Reviews

2n3d jungle tour staying at Sukon River Lodge including the Orangutan Sanctuary.A great experience. The river safaris were great, spotting the Borneo big 5. Our guide Yaiyai? was passionate about the wildlife and his knowledge incredible. Made the safaris so much more enjoyable. The Lodge accommodation (we had a villa) was lovely and we enjoyed watching the monkeys from our deck. Also had an Orangutan and her baby in a tree outside our room one night. The food was great and staff couldn’t do more to make our time special.

2n3d jungle tour staying at Sukon River Lodge including the Orangutan Sanctuary.A great experience. The river safaris were great, spotting the Borneo big 5. Our guide Yaiyai? was passionate about the wildlife and his knowledge incredible. Made the safaris so much more enjoyable. The Lodge accommodation (we had a villa) was lovely and we enjoyed watching the monkeys from our deck. Also had an Orangutan and her baby in a tree outside our room one night. The food was great and staff couldn’t do more to make our time special.

We had the good fortune to find this travel agency for our 3 week trip through Borneo. Brandon, our travel advisor, was responsive, thoughtful, professional and kind. He helped create a fabulous travel itinerary through Kota Kinabalu Park, Dermacott, Sepilok, Sakau (their company property), Utan (also their property), Tabin, and Durham Valley. The guides and drivers from Borneo Eco were wonderful (shout out to our Guides: Syah, J, Sylvester. Drivers: Ratio?, Irwin, Madi). The vehicles used for travel were super clean and comfortable, water was available and sometimes even WiFi in the car! Company owned lodges were very nice - Utan especially and would recommend anyone traveling there to consider this lodge (smaller than Sakau, amazing chef - absolutely fabulous fresh seafood, BEST guide - Sly, lovely property manager (Raudhah) who made sure we had whatever we needed).

We had the good fortune to find this travel agency for our 3 week trip through Borneo. Brandon, our travel advisor, was responsive, thoughtful, professional and kind. He helped create a fabulous travel itinerary through Kota Kinabalu Park, Dermacott, Sepilok, Sakau (their company property), Utan (also their property), Tabin, and Durham Valley. The guides and drivers from Borneo Eco were wonderful (shout out to our Guides: Syah, J, Sylvester. Drivers: Ratio?, Irwin, Madi). The vehicles used for travel were super clean and comfortable, water was available and sometimes even WiFi in the car! Company owned lodges were very nice - Utan especially and would recommend anyone traveling there to consider this lodge (smaller than Sakau, amazing chef - absolutely fabulous fresh seafood, BEST guide - Sly, lovely property manager (Raudhah) who made sure we had whatever we needed).

Brandon and Borneo Eco Tours organised a wonderful itinerary of Sabah and Sarawak for my wife and I

The coordination of our transfers between the various lodges was first class.

We recommend them highly.

Brandon and Borneo Eco Tours organised a wonderful itinerary of Sabah and Sarawak for my wife and I

The coordination of our transfers between the various lodges was first class.

We recommend them highly.

We had a great time in Borneo, with the help of the team at Borneo EcoTours. Communication was clear, knowledgeable, helpful and efficient. All the tours were greatly enjoyed by our family, both through Sandakan and in Kota Kinabalu. Cruising through the Kinabatangan River searching for the various wildlife was particularly enjoyable and the provided guide was very informative.The Sakau Rainforest lodge was very comfortable and all staff were courteous, helpful and willing to help. Would highly recommend Borneo Eco Tours.

We had a great time in Borneo, with the help of the team at Borneo EcoTours. Communication was clear, knowledgeable, helpful and efficient. All the tours were greatly enjoyed by our family, both through Sandakan and in Kota Kinabalu. Cruising through the Kinabatangan River searching for the various wildlife was particularly enjoyable and the provided guide was very informative.The Sakau Rainforest lodge was very comfortable and all staff were courteous, helpful and willing to help. Would highly recommend Borneo Eco Tours.

