Borneo Travel Forum

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

Hi,
This may seem a bit silly to you expert travellers.

I will travel to Borneo for the first time and am curious to find out if I should avoid certain paths/jungles/caves where I could encounter snakes or other such scary species?

Thanks
Shan

Hi,

As part of a 20 day trip to Malaysia, we are planning to stay in Borneo for about 5 days, including climbing KK

1) In 5 days, would you recommend only Sabah OR (Sabah and Sarawak and Kuching).
2) In Sabah, would you recommend one hotel that is central to all places in Sabah, OR would you recommend different hotels in different places in Sabah?

Thanks
Shan

Hi,
I am planning a 20 day trip to Malaysia with wife and thinking if I should go to Borneo as it is quite far from KL:

A couple of questions:
1. What are absolute must DOs in Borneo?
2. Will I miss out if I don't go to Borneo?
3. Best/Cheap transport from Tioman or KL to Borneo?

THANKS

Hi,

Can anyone please recommend good+cheap hotels in Borneo? I am looking for a hotel in central location so I can commute to Kota Kinabalu and other locations nearby - should I stay in Borneo or do you recommend separate hotels in different areas such as KK

There are loads to choose from but if you can share your experience, that would be great. I am looking to spend up to 200MYR per night - could spend a bit more if the hotel is really really good

THANKS A LOT
Shan

Just booked a to fly to Kula lumpar in November. my trip is for 9 days, and i plan to pretty much fly straight down to borneo. However, as a backpacker, in need of escaping the madding crowd that is tourism, any reccommendations? thoughts? any advice on where to go???

Neil

Hi,

We have planned a trip to borneo in the first week of January - hoping to stay at the shangri la hotel at kota kinabalu. We have 2 kids aged 3 and 5 and were hoping for a bit of beach, sun, swimming - canopy walks, orang utans, turtles and diving (not much really) However, we have just found out that this is pretty much the worst time to go because of the rainy season - just about to cancel and stay in Malaysia - does anyone think we are making a big mistake ?

Hi all,
well I only have 10 days this time to visit Borneo for the first time. A tentative plan is to fly into Kuching and make my way up north to Kota Kinabalu and subsequently fly out from there.
I try to keep off the beaten path when I can and am more interested in trekking/diving/climbing (thus KK is a must) and discovering the wildlife.

The question is - am I crazy to try and fit in discovering things along the way and is it more logical to just hang around Kuching first- then fly to KK? (I'm also planning to a visit to Uncle Tan's somewhere in there too)

Thanks in advance,
Olga =)

Hi I'll be going to Sabah and Sarawak in 12th dec to 19th january with my b.friend. I wanted to ask if there is any possibility of seeing the turtles lay their eggs or watch the small ones on their first journey to the sea in this period anywhere in this area?
In Sabah we were thinking of organising a tour from KK as I was told you could get a better deal and its more practical. Can anyone recommend a particular company that is reliable and flexible re. tours?
Sarawak is easier to travel around solo I think. We are very much into wild life & diving ... any places we should not miss? Also any dangers we should watch out for :) & I don't mean only under water :)
Thanks
Chris

We are considering a tour to Borneo in June next year. Could you please tell me what the weather will be like and if a trip at that time would be advisable

How much does it actually rain during the rainy season? Are we talking frequent showers interspersed with sun, or non-stop rain. I'm planning a trip in December and wonder if I'm crazy to do that.

we are soon to book our honeymoon to Borneo next month for August next year, spending 2-3 nights in Kuala Lumpur and then 14 nights in the Rasa Ria. Now we want to spend a relaxing time on the beach and the Rasa is supose to be more relaxing and has more wild life on your door step ( the thought of seeing wildlife from your balcony attracted us to this hotel) and also want to do plenty of trips.We dont like the sound of humping our suit cases everywhere but relise that 7 - 9 days may be wasted paying for our hotel, something we may have to live with. So with that in mind lets get a debate going on our top 8 must things to do so we dont waiste any days. It sounds like the Danum valley is a must as is mt Kinabaly. Souds like a few river cruises to chose from and Orangutangs, the turles and rafting. I think i'm running out of days, so you can see my problem, combining a honeymoon with adventure from the Rasa Ria. Thanks for all your impending advice Paul and Becky

we are soon to book our honeymoon to Borneo next month for August next year, spending 2-3 nights in Kuala Lumpur and then 14 nights in the Rasa Ria. Now we want to spend a relaxing time on the beach and the Rasa is supose to be more relaxing and has more wild life on your door step ( the thought of seeing wildlife from your balcony attracted us to this hotel) and also want to do plenty of trips.We dont like the sound of humping our suit cases everywhere but relise that 7 - 9 days may be wasted paying for our hotel, something we may have to live with. So with that in mind lets get a debate going on our top 8 must things to do so we dont waiste any days. It sounds like the Danum valley is a must as is mt Kinabaly. Souds like a few river cruises to chose from and Orangutangs, the turles and rafting. I think i'm running out of days, so you can see my problem, combining a honeymoon with adventure from the Rasa Ria. Thanks for all your impending advice Paul and Becky

