Travel Answers

Could anyone suggest an itinerary for Borneo which would include a visit to the orangutangs, tree top canopy walk, visit to KK National Park and POSSIBLY to climb it (not certain about that yet in our limited time frame). Also we have the possibility of going to Borneo straight from Bangkok or from somewhere in Indonesia. Could you recommend which would be the better & cheaper option? Thank you!

Hi all,
I'm doing a trekking this summer on Borneo: starting from Bakalalan, crossing the border to Kalimantan and ending in Sabah (Long Pasia).

It will start in the last week of july and end in the first week of august.

It will be great expedition: lots of rainforest, wildlife (hopefully) and of course a guide etc. It won't be an easy trekking, but what's wrong with a challenge?

If someone is interested, let me know!

Thanks a lot,
Max (NL)

I'm taking a 2 week trip to Borneo mid April and 3 nights are planned in Sandakan and Bilit. FCO advice is essential travel only but anyone recently been there or planning to still go? I'm not sure whether to change my itinerary and stay around Kota Kinabalu instead..? Opions welcome!

Hi! This April/May I'll be travelling to Malaysian Borneo. My plans for now are a bit vague, but here is what I plan to do: Travel to KK (Stockholm - London - Hong Kong - KK) Climb Mt Kinabalu Take open waters certificate Dive at Sipadan Go on Uncle Tan's adventure Visit Danum Maybe visit Mulu caves and Turtle Island park Relax on some beach for a while Fly to Hong Kong for a few days, then back to good old cold Sweden My main concern is when to book all these things, and with which agency. This is what I've planned right now: Mt Kinabalu - I've heard you book well in advance, so I plan to do that ASAP. However, it's quite expensive, but since I travel alone I suppose I'll take it. I plan to go with Downbelow. Diving - Dive Downbelow. Sipadan - Dive Downbelow or Scuba Junkie. This I've also heard that you should book quite early, but how early is that? Danum - the Rainforest Lodge, but it's really expensive. Is there any cheaper alternative? Turtel island park - Crystal Quest. Is this also a place you should book months in advance? Relaxing at a cosy island - no idea. Sibuan island perhaps, but I don't know how to get there. Does this seem like a good idea? This is my first time travelling on my own, so I'm quite unexperienced when it comes to planning a trip. Is there anything else I should do or have in mind while I'm there? About me and this trip: I'm an 18-year old student from Sweden, on a gap year before starting my university studies. I'm not much for partying; my main goal for this trip is to experience the nature of Borneo, and to simply relax for a while. While I like nature, I also like big cities. My plan is to visit Borneo for about 4 weeks, and my budget is around7000 (with flights). The flights to and from Sweden are about600 for a one way ticket. On person said that I shouldn't go to Malaysian Borneo, since it's mainly for couples. However, it does look beautiful and easier for tourists than Indonesian Borneo. What do you think? I'm really grateful for all the help I can get :)

I plan to travel to Borneo in the last week of May. Was thinking if I could also go to Bali after the Borneo stint. I will be travelling from Mumbai, India. Is there convenient flight connection from Borneo to Bali.

I'm traveling to Borneo and staying in a jungle camp. I need to get a light silk sleeping bag and mosquito net. Will I be able to find these easily in Borneo? Any camping/outdoor gear shops? I will be flying in to Kota Kinabalu so I have a day there. Any information would be great. The more specific the better!

Hi, I will need to go from Semporna to Sandakan by car as I can't flight because of the diving therefore I arranged a taxi with a travel agency. I can't leave Semporna before 17.30 as on the same day I'm diving and I need to be in Sandakan the day after for a tour already booked. The agency at the beginning told me it would have been too dangerous to travel at night but then they said me it's ok to do it. Do you think that for the taxi driver is cool to drive that road during the night? Has anyone done it already? Thanks!

Has anyone helped the Orphaned Orangatanges?

Hi. I need some help please :-) We are traveling in February with our 12 years son. We have 18 days and we have the tickets to / from Singapore. So we can fly with Air Asia to Kuching or Kota Kinabalu. With 18 days do we have to spend our time in Sarawak or Sabah? Or both ? we can fly in to one city and back from another, and take a cheap flight from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu. We want to see the rain forest, go to an island for swimming / relax go diving and see the orangutans. Thank you.

