The 5 Wildlife Tours in Kota Kinabalu That Earn Their Price

1.Bongawan River Cruise: Proboscis Monkey & Fireflies Mangrove

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 437 reviews · 8 hours · from $58Our pick

Spend about eight hours visiting Kota Kinabalu’s Floating Mosque and Cocoa Kingdom before cruising Bongawan’s mangroves. Guides such as Timmy, Eddie, Simon, and Zai share local nature stories while you look for proboscis monkeys, macaques, crocodiles, and birds. Tea, dinner, transport, sunset viewing, and fireflies are included.

“The Bongawan River Cruise was a pleasant mangrove adventure in Sabah, with guides Eddie and Simon enthusiastically sharing insights on proboscis monkeys and fireflies. The Sky Mirror sunset and dinner added enjoyable touches, making it a solid pick for nature enthusiasts.”

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2.Bongawan Wetland: Proboscis Monkey and Fireflies Shared Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 137 reviews · 1 day · from $65

Leave Kota Kinabalu at noon for Bongawan Wetland, where you’ll cruise the river for proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques, birds, lizards, and perhaps crocodiles. After dinner and a sunset stop, return by boat to see fireflies glowing in the mangroves. Guides such as Timmy, Eddie, James, Nick, and DanDan are praised for their care and local knowledge.

“The trip was fantastic value for money and was very interesting. Timmy was great and taught us so much along the way! The pacing of the group was ideal which was nice. I’ve done many tours where you spend too long in one place but this was brilliant. We were lucky to see multiple Proboscis monkeys and the beach sunset and the fireflies were beautiful. Highly recommend”

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3.Sky-Mirror Photographing and Proboscis Monkey & Fireflies Watching River-Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 109 reviews · from $81

Leave Kota Kinabalu for Bongawan, where you’ll cruise mangroves for proboscis monkeys and macaques, pose at Superview Beach during sunset, and watch fireflies after dark. Guides such as James, Nick, and Bird are known for helping with beach photos. Pickup, snacks, dinner, and drinks are included, but allow a long afternoon and evening.

“Overall good experience. No message or communication prior to pick up so had to ask reception to call - it turns out they did not have my booking from Viator. They however quickly showed up at the hotel after calling (30 mins late). Good things - Mirror beach was fun, and fireflies were a real highlight. Dinner was a basic buffet but to be expected as in a remote location. Phots the guide took of us on the beach are great Things to improve - very long -Packed mini bus and took 1.5 hours to get there and then a lot of waiting around. The boat ride to see the…”

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4.Bongawan River Cruise Proboscis Monkey, SkyMirror, Fireflies

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 58 reviews · from $52Best value

Spend about eight hours from Kota Kinabalu visiting the Floating Mosque and Cocoa Kingdom before a Bongawan River cruise. Guides such as Timmy, Simon, Eddie, and John lead the wildlife search, sunset stop, firefly viewing, and local dinner. Expect a full afternoon and evening, a group of up to 48, and changing wildlife sightings.

“Amazing tour guide Timmy was knowledgeable and funny. Saw more than what was mentioned. Can not fault this tour at all. The locals who helped with the tour were more than accommodating. The dinner served by the local tribe was phenomenal. Could not recommend this tour enough.”

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5.Proboscis Monkey and Fireflies River Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 51 reviews · from $81

Leave Kota Kinabalu at 1:30 pm for Weston, about 100 kilometres south, with a guide such as Terence. After tea and local snacks, cruise the mangroves for proboscis monkeys, silver leaf monkeys, macaques, monitor lizards, and birds. Dinner follows, then fireflies light the river after sunset. Shared transport and hotel pickup are included.

“Terence unser Reiseleiter hat alles gegeben,uns sein Land,die Natur und vieles mehr näher zu bringen.Dankeschön”

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