Earlier in the year I went for a 5 day trip to Sabah, you might remember I posted a picture of Jackie the Orang Utan when I got back.
Well now I think it’s time I started writing about it.
We started out by asking around for a good agent, as we had a limited time and the places we wanted to see were quite far apart it made sense to get a good agent to arrange the accommodation and a knowledgeable local tour guide. I found out an agency based in KK that could help me about, the company is named Labuk Bay Nature Tour Sdn. Bhd. They also own the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary which we wanted to visit.
We went back and forth a bit sorting out the options, my Mom (as usual) was pretty clear about what she wanted to see and what she didn’t want to see. Plus there were a few times we didn’t feel the need to spend so much time there, and some we wanted to spend more time.
The finalised itinerary looked like the following, it comes in two sections – Sandakan and KK.
4 Days 3 Nights Sandakan tour
Day 01
14th March 2008 (Lunch & Dinner included)
Arrive Sandakan at 10.00am, meet Proceed for 45 minutes to one hour drive to Labuk Bay Resort. The final stretch of the drive takes you through graveled roads and jeep tracks of plantation estates. Labuk Bay Resort consists of over 400 acres of mangrove forest which was initially purchased for commercial development. After realizing that the natural habitat of these monkeys were rapidly diminishing, due to large areas of the mangrove forest being develop for “bakau” wood, agriculture and aquaculture, the plan was quickly dropped so that these monkeys could continue to survive there without fear of losing their natural habitat.
1215pm, Lunch is served. The rest of the afternoon will be free at your own leisure.
4.30pm, Proceed to observation area for 2nd viewing of the Proboscis Monkeys up close. Free at leisure at Labuk Bay Resort.
6.00pm, Proceed for night walk. Witness fireflies among the trees and one may also search for other wildlife. (If weather permits)
8.00pm, Dinner is served.
Overnight at Labuk Bay Resort ( In a triple sharing accomodation with attached bathroom and air conditioned)
Day 02
15th March 2008 (Breakfast & Lunch only)
8.00am, Breakfast at Resort
Proceed for 11.30am feeding time of the proboscis monkey.
12.15pm Lunch served.
After lunch transfer to the Sepilok Jungle Resort.
(You may go to the feeding time of Orang Utan at 3.00pm. Entrance fee will be on your own account)
Overnight at Sepilok Jungle Resort
Day 03
16th March 2008 (Breakfast & lunch only Included)
Breakfast at Sepilok Jungle Resort.
(You may go to the feeding time of Orang Utan at 10.00am. Entrance fee will be on your own account)
11.00am, Pick up from Sepilok Jungle Resort, proceed to Sandakan town for a city tour. Built in 1987, visit the Pu Jih Sih Chinese temple. This temple is situated on a hilltop, provides visitors a magnificent view of Sandakan bay. After your visit here, city tour continues with a drive through downtown Sandakan streets (local market) heading to Sim Sim water village, a settlement established in 1879 where you can see till today houses built on stilts, still occupied by the local Chinese and Malay community. Drop off at Hotel Sandakan ( 3 star) in town area for your overnight accomodation)
The rest of the afternoon will be free at your own leisure to do some shopping on your own.
Day 04
17th March 2008 ( Breakfast only)
Morning free at your own leisure/or go to the local market to buy some handicraft on your own
11.00am, pick up from Hotel Sandakan, transfer to airport for your flight departing at 1.10pm.
END OF SERVICE
Tour Price:
Malaysian RM530.00nett per person ( based on triple share)
Non Malaysian RM630.00nett per person ( based on triple share)
Includes: Tour & transfers as mentioned above, meals as specified, entrance fee at Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, 1 nights at Labuk Bay Resort, 1 night at Sepilok Jungle Resort , 1 night at Hotel Sandakan 3 star & English Speaking Guide.
Excludes: Airfare, camera fee, entrance fee at Sepilok
3 Days 2 Nights Kota Kinabalu
Day 04
17th March 2008 ( lunch only included)
Arrive Kota Kinabalu at 1.55pm, meet our guide & proceed to Monsopiad cultural Village for a cultural show and a taste of the Sago Worm.
