I will travel to Kinabatangan in october and like to make a trip 2d/1n to the river.
do i need to book a apckage in advance or can i just show up in sandakan at a travel agent.
i am thinking of sukau greenview bb...
any other recommendations for a budget trip?
Sandakan backpackers is a good place to stay and also to book tours. We three used a driver they recommended and just arrived at Greenview after checking they had rooms. Greenview will try to get you to book their boat trip however there are heaps of folks around that will take you up river for a few hours for 100-150 ringgit. I would trust Sandakan Backpackers if you want to book trips in advance. Nice honest folks run this place. There is nothing mystical about the Kinabatangan river. A lot of hype and not much else in our experience. We met a yachtie who was sailing down to the Coast. He wouldn't take us with him but he was a great source of info. You could get lucky too if you have time!
In 2008 I just stayed in a guesthouse in Sukau. They arranged boat trips on the Kinabatangan river (RM 80 for the trip, which could be shared by all those on the bpat):
http://www.molon.de/travelogues/Malaysia/2008/part5.html#2412
No need for any advance booking. This is the wildlife I saw:
http://www.molon.de/galleries/Malaysia/Sabah/Kinabatangan/Wildlife/