Tabin Wildlife Resort Lahad Datu, Sabah. — Hotel in Borneo

We decided last-minute to join a tour organised by Sepilok Tropical Wildlife Adventure, recommended by our previous guide, Seve. We hadn’t researched the destination, so weren’t sure what to expect. The tour cost RM 7,380 for two people for 3D2N, including all transfers. It was more expensive than other tours we’d done, so we had high expectations.

Our journey began with a 5:30 AM boat ride from Bilit Adventure Lodge, followed by a two-hour drive to Lahad Datu Airport. After paying the RM 10 tourism tax at the Tabin Wildlife Resort office, we were picked up at 8 AM and driven to the resort. Upon arrival, we were welcomed with a refreshing lemongrass cordial. Tea and coffee were available throughout the day. Cool herbal-scented towels were provided. After an orientation and safety talk, we watched a video about the resort, activities, and expected animal sightings . There was also a taxidermy of a Sumatran Rhinoceros in the Tourist Information Centre, which was smaller than expected.

Our room was comfortable, with river views of the Lipad River and forest. The lodges were well-maintained, with high wooden ceilings and clean throughout. From the balcony, we enjoyed views of swinging Gibbons, Orangutans, and various bird species.

There was no Wi-Fi in the rooms, and our U-Mobile signal didn’t work, though Celcom Digi had some signal. Free Wi-Fi was available in the restaurant area.

The first jeep night safari started promisingly but ended in rain. Most tours followed a similar theme, but we were fortunate to spot Civet Cats, including 4 of the 8 Bornean species: Island Palm Civet, Malay Civet, Masked Palm Civet, and Bornean Striped Palm Civet.

Izan, our guide, was excellent at spotting and identifying wildlife. One highlight was spotting a Leopard Cat. We were kept busy with early morning, midday, and late-night tours, either by open jeep or on foot.

The trek to the mud volcano was muddy, and rubber boots could easily get stuck in the soft mud. This natural mud volcano, with eruptions as recent as 2023, attracts elephants that lick the nutrient-rich mud. They walk on their knees to avoid sinking and cover their skin with mud. We applied the mud to our faces, which is also used for facial treatments at the spa. Around the volcano, we saw colourful rocks.

On night walks, we encountered frogs (Green Paddy Tree Frog, Cricket Frog, Jade-backed Stream Frog), unusual insects, and glow-in-the-dark mushrooms. Rubber boots are freely available, and leech socks could be purchased for RM 30 at the souvenir shop.

Meals were served buffet-style. Breakfast had various options, including an egg station, noodles, baked beans, sausages, grilled tomatoes, bread, fruit, and cereal. Lunch and dinner followed a buffet format too, with rotating dishes. Every day, there was a different soup (Moringa, mushroom, Soto chicken), rice, and occasional spaghetti or crispy noodles. Protein options included Chicken Curry, Beef Rendang, Fried Tuna, Fish Taucu, Meatballs, and Sweet & Sour Prawns. There was always fresh salad, fruit, and desserts like jelly, cake, or fruit cocktail, with mango or orange juice. Some reviews mentioned the food was repetitive, but we didn’t think so. The dishes varied enough to keep us looking forward to meals.

On the final day, we had another 6 AM nature walk, though one of us opted to sleep in. There was also a scheduled tour to a waterfall and natural swimming pool, but we didn’t have swimwear or water shoes to wade through the river, so we stayed at the lodge, took final pictures of the primates, and packed. After a delicious lunch, we were transported back to Lahad Datu Airport for our flights to Kota Kinabalu, where we caught another flight to Kuala Lumpur for our international flight home.

Tabin Wildlife Resort is a fantastic destination for nature lovers. It offers unique wildlife encounters and comfortable accommodation in beautiful surroundings. We highly recommend this tour to anyone eager to explore...

The Tabin Wildlife Resort was the 4th of the 5 lodges we stayed out on our 8-day adventure in Borneo, and we stayed there for two nights. We stayed at two river lodges prior to this location and this location was very different. Our guide, Asme, was very good and fun to be around. We saw many birds and animals on this visit (orangutan, gibbons, macaques (as they are everywhere), hornbills, flying fox, monitor lizard, lesser mouse deer, civets, buffy fish owls, snake eagles, king fishers and many others). We did some laundry here but if you plan on going to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge after this, save it because it is much cheaper to do it there. The rooms are all individual buildings, and they have air conditioning. They cycle the power every 6 hours. You must manually turn your air conditioner back on after every cycle (even in the night) which was just a mild inconvenience. They have a very nice sitting / eating area. The lodging staff is nice, and the food was good. As far as activities, we did the mud volcano hike. While we were there it was extremely muddy as there had been quite a bit of rain, so this was not an easy hike. Well, it wasn’t an easy drive to the start of the hike as the vehicles were getting stuck. They provide tall rubber boots, but they often got stuck in the mud while we were on our hike. I brought a hiking pole and needed it for that hike. Leech socks are advised in this area. You wear them over your pants inside of your boots. They have a waterfall hike as well and night drives. They also plan for a very fun foot soak and mud mask session while you are there that was fun for all of us. Right outside of this building was where we saw an orangutan. While we adored our guide, Asme, I wasn’t particularly pleased with a couple of the other guides/drivers. One of our drivers was scrolling and watching shows on his phone almost the entire time he was driving us on the muddy roads during the night drive. We were in the back but could see him through the back window. Another guide went with us and Asme on one of the night drives and had his phone on. He got at least 30-40 text messages with a very loud ping every time. He seemed very distracted and bored. That said, we had a great experience here . Besides those two issues, we had a...

We had a fantastic 4D3N stay at Tabin. This is a special place and great example of how ecotourism should work. Numbers are limited and air con lodges are super comfortable, lovely fresh food cooked on site. Our guide Izan was brilliant and very knowlegeable. Saw orangutans, gibbons, leopard cats, civets , 7 of the 8 Borneo hornbills plus loads more on various walks and dusk and night drives. Slightly wrong season for elephants although there was signs and sounds of a single bull around the lodge area while we were there. The fig tree next to the central sunbird cafe is permanently full of monkeys, gibbons and hornbills while you sit and drink coffee. Only improvements I'd suggest is for Park to update the visitor centre displays a bit, share a daily sightings board or video clips for guests and cut out the disposable toothbrushes and creams and just go with refillable soaps in the lodges. This is a 5star place but dont bother coming if you don't love wildlife as its a bit of a...