Flora, Wildlife & Landscapes of Borneo (Return Flights Included)

D​AY 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.

M​eals: 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.

M​eals: 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.

M​eals: 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!

M​eals: 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.

M​eals: 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

Select Departures o​n sale till 30 April 2024
Partner flies free or solo traveler save 50% on airfare*

• 3​1 August 2024 or 21 September 2024
• Twin share $7680 $7,130 pp / Sole use $9060 $8,510 pp
• 29 March 2025 or 03 May 2025
• Twin share $8,380 $7,830pp / Sole use $9840 $9,290 pp

V​arious departures between August 2024 and September 2025. Below pricing based on 07 June 2025.

• f​rom $8,380 per person twin share
• f​rom $9,840 per person sole use

Contact our experienced travel team on 1300 414 198 to check pricing for your preferred travel date.

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.

13 nights in 4/4+ star accommodation

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.

• On several days there will be sightseeing on foot for extended periods of time.
• At some of the sights visited there are a large number of steps to climb
• You will be required to get on and off varying sizes of boats often without assistance.

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.