Bako National Park is close to Kuching and easy to reach independently, but it feels like you’ve escaped into the heart of Borneo. With the chance to experience wildlife, rainforest hikes, jungle streams and proboscis monkeys, this is a must-do day trip when you’re visiting Kuching with kids.
Bako National Park might only be forty kilometres from Kuching, but as soon as you cross the park boundary, it feels like you’re entering a more remote side of Borneo. Rainforest treks, hiking trails, waterfalls and streams, wildlife (including proboscis monkeys) and tropical beaches all amount to a special excursion from the city. Access to this relatively small national park is only possible via boat, which only adds to the sense of isolation and adventure.
Is Bako National Park worth visiting?
The phrase we kept coming back to during our visit was how accessible Bako National Park felt. This was perhaps due to its proximity to Kuching, or maybe because it’s one of the smallest national parks in the region, but a visit here just felt really relaxed and hassle-free.
The friendly national park staff go out of their way to make you feel welcome and well-informed, there are several trails to choose from with varying levels of fitness required, cheap places to grab some food and drink, and it never feels too busy or touristy.
The boat ride from the main terminal speeds by, with views of the sea, rainforest and rock formations (even if a couple of the more famous examples have been recently lost to erosion). If you’re lucky, you might spot some proboscis monkeys along the way, but the ever-present rainforest will fill your nature cup to the brim either way.
Getting a Grab to Bako National Park Ferry Terminal
Grab drivers are happy to take the fare out to the Bako ferry terminal and you should have no problems booking a ride in the morning. It’s a common tourist destination and they’ll know exactly where to drop you off.
The journey takes about forty minutes door-to-door, but do factor in some time to break free of the traffic jams that affect some key Kuching junctions in the rush hour. Once you’re clear of the city, the road to the ferry terminal is in good condition and generally traffic-free.
Arriving to the ferry terminal
The Bako Ferry Terminal is well organised and designed to get you on your way as fast as possible. First things first, you’ll need to arrange and book your boat to the national park.
Officially, two separate companies operate the boat transfers but you’ll just be politely shepherded to one counter or the other. There didn’t seem to be any difference in the price between the two and they’re more interested in spreading out the custom. Prices are fixed at RM200 for the entire boat (cash only).
Upon arrival, you might be approached by other visitors who are looking to share a boat with you to keep costs down. If you’re travelling with kids, our advice would be to politely decline and instead take a boat just for yourself.
This isn’t about being unsociable, it’s more to do with the logistics of your return journey after completing the hikes. If you share a boat to the national park HQ, you must return with the same people, which might mean hanging around until they’re ready. Travelling with kids, you never quite know what mood they’ll be in throughout the day, and it’s always useful to be fully in control of your schedule. In practical terms, sharing a boat won’t save you much money anyway.
It saves time if you can register online before you arrive and then simply show your registration QR code to the staff members. Otherwise, there is WIFI available (mobile data works fine here too) to complete the forms before buying the tickets. Note that if you’ve already registered for one of the other Sarawak National Parks (e.g. Semenggoh Orangutan Nature Reserve or Fairy Caves), you can retrieve your information from the initial email confirmation to save filling it all out again.
The boat to Bako National Park
Keep hold of your boat ticket and head to the seated waiting area from where you boat driver will come and find you. It’s a good idea to swap WhatsApp details at this stage so you can message them when you want to return from park HQ.
The boats are efficient and no-frills, ideally suited to zip across the bay and deliver you to the park HQ. They can hold around seven or eight people, perched on wooden benches under a simple canvas roof. Boat drivers are usually quite happy for kids to sit up at the front for a more exciting experience, and lifejackets are offered (although child sizes were in short supply).
The journey itself is interesting as you’ll pass by fishing villages on the mudbanks, mangroves and elaborate fishing nets. Up until early-2024, one of the highlights of the journey were rock formations, most famously one in the shape of a cobra, but this was lost to coastal erosion and now lives at the bottom of the sea. Instead, you’ll need to console yourself with views out to the ocean, mountains and slopes covered in lush rainforest.
After about twenty minutes, the engine is cut and the boat drifts in to shore. You’ll need to wade in a few metres to the beach but don’t worry, the water is only just above ankle-height so it’s an easy trip in. Wave goodbye to your driver and double-check you have their WhatsApp number for later.
Headquarters
From the beach, you should be able to spot a green roofed building, which is Park HQ. There’s a tap outside to wash sand from your feet before you enter the building.
Helpful and friendly staff are on hand to take you through the activities on offer, you just need to show them your NP pass that you bought at the terminal and they’ll give you a paper map. The map shows the layout of the HQ area and how to reach the beginnings of the trails.
The staff are adept at appraising your fitness levels and offering advice on which route to take. Make sure you sign-in via the book once you’ve chosen your trails so the staff know who is where.
Elsewhere in the HQ, there are toilets and a small cafeteria selling drinks, snacks and hot meals (open from 7:30am to 10:00pm).
The best trail at Bako National Park
There are several different trails around Bako National Park, with other smaller paths linking them together, so there’s bound to be one to suit your group.
