Best of Borneo : Tailormade Journey

Arrive in Kuching International Airport, meet & greet followed by a transfer to your hotel. Rest of the day at leisure and own activities.

Overnight at hotel.

Breakfast will be taken at the resort. This is the oldest National Park, which offers the perfect introduction to the Sarawak forest & wild life. The park is located at the northern tip of Muara Tebas Peninsula. It can be reached by a half hour drive by coach & another 30 minutes by boat. The park has on area of 16 sq. km .of primary forest with an abundance of botanical treasures made up of 25 types of vegetation.
Amongst this plant life is the carnivorous pitcher plant. Bako’s mangrove forest is home to the Proboscis Monkey, found only in Borneo.

Other species found here are the Long Tailed Macaques, Silver Leaf Monkeys, Monitor Lizards and Bearded Pigs. There are a number of trails exploring the Park with a several indented sandy bays providing excellent swimming grounds. Lunch at the park canteen. Return to Kuching in the afternoon. Rest of the day at leisure and own activities.

Overnight at hotel.

Breakfast at the resort restaurant.
08h00 hrs, depart for an overland transfer to Batang Ai. Stop at the Semenggoh Orangutan conservation center and at Serian city for a traditional open market. Visit a pepper farm, before a short stop at Lachau village. Time at disposal to buy some presents for the Iban and shop for handicraft.

Proceed to the Batang Ai jetty. Upon arrival at the jetty, transfer by boat to the Hilton Batang Ai Longhouse Resort. Spend the evening at leisure to enjoy the facilities at the resort. Upon arrival, check in and rest of the day at leisure and own activities.

Overnight in longhouse style luxury rooms.

Breakfast will be taken at the resort.
Depart for a visit of Batang Ai Longhouse – an authentic dwelling of the local Iban (who were head hunters in the past) tribe – with a traditional longboat (Perahu Panjai). Explore the longhouse and learn about the lifestyle of these friendly natives. Witness a traditional dance (ngajat), a friendly cockfight demonstration followed by demonstrations on the use of a blowpipe – an ancient hunting weapon of the natives that spew poisonous darts with deadly accuracy. Lunch at the longhouse. Return to Hilton Batang Ai in the early afternoon and enjoy a nature walk with a Ranger to the canopy walk discovering different types of plants and enjoying a stunning view of the Lake. Free at leisure in the evening.

Dinner and overnight in longhouse style luxury rooms.

Breakfast in the lodge.

At 0900 hours, travel downriver to the Batang Ai Lake jetty, arriving around 1030-1100 hours. Then travel overland back to Kuching.  En route, the afternoon stops over at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, set within 740 hectares of protected virgin forest. The late afternoon feeding session at 15:00–16:00 is one of the most accessible orangutan encounters in Sarawak — the platforms are close enough for younger visitors to observe the animals clearly without long forest walks. After the visit, continue the journey back to Kuching to check in to the hotel to retire for the evening.

Note:

• Feeding sessions run at 09:00–10:00 and 14:00–16:00. Orangutans at Semenggoh are free-ranging — sightings are never guaranteed. During fruiting season (approximately December–April), abundant natural food in the forest means orangutans may not appear at the feeding platforms. Any encounter should be considered a privilege rather than a certainty.

Overnight in Kuching

On arrival at Mulu, the early afternoon is at leisure. The Tree Top Tower, the boardwalk to Pukau Waterfall, and the 1.5 km Nature Heritage Trail are all gentle, well-paved options well-suited to families with younger children.

At 14:00, a 3.5 km elevated plank walk leads to Lang Cave and Deer Cave. The scale of both caves tends to make a strong impression on visitors of all ages — Lang Cave’s stalactites and stalagmites are intricately formed, while Deer Cave’s vast chamber and enormous bat colony are genuinely spectacular. At dusk, the bats emerge in sweeping formations to forage for insects — a natural spectacle that rarely fails to captivate. The evening continues with a night trek back through the jungle to park headquarters, where luminescent fungi and fireflies make the forest floor come alive.

Return to the lodge for dinner.

Note:

• If staying at Mulu Marriott, check-in time is 15:00. Guests arriving before this should proceed directly to Mulu National Park and keep a day bag with appropriate walking attire to hand.

Overnight in Mulu

After breakfast, a 15-minute longboat ride up the Melinau River leads to Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave. The boat journey itself is a highlight for younger travellers — the river winds through dense forest with the limestone karst rising dramatically above the treeline. Inside, the caves are well-lit and accessible along established walkways, making them manageable for children with a reasonable level of fitness.

