A New Year, means new adventures! And what better way to start than these amazing offers to help you on your way. Whether you're travelling with a companion or heading solo, we've got you covered!
Borneo is one of the world's greatest natural wonders, with an all encompassing biodiversity. It is a remarkable place where the great outdoors thrive with miracles and spectacles. Encounter a treasure trove of flora, wildlife, landscapes and indigenous customs. Borneo is also the home of the last wild orangutans, sadly under threat from habitat destruction.
BOOK BEFORE 28 FEB 2023 & SAVE $600 PER COUPLE OR SAVE UP TO 50% ON SINGLE SUPPLEMENTS!
Twin share was $7,380, NOW from $7,080 pp
Single Supplement was $1,180, NOW from $590 pp
Looking for 2024 dates? Contact our experienced travel team on 1300 414 198 for more information.
Please note prices are subject to availability at time of booking or until sold out and may change without notice. The prices above include flights departing Brisbane, airline fuel surcharges and taxes which are subject to change.
DAY 1 & 2: Fly to Kuching
Fly overnight to the relaxed and charismatic city of Kuching. on arrival you will be met at the airport in the arrival hall by your Local Guide and/ or National Escort. Together, with all other group members who may be arriving at the same time, you will transfer 20 minutes to your hotel and check into your room or store any luggage if your room is not ready yet. There is no sightseeing today.
Meals: Dinner
DAY 3: Explore Kuching
Spend the day enjoying the diverse culture of Sarawak with a walking tour, starting at the Chinese History Museum on Kuching’s waterfront. Stroll past the traditional Chinese shop houses of Ewe Hai Street and pay a visit to a ‘sinseh’, a Chinese medicine man and see him practicing his art. Learn about the tin smithing trade at a ‘Pak Tik’ followed by a ‘Hio Chek’, a shop that sells ceremonial items, and a Chinese temple. Next you’ll be introduced to Sarawak’s delicious food, with a food tasting at a local coffee shop and a lesson on local spices on Gambier Street. Continue to the Sarawak Museum to view the natural history collection, before a relaxed sampan ride across Kuching’s river to visit a Malay village. This evening, meet your guide in your hotel lobby and drive 5/10 minutes to Top-Spot Food Centre for your seafood welcome dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 4: Bako National Park
Drive around 40 minutes out to the small Malay village of Bako before boarding a boat for 20 minutes to reach the national park. Explore the park on foot with a guide – one of Borneo’s most biodiverse areas, the diversity of flora and fauna here is incredible, and easily accessible. Following trails along streams, past caves and across plateaus, keeping an eye out for wild boar, macaques, monitor lizards and, if you’re lucky, a proboscis monkey! Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant. After dinner, you can take a leisurely stroll along the Kuching waterfront and make your way back to your hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 5: Semenggoh Nature Reserve
This morning you have the opportunity to meet Borneo’s most famous native, the orangutan! Semenggoh is a centre dedicated to the rehabilitation of rescued or orphaned young orangutans – here they are taught how to survive in the wild. The area you are visiting is where the orangutans are released after their training, to leave freely in the nature reserve, so please bear in mind that even at the feeding time, it is not guaranteed that you will spot a resident. Drive for approximately 4 hours to Sri Aman, stopping at a local market, a pepper plantation and Chinese village of Lachau en route. On arrival at Sri Aman, you will be checked into your hotel. You may wish to enjoy a guided stroll of the town of Sri Aman, taking in Fort Alice and the majestic Tze Yin Khor Chinese Temple. Dinner will be at a local restaurant.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 6: Iban Longhouse
Today you will discover more about Borneo's native Iban people, renowned for their practise of headhunting. Head out into the wilderness in a traditional Iban longboat and cruise to a longhouse where you will meet an Iban community. Witness a performance of a traditional war dance in full regalia and lunch on Iban cuisine. Return to the hotel where the rest of the day is at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 7: Return to Kuching
After breakfast, check-out and return to Kuching by air-conditioned vehicle with a stop en-route for lunch at a local cafe. Transfer to your hotel in Kuching for check-in. This evening meet your guide in the hotel lobby for your dinner transfer. After dinner, walk back to your hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 8: Fly to Kota Kinabalu
Transfer to the airport and fly over to Malaysian Borneo's other state, Sabah, and the vibrant city of Kota Kinabalu. On arrival, the rest of the day is at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 9: Explore Kota Kinabalu
Today you will meet your guide in your hotel lobby and proceed on your walking city tour. Begin your explorations at the Sabah State Museum where you can learn about the state’s diverse cultural and natural heritage, before exploring some of the city’s beautiful architecture, including the Blue Mosque surrounded by reflecting pools and Chinese Temple with the largest statue of Kwan Yin the Goddess of Mercy in. Browse the piles of wares at the Handicraft Market and spice bazaar, before strolling through the oldest part of the city. Lunch will be at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel for an afternoon at leisure. Tonight, proceed on foot to the nearby restaurant to dine on traditional Malay cuisine.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 10: Kinabalu Park
Depart your hotel in Kota Kinabalu for a 2-hour drive along the ridges of the Crocker range, to arrive at the Kinabalu Park, at the foot of Mt Kinabalu, Borneo’s highest mountain, where you will spend the day exploring Kinabalu Park, Malaysia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Join in the guided walk along one of the forest trails to get a first-hand impression of the Park and its unique flora before visiting the Mountain Garden with its collection of orchids and plants that are unique to Kinabalu. Watch a slide show on the natural wonders of the park after lunch. In the afternoon, after the slideshow, explore more of the forest in the park.