Can anyone please tell me if it is easy to get transport early in the morning from Kudat to Kota Kinabalu? We have a plane leaving KK at 13:40 and we know that Kudat is about three hours drive away. We're hoping to get a bus at around 07:00 or 08:00 to get us to KK airport in ample time for our plane. Thanks.

Hi all, My dad would like to climb Mt Kinabalu so I said I'd go with him in December. We would have a week in Borneo but we are unsure about what to do with it. The climb will take 2 days, 1 day getting over an overnight flight and then we want to see the Oragutans and I would ideally like to dive if possible (dad doesn't dive but he'd snorkel) Do we need to fly to Sandakan or are there alernatives closer to Kota Kinabalu where we can do these things? I see that Air Asia has reasonable (ish) flights so I guess money isn't the issue here. Any advice? Thanks!

Hi, We are a middle aged couple who will be traveling to Borneo for 7 days starting April 8th. So far, we have only our first 2 nights booked in KK. We would like to see some wildlife - proboscis monkeys, orangutans etc. We would also like to do some snorkeling and a jungle cruise. Would flying over to Sandakan be a viable option or would we be just as well to stay in and around KK? ( we have our flight back to BKK booked from KK on Sunday April 15 th.) We would welcome any suggestions for a seven day itinerary. We look forward to your suggestions. Thank you.

Hi, We will visit Borneo in 1 week and I'd like to know what kind of dangerous species we can find over there: - Fauna: Snakes and spiders mainly, but insects, scorpions, caterpillars, etc. - Flora: Dangerously stinging plants leaves and stems. Thank you +++

Hi all, still putting the finishing touches to our 2012 holidays in March. We will be in Borneo late February 2012 and are considering visiting the islands around Sipidan and staying on one of them for a couple of nights. We want to experience pristine white sand beaches, good snorkelling (no diving lthough we understand this area to be the finest in the worl, and good dining at the chosen resort. The Islands we are looking at are Mabul,,,Mataking,,,,,Kapalai,,,,and Pom Pom, Any comments on these islands or other suggestions will be greatly appreciated. We will be staying at Tawau for a couple of nights before going to the Islands. OR are there any better islands to visit but not from Kota Kinabalu as we visited there earlier this year..... Many thanks for your help POEPAT

Hi Can anyone advice me about communication options in the main towns in Borneo and Brunei? Are there many internet cafes? Is Wi-fi available? does a smart phone work? thanks

A good friend of mine is over in Asia right now and about to fly to Borneo. She's somewhat overwhelmed with what to do there so I offered to post a number of her questions to my knowledgeable friends here on VT. If you can answer any of these questions, it would be much appreciated: 1) We are going to fly into Kuching on July 14th. We don´t really have a plan and are overwhelmed with the "tours" ... Of course we would love to do a jungle tour. But we are not sure if it is necessary to book those in advance or if we can just find travel agencies in Kuching and book right in the office? 2) We are budget travelers and still hope to get the best out of our budget. In light of that, what suggestions do you have? 3) Our "research" found you have to fly from city to city. It seems hard to get around there. Is that true? 4) How would you recommend organizing our 2 weeks in Sarawak? 5) Where are the nice and cheap beaches to stay? Perhaps typical 'pole houses' on the water?

Just wondered if anyone knew any wildlife centres in Sandakan or Kinabalu where i could do a bit of voluntary work with orangutans or turtles i have limited time so just want to do a few days somewhere, and wondered if anywhere would let you do this. Thanks in advance

Hi All, My husband and I are considering the Sabah region of Borneo for 1 week, but I am reading concerning safety warnings online regarding armed robbery, violent crimes and kidnapping - targeted at Western travelers. We would love to visit this island and experience all the wildlife areas, but safety is a concern. I would appreciate input from anyone that has been there and spent time in this area. Are there specific areas to avoid? Are we safer if we book a private tour with private driver, etc? Thank you!

we (2 people) are in Borneo from January 29 (arrive in morning) and leave on Feb 6 noonish. looking at flights, there is a lot of wasted time in airports, and hopping from town to town via plane is a poor way to se ethign si find. We really want to get out there and see stuff, stopping along the road etc. So we are thinking about renting a car/jeep whatever for the whole time and making a loop from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, down to Tawao...and woops looking at a map no loop, so there turn back. We will be stopping at turtle islands which takes away 2 days. What we are really wondering is road conditions. We have traveled some places where roads are really just trails and didnt turn out so great, but are there drivable roads around Sabah? about how many hours is it from say Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan by car? Some maps i see say there is a circle route around Sabah, others dont show it. And do you think a loop with a 2 day stop on turtle islands can be done in 8 days?

