn’t get to go on it. Everything appeared fine until the morning of the trip when the freelance travel operator contacted me to say the the travel agent MAM Holidays Malaysia had reduced their previously agreed price by 17%. This made it economically unviable for him, which I had great sympathy for. There was no contact made by MAM Holidays Malaysia to inform us of the situation or any attempt to arrange for another guide. We waited for 30mins to no avail. We are still waiting for the situation to be resolved i.e. full refund from Viator..
Written October 6, 2024
Chen Tai Ho
Source Trip Advisor
Elephants, crocodile and proboscis monkeys
We saw 5 elephants crossing the river, so lucky. And another 15 more on land, walking by the river. Plus a crocodile by the river, which dashed in into the river after a while. There was a group of proboscis monkey, and an even larger group of macaques. The boatmen were very accommodating. Our driver Abdul drove us here. He's reliable and super friendly, reasonable prices. His WhatsApp is +601116695114.
Written September 4, 2024
Candice B
Source Trip Advisor
cancelled less than 24h before our tour
pretty disappointed. Our tour was cancelled at 12.30am, the morning of our trip. Waited half an hour for our pickup and couldn’t contact the number provided, or anybody of that matter. Refund takes 3-5 business days and it’s a Friday. Not happy..
Written July 25, 2024
Louise_A
Source Viator
Great cruise, terrible transport
The river cruise was amazing. However, the transport was an old taxi driving on rough roads, including at night, and the ‘guide’ didn’t really share much insight..
Written July 2, 2024
Ronan_B
Source Viator
Amazing!
Amazing river tour got to see all of the Borneo big 5 ,had a great guide for the expedition and I would highly recommend to anyone who’s a fan of nature tours. 🇮🇪.
Written March 8, 2024
Elisabeth_K
Source Viator
Sandakan-Rundfahrt ohne Höhlenbesichtigung
Für die Leistung ein unangemessener Preis: Eigentlich schöner Ausflug zum Kinabatangan mit Tiersichtungen mit Guide vor Ort. Die Abfahrt wurde am Tag vorher von 11 Uhr auf 11:45 Uhr verschoben, dann haben wir noch Leute vom Flughafen und von diversen Lodges abgeholt um sie zu einer Lodge am Fluss zu bringen. Dort haben wir nochmal eine Stunde gewartet, bis alle ihre Zimmer bezogen hatten. Die in der Ausschreibung angekündigte Fahrt zur Gunung-Höhle fiel dann ohne Erklärung einfach weg Ich fand es einen ziemlichen dreisten Nepp..
Written March 4, 2024
Fiona C
Source Trip Advisor
Borneo wildlife
Mixed review on this one as we were highly anticipating the day and had booked it as my birthday treat. Single mum 3 teens. The caves were worth the visit - smelly but great to see - disappointed nobody advised us the collecting nests would start the next day as we would have changed the date to see this. Arrived for lunch in loads of time and hung around for 3 hours for Boat trip. Didnt realise people were heading to the jetty to queue for the boat so we were last on and could not sit together. All the tourists who had been on the boat already knew the best seats were on the outside so everyone took these first leaving single seats left spread out. The boat was crammed with 20 guests whilst on the water we saw other companies with smaller boats and less people and this would have been our preference. The trip was great the wildlife was fab and we enjoyed it just disappointed not to be sitting together with my kids on my birthday when we were first to arrive at the venue. If you go queue up at the jetty ready to jump on the boat or book with another company with smaller numbers..
Written March 10, 2020
Townsville
Source Trip Advisor
Taxi Ride
Our hotel concierge and I tried for several days to confirm the trip and pick up time, but received no response. On the day a local taxi turned up, complete with taxi sign on top and with non English speaking driver. We had no idea of how long it would take to get to the caves or when we would eat and received no information on route as the driver could not speak English. At the caves, we walked around with no information given at all and then set off for the river cruise. The river cruise part however, was enjoyable with a good boat driver/guide. We certainly did not get an English speaking guide and would have been better off just hiring a local taxi, then we could at least have got aircon, an English speaking driver and saved quite a bit of money to boot! Quite disappointing really and a tour I would recommend you avoid..
Written November 14, 2019
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