The return to Mulu HQ is by boat, and the afternoon is at leisure for self-guided trails or the canopy walkway.

Return to the lodge for dinner.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the flight to Kota Kinabalu. On arrival, a driver meets at the airport for the transfer to the hotel in the city centre. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

Overnight in Kota Kinabalu

Following breakfast at the hotel, a driver will be on hand for the 10:00 transfer to the airport for the onward flight to Lahad Datu.

On arrival, a driver meets at the airport for the transfer to Tabin Wildlife Reserve — a 1,200 sq km expanse of protected dipterocarp forest set deep within the Lahad Datu hinterland. Accommodation is provided in a timber lodge, with each room featuring a private balcony, air conditioning, and a hot water shower, offering a comfortable base within the dense rainforest environment.

Once settled into the lodge, depart on a guided trek toward the active Lipad mud volcano. This mineral-rich salt lick serves as a natural magnet for local wildlife, and the elevated, open landscape provides an ideal vantage point for tracking and identifying the various species that frequent the area. For those so inclined, the volcanic mud is locally reputed to have skin-enhancing properties. Following dinner, a night safari ventures into the surrounding forest in search of nocturnal mammals and birds, while the lack of light pollution offers a clear view of the tropical constellations above.

Overnight in Tabin Wildlife Reserve

An early morning bird walk begins the day. Tabin’s roster of nearly 300 bird species makes the forest at dawn particularly rewarding. After breakfast, a drive into the core area leads to a birdwatching tower with expansive views across the canopy. En route, a stop at the Orangutan Release Centre provides insight into the rehabilitation work underway. A trek then continues through the lush rainforest to Lipad Waterfall, where a natural pool invites a refreshing swim beneath the cascading water.

The return to the lodge passes the Tabin Giant Tree — an ancient forest giant worthy of a photograph. In the afternoon, a herbal foot soak made with natural forest blends offers relief for tired muscles. An evening dusk drive through the reserve captures the activity of wildlife preparing for the night, followed by a night walk along nearby trails in search of sleeping birds, frogs, and nocturnal creatures.

Overnight in Tabin Wildlife Reserve

A final early morning bird walk captures the forest at its most active before checkout at 07:00.

The afternoon continues onward to Sandakan via road transfer. Arrive at Sukau Lepit Jetty before 12:00 for a two-hour boat journey up the Kinabatangan River — one of the most biodiverse waterways in Borneo. Local villages and stretches of lush riverine forest line the banks, with wildlife sightings possible en route.

Lunch and check-in at the lodge are followed by an afternoon briefing from the local guide. At 16:30, a riverboat cruise sets out along the Lower Kinabatangan in search of proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, hornbills, gibbons, and a wide variety of bird species. Return to the lodge for dinner, with a night boardwalk stroll available afterwards for those keen to look for nocturnal insects and animals.

Note: Activities are subject to weather and departure times and may be reorganised to suit operational conditions.

Overnight in Kinabatangan

A 06:30 morning cruise heads to Kelenanap Oxbow Lake — a crescent-shaped lake formed where a river meander cut itself off from the main channel over time. The stillness and relative seclusion of the lake support a distinct ecosystem of its own, with bird species and plant life that differ markedly from those of the main river.

The afternoon returns to the river at 16:30 for a second cruise along the mangrove-lined banks, with the late afternoon light well-suited to wildlife photography. Proboscis monkeys, silver leaf monkeys, hornbills, and a variety of water birds are typically active at this hour. On clear evenings, firefly colonies illuminate certain stretches of the riverbank. Return to the lodge for dinner.

After dinner, a night river safari at 20:30 ventures out in search of target nocturnal species before returning to the lodge.

Following breakfast, a final morning walk along the lodge’s nature boardwalk offers a concluding glimpse of the riverine forest before checking out at 08:00. At 09:00, a riverboat transfer departs the lodge for Sandakan Jetty, where the journey continues by road to the airport for the onward flight to Kota Kinabalu. Upon arrival in Kota Kinabalu, a driver is on hand for the transfer north along the coast to Tuaran, a quiet beachfront retreat that marks a deliberate shift in pace after the intensity of the interior.

Note: Activities are subject to weather and departure times and may be reorganised to suit operational conditions.

Overnight in Kota Kinabalu

Two full days at leisure at the beachfront resort. The white sands of the beach slope gently into clear waters, while the resort pool and coastal scenery provide ample opportunity for rest and reflection after the previous days of activity.

Overnight in Kota Kinabalu

Following breakfast at the hotel, the morning remains at leisure until check-out. At the designated time, a driver is on hand for the transfer to the airport for your departure flight.