We believe that your holiday should be exceptional and unforgettable. It should refresh and inspire you. We call ourselves The Borneo Specialist because we’re passionate about our home Borneo, and after 27 years of providing extraordinary holidays, we have what it takes to delight you.
As a specialist we can tailor make tours that are personal, great value for money with minimal backtracking. How do we do it? Our director has been in the tourism business for the last 37 years. Everyone from our tour consultants to the guides and captains are highly adept at flexible itineraries and tours. We also keep innovating our tours as facilities change or new products come online. That is why we are the Borneo Specialist.
We strive to be a low environment impact tour company with our own in-house "green policies" and Code of Practice. An in-house Sustainability team was set up to monitor our green practices. These include supporting hotels and restaurants that respect the environment, support ecotourism education and employ guides who are well versed in local cultures and the environment.
Borneo Eco Tours is the only company to equip our boats for all river cruises with 4 stroke outboard engines and electric motors (Evinrude E-TEC and Yamaha ) which meet the world's most stringent emission standards of the European Union and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), so that guests could enjoy a clean and quiet ride without disturbing the wildlife.
Through our registered non-profit society, Borneo Ecotourism, Solutions and Technologies (BEST) Society, Borneo Eco Tours and Sukau Rainforest Lodge have been helping local communities since we started business in 1991. Projects include medical camps, supply of water tanks, and providing assistance to produce and promote Virgin Coconut oil, organic farming, forest restoration project, and building capacity through training.
Since the year 1996, BEST Society has received donation from individual donors and corporations amounting to RM 2,482,856.94. Borneo Eco Tours and Sukau Rainforest Lodge also donate to BEST Society for every guest who buy its tours. As of March 2019, Borneo Eco Tours have contributed RM 1,016,387.00 and Sukau Rainforest Lodge with RM 642,049.08 out of the total amount. Every guests who support Borneo Eco Tours also contribute towards this fund. Borneo Ecotourism Solutions & Technologies Society (BEST) is a non profit division of Borneo Eco Tours to help implement community and environment projects.
BEST Society Contribution SnapshotWe own and operate an intimate 40 room multi-international ecotourism award winning Sukau Rainforest Lodge (SRL), which is a charter member of the National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World. SRL underwent a RM3 million renovation in 2011 and another RM9 million in 2018.
SRL is consistently rated no. 1 lodge and awarded the Hall of Fame for being the best lodge five years in a row (2014-18) by Trip Advisor and rated by National Geographic Traveler magazine as one of top 50 ecolodges in the world. SRL was recognised by British Travel Award as the leading green hotel in Asia in 2010, winner of PATA Tourism Inspire award 2015 among others.
Sukau Rainforest Lodge has also been audited and certified as a member of Travelife Gold. Travelife is an internationally recognised accommodation sustainability programme in over 50 countries and 1,500 members who use tools and resources to improve their business's environmental, financial and social impact.
Read MoreSince you only have our word on how good the Sukau Rainforest Lodge (SRL) is, we will take the risk for you by offering a Money-Back Guarantee (for internet booking only) if you are not satisfied upon arrival at the lodge. Please inform us immediately and we will return you to the port of embarkation at the earliest possible scheduled transfer and refund the cost of your Sukau tour. If you fail to see any proboscis monkey on the first afternoon river cruise, we will offer you a complimentary night cruise.
We have a team of over 160 highly motivated staff within the group including coach and boat captains, certified eco-guides, naturalists, bird/ orchid / adventure specialist guides, tour consultants, river and jungle guides and wildlife spotters. We don't handle mass tourism market and focus only on special interest tours and small groups.
A specialist on Borneo with Head Quarters in Kota Kinabalu and offices in Kiulu, Sandakan and Sukau, a strong network of partners operating in Sabah, Brunei, Sarawak and Peninsula Malaysia.
Borneo Eco Tours is highly regarded in the tourism industry and has won numerous international awards. These include the SKal International Award (2012), National Geographic Adventure Magazine (2008), British Travel Awards(2006), Green Globe (1996,98, 2000), IH&RA (1999), Conde Nast (1999) and Travelasia (1999). Sukau Rainforest Lodge has won the most awards in Malaysia for an eco lodge including World Travel Awards (2008,09,10), National Geographic Adventure 2009(top 50 ecolodge), Green Hotelier award 1999, Tourism for Tomorrow award 1997 (best ecolodge for Pacific region).
Our AwardsAll our guests who book online will receive a pack of our own special in-house welcome gifts including postcards, bookmarks and books depending on the tours they take. Get a free Visitors Handbook on Lower Kinabatangan if you take a tour to Sukau Rainforest Lodge commencing in Sandakan (excluding ex-Sukau tour).
Our on-time transfers in 2012 are 98.9% for all our guests. Get a free t-shirt if we are 15 minutes late for the airport arrival transfer.
We have the largest range of transport consisting of 25 modern air-conditioned coaches, vans, land cruisers, cars, twin engine speedboats and river boats to provide you transport on land, sea and rivers to take you to where your heart desires in Sabah.
All our open sea speedboats are equipped radio communication equipment; the boats are never out of communication with our office. The boats, vehicles, captains and guides are licensed and insured. All boats are equipped with life jackets and our coaches and vans are equipped with seat belts. We are also covered by Public Liabitiity insurance policy.
With 42 years of industry experience by our Director (1977), we have accumulated a vast library of resources from postcards, books, slides, digital photographs and promotional materials, equipment, vehicles, contacts all over Borneo to handle most requests. We also publish our own online newsletter for the last fourteen years since September 2005, which was recently rebranded in 2017 as Wild Borneo.
Check out Wild BorneoWe have many satisfied customers including famous guests like Sir David Attenborough, Tim Kelly (President of the National Geographic Society), Jack Hanna, (US TV personality), HRH Prince Henrik (The Prince Consort of Denmark), Theo Allofs (world famous photographer), S Club 7 (English Pop Group), Jeff Corwin (TV Wildlife Biologist), delegates from WWF, Borneo Ecotourism Conference 2005, Asia Pacific Ecotourism Conference 2002, World Ecotourism Conference 1999 and various international media groups.
Read our guest commentsFor hard core trekking tours to Crocker Range and Maliau Basin we can arrange for emergency evacuation by helicopter, under guests insurance coverage, if necessary due to illness or fatigue.