How to Do a Kinabatangan River Cruise: The Best Way To Get There & How I Did It in 2025

The Kinabatangan River Cruise was easily the highlight of my time in Borneo. We were out on the river, surrounded by rainforest, and watched completely wild orangutans swinging through the trees, it honestly felt unreal. Probably one of the best wildlife experiences I’ve had on my travels so far.

However, when I was planning my Borneo trip, I found almost no useful info online. No proper blog posts, no step-by-step breakdowns, nothing. So after doing it myself, I wanted to put together something that would’ve helped me back then.

I get it, the whole Kinabatangan River situation can feel a bit confusing at first. Is it a tour? Do you need to book a full package? How do you even get there? And where are you supposed to stay? I had all those same questions.

So before I get into how to actually do a Kinabatangan River cruise (and what it was like), I’ll quickly break down what the Kinabatangan River is all about, how it works, and what you need to know. Let’s get into it.

Kinabatangan River Cruise – A Quick Explanation

Alright, here’s a quick breakdown of how a Kinabatangan River Cruise actually works and what you need to know before you go.

The Kinabatangan River runs through the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, about 2.5 hours from Sandakan on Borneo’s east coast. It’s one of the best places in Borneo to see the “Big 5 Borneo”: orangutans, pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, hornbills, and crocodiles.

There’s only limited jungle trekking allowed here, which is why the main way to see wildlife is by boat. That’s where the Kinabatangan river cruises come in.

The easiest way to do it is by staying at one of the river lodges in either Sukau or Bilit, the two small villages by the river. Most people book directly with the lodges, which usually offer full packages (like 3D2N) that include transport, meals, and multiple cruises. Some also let you book just the stay and add cruises separately.

A few popular lodges are Sukau Greenview, Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort, and Sukau Rainforest Lodge. These places often aren’t listed on Booking.com, so I just looked up “Sukau” on Google Maps and clicked around to find the lodges directly.

So yeah, to keep it simple, your transport, stay, food, and river cruises are usually all sorted through whichever lodge you book with. That’s how most people do it, and honestly, it works out pretty smoothly.

Kinabatangan River Cruise – My Experience

We tried to do the Kinabatangan River a bit more on the budget side, not because we don’t appreciate a beautiful jungle lodge, but because we’ve never been flashy travelers and just didn’t feel the need to splurge here. When we started looking into it, we realized you can go two ways: keep it cheap and do it backpacker-style, or go all-in and stay at one of the fancy eco-lodges with multiple cruises included.

We ended up staying at Sukau Village View Stay & Backpackers, which worked perfectly for us. We booked the accommodation on Booking.com and then arranged all the river cruises directly with them, depending on how many we wanted to do. Our logic was that if we got lucky and saw most of the “Big 5 of Borneo” on the first two cruises, we could skip the third. (Spoiler: we saw 3 out of 5.)

Looking back, you’d need to be ridiculously lucky to spot all five in just a couple of outings. Some travelers we met said they did ten cruises trying to see elephants, so just know it’s a bit of a gamble.

With our stay, we also booked transport from Sandakan to Sukau through the same guesthouse. In total, we did three river cruises: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one combo cruise (afternoon into night). All of them were incredible. Our guides were local, super knowledgeable, and knew exactly where to look. The boats were comfortable, the vibe was fun, and the guides really took time to explain the animals, their behaviors, and how the whole ecosystem works.

We paid 55 MYR per person per river cruise, and each cruise lasted about 2.5 hours. They also offered other activities like jungle trekking, visiting a nearby cave, and even traditional fishing, but we were here for the wildlife, so we just stuck with the cruises.

What Animals We Saw During Our Kinabatangan River Cruise

Here’s what we actually saw on the river because yeah, you want to see everything, but it’s wildlife, so there are no guarantees. Everyone talks about spotting the “Big 5 of Borneo” and we managed to see three out of five, which honestly still felt like a win. Here’s our full list:

• Bornean Orangutans
  
• Proboscis Monkeys
  
• Long-tailed Macaques
  
• Pig-tailed Macaques
  
• Silvered Leaf Monkeys
  
• Rhinoceros Hornbill (plus a few other hornbill species)
  
• Kingfishers (several types)
  

Animals we didn’t see but are commonly spotted if you’re lucky (or on the river longer) include:

• Bornean Pygmy Elephant – the smallest elephant species in the world
  
• Saltwater Crocodile – massive and intimidating if you do see one
  
• Sunda Clouded Leopard – extremely rare, mostly nocturnal
  

Even though we didn’t see any elephants, seeing wild orangutans like that was next level. It’s not even comparable to seeing them at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre. This was just them, out there, in the wild, doing their thing.

How to Do a Kinabatangan River Cruise – These Are Your Options

1. Book a Kinabatangan River Cruise Package (This is what I Recommend)

This is definitely the easiest and most stress-free option and honestly, it’s what I’d recommend if you don’t feel like piecing things together yourself. Just book a full package with one of the river lodges and let them take care of everything: they’ll pick you up in Sandakan, drop you back off, and in between you’ll have 2 nights of accommodation, all your meals, and usually 4+ river cruises included.

