Danum Valley Field Center
Jalan Danum Valley Conservation Area, Lahad Datu Malaysia
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#2 of 9 Specialty lodging in Lahad Datu
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Jalan Danum Valley Conservation Area, Lahad Datu Malaysia
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TO NOTE: Danum Valley is EXPENSIVE to visit. The roads are rough and they have to bring everything in. There are only two options to stay at and they have a manned gate for the Conservation Area. WIFI: wifi is bad at the moment and they are in the process of installing a new telecom tower or some project to improve connectivity. For the time being, expect to have no wifi throughout your stay. Electricity is off from 11pm to 7am. Borneo Rainforest Lodge is double the price per night compared to DVFC for standard room vs resthouse. DVFC has a hostel that makes it even cheaper. Guides: Excellent Guides. If your a birder, you need to request the dawn walk for birding. Communicate with your guide if your after a specific species, as the walks are tailored for general overall wildlife interest and rest times. They are happy to figure something out. It was easy for us as my friend and I had our own guide. We requested 6am birding early morning walks, and extra night walks. We cancelled our late afternoon walks and used that time to rest. So our day was 6am walk, 7.30am breakfast, 9am walk, 1pm lunch. rest til dinner and 8pm walk. The shortest walks took 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs. It was also extremely hot in the afternoons due to the heatwave. Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC): Stayed April 2023. Deluxe Room. Room: These appears to have been added on to an existing building on the ground floor. There is only one window on one side. The resthouses which have no aircon have windows on both sides allowing for air flow. We had aircon, but once everything switched off it was really hot at night. I blame this partly on airflow, but also SEAsia was experiencing a heatwave during that week. SO the air was extra hot in general. Otherwise during the times with electricity, the aircon worked fine. We arranged our days to take the afternoon off and had a good sleep during this time to make up for the bad nights. Room had basic coffee and tea facilities and one chair. No bottled water, we had to go to the dining hall to fill our bottles from a filtered water cooler. The one complaint we had was we didn't have enough space to hang our clothes. The bathroom had two hangers, but it was closed in there and didn't have much airflow. For clothes we wanted to dry and reuse, we had to use the chair and the headboard. Some hangers would have felt like a godsend to be honest. Beds were good. Surroundings of lodge: Zero manicuring. Pure jungle. The dining hall has trees across the length of it and macaques and langurs sat in the tree eating young shoots as we ate our meals. THIS WAS LOVELY! Outside the window of our room, we were super lucky the tree was fruiting, lots of birds, hornbills sat there daily to eat and maroon langur twice. Super lovely to view from our beds. The sambar deer spend the night around the lodge. No bats in leaves as there are no young banana plants. Walks: The trails are small and equivalent to animal trails. No canopy walk at DVFC. Quite hilly. Much more challenging physically. lots of leeches. We took one or two overgrown paths less used. It felt like a real jungle immersion though we were pretty grossed out by leeches. 100% use your leech socks. Food: Buffet. Steamed Rice. 2 meat options (chicken and usually seafood), 1 or 2 veggie options. Fruits for dessert. If your vegetarian/vegan, they prepared tempe (soy beans fried) or eggs. So prep yourself. Food does not run out. When we had a lot of people, they topped it up if you let them know it was running low. Wildlife: Amazing. Crazy. Gibbons, orang-utans, langurs, civets, lots of birds, we got super lucky and saw the helmeted hornbill fly over. 1 huge rough neck monitor lizard. Bornean Keeled Pit Viper. Tree frogs. Nature: As always be aware that nature is pure luck. But going in being excited just to be there often brings untold rewards. Final Note: The price is worth it if you get the wildlife views. I personally recommend DVFC for the wildlife, but BRL for the comfort. ALL THE BEST!…
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Date of stay: April 2023Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Just back having spent 3 nights 4 days in DVFC. It actually is basically a two day stay with the first and the last day spent travelling.. Pros Get to visit one of the oldest Rainforests We saw Orangutans, Red leaf monkeys , Silver Leaf monkeys, Gibbons and a variety of birds Good food Good guides Cons Terribly expensive. Like I said it amounts to two days trekking and its hard to see why it is this expensive. we saw as much wildlife on the Kinabatangan river. So, if you have lots of money go visit but otherwise I regret having spent the guts of €2,000 on this short visit.
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Date of stay: January 2023
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Room Tip: All the rooms are very adequate.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
This place is dedicated to be in nature with wildlife spotting. I managed to see orang utans several times up close which were nice, civets, different species of monkeys, owl, insects, different species of frogs etc. The sunrise tour was breathtaking and surreal even though it was cloudy. The sound of the awakening of Danum Valley is just so real. My accommodation is gender-based hostel with fan and the electricity cuts-off at 11pm - 7am, but it is ok to sleep. The dining hall is about 10 minutes walk from the hostel which is fine as you may spot the orang utan, hornbill, owl while flâneur.