Hi! I've got 6 weeks holidays in Nov./Dez. 2006. It would like to combine Borneo (not sure which part...??) with Indonesia, a mix between adventure and beach holiday :-D
As I am only just beginning to plan the trip, I am very happy about any advice about recommended itinearys/routes...
Also I would like to travel on my own (well, with my boyfriend) but not with a tour/group. Not sure how "public transport" works there tough :-)
Grateful for any tips, also concerning accomodation etc.
Cheeers and regards from hot(!) Switzerland

My friend and I are taking a ten day holiday to Borneo in October this year. Included are a couple of excursions to Turtle Island, and the Orang Utan Sanctuary. As this is for us, a holiday of a lifetime, we are keen to take in as much as possible and make the most of the short time we are there. We would be grateful for any information, tips, do's and donts,health tips, infact anything that anyone thinks may be of interst. I hasten to add, we are not seasoned travellers, just two ladies keen to see something of this amazing planet or ours while we can (and spend the kids inheritance!?!?)

Regards
Nangy

Hi all,

Countdown to our Borneo trip, now only 4 weeks away!!
I just had a small query about currency if anyone can help me?

We are planning on taking a small amount of money in cash (Malaysian Ringgits), but would like to take the majority of our money in travellers cheques as we don't want to be carrying huge amounts of cash around.

Can anyone tell me whether we are ok taking English pound £ Sterling travellers cheques, and whether we will have any problems exchanging them? Or would we be better to take US Dollar travellers cheques?
We are mostly staying in top hotels (Hilton Kuching, Hilton Batang Ai, Holiday Inn Damai Beach, Shangri La Rasa Ria) - will we be able to exchange travellers cheques at these hotels?

Also, are credit cards (Visa/Mastercard) widely accepted in hotels, restaurants etc?

Any advice on this matter much appreciated!

Kelly

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice. Now we are going on the trip of a life time and I can't wait. soooo looking forward to it.

We decided to spend a week in Sarawak, visiting Kuching, river trip to Batang Ai, orangutan sanctury, Damai beach, cultural village.
Then we are off to Sabah, where we are staying in the Rasa Ria. From here we are taking side trips to Sandakan and Danum Valley Conservation area.
We are spending 3 days around Sandakan, doing Sepilok, Kinabatangan river cruise ( which I am now really looking forard to after all your good reports about it) and turtle island. Staying for 3days at Danum valley at the Borneo rainforest lodge where we will be doing canopy walkways, nature walks, night walk etc. Added on some days at the Rasa Ria at the end, to relax and also hoping to book a trip to Kinnabalu National park from here and generally explore the surrounding area, Kota Kinnabalu etc.. On the way home we have a stop over in Kuala Lumpur to get some city life.
Can't wait for it.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions, tips etc..

The only thing I wanted to ask, is I've not heard many people talk about Danum Valley, can anyone give me more info about what it's like? Also, what's the chance of seeing wild orangs here? Anyone stayed at the Rainforest Lodge?
Alos, will it be easy to book a trip to Kinabalu national park from our hotel during our last few days? We've not pre-booked this and we wanted to leave some things flexible.

Thanks again, and for making me so excited about our trip!

Kels

xxx

Hello

My friend are hoping to travel to Borneo soon. What's the best way to get to Borneo from Bali? Anyone know roughly how much this would cost?

Many thanks

Natalie

Has anyone been on 'Uncle Tans Jungle Adventures' or similar? We are thinking of including this as part of our holiday and would like any feedback if it is worth doing and how strenuous it is. Thanks.

