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Kinabatangan Jungle Camp – reviews, photos

PPM 511, Elopura, Bandar Kim Fung Mile 4, Labuk Road, Sandakan 90000, Malaysia
Hotel amenities
Kinabatangan Jungle Camp
4.5 of 5 stars 39 Reviews
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39 reviews from our community

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Traveller rating
    19
    14
    4
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London, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
24 reviews 24 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
13 helpful votes 13 helpful votes
“Easily the highlight of our Borneo adventure”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 September 2011
4
people found this review helpful

We spent 2 nights here on the "Birders Tour" which gives you 5 cruises (2 each day and one at night) and the presence of the local legend that is Robert Chong.

The camp is 1.5hrs drive from Sandakan (arranged by the camp) and is perfectly located on the Kinabatangan river for spotting wild orangutans (one of which is frequently seen by the very entrance to the camp!), the hilarious proboscis monkey, macaques, silver-leaf monkeys, eagles, kingfishers, crocodiles and all manner of hornbills and owls (which you can only see on the night cruise though).

The camp is just about perfect - large rooms with a fan, a bed and a bathroom - what more do you want in the jungle?! The food was surprisingly delicious too - a buffet of 2 meat and 2 vegetable dishes, all of which hit the spot. You can do a couple of strolls around the camp itself but we came back with leeches on us, be warned! The cruises go at 6.30am - when the monkeys go foresting for food, and then again at 3.30pm - when they're chilling in the trees before bedtime.

It was a hectic 2 days but worth every penny spent and every ounce of energy sapped (you can have less cruises if you want, of course). All the guides are great (Herman can mimick owl calls perfectly so we were lucky enough to see two rare owl species on the night cruise) but the best is of course the owner, the Don, Robert Chong. His knowledge and good humour made each cruise an absolute pleasure. We could see the boats from other tours speeding past us, missing all the best views - whereas Robert would often stop the boat and just let us drift for a while - waiting quietly for the wildlife to show itself. I'd be amazed if the people on the other tours saw anything of note.......

We cannot recommend this place highly enough - it was absolutely the highlight of an amazing holiday and whilst it wasn't cheap you won't regret a single penny of the cost.

  • Stayed August 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Andrew M about Kinabatangan Jungle Camp
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Surrey
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Great jungle adventure”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 15 August 2011
2
people found this review helpful

We had a one night away from Sepilok Forest Edge Resort which is managed by Annie, the owner Robert's wife. This is truly a great jungle experience so don't go expecting some five star hotel. If that's what you want perhaps the jungle isn't the place for you. This place is authentic to its surroundings with wooden chalets and outside dining. The staff were keen and enthusiastic, chatting about all manner of things. The guides were passionate about wildlife and were able to point out so much wildlife on our river cruises. creatures that I couldn't spot so easily. The food was great and so much of it. 'Eat more' we were told by the smiling staff when the buffet wasn't going down quickly enough. We paid 480 RM each for one night which included all transport (private car & boat), two river cruises with a guide plus lunch, dinner and breakfast. We missed the elephants, but saw so much more. A truly memorable experience.

  • Stayed August 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Purpleray14 about Kinabatangan Jungle Camp
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Athens, Greece
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
“Beautiful location but very smart owner...”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 April 2011
7
people found this review helpful

Jungle and wildlife here are amazing!! Food at the KJC very tasty moreover the staff in the restaurant smiling and nice and the guide Rudy a very good person and competent.

The main reason of my bad review is only regarding the owner of this place. A very smart, arrogant and money-hungry person like his wife Annie (manager of the Sepilok Forest Edge resort).

We spent 3d/2n in the camp with my partner and my old parents. Early July 2010.
I'm a birdwatcher.
He charged us 250€ per person for the birdwatching trip package even if i was the only one to be really interested in.

This cost included:
the accomodation (very basic rooms), food, transfer to/from Sepilok and Mr.Robert as a professional guide

The second day my mum prefered to rest in the room because she wasn't feeling so well. Robert didn't even asked me where my mum was and what happend to her.

One of the only question he did to us was about which kind of job we do back home. He was asking specifically if we were doctors or engineers.....the only same question back in sepilok done from his wife Annie.....
I think they were already thinking about how much tip we would have left at the end of the trip....

The night boat cruise and the last one in the morning was leading by the very pleasing and "down to earth" guide Rudy
The honest Robert (the person paid for the whole package) prefered to guide an English birdwatching's couple much more experienced than me and well geared with swarosky binoculars for a better tip

  • Stayed July 2010, travelled with family
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Ask dutchfly78 about Kinabatangan Jungle Camp
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
brussels
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Great wildlife, basic place”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 March 2011
3
people found this review helpful

I had hesitated a lot before booking a 3d/2n package to this place as I'm not such a big fan of organised trips. However this place proved to be one of the highlights of our 4 weeks in Malaysia. The location is great along the Kinabatangan river, the food is great, but the rooms are very basic, and there is garbage all over the place... I feel this place would deserve a 5-star rating if they improved a bit the place. However what makes it special is all the river cruises they organise with very friendly and knowledgeable guides who do their best to get you to see what you are interested in. We saw a lot of wildlife (elephants, ourang-outan, crocodile, loads of monkeys,...) here, in a very authentic, safari-like atmosphere. After the Kinabatangan, we had a very different wildlife experience in the very luxurious Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum valley, which was also very good but much much more organised, and if I had just one place to recommend, I would say the Kinabatangan has a much more authentic feel that I've specially enjoyed.

  • Stayed July 2010, travelled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Ask ChandeBle about Kinabatangan Jungle Camp
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Preston, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
30 reviews 30 reviews
Reviews in 19 cities Reviews in 19 cities
25 helpful votes 25 helpful votes
“Excellent wildlife, average lodge”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 January 2011
1
person found this review helpful

We were here for two nights as part of a tour. It was a base for a number of river cruises to spot wildlife. We saw a lot of wildlife including pygmy elephants and wild orangutan. The lodge itself is ok, but there one particular odd and off-putting element. We were there on new years eve...they got the Karaoke out and we had some laughs.

  • Stayed December 2010, travelled as a couple
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask kiwikirst about Kinabatangan Jungle Camp
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

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