Samboja Lodge

After two weeks staying at this special place I can’t wait to go back. The staff were helpful and friendly and the meals were delicious. A huge thanks for catering for my dietary requirements! The room had a lush, relaxing outlook and the top floor balcony near the kind suites was the perfect place to watch a tropical storm roll through. Best of all is getting to support the important work to save and care for orangutans and sun bears. But also providing an oasis for gibbons, hornbills, macaques and many other species.

Great place tucked away in the jungle. Excellent service. Delicious food and plentiful. Superb local guide with excellent knowledge and fluent English. Nothing was too much trouble for these people. Seeing the orangutans so close up was amazing. Hearing their sad stories made us determined to help support their rehabilitation even more. The regeneration of the forest since 1991 is staggering and gives us hope for the future. We took the river trip which was interesting and we saw proboscis monkeys , snakes and cool birds.

This exceptional lodge located in a rainforest near Balikpapan, Borneo, offers first class accommodation and food on the grounds of the BOSF - an NGO to provide care and rehabilitation for displaced or orphaned orangutans. Our guide, Imam, showed us a number of orangutans and sun bears, took us on a motorized canoe to observe long nose monkeys and walked with us to a canopy bridge in a nearby rainforest. He professionally answered any questions about nature and culture. Cooking and service was outstanding - everyone always smiled - and we enjoyed cold drinks under the roofed patio of the lodge. We recommend the roof top lodge overlooking the rainforest. 3 unforgettable days!

This is expensive but the quality is high and the money goes to an inspiring cause. I recommend watching Willie Smitt Ted Talk. He is the founder and it gives an overview of the vast project of Samboja Lestari. Although it is known for Orangutan and Sunbear rehabilitation, it's the work on replanting decimated forests that is most inspiring. An example of vision, imagination and hope against all odds. The lodge is designed to high quality using architecture and materials of local Dayak . You eat dinner to the sounds of the rainforest plus orangutans bellowing in the background. You learn all about the Orangutans and sun bears, mainly rescued from people keeping them as pets or in the entertainment industry. The efforts to rehabilitate them (sometimes not possible). Our guide had an inspiring story of quitting is well paid job in the mining industry when he realised the damage it was doing and taking a much less well paid job so that he could work towards a better future for his daughter. There was some information about the reforestation but the Willie Smitt Ted talk gives a much better overview of just what a challenge they took on, with planet and people front of mind and the incredible impact they've already had in just 20 years. The food is excellent some of the best we've had in Indonesia. They catered well for vegetarians which we were very grateful for. We looked forward to each meal. Service was excellent. Staff spoke good English and we're friendly and attentive which made things easy. Bear in mind there are costs for meals and there are no other places to eat. 250,000 rupiah per meal per person. Breakfast is included in the room rate. They offer pick up and drop off from where you need. It's 500,000 rupiah each way. Top tip - if you organise pick up - make sure you specify exactly where to meet the driver or ask them to give you a description of the car that will pick you up so you can find them. We arranged to be picked up at the bus station but the driver did not look for us in the waiting area he simply say outside waiting in his car. They are (rightly) very strict on COVID measures as it poses a risk to the Orangutans so you need to get an antigen test before you arrive. They took us to get it as part of the pick up service. Great for kids - they can help create the enrichment activities for the Sunbears and you can see the Sunbears up close. Our 8 year old loved it!

We stayed one day / two nights at the lodge. We watched feeding of the orangutans, and they are really beautiful animals, and it was a fantastic experience to see them. The sun bears were less interesting. It was a very zoo/cage-like experience to meet them The guide was nice, but insisted we wear face-masks at all times, which is super-hysterical for outdoor activities. We also went on the river trip in the afternoon. It is a very long drive and part of the road to/fro the lodge is extremely bad. The boat engine was the most noisy boat engine I ever hear, and I heard a few… We did see proboscis monkeys, but they also have a group where you board the boat, so the EXTREMELY noisy boat trip seemed a bit superfluous. Most of the way is quite boring, but we did see more proboscis, a kingfisher and a sleeping snake. I cannot recommend this trip due to the engine noise. The lodge is beautiful and so are the rooms - with air con. Food is basic and to the very greasy side, but it’s tasty and well prepared. I can certainly recommend Samboja lodge!

We spent a couple of nights at the lodge in the upper king suites. The view there is stunning. The general staff is friendly and ready to explain anything about the conservation station. The food is good. But you could do more of the place. The welcoming warmth experienced somewhere else is missing.