Guest Reviews

Unforgettable experience with Borneo Eco Tours

We’ve just completed the 4D 3N Sandakan Wildlife Safari as part of our honeymoon. We were blown away by the service and organisation of Borneo Eco Tours. The logistics were spot on, itinerary’s ran perfectly, and you were never left waiting for the next activity/pick up, with just enough time to relax in between! Service from the whole team was incredible. Special mention to our guides, Jimmy on Selingan turtle island & Ashraf for the 3 days on the Kinabatangan River was a superstar. The accommodation at Selingan island was basic & hot! But on a conservation island don’t go expecting luxury and you’ll be fine. On the other hand Sukau Rainforest Lodge is incredible, the villas are beautiful and the whole lodge being absorbed in nature is great. We were lucky to see the big 5 on the Kinabatangan River, along with otters, lots of birdlife & an amazing night cruise where we saw a Buffy Fish Owl, and 2 different civets (Malay & Common Palm) - our guide Sandram had amazing eyesight, this was the highlight of our trip! Thank you also to host Noah for organising a private night tour for us as it was our honeymoon! The food throughout the trip was plentiful & delicious, especially the soups at Sukau lodge which we had to ask chef for the recipe! All in all, an unforgettable trip, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend using Borneo Eco Tours & we hope to return one day to explore more of the amazing island of Borneo and the tours BET offer.

Brilliant guide fabulous experience

Our experience with Borneo Eco tours was brilliant, we couldn’t have asked for a better host/ guide than Mason, a person who really loves his job and wants to share his knowledge and experience with you. Mason picked us up at Sepilok for our visit to the sunbeam and orangutan conservation centres,and then travelled with us to Sukarno, the transfer by boat was well organised and enjoyable we even saw some dolphins on the way. Our daily trips on the Kinabatangan river were amazing, Mason spotted so many animals we completed the Borneo big 5 by day 2 ! Our trip to Gomantong caves with another guide was ok but we missed having Mason with us

Fantastic!

Just returned from Borneo with an organised tour including visits to sepilok, sun bear sanctuary and a 3 night stay at Sakau riverside lodge. It was an amazing experience from start to finish. Very well organised with informative guides and friendly staff throughout. I would thoroughly recommend the company for their efficiency and effort to ensure it was an experience to be remembered

Well organised and knowledgeable

Fantastically well organised company dealing with people who are all on different packages. Respectful of nature and the environment. Our trip was 4 nights 3 days. One tour guide in Sandakan area for the reserves and one in the Sukau Lodge mainly on river cruises. Both guides were excellent and Lee was exceptional . We saw the Big 5 and more. Creatures were close by on the edge of the rivers it a short walk away. Binoculars needed for many of the birds and a good camera would be useful. Loads to see but down time if needed. Good in the Lodge was self service but different every time. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff. Only down side was the journey from Sandakan by boat or road which was 2 to 2.5hrs on bumpy roads or a very loud speed boat!

Top tour, a must do!

This was a trip of a lifetime for us! We did the safari 5d, 4 nights. It was amazing! Our guide at Sukau, Mason, helped us to see the big 5, which was just outstanding and far exceeded our expectations. Then our guide at Utan, Isam, the kindest person you have ever met guided us via walks with patience and cruises. It was a very personal experience overall, and the food included was delicious 😋 I would highly recommend this tour if you enjoy nature and being outdoors with a touch of luxury!

Brilliant company to use!

We booked our trip to Borneo with Borneo Eco Tours, we couldn't find a perfect existing itinerary that fitted with our requirements, so we ended up essentially on a private tour. We first did two nights in the Danum Rainforest and then two at Kinabatagen River. Everything was organised perfectly between our drivers, lodges, boats and guides. We had an incredible trip! The transport was great and everyone was super friendly and helpful. Couldn't have asked for more. (The time difference makes the booking process slightly slower when you have different requirements to an existing package) Thank-you for the trip of a lifetime!

A Truly Magical and Perfectly Personal Borneo Adventure

My partner and I just got back from three weeks in Malaysian Borneo, and I can honestly say it was the most magical trip we've ever taken. We spent a year planning it with Clare at Borneo Eco Tours, and she (and the whole team) made everything perfect. Clare didn't just book a standard package; she really listened to what we wanted and built an itinerary just for us. Her idea to schedule a luxury hotel for a few days right after we climbed Mount Kinabalu was genius—we really needed that rest! She even sent us detailed packing lists for each part of the trip, which was such a thoughtful touch and saved us a lot of guesswork. From the second we landed in Kuching, every single transfer, guide, and hotel was sorted. We didn't have to worry about a thing, so we could just be in the moment. Kuching itself was so vibrant, and Bako National Park was our first real look at Borneo's wildlife. We'll never forget a proboscis monkey just casually walking out onto the path right in front of us! After that, we went to Mulu, and the sheer scale of the caves there just blew us away. The wildlife encounters just kept getting better. It felt like such a privilege every time. We helped release tiny turtle hatchlings into the sea on Selingan Island, watched a whole family of pygmy elephants on the banks of the Kinabatangan River, and saw red leaf monkeys playing in the trees at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge. But the most incredible moment was completely unexpected. We were on a quiet nature walk at the Sukau Rainforest Lodge, just the two of us, and we looked up to see a wild mother and baby orangutan. We just stood there in total silence. It’s a moment that will definitely stay with us forever. Climbing Mount Kinabalu was a huge experience. It was a lot harder than I'd anticipated, but that feeling of making it to the top was amazing. Our guide for the climb was brilliant, setting a perfect pace that made it manageable. We had fog at the summit, but it cleared up and the views were breathtaking. What really made this trip so special, though, were the people. Our guides (Lee, Patrus, Jay, Yus, Nicholas, and Edwin) were the absolute heart of our journey. They were all fantastic—so knowledgeable, funny, and genuinely passionate about sharing their country. They made every single day better. The whole trip just felt incredibly personal. It felt like Clare was a friend looking out for us, and every person we met seemed to go out of their way to make sure we were having a great time. If you're even thinking about a trip to Borneo, we 100% recommend Borneo Eco Tours. They didn't just give us a holiday; they gave us a collection of amazing memories we'll be talking about for years to come.

