Joe organised a great itinerary for us meeting all our requirements. Everything ran smoothly from transport to hotel and trip bookings. The accommodation suggested by Joe was perfect in terms of location and facilities. The companies selected by Joe to deliver our requested activities were well organised and excellent. We would recommend Rustic Borneo to anyone looking for a tailor made trip to Malaysia.
Absolutely fabulous - not to be missed. The lodges were all good and the cruises in the Kinabatangan River were interesting and exciting with all the wildlife we saw including 6 species of hornbills, orang-utans, and numerous monkeys. The accommodation and meals at Danum Valley were first class as was all of our tour guides.
Rustic Borneo were very accommodating with how we wanted to plan our holiday and flexible with our itinerary. The information provided was very clear, overall we were extremely happy with our tour. Would highly recommend the two guides that were allocated to us. Rusli and Kenneth were both extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic and a lot of fun. They were the "extra cream" that contributed to it being a wonderful fun holiday
thank you Rustic Borneo.
I am a single female and was traveling alone from the USA and was a little apprehensive going to Borneo alone but Joe was quick to answer my 400 questions and took a predesigned tour and customized it to my desires and budget all in a few days because I planned my trip so last minute. I had private tours/guides for part of it and joined the rest of the group for other parts. My guides were exceptional and went above and beyond to make sure I saw what I wanted to see, got the pictures I wanted, was comfortable, safe & well fed & overall happy with my experience. Prior to finding Rustic Borneo I was pretty frustrated with the tour agents I had contacted and my trip was coming up and I no one seemed to be able to put together the trip I wanted. This was a trip to celebrate my 50th birthday and I wanted it to be special and not to be something I compromised on b/c I hadn't preplanned. Rustic Borneo was by far the best tour company I contacted and I'm elated that I chose to go with them, I was not disappointed and the rate was more than fair for what I experienced. I wouldn't recommend anyone else!
The team helped us plan a three week tour of Borneo for our group of four adults. They understood very well what kind of holiday we wanted and came with very good suggestions what places to skip and where to add extra time. Also, they made sure we din't miss out on anything, And they were flexible regarding the itinerary.
The exeuction was flawless. All in all we stayed in nine different places and every transportation and hotel/lodge was what we expected or above and not once was a guide late.
I think we got excellent value for money, we could not have created such a great experience ourselves. I would highly recommend Rustic Borneo for anybody considering going to Borneo.
We had a fantastic exprience with Rustic Borneo. Everything went well. The transfer guys were very precise. The guides also and competent. Had a little problem with the flight tickets, but the driver fixed that in a few minuttes. Mt Kinabalu fantastic at dawn.
Rustic Borneo helped us get the most out of our time in Borneo, an amazing adventure, all accommodation was great, transfers went without a hitch and the staff were all super friendly, Borneo is a must, it is truly a remarkable experience.
We enjoyed out trip with experienced guides in Borneo, it was marred by forgetting to pick us up at Sandakan airport , no one answered the phone and we were stranded. We eventually found someone from the resort to organise our 45 min transfer. The guide was apologetic , but we were not happy at arriving at the resort nearly midnight.
In Borneo they were exemplary and we would use agin as it was all seamless and very good tours and accommodation.
Rustic Borneo Travel were slow to respond to my messages. I never received an itinerary of the trip and had to go by what was on the website, so i was ill prepared for some of the activities. I was also not picked up from the airport on arrival and had to catch a taxi to my hotel.
Thanks a lot for a wonderful experience and holiday - we have just spend 3 weeks in Borneo with Rustic Borneo Travel; very well planned from pick up in the airport to the last good bye :-) We have relaxed at Rasa Ria, climbed Mt Kinabalu, spend time snorkling and visiting small islands as well as explored the Kinabatangan River and Danum Valley... The best holiday ever according to our two boys ;-)
I had a healthy level of scepticism about booking through Rustic Borneo. Joe seemed too good to be true, getting back to us quickly and answering all of our silly questions.
After reading other reviews and verifying the company through the Malaysian tourism department, we went ahead and booked.
What an incredible trip. From the moment we got picked up from Sandakan airport to when we were dropped off at Kota Kinabalu airport, we were taken very good care of. Joe suggested a tour which included time on the Kinabatangan River as well as in the Danum Valley. Both destinations provided unique experiences and we wouldn't have changed anything.
Thanks so much to Joe and also to each of our guides and drivers. It was our favourite holiday ever and we have frequently recommended Rustic Borneo.
With out a doubt this was the greatest trip I've been on.
Every arrangement worked out perfectly. All the guides were friendly, timely, knowledgeable and easy to be with. The hotels were perfect, clean, comfortable, well located and not over the top - I don't like big 5 star places.
The variety of tours, activities planed was the perfect mix I was looking for, jungle hikes, river rafting, staying in a long house, seeing temples and stupas etc, etc, etc.
It all added up the to become a journey of a life time - my many thanks to you.
Art H.
California
FYI - without a doubt, if any of my friends/acquaintances express an interest in this part of the would, I will recommend you highly.
Itinerary reflected the places we wanted to go and was well planned.
Guides were excellent and handovers were seamless.
Accommodation very comfortable, although eco lodges hot with no air con.
Food quality and variety good.
Thoroughly enjoyed our trip and will use Rustic Borneo again.
Overall, a very good experience. We spent 5 days in the Jungle at Sepilok and Sakau and then 5 days on a beach at Kota Kinabalu. The lodges were very nice, but the first day of the agenda was ours to spend 'at leisure' what they don't tell you is that there is absolutely nothing to do...because you're in the jungle! The Orang Utan sanctuary was amazing - adopt one, it's good fun. The Sun Bear conservation centre (not part of the deal) is a waste of time, don't bother unless they have opened the canopy walks. Sakau is better, the river tours are very good, don't expect food when you get back from the morning river trip, everything is very basic and they make you dress up in a sarong for dinner! It's an Eco lodge. So depend on hot water in the mornings. The time in the Shangri-la Risa Ria hotel was soooo nice - a bit confusing as to what restaurants were open on what days, but head for the Sampan bar, after a session there, you won't care!
Discovered Rustic Borneo on the internet and contacted them to put together an itinerary for our tour of Sabah. Joe was extremely helpful and put together a five day tour for us (we were originally going to climb Mt Kinabalu but the earthquake in June put paid to that).
Everything ran like clockwork and we had a great time exploring eastern Sabah. Highlights included Selingan Island, Sepilok, Kinabatangan River cruise, Gomantong Cave and a tour of Sandakan including the war memorial. The real highlight of the tour were the the two guides that we had, Jeffery and Kenneth were exceptional and really contributed to making the trip one of our best ever family holidays.
I would highly recommend Rustic Borneo and we will use them again when we return to Sabah to track down the pygmy elephants (they were in hiding during our trip).