Depart the park and return to the city and your hotel, where the rest of your day is at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 11: Fly to Sandakan
Early this morning, before breakfast, you will transfer approx. 15 minutes to the airport for your early flight to Sandakan. Visit the Sandakan Memorial Park, which commemorates British and Australian prisoners of war during World War II. Continue into Sandakan itself and tour the city, passing the William Pryer and Sandakan Liberation monuments, and browsing the displays of the Heritage Museum and the Agnes Keith Museum. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 12: Sepilok Orangutan Centre
This morning check out of your hotel and drive 40 minutes to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, where you will experience a close encounter with the orangutans, undergoing a rehabilitation program to return to the wild. Pop over the road to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre to visit the world’s smallest bear and learn about the conservation efforts to protect them. Proceed on a 2hour drive that journeys through palm oil plantations and villages to Bilit and enjoy lunch at your lodge. Later, board a cruise along the Kinabatangan River to spot some of the abundant wildlife. The waterway sustains one of the world’s richest ecosystems, including 10 species of primates.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 13: Kinabatangan River
Embark on an early morning cruise to the Oxbow Lake, where you can spot wildlife and soak up the peaceful ambience. Returning to the lodge, the rest of the day is at leisure until the late afternoon, when you will head out for another cruise, searching for wildlife once more. You could spot anything from hornbills to pygmy elephants to orangutans!
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 14: Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu
Return to Sandakan by boat for lunch at a local restaurant before transferring to the airport to fly back to Kota Kinabalu. In the evening proceed on foot to the nearby Shell Plaza and enjoy dinner at D’Place. This restaurant features an array of Sabah Indigenous Foods, such a Nasi Linopod (glutinous rice cooked in a leaf), Manok Bambangan (chicken cooked with a type of wild mango), Hinava (similar to ceviche), Ambuyat (a sticky pulp from sago starch) and many more.
During this evening’s farewell dinner, there will be a cultural performance featuring different ethnic’s traditional dances. Return to the hotel on foot.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAYS 15-16: Fly Kota Kinabalu to Australia
Today enjoy breakfast at your hotel after which you will drive approximately 15 minutes to the airport for your departure flight, arriving in Australia the following day.
Meals: Breakfast
Fitness Level: This tour is rated as a physical level 2 tour. A reasonable level of fitness is required but it’s more about spending time on your feet rather than covering large distances. You’ll be getting on and off coaches and boats, walking around the sights and climbing some steps.
Tipping Policy: Local tipping is customary in Asia. However, this can often lead to awkwardness in knowing when it is appropriate to tip and how much, as well as ensuring you have a suitable amount of change available at the time. For your convenience, with years of experiences in providing the best customer service, a kitty system will be arranged by your National Escort who will look after this aspect of your trip for you. It also ensures that the amounts paid are reasonable for you but still fair for the local people. The amount is stated on each Group Tour page will be advised again on your final documentation.
Tipping is in US Dollars and will be collected by your National Escort on arrival and distributed throughout the tour on your behalf. Any additional tipping on any of our tours is welcomed at your discretion. Further guidance for tipping contributions will be outlined in your final documentation. We generally find that most customers appreciate the convenience of our tipping policy, but we do recognise that it may not suit everyone. However, as this is a group tour we ask that everyone follows the same protocol to be fair to other group members and to ensure smooth operation of your tour.
Travel at 60 and supplier booking conditions apply.
Additional Price Information:
Offers valid between 26 Dec 2022 – 28 Feb 2023, unless sold out prior. Save $600 per couple (or $300pp) offer available on all 2023 & 2024 group departures. Save 50% on the single supplement offer is available on Japan (selected Departures and tours), India (selected Departures and tours), Vietnam& Cambodia(selected Departures and tours), Sri Lanka, Middle East (selected Departures and tours), Central Asia (selected Departures and tours), China (selected Departures and tours).
Tours are subject to availability. Applicable to new bookings only. The tour operator reserves the right to release specials which are applicable to new bookings only. Bookings are non-transferable. Offers are not combinable with each other or any other offer other than loyalty discount. Departures booked more than 11 months in advance may be subject to air supplements when airline fares are published.
A non-refundable deposit of $99pp is due within three days of receiving confirmation that space has been held for you. An early flight payment may be required at time of booking to issue tickets depending on airline. Unlimited date changes permitted up to Final Balance due day which is 75 days prior to departure (charges may apply if airline tickets already issued). In the event your tour departure is deferred due to unforeseen circumstances such as government travel restrictions, deposits will be placed as future travel credit with rebooking fees waived. In the event of tour cancellation due to government travel restrictions: any balance payments on file upon cancellation 75 days prior to travel will be refunded and the deposit will be held in credit. For cancellations made within 75 days, please refer to our standard cancellation policy within our terms and conditions for further information. If your tour is deferred the tour operator will honour your original booking terms and conditions including promotions, subject to availability. A valid passport copy must be provided at time of booking to ensure passenger names match with passports. Any spelling corrections made after a deposit is paid must be sent in writing and will incur additional fees, including any ticket reissue fees. Mobile phone number, email address and postcode of residence are mandatory at time of ticketing as required by the Australian Government.