Bako National Park is a must-visit for wildlife lovers. Offering the chance to see several amazing animal species, from proboscis monkeys to estuarine crocodiles to white-bellied sea eagles, it’s one of Kuching’s top wildlife destinations. Our overnight stay in Bako was a highlight of our trip to Borneo, with some amazing animal encounters throughout the day and night. There are several ways to maximise your chances of wildlife sightings, like staying overnight and hiring a guide, so it’s worth planning ahead to ensure the best possible trip. Here’s our top tips for visiting Bako National Park to help you make the most of your visit.
Tips for visiting Bako National Park
Stay overnight
Staying overnight in Bako National Park is highly recommended for wildlife lovers, particularly if you want to see nocturnal species. Night tours are available for overnight visitors and cost just 15 MYR per person for a group tour, or 150 MYR per group for a private tour with a park ranger.
If you’re visiting Bako National Park in a group, then the extra cost of a private night tour is well worth it as the group tour can be quite busy – so you won’t have to wait for others. Both tours do follow a similar route and stick to area’s around the park headquarters in search of nocturnal animals.
Nocturnal species commonly seen on night tours in Bako National Park include scorpions, colugos, owls, and various snake species, including the Bornean keeled pit viper.
Staying overnight also gives you more time to explore the national park after day trippers leave and before they arrive the following day. This can lead to better sightings of species in the Borneo Big Five, like proboscis monkeys and, if you’re lucky, rhinoceros hornbills.
Overnight stays can be arranged via the Sarawak government website, and several accommodation options are available, ranging from shared dorms to air-conditioned lodges. The accommodation is basic, but in our experience, it was comfortable enough for a night or two.
The Sarawak government website sometimes rejects foreign card payments, so if you know someone with a Malaysian card you may need to ask them to pay and then reimburse them. Alternatively, you may need to consider booking an overnight tour with Klook or another operator.
Click her to see the tour options in Bako National Park via Klook!
Hire a guide
Whether you stay overnight or not, make sure to hire a guide for your visit to Bako National Park. Guides enhance your experience tenfold with their expert wildlife-spotting abilities, ensuring you see as many unique species as possible.
We definitely would have walked past several species if it wasn’t for our guide, so it’s worth the extra cost for wildlife lovers. Guides are fairly inexpensive, generally costing 150 MYR for the day – although tips are much appreciated too.
If you plan ahead, it’s also possible to arrange a guide for an overnight stay, but you will need to find a guide and arrange this yourself.
What to bring with you
Whether you’re visiting on a day trip or staying overnight, it’s important to pack well for your visit to Bako National Park. Important things to consider bringing include: sun cream, mosquito repellent, white tiger balm (effective for treating insect bites), binoculars, a camera, a waterproof coat, and lots of water.
If you’re staying overnight, then you’ll need to bring basics like a change of clothes, a towel, and toiletries.
Where to see wildlife
One of the most important tips for visiting Bako National Park is to avoid the longer walking trails and hiking routes for the best wildlife sightings. Animals are most commonly seen around the park headquarters and accommodation, where there are a few easy and well-paved paths to follow.
If you want to follow one of Bako National Park’s walking trails, wildlife sightings are most common on Teluk Paku, Ulu Assam, Telok Delima, and Telok Pandan Besar. Click here to discover the best walking routes on the All Trails website!
Food
There is a restaurant at the Bako National Park headquarters, which is around a 5-minute walk from the jetty and close-by to the overnight accommodation. The restaurant has a buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as a small menu if you would prefer to order a la carte.
Prices at the buffet are very reasonable and are charged by the spoonful, which usually works out between 2-8 MYR per serving. There are a variety of drinks available at the restaurant too, from bottled water to local beer.
Be mindful of the resident long-tailed macaques, as they’re always on the lookout for snacks. Avoid eating food around these mischievous monkeys, and always take care when eating in the national park.
Boat trips into Bako National Park
Getting to Bako National Park from Kuching involves a taxi or bus journey to the jetty and then a 20-minute boat trip into the park itself. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled as you sail to and from the park, as it’s possible to see some impressive wildlife.
In particular, the boat trip into Bako National Park is great for birdlife, with stork-billed kingfishers and white-bellied sea eagles regularly seen here. We were very fortunate on our trip out of the park and saw two Irrawaddy dolphins playfully jumping out of the water, so you never know what you’ll see!
If you’re hoping for a sighting of these unique dolphins then it’s worth visiting the Kuching Wetlands National Park, where sightings are more common. We took two boat trips through the wetlands and had several sightings on both occasions!
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