We had a perfect 4-day experience with Eddy and Joe, a dream team for showing us the beauty of Sabah geography, vegetation and wildlife. The tour was very well organized, the logistics were perfect, the food was abundant and delicious. We did many activities during the day and also night Safaris in remote Deramakot Forest Reserve. The guides shared their deep knowledge of the communities, diverse plant life, and animals. Atuukoi!!!
We saw the famous rhinoceros hornbills, woodpeckers, various bulbuls and other birds. After several days of following their footsteps, we had a surprise encounter with an elephant family crossing the road. High up in the trees we saw red flying fox, palm civet, three-striped civet, orangutans and gibbon monkeys. We also sighted long tailed macaques, water buffaloes, and snakes of various kinds. Our jungle housing had three bedrooms with on-suite bathrooms and a common area with couches. The bedrooms were equipped with air-conditioning and the bathroom with hot water showers. This was an unexpected level of comfort in a remote jungle location.
We also visited Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site renowned for its ecology, flora and geology. Dominated by Mount Kinabalu (Gunung Kinabalu), revered also as “aki nabalu” (home of the spirits of the dead) by the Dusun (our guide's tribe). The guides contributed their own family's history and impressive knowledge about Borneo's political developments during the past 200 years. We never had guides with such broad interests, at the same time super friendly, highly flexible to our requests and needs, and - most importantly - very humorous. The days were filled with lots of laughs. At Sabah Tea Plantation we had a factory tour at this well-run organic tea producer, and this was a great place to stay for a night as well. We enjoyed a canopy walkway and walking trail near Poring Hot Springs. The tiled hot water tubs are a good place to relax aching muscles after hiking. We enjoyed every single moment of the trip. We highly recommend BET!

We had a perfect 4-day experience with Eddy and Joe, a dream team for showing us the beauty of Sabah geography, vegetation and wildlife. The tour was very well organized, the logistics were perfect, the food was abundant and delicious. We did many activities during the day and also night Safaris in remote Deramakot Forest Reserve. The guides shared their deep knowledge of the communities, diverse plant life, and animals. Atuukoi!!!
We saw the famous rhinoceros hornbills, woodpeckers, various bulbuls and other birds. After several days of following their footsteps, we had a surprise encounter with an elephant family crossing the road. High up in the trees we saw red flying fox, palm civet, three-striped civet, orangutans and gibbon monkeys. We also sighted long tailed macaques, water buffaloes, and snakes of various kinds. Our jungle housing had three bedrooms with on-suite bathrooms and a common area with couches. The bedrooms were equipped with air-conditioning and the bathroom with hot water showers. This was an unexpected level of comfort in a remote jungle location.
We also visited Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site renowned for its ecology, flora and geology. Dominated by Mount Kinabalu (Gunung Kinabalu), revered also as “aki nabalu” (home of the spirits of the dead) by the Dusun (our guide's tribe). The guides contributed their own family's history and impressive knowledge about Borneo's political developments during the past 200 years. We never had guides with such broad interests, at the same time super friendly, highly flexible to our requests and needs, and - most importantly - very humorous. The days were filled with lots of laughs. At Sabah Tea Plantation we had a factory tour at this well-run organic tea producer, and this was a great place to stay for a night as well. We enjoyed a canopy walkway and walking trail near Poring Hot Springs. The tiled hot water tubs are a good place to relax aching muscles after hiking. We enjoyed every single moment of the trip. We highly recommend BET!

We booked a 3N2D Kinabatangan package and it was absolutely top class and even magical. Truly, the hospitality, accommodations, experience and even the booking process were so wonderful. Everybody was so welcoming and helpful over the course of our stay. I also would like to give a special commendation for Kazree - our excellent guide, Chef Teddy - our excellent chef, and Lisa - our excellent coordinator.

But above all the professional etiquette and service, it was actually the kindness which struck us the most, and which we will never forget. Even above the striking beauty, the animals, the serenity, the food, and even without our special birthday treats, my children still say that it was the kindness that stood out the most. What more could a parent - or any person- ask for. That’s such a beautiful life lesson!! And the second thing that my children will never forget: the fooz ball table and LIBRARY - which actually had children’s books!!!! They are missing that lounge everywhere we go! We also enjoyed participating in the river clean up and the ape talk was so good - Asimjan was a top notch presenter!!

This experience set a very high bar and I’m not sure if we can find that anywhere else!

Update: It’s been 2 weeks (of a great vacation) since and we are still talking about that experience!!!! Thank you to everyone who made it so special for us. God bless.

We booked a 3N2D Kinabatangan package and it was absolutely top class and even magical. Truly, the hospitality, accommodations, experience and even the booking process were so wonderful. Everybody was so welcoming and helpful over the course of our stay. I also would like to give a special commendation for Kazree - our excellent guide, Chef Teddy - our excellent chef, and Lisa - our excellent coordinator.