Hi Im planning a trip to borneo in October and was thinking of going on an organised trip which includes all the highlights. Has anyone been on one and what advice can they give me. I was looking at intrepid which looks good but I wanted to see orangutans in the wild not in a zoo/rehab centre. I will be travelling for a month. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks
Belinda

Hi we are looking to travel to Sabah in September. We are planning to stay at the Shangri-La-Ras Ria Resort and have heard it is under renovations. has anyone been lately that can advise if it is still okay to stay there?? Tom

Hello All
My husband and i are planning a trip to Borneo at beginning of October and wanted to ask a few question.
Firstly i'm a bit concerned that it's meant to be the rainy season and would hate if we went and it rained the whole time. For those of you who've been there, do you think thats likely?
Secondly we think we might stay at the Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort, simply because it's set on a nature reserve and looks stunning. Was wondering if anyone has stayed there, do you think we might get bored, is there transport to Kota Kinnabulu and is it expensive to eat.
Would really appreciate your help, soooooo excited about trip!!!!!
Thankyou
Piglet1

I'm trying to book a holiday for 4 to Borneo this Sept, but finding it a bit hard. Booking international flights is not a problem, but I'd love some advice on reputible tour guides, we'd really like to travel around and so want a guide to go with us.
Can anyone reccomend a good guide / tour company?

Were looking at Borneo in may this year. What we would like is a nice place on the beach, beachfront rooms prefered, Nice hotel not basic or budget, Not too remote. Info on the weather for that time.

Does anyone know how to book a trip to Turtle Island without having to reserve a tour?

Two old guys cycling from Sandakan to Kuching in March 06.
Anyone like to join us?

My wife & I are thinking of visiting Borneo next September/October for a week.

No real idea yet on what to see, but I don't think we could be bothered climbing the mountain.
Mainly for a bit of shopping, relaxing and maybe a touch of snorkelling (not that we're snorkellers, but the turtles sound good).
Oh, and hanging round with the Orangutans sounds great! Ya gotta love monkeys!

Probably a day visit to Brunei as well.
What would you recommend for something to do in such short time? And what area has the nicest and cleanest beaches, and nice (not necessarily expensive) hotels?
Thanks Heaps
Pete

Hi,

My partner and I are trying to arrange a trip to Borneo next year, and have a maximum of 3 weeks to play with.

We are still undecided how to visit this county. Whether to simply arrange a 2 or 3 week stay at a particular hotel and arrange sight seeing trips from that location, or arrange a tour of Sabah and Sarawak and add on say a week relaxation time at a particular resort at the end of the tour.
We are most likely to arrange a tour with a company rather than try to arrange it all oursleves. We are just finding it difficult to find a tour that incorporates all the things we want to see, so we are not sure if it might be better to simply book a couple of weeks in one hotel and do trips oursleves? How possible is this? If we did do this we would most likely book a hotel in Kota Kinabulu, very possibly the Shangri Las Rasa Ria. But we are not sure if it is possible to do trips into Sarawak from here, is it too far away?

Can anyone whos been give me tips on the best way to do Borneo (Sabah/Sarawak)? I would like to hear from people who have done a tour and people who just stayed at a single hotel to see what people think of the different options?

We definitely want to see some particular sights - Sepilok Orangutan sanctury, Sandakan, Kota Kinabulu, Kinabulu National park, water villages, river tour, Iban tribes and possibly the Mulu caves. We would also like to spend some days relaxing at a nice hotel. We have been looking at the Shangri Las Rasa Ria hotel and we think we would defintiely like to spend at least some days there as it seems a good location to relax and also has the advantage of being next to a nature reserve.
Can anyone who has stayed at the Rasa Ria give me some tips on what it is like? How cheap is the food and drink there?

I would also like to know what excursions are available to organise from the Shangri Las Rasa Ria hotel? Does anyone know this information?

Any tips gratefully received. We are still researhing and learning about Borneo so please excuse my ignorance if I'm talking rubbish!

Another help would be if anyone has contact details (email in particular) for the Shangri Las Rasa Ria in Sabah? I've been trying to find their email address with no luck. It may help me if I can contact the hotel direct to ask a couple of things.

Sorry for wanting so much....!! I'm in awe of this place and I cannot wait to go, I just want to make sure everything will be perfect for us and we do everything right!

Cheers for any help,

Kelly

we are staying in at the nexus resort just north of kota kinabala,on the karambunei peninsula,, we are there in april, has anybody been here???

what is the price of say a decent 3 course meal in borneo and what is the price of a bottle of white wine,,
thanks in anticipation

Hi,

Based in Langkawi for 2 weeks but visiting Semenggoh for a day. Is it recommended to take malaria tablets when visiting here for such a short period?

Thanks,
Brett