Borneo Eco Tours

Birding in Borneo - West Coast

Summary Itinerary Rates Photos Reviews

You don't have to go far to be immersed in the numerous birdlife of Borneo. Journey with us bird watching around Kota Kinabalu and afield to Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs. The west coast of Sabah is home to about 350 species of birds, of which around 35 are endemic to Borneo.

Tour Highlights

Birding at Likas Wetlands
Exploring the foothills of Mt. Kinabalu
Bird watching in Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs

kinabalu parkporing hot spring birdingnature jungle trekking east coastsabah

Day 1 : Kota Kinabalu

Arrive at Kota Kinabalu airport and transfer to your hotel for check-in before heading out in the late afternoon for Birding at the Likas Wetlands. Overnight at Dreamtel Hotel. (No meals)

Note: Likas Wetland closed on Monday

Day 2 : Kota Kinabalu - Tambunan - Kundasang

Depart in the morning after breakfast to the Tambunan area for birding. In the afternoon, we make our way to the foothills of Mt Kinabalu. Overnight at Hill Lodge, Kinabalu Park. (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Day 3 : Kinabalu Park

Spend a full day bird watching around Kinabalu Park, exploring the various trails and avoiding the crowds. After birding for the day, we overnight at Hill Lodge, Kinabalu Park. (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Kinabalu Park is home to: White Throated Fantail, Yellow Breasted Warbler, Kinabalu Friendly Warbler, Mountain Leaf-Warblers, Grey-throated Babbler, Borneo Whistling Thrush, Chestnut-capped Laughing Thrush, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Temminck's Sunbird, Sunda Whistling Thrush, Black Laughing-thrush, Black-breasted Triller, Indigo Flycatcher, Golden Napped Barbet, Whitehead's Trogon, Whitehead's Spiderhunter, Mountain Blackeye, Bornean Stubtail (Endemic), Crimson-head Partridge, Red-breasted Partridge, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Ochraceous Bulbul, White-browed Shortwing, Mountain Blackbird, Ashy Drongo, Short-tailed Magpies, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Bar-winged Cuckoo-shrike, Whitehead's Broadbill, Blue-winged Leafbird, Bornean Barbets, various other woodpeckers, warblers, trogons, bulbuls, besra and flycatchers.

Day 4 : Poring Hot Springs

Spend another full day bird watching, this time in Poring Hot Springs. We'll follow the various jungle trails in the area and also use the platforms of the canopy walkway for spotting before returning in the evening to overnight at Hill Lodge, Kinabalu Park. (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Poring is home to: Banded Broadbill, Diard's Trogon, Gold-Whiskered Barbet, Pygmy White-eye, Blue-banded Pitta, Bold-strip Tit-Babbler, White-bellied Woodpecker, Brown Barbet, Thick-Billed Spiderhunter, White-browed Shama, Dusky Munia, Siberian Blue Robin, Crested Jay, Wreathed Hornbill, Scally Breasted Bulbul, Banded Kingfisher, White Fronted Falconet, various other bulbuls, broadbills, babblers and flowerpeckers.

Day 5 : Kota Kinabalu

We waste no time as we spend the final day bird watching at a higher altitude. After lunch, we make our way back to Kota Kinabalu to be dropped off at a hotel in the city or at the airport for your flight out. (Breakfast & Lunch)

THINGS TO BRING: Please bring along sun block lotion, personal toiletries, swim wear, torch light, drinking water bottle, insect repellent, walking shoes, binoculars, camera, hat & raincoat.

Borneo Eco Tours is moving towards a plastic-free environment, so, please join our movement by bringing your own refillable water bottle during your time with us.

INCLUDES

Tours and transfers, accommodation and meals as specified, entrance fees and English speaking guide.

EXCLUDES

Airfare, camera fee and items not mentioned, Tourism Tax (TTx) flat rate of RM10 per room per night.

For more Birding Packages, please visit www.borneobirding.com

Note on Travel Insurance

Customers are encouraged to purchase their own travel insurance before travelling to Borneo. We recommend you to select a travel insurance policy that covers not only your medical expenses (including emergency repatriation) but also personal liability, cancellation, curtailment and loss of luggage. Doing so can prevent major disruptions and additional costs.

MYR 3024 per person

Single Supplement : MYR 960

High season surcharge : MYR 30 per room per night at KK City Hotels (01-07 Oct, 26 Dec 16 - 01 Jan 17, 06-12 Feb 17)

Rates are valid from 01 April 2018 till 31 March 2019.

Thank you

so much for your excellent organisation of our trip. The sighting of so many birds and wildlife has exceeded our expectations.

All our guides and drivers have done a great job with their knowledge and patience, so that I could take a lot of great photos!

Many thanks to Osman and William, Hazwan and Chiew, Mohammad and Jan (Tabin) and Ned (Danum Valley).

We felt comfortable in all accommodations, staff everywhere was always friendly and food was delicious.

We already wrote a review on TRIPADVISER and we will highly recommend your company.

Thanh-Son , Germany, 21 June- 09 July 2018

I have been meaning to write

Thank you for arranging our amazing trip to Borneo. Everything went perfectly without a hitch! We enjoyed both Hamit and Hazwan and had an especially good time with Hazwan. They are both good birders and Wayne saw an amazing number of birds. I loved the orangutans and the monkeys, so everyone was happy!

You were great to work with and I would not hesitate to recommend Borneo Eco Tours to anyone considering a trip to Borneo.

Joan Kidder , American Samoa, 12-29 June 2018

We asked Borneo Eco Tours to put together a birding itinerary for us for 16 days. Not only did all of our arrangements work seamlessly, but the accommodations and guides were fabulous!! The guides really were exceptional! We also asked for recommendations for a diving resort and a place to relax at the end of our trip and they set up the reservations for us and set up the transfers and all we had to do was focus on having a wonderful time rather than logistics.

Melinda W, United States, February 2016

We really enjoyed the tour and our guide, Osman, was truly excellent. Thanks to him, we saw some amazing birds and he really tried to help us at every opportunity. We would also like to thank our driver, Jolias, for his friendliness and kindness.

We thought that the tour was generally well organized. The only thing that we would say that could have been done differently was that it would have been a good idea to book us into a hotel in Poring Springs on the fifth night rather than spend a third night in Kinabalu National Park. Osman arranged for us to do this and it was a really good idea because it allowed us to do an early morning walk at Poring Springs which enabled us to see birds that prefer a lower altitude.

Thank you too, Tommy, for organizing the tour so efficiently for us. We would certainly like to take another tour with you again at some point in the future.

Kimiko Rayment, Japan, 3 - 10 Sept 2015

We were delighted with our experience at Sukau Lodge. The staff were friendly and very helpful and the food and accommodations were excellent. Thanks to you and all of your staff for a wonderful experience - with a special mention of our birding guide Nexter.

George D . Perry & Joan Harbinson, Canada, 1 - 16 March 2015

We had Borneo Eco Tours orange a private 10-day birding tour for us and they did a wonderful job. Everything went off smoothly from start to finish. Our guides and driver's were very professional, helpful and knowledgable. Accommodations in Kinabalu, Sepilok, Sakau and Danum Valley were great. Borneo Rainforest Lodge is wonderful. Birding was great, 243 birds including most of the ones we wanted - Bristlehead, Pittas, Broadbills etc. Only regret is not staying one extra day in Sepilok to make more of the Rain Forest Discovery centre.

lagavulin46, Canada, March 2016