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Date of stay: November 2022Trip type: Travelled solo
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
If you want to visit the real, pristine jungle, Danum Valley is the place. DVFC is currently the cheapest (but not cheap!) option to experience it. Besides lots of animals and adventure, don't expect much- the accommodation is very basic. But the rooms and food are not why you come here. The outdoors is just breathtaking. What you really need in a place like this, is a good guide. Thanks to our amazingly knowledgable guide, Azmil Pillantong, we not only saw all sorts of animals but also learned a lot about the ecosystem. He knows how to handle kids in the jungle. Night drive and night walk are just amazing.
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Date of stay: July 2022
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
The location for spotting wildlife is wonderfull, but the rooms are no good. The bathroom looks horrible. The tap and toilet keep running. What a waste of water. The whole bathroom should be renewed. The rooms are not done everyday, so with only 2 towels you have to assk for new ones. After 11 pm the Electric goes off so also the fan which means it is awfully hot in the room dring the night.The food is very limited, everyday Rice with a bit of Meat, some not chewable vegetable. If you are 5 minutes late there is hardly anything left. This is more a place for backpackers than for other tourists. Outside ok, inside horrible
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Date of stay: May 2022
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Actually I have been here for 3 days and 2 nigjts in March 2013, this is the best (among few) cheap option for a trip to Danum Valley. If you are looking for a place to sleep, take a shower and eat something that’s perfect. No fancy amenities: this is a research center! I don’t get the point when other tourists complain about services and comfort… probably they didn’t check what DVFC is prior to make a reservation. The self-guided trails are very pleasant to hike, and the tower where you can observe and listen the jungle awaking at dawn in breathtaking… I would suggest to stay on more night, to have a chance to see more wildlife. Hurry up: bornean rainforest is disappearing because of logging and palm oil plantations…
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Travelled solo
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
+1
Danum Valley- plan a trip independently To book the below trip through a company would have cost us: 4110rm, and we did it for 2100rm total including all transfers to and from Lahad Datu. After spending 3 Days and 2 Nights at Kinabatangan River as part of a guided tour, we took a transfer to Lahad Datu and self-navigated further into the rainforest of Danum Valley. The reason for self-navigating is that we brought our 4-year old with us and didn't want to slow down a tour group/ scare away the wildlife if she was being noisy. We werent sure that she would manage hiking for up to 6 hours each day so going independently meant that we could go at a pace suitable for her. We also calculated that it was so much cheaper and not a lot more effort to plan and book it ourselves in advance. If you want to go to Danum Valley independently, you must book your visit in advance by contacting Suzan at the Danum Vally Field Centre Office via whatsapp or email. Her number is +6013 884 6968 and email sck_72@yahoo.com. Suzan was extremely efficient at responding to my whatsapps, giving itemized quotes and sending us PDF of our booking so that we could bring this to the office on our arrival day. She sorted everything from transfers to accommodation to meals (see below). We paid in advance by bank transfer and also brought a screenshot of the transfer with us to show her. The only thing we needed to pay in cash for was our private transfer, the guided ranger walks and the night drives- which totalled about 1300rm. There are ATMs in Lahad Datu so this was easy to withdraw just before we set off to Danum Valley. Here is a breakdown of how much it cost us to visit in February 2020: Prices in Malaysian ringgit for February 2020 were: Compulsory conservation fee per stay: 50 per adult Private twin chalet with ensuite bathroom: 286 per night per room Breakfast: 36 per adult Lunch: 44 per adult Dinner: 57 per adult DLSR camera fee: 100 per camera Non-DSLR camera fee (eg. phone): 10 per camera/phone Transfer from Lahad Datu to Danum Valley Field Centre: 85 per person (This only departs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday- if you want to arrive at or depart from the Field Centre on another day, the transfer fee is 350 per vehicle- we had to suck up this cost one way as we departed on a Saturday) We paid all of the above by bank transfer in advance to save us from carrying lots of cash into the jungle. Our 4-year-old went for free- no cost for her meals or accommodation, guided walks, night drives etc The base cost for 2 adults to visit the centre of 2 nights, 3 days was 1760RM. That covered conservation fee, accommodation, transfers, camera fees and food. In addition to that, we paid for the extras below which took our entire visit to a total cost of 2100rm for 3days and 2nights. A guide/ranger (compulsory) costs 30 per hour. No matter what your group size, this is a fixed cost at 30 per hour which is split between adults. A 60-minute night drive costs 180 per vehicle and can accommodate up to 8 adults. The 180 price is split between however many adults there are in the vehicle that night. Canned drinks if you want them (3rm per soft drink, 20rm per beer!!) There is nothing else available to purchase Additional information: You NEED rubber shoes/crocs/boots. We did not want to carry these around Borneo with us just for this part of our trip, so upon arrival in Danum Valley we took a 10-minute Grab (taxi) from the field centre office in Lahad Datu to a shop called Mr DIY, in a very non-touristy part of town and purchased rubber shoes for 5rm per pair- absolute bargain and absolutely necessary as there was so much mud on the jungle treks. We ended up 'gifting' these shoes to the field centre on departure (leaving them there!) The center is extremely remote. Once you depart Lahad Datu there are no shops or settlements in Danum Valley and nothing can be bought there apart from canned drinks. Lahad Datu has a pharmacy (Watsons), newsagents (7-eleven) and Shell garage to stock up on whatever you need in advance. All within a 2-minute walk of the Field office centre We took a Grab to a bigger supermarket to stock up on beers and snacks in advance in Lahad Datu as we did not want to pay 20rm per can of beer at the Field Centre when it is usually about 5rm! There is a good restaurant in Lahad Datu called 'The Red Rose'- they serve roti, rice, roti tissue (see photo!) and all sorts of local food. The airport is a 5-7minute walk from the Danum Valley Field Centre Office. We were at the airport at 4.10pm for a 5.25pm flight and that was ample time. It is a very small airport with one departure gate! After our trip to Danum Valley we took a flight to Kota Kinabalu and spent 2 days island hopping and relaxing after our amazing but very hot and humid tropical rainforest trip. There is a 2019 TV show on ITV called 'Judi Dench's Wild Borneo Adventure' which will give you a great insight into what to expect in Danum Valley.…
