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Mari-Mari Cultural Village: A Journey into Sabah's Rich Ethnic History and Culture
4.3
40 Ratings
Kota Kinabalu
Leave the urban hotel for Mari-Mari Cultural Village, a heritage hub in Sabah. This village serves as a living museum that safeguards the diverse ethnic heritage of Borneo. It imparts the wisdom, historical background, customs, and traditions of Borneo to guests to ensure these cultural elements are remembered.
Leave the urban hotel for Mari-Mari Cultural Village, a heritage hub in Sabah. This village serves as a living museum that safeguards the diverse ethnic heritage of Borneo. It imparts the wisdom, historical background, customs, and traditions of Borneo to guests to ensure these cultural elements are remembered.
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Mari Mari Cultural Village - Our tour guide will pick up you at 9 am and start your cultural tour to Mari-Mari Village.\n\nUpon arrival, you will be greeted as preparation for you time-travelling into prehistoric Borneo; briefing on the Village Rules is a must before you enter. You will be greeted by the Chief and go through a custom Welcome…
- Mari Mari Cultural Village - Our tour guide will pick up you at 9 am and start your cultural tour to Mari-Mari Village.\n\nUpon arrival, you will be greeted as preparation for you time-travelling into prehistoric Borneo; briefing on the Village Rules is a must before you enter. You will be greeted by the Chief and go through a custom Welcome Ceremony. Then you may walk through the suspension bridge to enter Mari-Mari. This is combination of five ethnics such as Dusun, Rungus, Murut, Bajau and Lundayeh. Every ethnic has their own exotic stories and traditional dance as well as their historical. Lunch will be served inside Mari-Mari itself. After lunch, it is time to bid farewell to the villagers and depart into the 21st century, as we transfer you to your respective back to hotel.
What's Included
- Roundtrip Transportation
- Hotel pick up and drop off (Centrally located KK)
- Lunch
- Activities and cultural performance
- House Tour with demo
- Local Lunch / High Tea
- English Speaking driver
- Roundtrip Transportation
- Hotel pick up and drop off (Centrally located KK)
- Lunch
- Activities and cultural performance
- House Tour with demo
- Local Lunch / High Tea
- English Speaking driver
What's Not Included
- Other food and drinks
- Any other things not mentioned
- Other food and drinks
- Any other things not mentioned
Location
Mari Mari Cultural Village
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.3
(40 Ratings)
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1 star
Scruffy0506
Sep 8, 2025
Don’t leave Kota Kinabalu without a visit! - It was only because of a random dinner conversation with our server that we found out about Mari Mari, a cultural village/outdoor museum showcasing how Sabah’s five main tribes lived and what they are best known for producing.
We were placed in a group of 10, led by the very engaging and knowledgeable, Aril. You can walk through all the houses - but a warning - they all have steps - so if you have mobility issues, you won’t be able to access the interiors.
Each tribe has a speciality which you can taste - honey from stingless bees; rice wine; chicken cooked in bamboo; pandan and coconut tarts and sweet, crispy rice biscuits. All 100% delicious!
The tour winds down with dance performances, an optional henna tattoo and finally, a buffet lunch.
The cost is very reasonable and for a little extra, a minivan will pick you up from your hotel for the roughly 30 minute drive to the village. For a wonderful way to learn about Sabah’s fascinating history, you can’t go past Mari Mari Village.
(From what I could see, there is no accessibility for walkers or wheelchairs.)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mourad
Aug 14, 2025
A travel through time at the mari mari village - Great fun experience and way to discover the history and culture of the island. The place was very beautiful, lost in wild nature, there was a lot of activities to discover and food to test. The guides were very nice. Definitly worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susan
Jul 27, 2025
Great guide - wonderful tour! - The village was cleverly laid out, and our guide was exceptional! We learned a lot and were surprised by all the different things we were able to taste and do. Really a fantastic trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Flyer04940413041
Jul 10, 2025
An experience to savour! - The tour was excellent. Our guide Clare was informative and patient. Seeing how the different tribes lived, tasting the food they ate, experiencing the activities they did. Finishing off with a traditional dance (head hunter) and bamboo sticks and great music. Last was a lovely lunch.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wangerooge
Apr 15, 2025
Very clear museum presentation - I went there by grave taxi alone and learned that the guided group tours only start 2 hours later. It is a living museum at every house there are, stands where traditional crafts, culinary arts and dances are performed. Especially the drinks and small food on the way were particularly interesting. You could walk through several longhouses. The steps of notched logs are not easy to take. You were accompanied by one person as a group, and everything was explained very well. There were also ways to do something yourself, such as operate a blowpipe and reach a shooting target or create sounds on the aisle. It was really experience and a lot of experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Danrutherford
Apr 9, 2025
Very good tour. - Very good tour. Guide was excellent and very knowledgeable.
Taxi pick up was prompt and kept me up to date on WhatsApp.
Review provided by Viator
Daytrip58644845415
Dec 27, 2024
Wonderful smooth tour by Clare 👍🏼 - I went with both my parents, and it was a very enjoyable experience! I visited 5 years ago, and there have been improvements from the reception area, to the increased number of staff and guides, and lunch provided as compared to last time 👍🏼
We got Clare as our guide, and she was very patient and kind despite certain people in the group that were a tad more mischievious throughout the tour.
The tour was smooth, the post-tour performance was entertaining, and the lunch was delicious. All in all, I'm glad that MMCV has improved over the years and gave my parents as wonderful an experience as last time I went 😁👍🏼👍🏼
Would recommend everyone to visit atleast once if they are in Sabah!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
John_s
Sep 13, 2025
Very enjoyable - Very enjoyable, informative and interesting. Our English speaking Mari Mari guide was good. Lots of sampling of tribal eats and drinks. Very busy so groups overlapped. Taxi driver Napoleon was great.
Review provided by Viator
Onkatraveler
Aug 18, 2025
Well worth doing - Our drivers name was Napoleon. He is very helpful and he communicated with us very well. We had an early start to avoid the rush. The cultural centre can be very busy. The setting is in the rainforest and very authentic. The guides and displays are excellent. The whole tour was very educational and well worth taking.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Craig_b
Mar 18, 2025
It is not a private tourit is it fake and wrong - IT IS NOT A PRIVATE TOUR you will be with 12 other people and wait and wait for everyone to be ready . The tour company doesn t answer to you before during or after the tour. The village is cute ! Don t expect Viator to refund because they don t care so go to other companies.
Review provided by Viator
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