Borneo Eco Tours is very professional, highly recommend the boat safari and orang utan talk.

We are 4 adults and we booked the "3D 2N Kinabatangan Wildlife Safari (Overland)" directly with Borneo Eco Tours. Our tour consultant Brandon was very prompt at answering our queries, and we appreciated the willingness to modify standard itineraries to accommodate our flight timing. Thank you for all the helpful tips when we were planning our trip! Upon arrival we were greeted by Vincent (we hope we remembered his name correctly, he was a lovely lad!). He showed us around the Rainforest Discovery Center, sharing interesting facts about the rainforest and the wildlife there. Vincent pointed out beautiful birds, rhinoceros hornbill, giant squirrel and even a wild mother orang utan with her baby. Then we joined the bus to the lodge, where Ashraff welcomed us and was our guide for the next days. It was raining when we arrived at the lodge, so the boat trips were cancelled for safety reasons, but Ashraff and the team made an effort to arrange for a slightly longer boat trip the next morning. Ashraff speaks very good English, he keeps us updated with enough information about the day's itinerary, without giving too much details all at once (as we can't remember everything anyway!). Ashraff is a very knowledgable guide, he drives the boat very safely and shares interesting facts about the wildlife as he points them out, and there were many! We also recommend the orang utan talk with Suhaili @Lee, it is suitable for all ages and gives you a very intimate insight into the orang utan's life both in the wild and in captivity. Do stay to watch his video at the end of the talk :) The food at Sukau Rainforest Lodge was delicious, thank you to the cooks! We highly recommend Borneo Eco Tours and would love to return to Sukau again. Thank you to the fantastic team at Borneo Eco Tours and everyone at Sukau Rainforest Lodge for making our visit memorable!

Professional & Friendly

very nice and professional organisation, kind staff and great experience. I will be happy to book it via the company again.

We would return in a heart beat.

Borneo Eco tours turned out to be an excellent choice. We bockedd every late for The Borneo Big 5 (6D 5 N) tour. Pick up at the Sabah Hotel in Sandakan then via the excellent Sepilok Oangutan Centre before a speedboat ride to the lovely Sukau rainforest lodge on the lower Kinabtangan river. We had travelled on the river 18yrs ago and wanted to return. The accommodation was excellent. There are 12 deluxe rooms --which were well presented up market rooms. These are closest to the reception area and in 2 rows. We stayed in 11--closest to the toilets which we could not smell inside the room but a bit outside. Perhaps look to 13,14,15 on our side.We were made to feel special as Audrey had organised flowers and a present in the room for my wife's birthday. There all also about 20 villas that would be a more upmarket choice. They are set amongst the greenery of the extensive boardwalks and look to be made in groups of 2 with private balconies. We were fortunate to have fruiting trees just up from our rooms so they attracted a couple of orangutans and silver langurs. Pied Oriental and Rhino hornbills were there daily often up close. Food was buffet style and excellent. Staff were locals trained up and they were very professional. For the boat rides---which are really the highlight--- we had Vincent who was hugely knowledgeable with perfect English and grew up locally. Expect to see Kingfishers, raptors, silver langurs, red langurs and proboscis monkeys as well as bats crocs and snakes. Pigmy elephants are hit and miss. Did not do the night boat rides (extra and we stayed around the lodge).PS the afternoon talks are worth checking out--as is the pool. This is an easy luxurious way to see this special area. We had 3 nights--would have loved to stay longer and would return in a heart beat. We then drove about 4 hrs total to Danum---different yet similar. The last 2hrs of the drive is on an unpaved road--which in the dry is no problem. The Rainforest lodge is upmarket with lovely villas each with balconies. We stayed on Jungle Lodge 6 which suited our needs easily. The food is really very good and the outlook over the pool is to a primary rainforest mountain. Staff are excellent. The big difference is that here you trek on the trails as well as a board walk and canopy walk. Note part of the canopy is being renovated at the moment. Wildlife is varied--generally further away than the river--but you can see cats on night walks as well as owls.Be aware that you will be sweaty--with leeches---but it is great. The walk to the lookout via the coffins is worth the effort. We had Alex--a wonderful, knowledgable local guide who is passionate about the area. We took the late arvo flight from Lahad Data to Kota Kinabalu--it was delayed by an hour which surprised no one.