But above all the professional etiquette and service, it was actually the kindness which struck us the most, and which we will never forget. Even above the striking beauty, the animals, the serenity, the food, and even without our special birthday treats, my children still say that it was the kindness that stood out the most. What more could a parent - or any person- ask for. That’s such a beautiful life lesson!! And the second thing that my children will never forget: the fooz ball table and LIBRARY - which actually had children’s books!!!! They are missing that lounge everywhere we go! We also enjoyed participating in the river clean up and the ape talk was so good - Asimjan was a top notch presenter!!

This experience set a very high bar and I’m not sure if we can find that anywhere else!

Update: It’s been 2 weeks (of a great vacation) since and we are still talking about that experience!!!! Thank you to everyone who made it so special for us. God bless.

Had a short but memorable trip on Kinabatangan river spotting wildlife with our knowledgeable guide Kazree. It was well organized from the airport pick up to drop off.

Had a short but memorable trip on Kinabatangan river spotting wildlife with our knowledgeable guide Kazree. It was well organized from the airport pick up to drop off.

I did not want to leave Borneo and this eco resort when our trip ended. The entire experience was awesome with a few caveats. We stayed on the Villa side (vs Hotel side). I'd recommend a Villa over a room in the hotel. The open corridor to the rooms was an amazing walk. This area is full of wildlife and you can see it by just walking around the resort.

Our experience with the nature guides was hit or miss. There were a handful of expert guides and then others seemed to be much less experienced or "its just a job" mentality. We were given a presentation from an "expert" on Orangutans but he referenced information that was misleading and not accurate (video on Orangutan driving a golf cart). This was disappointing and created a credibility gap on the guide expertise.

Also, arranging your itinerary for nature trips is too confusing. There are opportunities but it is too difficult to access a full menu and build a proper trip. We found out about several activities from fellow travelers and wished that we had known about these in advance. A full menu should be made easily available to guests. We found it easy to add trips and pay during our stay. We just didn't know about what was available until it was too late.

The restaurant was a good experience overall with the exceptions of the garbage bins were the first view after you got to the landing dock. You saw the array of bins each and every time you got on a River Boat. Also, it was confusing how you should enter the restaurant. Only the Hotel side entrance was elegant. The Villa or dock entrance was confusing and the most natural way was through the middle of the dirty dish staff area. The staff acted annoyed and left me wondering how I should be getting to meals.

Given the expense of this Resort, these are sloppy issues and detracted from our stay.

I did not want to leave Borneo and this eco resort when our trip ended. The entire experience was awesome with a few caveats. We stayed on the Villa side (vs Hotel side). I'd recommend a Villa over a room in the hotel. The open corridor to the rooms was an amazing walk. This area is full of wildlife and you can see it by just walking around the resort.

Our experience with the nature guides was hit or miss. There were a handful of expert guides and then others seemed to be much less experienced or "its just a job" mentality. We were given a presentation from an "expert" on Orangutans but he referenced information that was misleading and not accurate (video on Orangutan driving a golf cart). This was disappointing and created a credibility gap on the guide expertise.

Also, arranging your itinerary for nature trips is too confusing. There are opportunities but it is too difficult to access a full menu and build a proper trip. We found out about several activities from fellow travelers and wished that we had known about these in advance. A full menu should be made easily available to guests. We found it easy to add trips and pay during our stay. We just didn't know about what was available until it was too late.

The restaurant was a good experience overall with the exceptions of the garbage bins were the first view after you got to the landing dock. You saw the array of bins each and every time you got on a River Boat. Also, it was confusing how you should enter the restaurant. Only the Hotel side entrance was elegant. The Villa or dock entrance was confusing and the most natural way was through the middle of the dirty dish staff area. The staff acted annoyed and left me wondering how I should be getting to meals.

Given the expense of this Resort, these are sloppy issues and detracted from our stay.

Go with no one else. Highest quality food, accommodation and service. Attention to detail. Company culture seems to be to go the extra mile. Guide (Jad) was simply out of this world. Lodge was busy but all guests were blown away. We did 3D2N at Sukau. Saw it all. Good choice of tour but add Turtle Island (extra night) if you can, regret not being able to. Thank you guys.

Go with no one else. Highest quality food, accommodation and service. Attention to detail. Company culture seems to be to go the extra mile. Guide (Jad) was simply out of this world. Lodge was busy but all guests were blown away. We did 3D2N at Sukau. Saw it all. Good choice of tour but add Turtle Island (extra night) if you can, regret not being able to. Thank you guys.