Klias Wetland River Cruise Sabah

River Cruise at Klias

The Klias Wetland River Cruise in Sabah is one of the closest river cruises around Kota Kinabalu. It is easily accessible as it is only a two-hour drive from the city of KK.

Borneo Authentic Adventure also operates This river cruise tour, the same company that runs the unique seaside Tempurung Lodge at Kuala Penyu.

The uniqueness of this river cruise will showcase the importance of the Sabah Wetlands while seeing some of the most fantastic wetland creatures like the Proboscis Monkey and Fireflies.

Klias Wetland River Cruise

Jeti Klias River
The Klias River jetty entrance.

Klias Wetland is also centred around the biggest wetland reserve in the state of Sabah, the Klias Wetland Mangrove Forest Reserve.

Usually, most travellers or tourists who do not have the luxury of travelling all the way to Sandakan to visit the Kinabatangan-Sukau Wetlands would opt for this half-day package. 

Forest Reserve Klias River
Klias Wetland Forest Reserve.

The Klias River Safari Tour starts at about 2.00 PM from Kota Kinabalu city, with your scenic journey passing through the smaller towns of Sabah before arriving at the main Klias River jetty of Borneo Authentic Adventure, which is located just by the main road.

A short walk along the wooden covered walkway through the mangrove forest before you arrive at the main lounge area. You are then served some light snacks before your tour starts at about 4.30 PM. 

Sabah Klias River
A local is seen along the Klias River.

Tours at Klias River
Boats doing the river cruise tours.

While waiting around the lounge area, you are given life vests or jackets to be worn when you go for the river cruise. There are proper toilets provided, and drinks can be purchased here.

As the lounge is built over the mangrove, you may see smaller mangrove insects or animals around the area. 

The Klias River Cruise starts with your local nature guide ushering you towards the jetty, where boats are ready to take you on this unique river safari.

Note that each group going on this river cruise will have its own nature guide according to your language. Each boat also can seat about 15 to 20 people. 

Pictures of Klias River in Sabah
The scenic landscape.

River Cruises Sabah
One of the larger tour boats.

The journey along the Klias River is fantastic, with beautiful scenery. As this was my first trip there, I was blessed with beautiful clear skies.

During the cruise, you will pass various other lodges and operators who offer Klias River Cruise Packages. 

Along the way, I could not help but notice one of the various boats used for the River Cruises. It was a relatively large double-decked wooden boat that looked like it came from the sixties. 

Klias River Cruise Tours
Tour boats spit some local monkeys along the river.

Our first stop was when the local boatman spotted some activity along the riverside. Before you knew it, three other boats had entered to witness the event, and a group of Long Tail Macaques sat on some trees.

Cameras started to click while impressed tourists frantically pointed to the partially hidden primates in the trees. 


As our boat got in closer, I captured a shot of the long-tailed macaques sitting on one of the branches.

Apparently, the primates here are not so used to seeing tourists, so they are more afraid than we are, unlike at the Kinabatangan-Sukau River. 


After about five minutes of observing the primates, we continued our journey along the Klias River, trying to spot other primates, namely the famed Proboscis Monkey of Sabah.

From my tour guides' experience, they are usually found in groups along the river, so we kept our eyes open for these unique primates.

Apart from the monkeys, we chanced upon a giant Monitor Lizard or Biawak, as they are locally called.

Our boat went right up to the lizard, which made a few tourists uneasy. The Monitor Lizard must have been about four feet long and rested on the tree branch. 

Tour Package Klias River Cruise
Spotting the unique Proboscis Monkey.

Soon enough, another boat up ahead slowed down after spotting something. As we decided to join them, it was the famous Proboscis Monkey of Sabah. Guests were excited and fascinated with this rare and unique primate.

Many of them were grouped on trees high above by the river, and cameras clicked non-stop. A word of advice to would-be river cruisers - Please keep your noise level down while on the river safari, as it may scare off the animals here. 

As the Proboscis Monkeys were perched pretty high up, my 18-105mm lens did not do justice to the picture above was about the best shot I could take.

Anyway, from the guide's experience, they are usually nearer to the ground, which was one of the rare cases in which they were relatively high up. But it was pretty amazing to witness these Proboscis Monkeys at the Klias River Cruise. 

Klias River Day Trip
Tourists looking at the Proboscis monkeys along the river.

Before we knew it, there must have been about six boats joining in to catch the Proboscis monkeys in action.

Not that the monkeys will give us a show, but the mere fact that you are seeing them in the wild made many people excited and happy, and honestly, I was one of them.

Sunset Klias River
Sunset along the river.

As the river cruise was about the end, we had to get back to the main jetty, and the journey back was equally fascinating.

The beautiful Sabah sunset refused to be boring as always. I could not help but sit back and enjoy the fantastic colours thrown into the skies behind the boat. 

The orange and red colours became more prominent while the sun began to hide behind the horizon, reflecting against the Klias River.

My fellow readers, this is what a Sabah Sunset is all about. If you have never witnessed one, you should consider going to Sabah. 

Buffet Dinner in Sabah
The buffet dinner after the river cruise.

Upon arriving back at the Klias River jetty, we were ushered to the well-prepared tables for our buffet dinner, which was packaged in the tour.

Local Sabahan dishes were served with the consideration that foreigners were among the guests here, and this was well thought of by the tour operators. 

Orang Sky sunset Sabah

I must admit that the Klias River Cruise and the entire package were exciting and unusual.

I thought it had ended, but we were told the tour would continue after dinner. Yes, we were going out again on the boat. This time to witness the amazing beauty of the Klias River Fireflies. 

Fireflies are well known here at the Klias River and have been pulling lots of tourism into the wetlands.

Among the popular groups of tourists that make their way for this are the Japanese and Koreans. So, after a thirty-minute dinner break, we geared up our life vests and were back on the boat.

It wasn't too far this time, as the fireflies were about a five-minute boat ride. It was virtually impossible to take pictures of the fireflies in the dark; hence no photos here. 

Fireflies along the Klias River produce an amazing sight. Imagine thousands of these little lit flies on a tree - making it look like a giant Christmas Tree, something everyone should experience and see once in their lifetime.


Estimated time for the Klias River Cruise Tour: Depart KK at 2.00 PM and arrive back in KK at about 10.00 PM.
Please bring: Binoculars, Poncho, and Insect Repellent.
Please wear Comfortable clothes and sneakers.

Another fantastic location nearby is also the Tempurung Seaside Lodge at Kuala Penyu which offers seaside lodging that is private and beautiful.

This place is highly recommended for anyone who wants to try something different and natural: family run. 

Among the many river cruises in Sabah, I have also done the famous and unique Kinabatangan River Cruise, one of the best in Sabah. This is highly recommended for nature lovers.

The Kinabatangan Night River Cruise is also offered for those wanting a different kind of experience in the night.

For more information on the Klias Wetland River Cruise, please contact;

Borneo Authentic Adventure Sdn. Bhd.
Lot No.3, 1st Floor, Putatan Point,
88200, Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah, Malaysia.
Mobile: +6 012 839 9993

Final Thoughts on the Klias River Cruise in Sabah

The Klias Wetland River cruise in Sabah is one of the must-do things if you need more time while visiting Kota Kinabalu.

This can be done regardless of whether you are a single couple or even family travellers visiting Sabah Borneo. If you have experienced this before, I would also love your thoughts on this fantastic experience.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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