Drop off Hotel Shangri La (3 star). Overnight at Hotel Shangri La in triple share.
Day 05
18th March 2008 ( Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included)
8.30am, pick up from Hotel Shangri La ( 3 star), Depart for Kinabalu Park Headquarters on a 2 hours drive. The park is known for its diverse range of flora and fauna and the majestic Mount Kinabalu.
After lunch, we proceed on to the Poring Hot Spring. Take a dip in the open-air sulphur bath. You have the option to explore the Kepungit Waterfall with nice refreshing pond for swimming before returning back to Kinabalu Pine Resort.
Overnight at Kinabalu Pine Resort
Day 06
19th March 2008 ( Breakfast only included)
Check out Kinabalu Pine Resort, proceed to Kundasang town for a brief tour of the war memorial and the town itself. (you might have chance to taste some of the available local exotic cuisine-depends on availability). Depart Kundasang and transfer straight to the airport for your flight departing at
5.10pm.
END OF SERVICE
Tour price:
Malaysian RM720.00nett per person ( based on triple share)
Non Malaysian RM740.00nett per person ( based on triple share)
Includes: Tour & transfers as mentioned above, meals as specified, entrance fee at Kinabalu National Park & Poring Hot Spring, 1 night at Hotel Shangri La ( 3 star), 1 night at kinabalu Pine Resort & English Speaking Guide
Excludes: Airfare, camera fee & Item not mentioned
Total : RM4020.00
Plus the flights from Air Asia of course, we flew KL – Sandakan – KK – KL, all in all for 3 people the flights cost RM558. So in total it was around RM4500 for 3 pax or RM1500 each including air fare, accommodation and the majority of meals.
Add on a bit for souvenirs, food that isn’t provided and a little bit of shopping leisure and there you have your 6 days 5 nights Sabah trip.
You can reach Labuk Bay Tours here:
Address: Labuk Bay Nature Tours Sdn Bhd
Ground Floor, Lot 10, Lorong Dewan
88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Tel: 6 088 317316
Fax: 6 088 317319
E-mail: probobki@streamyx.com
We liaised with Marina.
Pictures and trip report coming next!
considering the pretty packed itinerary i think 1.5k per pax is pretty reasonable.
Wow the package is indeed cheap for so many days of activities and this includes airfare as well!
Where is kk ?
wow it sounded like you really had a blast. ;))
i think 1.5k is pretty reasonable.
Wow 6 days 5 nights trip for RM1500 per pax? Thats a pretty good rate.
I spent RM1500 just going to Krabi for 4 days 3 nights and the airfare from AirAsia was like 400+ per pax. Well maybe I spent a bit more on the hotel being Krabi La Playa Pool Deluxe room but then again all I did was went for the Phi Phi Islands tour it being around RM100 per pax.
Oh yea spent RM150 per pax for 2 hrs of spa in 5 star resort spa which was awesome because it was on offer 50% else would have been RM300.
Sabah is a very interesting place to visit. There’s a lot of nice food, places to visit and people to meet up XD
Don’t blame me for promoting my home town, cause I just love Sabah so much. Hope you did enjoy your visit to Sabah this time 🙂
KY: Yah I think it’s very reasonable especially including flights.
Mark Leo: Yah, highly recommended trip for photographers!
kaikon: kk = kukukaikon
atira: Yah it was excellent, will post all about it in full.
moons: Yah La Playa is quite pricy, worth it for a bit of luxury though. Hope you enjoyed Krabi 🙂
BLue: It is, I’d love to go back and to visit Sarawak too.
Ah yea, definately enjoyed it! Food was awesome, and I feel that the people in Krabi are more friendly unlike those at Phuket.
Probably might go back there again in 2009. 😀 Well I guess La Playa is decent in terms of prices, as the other resort we went to for the spa namely Pakasai was almost double the price of La Playa per night.
moons: Yah food over there is great, and yah people seem a bit more genuine too. I’d love to go back too. La Playa is reasonable for the quality of the rooms and service.