Kota Belud

The itinerary was very well organized, allowing us to visit several spots in one trip. The duration at each stop was just right, so it never felt rushed. Our first stop was the observation deck, where there were many fruit vendors nearby selling fresh and delicious fruits! The best part was realizing later in the city that the fruit here was actually the cheapest! The farm was also a lot of fun; for 20 Malaysian Ringgit, you could feed milk and forage to the animals, and the yogurt and milk ice cream were amazing! The fish spa was very entertaining, and the tour guide taught us feeding techniques. It was a bit scary at first. Lunch was better than expected, featuring vegetables, meat, and fruit. The tour included a complimentary ATV experience, allowing us to ride through the wilderness. We were very lucky to see a Rafflesia flower this time; although it had been blooming for five days and was starting to turn dark, there was still an unopened bud right next to it. On the way back, we had roasted wild boar and pulled tea. The roasted wild boar is highly recommended! The two of us shared a portion and were left wanting more. Overall, the value for money is extremely high, and I highly recommend it!

Our family and a friend's family, 4 adults and 4 children, signed up for this tour. We were picked up at our hotel at 7:30 AM, followed by a 2.5-hour drive to the Mount Kinabalu viewpoint. The city roads from Kota Kinabalu to Mount Kinabalu were congested, but our guide was flexible and accommodated the children's restroom breaks along the way. After taking many photos at the viewpoint, we headed to Desa Farm. On the way, we made a detour to a local fruit shop. Our tour guide, Jeff, introduced us to fruits we had never seen before, and we bought and ate one or two of each. We were excited by fruits we had never heard of or seen, like apple jelly, avocado cheese, and snake fruit! The avocado cheese tasted like sweet steamed pumpkin, with a texture and flavor unlike any fruit! It was delicious. From there, we went to Desa Farm. Located at an altitude of about 1,500m, it wasn't too hot and was very comfortable! The weather was clear with few clouds, and we took many great photos with the sharp ridges of Mount Kinabalu in the background. Was that a sun halo? Jeff smoothly guided us through recommended activities like soft-serve ice cream and feeding calves and goats. Jeff, who is also a father of four, is knowledgeable about funny TikTok videos, and our children had a blast taking funny videos with him, making it a very satisfying experience. Afterward, we had lunch at a nearby restaurant and then went rafflesia watching. We were worried if we would see any, as they only bloom for 5-7 days a year, but we saw two blooming rafflesias! We also saw buds and withered ones, which was a unique experience only available locally. Nearby, there were also cacao and durian trees! I was surprised to see durians growing on such tall trees. By this point, it was past 3 PM. The children were getting tired, so we decided to change the itinerary and head back. The morning traffic jam was long. On the way back, there was a strange cloud hanging over the summit of Mount Kinabalu. Jeff told us it was a rare sight. The return journey was also a bit congested, but we managed to get back to the hotel around 7 PM. We had originally planned to be back by 5:30 PM, but the road congestion and it being summer vacation season caused delays. I recommend bringing a bit more cash, as there are places at the rafflesia site that don't accept credit cards for insect repellent, and some restaurants for lunch. Thank you, Jeff, for a fun tour! The magnificent scenery and your enjoyable assistance made it a wonderful experience. Highly recommended!

Just finished a one-day tour of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, and I have to give a huge shoutout to our private guide, Xiaoyang (William)! 👍🏻🙋🏻‍♂️ I originally thought the long drive to and from the mountain would be exhausting and boring, but Xiaoyang was a fantastic conversationalist along the way. He shared a lot of local history and culture of Sabah, guided us on a short trek up the mountain, and even stopped to introduce us to unique plants we saw along the trail 🌴🍃. The content was engaging and fun, and time flew by. 🥹 We were super lucky to catch a glimpse of Mount Kinabalu and the Rafflesia! The guide truly put a lot of thought into arranging everything for us, ensuring the entire itinerary ran smoothly, and even treated us to Malaysian cuisine for lunch 🍱! He took such good care of us throughout the trip, constantly reminding everyone to stay safe. The biggest surprise was his photography skills 📸. His composition was top-notch, and he was incredibly patient, taking tons of gorgeous photos for us to keep as memories. There was non-stop laughter all day, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. 😆✨ Meeting Xiaoyang this time really added so much value to the whole trip! 🩷 If any of our friends go to Sabah in the future, or if we visit again ourselves, we will definitely ask him to be our guide again! 😍

My guide is Xing Yu. Xing Yu is a sincere and dedicated guide who brings a positive experience to the tour. On the way to Mount Kinabalu, he did a good job introducing us to the various local fruits and sharing interesting information about the local surroundings and culture.