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
25 Helpful votes
Helpful
I visited independently with the help from an agency, only by booking directly with the DVFC. I booked about 3 weeks in advance and communication is a bit of a challenge since they take a long time to reply to your emails and sometimes you have to write them several times. Be sure to receive a confirmation from your payment and reservation and take the related documents. I was able to book using this email address <roserlie2507@gmail.com> but when I got to the field centre's office in Lahad Datu they couldn't find my confirmation, so they called the office in KK and gladly they found it. If posible don't stay in Lahad Datu, just go there from Sandakan or KK and wait at the office (or take a grab to downtown to eat something and then comeback to the office to wait for your transportation). It is much cheaper (but still expensive) to do it independently, but if you would rather do it with an agency, River Junkies had good prices and is very well rated. I stayed in the dorm with shared bathroom which is pretty basic but it's ok. Food is good. Be aware that they only have a few spots available for the night drives and walks and you cannot schedule that in advance. Also, these will get cancelled if it rains. Our guide for a long trek never showed up, wo we had to wait for about 1 hour for a substitute guide. The walk can get tough because of the heat and we didn't see any animals, However, after lunch, while walking from the dining hall back to the room we were lucky to spot a group of gibbons. Don't forget to take a flashlight and rainjacket. You can purchase your leech socks at the Centre and do buy them!…
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Date of stay: July 2019
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Room Tip: Dorm is far (10 min walk), but on the way to the cafeteria you get to see a lot of animals
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4 Helpful votes
Helpful
After a two hours drive from the DVFC office in Lahad Datu, on our way learning a lot of our host, the general manager of the Field Center, we reached this incredible place. Seldom seen such impressive jungle with trees up to 70 m high! The views, the sounds in the evening and early morning (gibbons!), the treks into the forest, the nightdrives, it was all an unforgottable experience (though the nightdrive did not deliver very much, but stars). The rooms in the resthouse are basic and our room (nr 7) was close to the kitchen and restaurant area, which made it noisy in the early morning. The food is okay, Asian for all meals, enough for veggies, toast for the breakfasts, hot water for coffee (better bring your own...) and tea available all day, boiled cold water to refill your water bottle, and a well managed waste system. Also beer avallable.... From the canteendeck you can start exploring the adjacent wood for birds and mammals.Bring your own guide, because the rangers know the treks in the forest but are not trained in education. Or ask the management for the best ranger in the center. WiFi is mostly available at the office or Danum Valley Education Gallery unless no electricity, which is anyway the case from 11 pm to 7 am. Bring along adequate walking boots and leechie socks, we had to harvest many of these creatures from our bodies in this wet season...... We saw an orang oetan with baby, a glimpse of two gibbons, many maquaces, a huge monitoring lizard, wild boars, proboscis monkeys, many birds, amongst which pied hornbills and enjoyed the flora in all its splendour and diversity. A must for nature lovers to see how rich a forest can be, if a man's hand stays out of these original Borneon primary forests!! Highly recommended and thanks for the management for our grand receival!…
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Date of stay: December 2019
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Room Tip: Ask for the low numbers in the resthouse #1-5, to avoid the noise in the kitchen and canteen.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
3 Helpful votes
Helpful
+1
I can say this is the most perfect place you must explore and learning more about nature. To enter this majestic incredible forest we still need someone to guides us to assist explained more information because they are familiar to spotting wildlife that can be difficult to see in the rainforest. One of the best activity that i will recommend is the sunrise tour, the morning sunrise view which is quite beautiful from the observation tower. I can't describe more about this place..Go and experience it by yourself.
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Date of stay: June 2019
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Room Tip: comfortable bed
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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ALSO KNOWN AS
danum valley field hotel lahad datu
LOCATION
MalaysiaSabahLahad Datu
NUMBER OF ROOMS
26
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Frequently Asked Questions about Danum Valley Field Center
Which popular attractions are close to Danum Valley Field Center?
Nearby attractions include Danum Valley Conservation Area (1.0 km).
What food & drink options are available at Danum Valley Field Center?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant during their stay.
Does Danum Valley Field Center have an airport shuttle?
Yes, Danum Valley Field Center offers an airport shuttle for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.