A slight confusion is that the routes are known by name, number and colour, often interchangeably, so make sure you know which trail you’re following in all its guises. The park HQ staff and signposts around HQ tend to refer to them by numbers, the main signboards use the names, and, once on the trails, they use their colours. It can be slightly confusing but as long as you know which colour to follow once you leave HQ, you’ll be fine.
It was suggested that we followed tracks two and four (Telok Delima and Telok Paku respectively). These offered the best combination of wildlife-spotting opportunities (specifically proboscis monkeys), less-challenging trails and not too much climbing.
The official website has a decent amount of information on each of the trails if you want to do some advance research. In practice, the staff seemed to direct most visitors to the same few tracks, unless they ask otherwise.
All of the trails in the park are well looked after and maintained, with boardwalks underfoot frequent scrambles over tree roots and under branches. When we visited in October, the trails and park were fairly quiet and we only passed a few other groups. The rainforest canopy offers substantial amounts for shade from the Borneo sun but it’s still important you load up on sunscreen and mosquito repellent.
Our boys are pretty good hikers nowadays but the trails will suit younger or less-experienced walkers as well. It goes without saying but don’t bring a stroller or buggy for very young hikers, instead bring a back-carrier and encourage them to take as many steps as they can.
Wildlife to see at Bako National Park
Bako National Park is considered one of the best places to spot proboscis monkeys in Sarawak, with over a hundred living in and around the park. Despite choosing one of the trails that offered the best chance of seeing them, we didn’t spot any on our visit. We did have a close encounter with a bearded pig though who was quietly munching on the grass near the HQ office.
Elsewhere in the park, you can expect to see macaques, langurs, otters and monitor lizards.
You should also be aware that crocodiles live in the area, and there are frequent signs around the park warning you not to enter the water to swim. Keep an eye on your kids, even though the chances on encountering one on the trails or near the HQ are rare. We thought we spotted one basking near the shore but it turned out to be a harmless tree trunk.
Can you go swimming at Bako National Park?
No, unfortunately not, the sea and surrounding areas are home to crocodiles and you should exercise caution when close to the water. Keep an eye on the kids at all times, although keep the risks in perspective.
The boat brings you very close to the shore on arrival, so the time spent wading in is minimal and in very shallow water. However, do take local advice (especially from the boat driver) at this stage and check your surroundings at all times.
Staying overnight at Bako National Park
Staying overnight is gives you better chances of seeing more wildlife, especially as you can be up early in the national park before most day visitors arrive. Once the park closes to day visitors (around 3.00pm), you’ll also have the park HQ and nearby trails more to yourself.
We did try and look online to book before our visit, but it wasn’t straightforward to do so. When we spoke to the park rangers at HQ, they assured us it should be possible though. You may have more luck if you email them directly or try to arrange on the day when you arrive, or beforehand at the Visitor Information Centre in Kuching.
If you manage to arrange it, there are several chalet and hostel style buildings spread around the area outside the main office, plus some options for camping. It all looked very quiet when we arrived and reminded us of the accommodation at Selingan Island for the turtle viewing in Sabah.
Getting back to Kuching
This was one of the first times in Southeast Asia that we were let down by Grab, with no drivers available or accepting the fare, despite waiting for ten minutes. Perhaps, in hindsight, we could have predicted this as there’s not much else around here other than the boat terminal. We were also slightly earlier than other returnees, so maybe the Grab drivers hadn’t arrived yet from Kuching.
In some of the other Sarawak tourist places, the Grab driver who brought you will offer to wait for you, but this didn’t happen here. This is understandable as most visitors will be here for the whole day, which is too long for a driver to wait.
If you’re in the same situation, there are two options. Number one is the Red Bus that departs hourly from near the boat terminal. The fare is RM3.50 and there are small snack bars nearby if you need somewhere to wait. The journey will take around an hour and drop you off in central Kuching.
Alternatively, you can wander into the car park and see if any local drivers are hanging around waiting for tourists to emerge. A minivan stopped near us and offered a lift back for RM50 (Grab would have been around RM30), which we gladly accepted. Options for haggling are limited as they know you’re semi-stranded but if you mention the bus option, you’ll increase your bargaining power. But this is Sarawak, and everyone is friendly and relaxed usually, so you’ll likely get the right price.
Final thoughts on Bako National Park
As far as day trips go, Bako National Park must be right up there with the best. There aren’t many places in the world where you can be sat eating breakfast in a city centre, then, within an hour, be trekking through rainforests on the lookout for proboscis monkeys or bearded pigs. Factor in a stunning boat ride and friendly park rangers, and it’s the perfect excursion from Kuching.
There’s an impressive choice of hikes, with the option to mix and match difference trails, meaning you can tailor your visit to you and the kids, depending on experience, age, motivation and mood swings. Bako National Park is close enough to Kuching to make an independent tour an option, but still feels like you’ve headed into a more remote part of Borneo.
Getting back to Kuching can be tricky but, once you’ve made it, you’ll be full of memories about this small but beautiful national park.
You may also like to read:
Things to to in Kuala Lumpur with kids
Borneo with kids travel guide
Hilton Kuching REVIEW: the best hotel in Kuching for families