The most affordable option I found was Tanini Kinabatangan. I messaged them about a 3-day, 2-night package and they quoted 600 MYR (~$140 USD) for a dorm room stay, 4 river cruises, 4 jungle treks, all meals, snacks, coffee, and round-trip transport from Sandakan. Honestly, for everything that’s included, it’s a great deal.

If you’re after something a little more comfortable or higher-end, Sukau Rainforest Lodge is well-known and actually a renowned lodge in Kinabatangan River . A similar Kinabatangan River Cruise 3D2N package there will cost around 3600 MYR (~$850 USD), so yeah, it’s a big jump in price, but the whole experience is more luxurious, with better rooms, service, and overall atmosphere.

Whether you go for budget or luxury, I think booking a package like this is the smoothest way to experience the Kinabatangan River without any planning headaches.

2. Do a Kinabatangan River Cruise Day Trip

Doing a day trip to the Kinabatangan River is definitely an option—especially if you’re on a tighter schedule. Getting out to the river, staying overnight, and then heading back takes more time, so a day trip can be way more convenient.

There are loads of options out there for Kinabatangan River cruise day trips, with prices starting at around $100 USD. Most of them include a morning stop at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and then take you down to the river for an afternoon cruise with meals and transport included.

Book Here: Kinabatangan River Cruise Day Trip

3. Book a River Cruise with Your Hotel in Sukau or Bilit (This Is What I Did)

What we did was just book a stay through Booking.com at a small homestay in Sukau, a village right on the Kinabatangan River. We stayed at Sukau Village View Stay & Backpackers, which offers private rooms starting from around $20 USD per night. After we booked the room, they offered all their activities, like river cruises, jungle treks, and transport from Sandakan as add-ons, so you could pick and choose what you wanted once you arrived.

We stayed 2 nights and did 3 river cruises with them, and in the end we spent around $140 USD total, which is basically the same price as some of the package deals. So in hindsight, if you find a good all-inclusive package, it might actually be easier and better value to just book that instead of doing everything separately. But this worked for us at the time and was a nice way to keep it flexible.

4. Do It as Part of a Full Guided Tour (G Adventures)

Another option is to explore Borneo as part of a fully guided tour. This is actually a pretty common way to do it, especially for people who aren’t hardcore backpackers or don’t travel often. If that’s you, this can be a great way to experience Borneo without having to figure everything out on your own.

To me, Borneo isn’t some wild, extreme adventure destination, but it’s also definitely not a resort-style holiday either. So I totally get why booking a guided tour here makes sense. It takes the stress out of the planning, and you still get to see some of the most incredible spots.

G Adventures is one of the most popular and reliable tour companies when it comes to adventure travel. They run 8-day Borneo tours that start and end in Kota Kinabalu, looping through Sabah and including stops like the Kinabatangan River, Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, and other highlights in the region.

Book Here: Kinabatangan River Safari

What to Bring for a Kinabatangan River Cruise

If you’re planning on doing a Kinabatangan River cruise, there are a few things I highly recommend bringing:

Binoculars:  Some animals are pretty far off in the trees, and having binoculars makes a huge difference. 100% worth it.

Camera: A decent camera is super helpful. iPhone photos just don’t cut it here as most animals are either too far away or hidden in the trees.

Mosquito repellent: Absolute must. You’ll get eaten alive otherwise, especially during afternoon and night cruises.

A proper hat: It gets hot out there. You’ll be sitting in an open boat for over two hours with zero shade, so bring a good hat unless you want to roast.

Sunglasses: Same deal as the hat. It’s bright on the river, and you’ll want something to protect your eyes while you’re scanning the treetops for orangutans.

FAQs About How to Do a Kinabatangan River Cruise

How to Get to Kinabatangan River Sabah?

The easiest way to get from Sandakan to the Kinabatangan River is to have your lodge pick you up. Pretty much every lodge in the area offers transport, either as a separate service or included in a package you book with them. They will pick you up from your hotel in Sandakan or straight from Sandakan Airport.

Is Kinabatangan River Worth Visiting?

Absolutely. It was the highlight of my time in Borneo, and I’d recommend a Kinabatangan River cruise to everyone. It’s hands-down the best wildlife experience I’ve had so far.

Where can I see Orangutans in Borneo?

A Kinabatangan River cruise is one of the best chances to see truly wild orangutans, like, wild wild. But I also recommend visiting the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok. It’s super ethical, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to see them there.

How to See the Big 5 Borneo?

As far as I know, doing a Kinabatangan River cruise is one of the best ways to spot the Big 5 of Borneo.

Final Thoughts on a Kinabatangan River Tour

Honestly, this is an absolute must-do. It was probably the best thing I did in Borneo and completely worth it. When it comes to actually booking your Kinabatangan River cruise, I’d say take a bit of time to research a few lodges and compare prices. We thought we were saving money by doing everything individually, booking the room, the cruises, the transport separately, but in the end, we probably spent the same (if not more) than if we’d just gone with a package deal.

Tanini Kinabatangan, for example, has some great-value packages where you get everything bundled, transport, food, multiple cruises, even jungle treks, for less than what we paid. So yeah, check your options, but whichever way you do it, don’t skip this. It’s one of the best wildlife experiences you can have in Southeast Asia.

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