The bucket-list things to do — and who runs each one.
Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, who runs it, and how to book it direct — so you can weigh it against your ship’s excursion and pick what suits you.
In port at Sandakan, the bucket-list move is Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre: Morning Feeding. Below: 4 bucket-list things to do on a Sandakan port day — worth weighing against whatever your ship offers.
Watch wild-born orangutans descend from the rainforest canopy to the feeding platform at Sepilok — one of only four such sanctuaries on Earth. A profound, bucket-list encounter with Borneo's most iconic great ape in its natural habitat.
Book itFull Day Sepilok Orangutan and Rainforest Discovery Centre Tour$120 per person
Drift through the jungle-fringed Kinabatangan — Malaysia's second-longest river — at dusk, when proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, and crocodiles converge on the banks. A private boat at golden hour is among the most extraordinary wildlife experiences in all of Southeast Asia.
Book it2D1N Sandakan Private Tour with Kinabatangan River Cruise$290 per person
Meet the world's smallest bear — and the world's only sun bear conservation centre — on a guided walk through elevated forest boardwalks where rescued bears forage freely below. Intimate, expertly narrated, and utterly unlike any zoo experience.
Book itBornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre & Sepilok Orang Utan Rehab Centre Tour$112 per person
Come face-to-face with the proboscis monkey — a creature found nowhere on Earth outside Borneo — at a dedicated private sanctuary carved from a palm-oil estate turned conservation success story. Feeding platforms bring wild troops within metres of you.
Book itLabuk Proboscis, Sepilok, Sun Bear, Sandakan City Tour & Lunch$151 per person
Run by Labuk Bay Proboscis Sanctuary - Platform B · 4.40 from 312 reviews
Walk Sandakan's storied colonial hilltop with a private historian guide — through the lovingly restored home of author Agnes Keith, the oldest Anglican church in Sabah, and panoramic views over the bay that once made Sandakan the richest city in the British Empire.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Pay solemn, informed tribute at the site of WWII's most devastating episode on Australian and British soil — the Sandakan Death Marches of 1945 — with a specialist guide whose narration transforms a serene garden into a profound act of remembrance.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Your day in SandakanNothing picked yet — tick what you fancy
$0for two, booked direct
Now plan the rest of it
You know what to do on the day. Here is the trip it belongs to —
each one opens as a whole plan, not a list: where to fly in, every port, what it runs.