9 Days 8 Nights BEST OF BORNEO

Day 01 ARRIVE KUCHING-SARAWAK

Meet & greet at the Kuching International Airport and transfer to your hotel. At 1400 hrs, depart for the Kuching city tour. Visit the old Colonial Law Courts, the majestic Clock Tower constructed in 1883 and the Charles Brooke Memorial – a memorial to Charles Brooke, the White Rajah who ruled Sarawak from 1868 - 1917. Visit Tua Pek Kong – a magnificent Chinese Temple . Drive by the Astana – a shingled roof palace on the northern bank of the Sarawak River , the Cat Monument ,Malay villages, the old state mosque, the Main Bazaar and the wet market. Finally, visit the Sarawak Museum – the first museum established on the island of Borneo . Transfer back to your hotel after the tour.

Day 02 KUCHING / BATANG AI (B, L, D)

Breakfast at the hotel then depart for an overland transfer to Batang Ai at 0800 hrs. Enjoy the 220km scenic, 4-hour drive to the interior of Sarawak toward Batang Ai. Enjoy the beautiful countryside and quaint villages en route, with a stop for lunch at Lachau. Stop and visit a cocoa farm and a pepper garden to see how these crops are cultivated. Upon arrival at the jetty, transfer by boat to the Hilton Batang Ai Longhouse Resort. Enjoy a one-hour Nature Walk this afternoon to discover the fascinating world of flora and fauna at Batang Ai. Spend the evening at your leisure.

Day 03 BATANG AI (B, L, D)

Depart for a visit of Batang Ai Longhouse – an authentic dwelling of the local Iban tribe – via an hour-long boat ride. Explore the longhouse and learn about the lifestyle of these friendly natives. Watch the natives at play, and join in, when they engage in traditional games and witness demonstrations on the use of a blowpipe – an ancient hunting weapon of the natives that shoots poisonous darts with deadly accuracy. Lunch at the longhouse. Return to Hilton Batang Ai in the early afternoon. Spend the evening at your leisure.

Day 04 BATANG AI / KUCHING (B, L)

Spend the morning enjoying the facilities at the resort at your leisure. Transfer to the jetty by boat in the early afternoon for an overland journey to Kuching. Lunch at Lachau town en route to your hotel.

Day 05 KUCHING / KOTA KINABALU (B)

Breakfast at the hotel. Spend your morning at leisure till your departure transfer to airport for your onward flight to Kota Kinabalu. Meet & greet at Kota Kinabalu International Airport and transfer to your hotel. Depart from Kota Kinabalu at 1230hrs for a 2-hour journey to Beaufort, a small town south of Kota Kinabalu. Arrive at the Garama River Lodge and travel to the mangrove swamps, a forest filled with their own distinctive beauty. Welcome drinks will be served with a choice of hot or cold beverages. Enjoy the rustic landscapes before boarding your boat for a river cruise which will take you through the complex mangrove system that makes up the beauty of the Garama River . Spot the proboscis monkeys in the trees feeding on young leaves, shoots or fruits and seeds. You will have the opportunity to observe other wildlife such as macaques, the rare silver languor, water buffaloes and an array of birds such as the pied hornbill and a variety of kingfisher species. The cruise will last until sunset, after which you may witness a luminous show of millions of shimmering fireflies illuminating the trees around you. Return to your lodge for a BBQ dinner and return overland to hotel afterwards. Things to bring on this trip: sun screen lotion, insect repellent, extra clothes, a towel, camera, sunglasses and plenty of curiosity!

Day 06 KINABALU NATIONAL PARK (B, L)

Have breakfast at the hotel and then depart for Mt. Kinabalu National Park at 0800 hrs. Drive past vistas of rice fields and native villages. Arrive at Poring Hot Spring named after a giant bamboo growing abundantly in the area. At the hot springs , take a dip into one of the Japanese-styled outdoor pools filled with cold or hot spring water. The pools, said to have therapeutic and curative properties, are set in a pretty garden of flowers, shrubs, trees and butterflies. Be on the look-out for local fruit trees such as the langsat, tarap, pomelo and pulasan growing just next to the pools. If you are lucky you might find a flowering Rafflesia nearby or just outside the Poring Hot Spring Park. Visit the Butterfly Farm (closed on Mondays), the nearest Kipungit waterfall or trek on a nature trail about 500m above sea level that leads to a unique canopy walk for an exhilarating experience of walking in the trees, 41 meters above the forest floor. Head back to the Kinabalu Park after lunch. Enjoy a video show called ‘Beacon of Mt Kinabalu’ [comms off1] then return to the hotel. Things to bring: Camera, hat/cap, raincoat, good walking shoes, sun block lotion, insect repellent.

Day 07 MARINE PARK (B, L)

Breakfast at the hotel at 0830 hrs then depart for the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park . Connected by a sand bar to Gaya Island is Sapi Island , an ideal snorkelling and diving site, a coral island within the Marine Park just 15 minutes from Kota Kinabalu. From the KK Jetty, you take a motorised boat to either Manukan or Sapi Island where you can swim, sunbathe or snorkel.[comms off2] The Marine Park is scattered with hard coral gardens, sandy bottom beds and sporadic coral blocks. The area is ideal for observing macro marine life either in the day or at night with shallow, calm seas with depths varying between 15 to 20 metres. Enjoy a hearty BBQ lunch on the beach before returning to your hotel.

Day 08 SANDAKAN / SEPILOK / SUKAU (B, L, D)

Breakfast at the hotel. Spend your morning at leisure until your transfer to the airport for the flight to Sandakan . Meet & greet at Sandakan Airpor, and then your tour begins with a visit to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. Walk along the plank walkways in the tropical lowland jungle. Watch the Orang Utans come out to eat at feeding time, and then proceed overland to Sukau – a native village. The journey will take about 2 hours, passing through oil palm plantations and villages. Lunch at the lodge in Sukau, with a late afternoon cruise up the Kinabatangan River to spot some Bornean wildlife. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Day 09 OX BOW / SANDAKAN / DEPARTURE (B, L)

Be woken up by the calls of gibbons and hornbills. It’s an early start with a trip to the oxbow lake to spot wildlife and experience the early morning ambience on the longest river in Sabah . There will a short jungle walk along the lake with opportunities to bump into Bornean wildlife. Then return to the lodge for breakfast. Spend the rest of the morning relaxing and then check out after lunch and travel overland back to Sandakan for a city tour which includes a visit to a Buddhist Temple and the bustling Central Market. Your tour ends in Sandakan Town , and then you will be transferred to the airport or your hotel.


Tour Rate: US$ 1429.00/person (min. 02)

Includes: all land/river/sea transportation, 08 nights accommodation, meals as stated, entrance/conservation fees, tours and Tour Guide services.

Excludes: domestic/international flight, video/camera fee, tipping and items not mentioned above.