Danum Valley or Tabin? Both are reached from Lahad Datu on Sabah’s east coast, and both are superb for wildlife. They are quite different experiences, though — and the right choice depends on your budget, how much comfort you want and how you like to look for animals.
What is Danum Valley like?
At around 130 million years old, Danum Valley Conservation Area is one of the oldest rainforests in the world: 472 sq km of primarily lowland dipterocarp forest that is home to pygmy elephants, sun bears, orangutans and clouded leopards. Lucky visitors see a mother orangutan with her baby, Wallace’s flying frog, Bornean gibbons and rhinoceros hornbills. Days are spent trekking through primary forest in search of wildlife. Stay at Borneo Rainforest Lodge and you get a night safari included as well as access to their in-house canopy walkway.
What is Tabin like?
Tabin is Sabah’s largest nature reserve. Its trademark is the active Lipad mud volcano — a mineral salt lick that draws larger mammals and birds — plus 4×4 sunset and night safaris on the reserve’s roads. All eight of Borneo’s hornbill species have been recorded here, almost 300 bird species in total, and guests regularly wake to gibbons calling. Civets, flying lemurs and leopard cats are typical night-drive sightings.
How do you get to each?
Both begin in Lahad Datu, reached by Air Borneo flight from Kota Kinabalu or overland from Sandakan (4–5 hours) or Semporna (2.5–3 hours). Tabin is a 1.5-hour transfer from town; Danum Valley is 2–2.5 hours down a gravel road. Both packages include return transfers on a scheduled basis.
How do costs compare?
Danum Valley Field Centre is a simple no-frills accommodation catering to both researchers and visitors and our tours there cost roughly the same as our Tabin Wildlife Safaris. Budget around RM3500 / USD850 per person for 2 nights in either location.
The Field Centre only has a electricity from 7am till 11pm so if fans and/or air-conditioning overnight are non-negotiable, and your budget doesn’t stretch to a stay at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Tabin is your best option.
Borneo Rainforest Lodge is an award-winning 5-star luxury eco-resort with a price tag to match. A 2 night stay starts from around RM6,000 / USD1,500 per person in a Jungle Chalet, more if you would like your own private plunge-pool.
How do you look for wildlife in each?
Danum is a trekking destination — you walk the trails and canopy walkway with a guide. Tabin mixes walking (Elephant trail, Lipad trail and waterfall, birdwatching tower) with vehicle safaris at dusk and after dinner, which suits people who want to cover ground without long hikes. Optional dawn drives at Tabin are RM100 per person.
Danum Valley or Tabin: which is right for you?
Choose Danum Valley if primary rainforest and trekking are your primary focus. Choose Tabin for mid-range comfort, night drives, the mud volcano and hornbill-rich birding. Either place pairs well with 2 or 3 nights at the Kinabatangan river and we can provide all the transfers you need to combine these places.
Not sure? Tell us your dates and budget and we will suggest the best fit — or browse our wildlife tours.
