A Borneo trip doesn’t need to be expensive. Even if you’re on a budget, there are some amazing things to do in Borneo. The Malaysian province of Sabah is the most budget-friendly part of Borneo, which is why we will focus on things to do in Sabah for this travel guide. In Sabah, you can see the Borneo Big 5 in the wild, hike in the jungle, and snorkel and dive.
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Table of Contents - Best Things to do in Sabah Borneo on a Budget
Where is Borneo
Borneo is an island in South East Asia and is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. The Indonesian part is called Kalimantan, the Malaysian part is split into the provinces of Sarawak and Sabah, and Brunei is the only sovereign state entirely on Borneo. Sabah is the most developed part of Borneo. It is the most touristic and has the best infrastructure.
How to get to Borneo
The best way to get to Borneo is by flight. The capital city of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu (Kinabalu City) is very well connected with Kuala Lumpur, which serves flights to and from many international destinations. You can also fly to Tawau, on the other side of Sabah, or to Sandakan, more or less in the middle.
If you don’t want to fly, it’s also possible to travel to Kalimantan by ferry from other parts of Indonesia. Do note that Kalimantan lacks a lot of infrastructure. It’s not so easy to get around Kalimantan, let alone to travel to Sabah from Kalimantan.
Getting from KK airport to the city: From the Kota Kinabalu airport, you need to take a Grab to the city as the airport bus doesn’t exist anymore. There is wifi available in the airport so you can connect and order one.
How to get around Sabah
Once you have reached Sabah, getting around is very easy, although at times time-consuming. All places mentioned in this guide are reachable by public transport however and it’s also possible to take domestic flights if you need to travel faster. In Borneo, and Malaysia in general, it’s easiest to book buses using the Easybook platform.
Kinabalu National Park
Kota Kinabalu is the capital city of Sabah, and a great place to start your Borneo trip. The city itself doesn’t offer a lot for tourists, but it’s very close to Kinabalu National Park. Kinabalu Park is home to Malaysia’s highest mountain: Mount Kinabalu. While it is possible to hike Kinabalu, it’s certainly not a budget experience. You need at least two days to hike up and back down and the accommodation on the mountain is expensive. On top of that, you also need a permit and a mandatory guide which are also expensive.
The fee for the national park itself is not so expensive though (50 MYR/about 10 EUR/USD at the time of writing), so when traveling Borneo on a budget, I recommend doing some hiking in the park and just enjoying the views over Mount Kinabalu. There is also a botanical garden in the park wich you can visit for a few ringgit extra.
You can visit Kinabalu Park on a day trip from Kota Kinabalu. But since it’s on the way to Sepilok and Sandakan, I recommend staying somewhere close to the park and visiting from there instead. This way you will not only save time and money by not traveling back and forwarrd, you’ll also be able to enter the park earlier in the morning. This means better chances of clear views over Mount Kinabalu.
Getting to Kinabalu National Park: Minivans and shared taxis leave from the parking lot in front of The Kinabalu Club in Kota Kinabalu. The fee depends on the amount of people sharing the trip, but count on 25-30 MYR per person.
It’s also possible to take a regular bus, but you’ll likely need to pay for the whole leg to Sandakan, making this way of traveling slower and more expensive than the shared taxi’s/mini vans.
Sepilok
Sepilok is Sabah’s most touristic attraction. It’s home to 2 animal sanctuaries: the orangutan rehabilitation center and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center. While the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary is not in Sepilok itself, it is also not so far away. And, if you’re not convinced yet that Sepilok should definitely be included in your Borneo trip, there is also the Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) with some nice canopy walks for the observation of birds.
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
The Orangutan Rehabilitation Center is Sepilok’s most popular attraction. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise as the orangutan is such an iconic animal. The rehabilitation center is only open to visitors during the feeding times in the morning and afternoon, so plan your visit accordingly. The entrance fee is 30 MYR (about 6 EUR/USD), and if you have a big zoom lens (more than 400) you’ll need to pay an additional 10 MYR (about 2 EUR/USD)
During your visit, you’ll be led to the nursery, where the younger orangutans are staying. You can observe them playing around a little and being fed, but from behind the glass. From there you will follow a boardwalk to the outside feeding platforms. Don’t be surprised if you don’t see any orangutans yet. Once the caretakers are coming to the platforms, they will start to appear. The amount of orangutans visiting the platforms depends as they are all free to roam around the area and not all of them (always) come to feed. Once they are done eating, they will disappear into the jungle again, and the tourists are led out of the center.
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center is located right next to the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center and another popular place to visit in Sepilok. There are no specific feeding times, and you can visit anytime between the opening hours. Since there are no feeding times, there are less chances that you will see a bear compared to the orangutans.The entrance fee for the BSBCC is 50 MYR (about 10 EUR/USD).
Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary
You can also visit the Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary while here. Do note that it’s a little further away, so you’ll need to go by taxi or contract a tour. The entrance fee is also more expensive than than the other sanctuaries.
Since the Proboscis Monkeys are easier to spot in the wild than orangutans and sunbears, I would skip this one if you don’t want to visit all sanctuaries. You’re very likely to see them along the Kinabatangan River and I’ve heard Beaufort is good for spotting them. Unfortunately we found out to late about Beaufort, and didn’t go here.
The Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC)
If you want to do something else, the RDC is a nice place to visit. Here you can go birdwatching (best chances early in the morning and late afternoon) and just enjoy the jungle from the canopy walks and the ground level. With an entrance fee of only 20 MYR (about 4 EUR/USD at the time of writing), it’s also very affortable.
For a different experience, it’s also possible to visit at night and do a guided nightwalk for 30 MYR (6 EUR/USD).
Budget tip: While Sepilok is a really beautiful place to stay and close to many things to do, it’s also quite expensive. And there is no public transport in the town, busses drop you on the highway at the entrance to the town. While this is not really a problem if you’re traveling light, if you have a heavy bag/big suitcase, you might need a taxi to get you to your accommodation.
A more budget-friendly option is the city of Sandakan. Accommodation and food are generally cheaper here, as it’s a very local city. From here, it’s less than an hour to Sepilok on public transport. And without luggage the walk from the highway to Sepilok’s attractions is not so bad.
Getting to Sandakan/Sepilok: Book a bus from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan on easybook.com. This is the only leg you can buy. So even if you are getting on the bus at Kinabalu National Park and getting off at Sepilok, you’ll need to pay for the whole leg (about 50 MYR via Easybook at the time of writing). If you get on at Kinabalu Park, make sure the company knows you’re getting on there. Ask your accommodation to call them to let them know.
Kinabatangan River
The Kinabatangan River is my favorite place in Borneo, and probably of all of South East Asia. We were just so lucky with all the wildlife we got to see here. Spending a few days here is an incredible experience and a must for every Borneo trip.
While The Danum Valley is definitely not a budget option, spendig a couple of days at the Kinabatangan River is not so expensive. The Danum Valley is considered primary rainforest and is therefore extremely protected. The Kinabatangan area is considered secondary rainforest, and is still protected, but not as extreme as The Danum Vally. This allows for more tourists to visit, and more afforable prices.
We did a tour of 3 days and 2 nights with Asia Green Travel and had a great experience. I highly recommend the 3D2N tour, so you have enough chances to spot animals, but it’s also not too long since people come and go and the itinerary gets repeated every day. If you stay in a dorm, the 3 day tour is 80 USD, including pick up and drop of in Sandakan, food, cruises and guided walks. They do pick ups and drop offs in Sepilok as well, and they can drop you at the busstop heading to Semporna.
During our trip we did 2 morning cruises and 2 afternoon cruises, during which we got to see the complete Borneo Big 5: orangutans, proboscis monkeys, pygmee elephants, hornbills and salt water crocodiles. We also did 2 nightwalks and 1 day walk on the terrain of the accommodation. Since it was on the terrain, we didn’t see a whole lot, but we did get to see some insects, birds and even a snake during the night walks. And in the mornings there are plenty of monkeys around as well, as they know this is where the food is! An incredible experience.
Itinerary tip: I recommend visiting the Kinabatangan River before the sanctuaries in Sepilok. Seeing animals like orangutans and proboscis monkeys in the wild is an incredible experience, and even more so if it’s the first time you see them. We did it the other way around, but if I were to plan this Borneo trip again, I would visit the Kinabatangan river first. Then you can decide for yourself if you still want to visit the sanctuary, or whether you’re happy with the experience you’ve had.
Semporna Archipelago
The archipelago of Semporna is famous for diving, especially Sipadan island. Sipadan is classified as one of the best diving spots in the world. The amount of divers per day here is limited though, and diving here requires an expensive permit. So it’s not really a budget destination. It is possible to do day trips to different islands from Semporna which are suitable for budget travelers.
I was very disappointed with the tour we did though. I visited Semporna in 2012, and I have really good memories from it. The snorkeling was beautiful. But it was not what I remembered.
A lot of the coral is bleached, and guides were feeding the fish to attract them, which wasn’t necessary when I visited before. There were so many. Now, what we saw most of was plastic. Semporna itself is also not a very nice town, so I can’t really recommend Semporna as a budget destination. But if you can splurge a little and have your diving certificate, the island of Mabul can be a great place to stay instead. It’s possible to visit Mabul on a day trip from Semporna as well, but snorkeling isn’t great, it’s more to take photos.
Tip: If you’re visiting more countries on your trip, and you’re looking for a good snorkeling place, check out the Gili Islands in Indonesia instead. They are one of my favorite snorkeling places in South East Asia.
Getting to Semporna: You can take a direct bus from Sandakan to Semporna. There are 2 agencies, and they split the days between them. Only one of the agencies allows advanced bookings. For the other agency you need to buy the ticket on the spot. A ticket from Sandakan to Semporna is 40 MYR.
If you are coming from Sepilok, you’ll first need to take a taxi to the Sandakan terminal. Note that Grabs are not always around in Sepilok. If you are coming from the Kinabatangan River, ask the agency to drop you off at the busstop. This way you avoid having to travel back and foreward. The ticket should be cheaper if you hop on from the Kinabatangan River, but this is not always the case. You might have to pay the full price for the leg of 40 MYR.
If you are visiting these places in Sabah the other way around, you can fly into Tawau as well, and take a bus to Sandakan from here.
This was Best Things to do in Sabah Borneo on a Budget
Don’t let the prices of more expensive things to do in Borneo scare you. Borneo is a magical island, and also offers a lot to budget travelers. It deserves a spot on any South East Asia itinerary.