We (my husband and I) would like to take a trip to Borneo with our 5 year old son in December for two weeks. I am a bit worried about food, since he has extreme allergy to nuts. Can anyone offer any insights since this would be the first time for us taking him to SEA. Also, would you recommend just flights or flights with hotel prebooked? My husband and I like the freedom to chose, however, this would be the first time adventure travel with the kid and not sure what would be better. We'd like to visit a lot of places suggested, orangutan reserve, trip down the river, jungle cruise....could they all be day trips? We are coming from LAX. Any info much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

My partner & I are hoping to travel to Borneo from the UK (probably Sabah) but it will have to be during peak UK travel season as I am a teacher. Can anyone help us as to where to start planning as we don't want to get any more ripped off than absolutely necessary. We usually do the self management thing, but it would be OK to have everything done for us and to book a bog standard package with a few days spare for our own choices. We only have about three weeks (just under to get there and back as well as the holiday, so the itinerary would need to be quite tight. Any of you experienced travelers got your usual jewels of advice to help us on our way? Jane.

Hiya, Planning to visit islands Sapilok, Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo for 5 days and would like to enjoy some of the wildlife safari, any suggestions ??? Are all these islands near by or would have to stay in each overnight, and take a plane to move from one island to another ? Please let me have your suggestions. Thanks

Hi. We are travelling to Borneo at the end of October & staying in the Nexus Resort. I was wondering where is the best place to eat outside of the resort as I imagine it will be more expensive & less authentic inside the resort. Also we plan to travel to the orangutan sanctury & wonered if anyone has any tips on arranging this. We would be garteful for any advice you can offer. Thank you

Hi. I'm 16 at the mo and am taking part in a month long world challenge expedition to Borneo in July next year. I was just wondering if any of you have climbed Mt Kinabalu and what was it like? Im doing it for sure and we will try to make the summit for sunrise, sounds amazing! Cheers

Hi Folks I'll be traveling alone in July to Borneo. I really want to do the 4D/3N Mulu tour that a lot of tour operators offer. However most only take booking for a minimum of 2 people. Some will charge the rate of two people for one person booking. Does anyone know of any tour operators that offer this package for single travelers at a reasonable price? Thanks

I would like to hire a driver to travel around Sabah with my wife and 2 children in Sept 09. What is the best way to hire a driver - can it be done from Australia or should I organise it when we arrive? Are there any safety issues I should be awre of? What is the approximate cost - say for 10 days? Is it recommended or would you suggest an alternative? Appreciate any assistance with this - cheers. Geoff

Does anyone know if there is a budget private accommodation (around 50 MYR per room/hut per night) anywhere in the mountains of Borneo to stay for medium term (1-2 months)? Thanks.

Hi all, I need an important advise. I am going to the Borneo region in 1 month. Planned trips include: a cruise on the Garama river, Tunku Abdul Rahman and mountain Kinabalau. I have been proposed a trip to Sepilok to see the Orangus sanctuary. Given that this costs a lot of money since an airplane flight is involved, can you tell me whether it is a must? Many thanks for helping me, Tiziana

Hi,my partner and i are planning a stay in borneo for 2 about 2 weeks in Febuary,We want to stay in a few different places and need some advice!!!We are planning the first 5 nights in the shangri la, and then we are not sure ,we want to stay in nice places where you can go out for meals and markets etc!! I also like to dive but my partner does'nt ,i just want to be able to hire some equipment and go some short dives so not leaving her!iI dont really want to book a dive package!!Advice would be much appreacited!!thankyou,tom

Hi there. I need to have some tips here. Am from kuala lumpur travelling to tawau-semporna on 15 july. Thought of going to Lahad Datu- Danum Valley, maybe spending a night there. number of people - 2 adults and 1 kid. the questions is, 1.is there any cab/bus to and fro services to danum valley from semporna and back to semporna? 2.Guiding services in Danum Valley 3.What's the hostel/dorm rate in Danum Valley? thanks