The long, mostly empty beach of Sabang is the launching point for the underground river and a worthwhile destination in its own right. The beach itself runs for two kilometres, palm-backed, with a handful of resorts at the eastern end and almost no development to the west.
Beyond the underground-river boat dock, a forest mangrove paddle tour runs gentle guided trips through the tidal creeks behind the beach, with a good chance of seeing monitor lizards and kingfishers. The cliff-and-jungle hike from Sabang back over the headland to the underground river entrance (the "Monkey Trail") takes about three hours one-way through good forest.