Tivemos uma experiência incrível neste passeio. O dia inteiro foi muito bem organizado e pareceu personalizado do início ao fim. Nosso guia turístico, Adeor, tornou a viagem memorável e agradável. Ele foi simpático, conhecedor da região e compartilhou informações interessantes ao longo do trajeto. Ele também atendeu ao nosso pedido de parar na Casa de Cabeça Para Baixo no caminho (mesmo não estando no itinerário). O passeio em si teve muitas experiências ótimas incluídas e o almoço estava absolutamente delicioso, com uma bela vista. Outra coisa que realmente apreciamos foi o quanto a equipe foi atenciosa. O Adeor levou capas de chuva extras, guarda-chuvas e itens essenciais para o caso de mudanças no clima, o que nos fez sentir muito bem cuidados. Tanto o guia quanto o motorista foram extremamente calorosos e simpáticos, e acabamos nos conectando pelo amor em comum por Bollywood. No geral, um passeio fantástico com belas paisagens, ótima comida e uma hospitalidade genuinamente calorosa. Altamente recomendado para quem visita Kota Kinabalu!

Participamos em uma viagem de funcionários com 8 pessoas. Nós éramos os únicos japoneses, e a maioria das pessoas na Ilha Mantanani era chinesa. O atendimento do guia Xiao Zhong foi simplesmente maravilhoso; como o tour era em chinês e inglês, ficamos preocupados no início, mas ele usou um tradutor para nos explicar tudo. O mergulho com snorkel, os macacos-narigudos e os vagalumes foram incríveis. Embora tenhamos tido que esperar por mais de 30 minutos devido a uma chuva passageira no meio do caminho, foi uma experiência maravilhosa.

Experiência cinco estrelas! Viagem cinco estrelas! Uma viagem perfeita! A guia turística Sue entrou em contato conosco pelo WhatsApp na noite anterior e foi super paciente ao responder a todas as perguntas. Durante todo o passeio, ela nos ajudou a tirar fotos sem hesitar. Havia alguns participantes no grupo com exigências muito altas em relação à fotografia, e o que me surpreendeu foi que a Sue também foi super paciente para tirar fotos deles. Vale lembrar que o passeio daquele dia foi resultado da fusão de vários grupos, mas os guias de todas essas turmas se conheciam, então eles sabiam muito bem como animar o ambiente. Havia um guia que trazia um megafone o tempo todo tocando músicas, o que criou um clima incrível. Além disso, eles combinavam com o tema; por exemplo, ao ver os vaga-lumes, tocaram "Dao Xiang" de Jay Chou! Realmente sensacional! Um ponto a destacar é que os mosquitos locais são extremamente ferozes e não se importam com repelente, o que é algo a se atentar. Pôr do sol local lindíssimo! Houve bastante tempo livre para explorar e tirar fotos. A minha primeira experiência de snorkel foi simplesmente deslumbrante. A única pena foi que, como havia algumas pessoas no grupo com medo de água e que precisavam de atenção, não foi possível visitar mais pontos, acabando por ficarmos em apenas 1 ponto por cerca de 1 hora. Na ilha, é possível alugar um armário (locker) por 60 HKD, mas na verdade nem precisa alugar, ninguém vai roubar suas coisas em uma ilha remota... Ver os vaga-lumes é com certeza algo inesquecível! Nenhuma foto consegue capturar esse tipo de impacto, só indo lá para entender! p.s. O horário de encontro naquele dia era às 7h! Por isso acordamos super cedo, mas valeu a pena.

We had an amazing time on our tour. Our guide Sue Yee was very informative and fun, and Max was a very good driver. we saw proboscis monkeys and fireflies, and the fried bananas were a tasty snack!

overall very good experience, the bus going there aircon was not working at its best. But the bus coming back was much better.