• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Mount Kinabalu accomodation (1 Viewer)

gandytron

gandytron

Well-known member
Hi all,

Myself and three friends are going to Sabah in late March. We are planning to cover Mount Kinabalu NP, Poring and the Rafflesia Centre.

I have been to two of these site before (not Poring), but my memory is getting a bit fuzzy, and I wonder if anybody can:

1) remind me how far it is/long it takes to travel between MKNP headquarters and the other two sites? We wil have our own hire car.

2) recommend accommodation - if travel times between sites are not too bad, we would like to stay at one hotel/resort for the whole week. Last time I went I stayed at the NP dormitories, but I think we are looking for something a bit different this time (ie where you don't get woken up at 2.30 am by a bunch of mountain climbers departing to assault the peak!).

Thanks

Dave
 
Dave,

Think the driving time to Poring is around 45 mins and around 75 mins to Tambunan from what I remember.

Was at MKNP in December and was amazed just how much busier the road is from KK since I was last there around 5 years previously. Also there are major works going on at Kundasang where the road is a mess (though by the time you get there it will possibly be OK).

Have stayed at the Perkasa and Kinabalu Pines. Perkasa more expensive (check out Ping Anchorage for good rates) but well away from the main road. Kinabalu Pines cost me 160MYR in December for a single. The Pines can be very noisy at weekends and holidays with families, as I found out, but has free wifi and chinese food is good.

John
 
Dave

There's a motel on the right about 500m past the main gates to Kinabalu NP (as if going towards Ranau). We had the place to ourselves there and the lady that owned the place was great (even did our washing, bless!). There were basic 4-bed dorms and othr rooms available, the birding's great from the verandah and this is where I found the Jap Thrush!! It was also damn cheap and not even a ten-minute walk to the restaurant opposite the gates (some interesting bugs around that place while you eat at night...!)
 
birdboybowley said:
There's a motel on the right about 500m past the main gates to Kinabalu NP (as if going towards Ranau). We had the place to ourselves there and the lady that owned the place was great (even did our washing, bless!). There were basic 4-bed dorms and othr rooms available, the birding's great from the verandah and this is where I found the Jap Thrush!! It was also damn cheap and not even a ten-minute walk to the restaurant opposite the gates (some interesting bugs around that place while you eat at night...!)
Click to expand...
there's also a guesthouse called Bayu Lodge 500 metres before the NP entrance when coming from KK, which is the same price (20 Ringgits for a dorm). Has dorms and rooms, and a good cheap restaurant which opens about 6am I think and will prepare lunches for you to take into the park. Its about five minutes walk to the NP entrance. I liked it a lot. Its also quiet (like birdboybowley's place) because few tourists even seem to realise that there are places to stay outside the gates!. Don't stay inside the park -- the prices are now absurd! (Starting at 120 Ringgits for a dorm bed and going up from there). The restaurants inside the park are also heavily-overpriced - buy your bottled water from one of the restaurants outside the park.

At Poring, once again, the little hotels outside the gates are cheap while the accommodation inside that gates are expensive (owned by Sutera, same as at Mt. Kinabalu)
 
Reading all these post with interest.


I am off to KK next week with the family. We are staying at one of the coastal resorts but were thinking of trying somewhere different, perhaps around Tambunan - does anyone have any recommendations for this area, both birding sites and family-friendly lodges/hotels?

Any gen greatly appreciated, as I've left things a little last minute!

Thanks in advance

Dave
 
I've just spent 6 days at Mt Kinabalu and stayed in the Mountain Resort, which is the closest accommodation outside the park, 5 minutes walk up the road towards Ranau. A room here cost me MLR30 per night, single occupancy. Spartan but acceptable.

As others have mentioned, the restaurant just opposite the park entrance has good, cheap food and the bonus of an as-ever invisible Mountain Scops calling behind it every morning, to distract you from those pre-dawn yomps up the hill for Everett's Thrush.

I really enjoyed my stay here - great birding.
 
I can't find a Mountain Resort on the internet for Mt. Kinabalu but I did find a Mountain Resthouse that is only 200 meters from the National Park and is US$11.62/night for a double bed. Towels can be rented it says. Is that where you stayed? There's also a Kinabalu Mountain Lodge but it's 1 or 2 km. from the Park, dorm style at US$7.53/night. The reviews say it has thin walls between the rooms.
 
If you want something better than a dorm room try the Fairy Garden Resort which is about 1.5km past the park gates. Good room, and excellent food in the family-run restaurant. In 2008 the room rate was 73.50 Ringgits... No website, just an address and phone:

Fairy Garden Resort
km 16, Jalan Ranau-Tuaran,
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

tel: +6088 889 688
 
mlgocon said:
I can't find a Mountain Resort on the internet for Mt. Kinabalu but I did find a Mountain Resthouse that is only 200 meters from the National Park and is US$11.62/night for a double bed. Towels can be rented it says. Is that where you stayed? There's also a Kinabalu Mountain Lodge but it's 1 or 2 km. from the Park, dorm style at US$7.53/night. The reviews say it has thin walls between the rooms.
Click to expand...

I think it's mountain resthouse. It was 500 mtrs from the entrance, about here:
http://g.co/maps/g9f7r
It was the closest hotel to the entrance and not bad at all.
 
mountain resthouse is the nearest set set of buildings SE of the park entrance on the satellite map in temmie's link.
as of nov '11 it was 20RM for a dorm, 30RM single occupancy, there may also be double rooms a bit more expensive too. no need to book i shouldn't think.
location is excellent, owner very friendly, bedrooms ok but earplugs useful as someone else has said, bathrooms quite basic but not awful (although bring tp just in case!!)
restaurant by park gates ran out of food one lunchtime so if you want a meal best to get in there early, but it always has drinks and snacks,
cheers,
James
 
I found the Resthouse's card:
email: mountainresthouse at hotmail dot com
200 m from the park, dorm from RM20, tel. 0168374060
And to conclude: they have a shared bathroom that makes you dizzy (people that have been there will know)!
 
temmie said:
I found the Resthouse's card:
email: mountainresthouse at hotmail dot com
200 m from the park, dorm from RM20, tel. 0168374060
And to conclude: they have a shared bathroom that makes you dizzy (people that have been there will know)!
Click to expand...

I stayed in this guesthouse july 2011.
Recharging batteries is not possible in your own room.
In order to reach Bukit Ular before dusk I started walking around 04;30am.
You can use a very basic kitchen.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 12 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

Oregonian
Panama and Costa Rica February 2024
Replies
0
Views
428
Oregonian
Oregonian
Steve Babbs
Unusual ways that you have seen good mammals.
Replies
11
Views
921
lgonz1008
lgonz1008
Fowl Mouth
Advice for NZ Trip in May
Replies
0
Views
559
Fowl Mouth
Fowl Mouth
dwatsonbirder
Lake Kerkini and surronds
2
Replies
23
Views
1K
dwatsonbirder
dwatsonbirder
L
SE Brazil: Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo to Rio Grande do Sul (3 weeks in July 2023)
Replies
0
Views
586
lammergeier05
L

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top