What to expect from Holidays to Borneo

Ecotourism doesn’t get better than holidays to Borneo. This beautiful island is surrounded by the South China sea and offers some spectacular wildlife, scenery, virgin rainforest and cultural treats for adventurous travellers.


A holiday in Borneo usually consists of going to the Malaysian parts of Borneo, as these are the most stable and geared up for tourists. Sabah and Sarawak offer different types of holiday from mountain walks to backwater boat trips and sublime diving with turtles.

Holidays to Sabah

The province of Sabah is located on the Northern tip of the island and has so much to offer tourists and travellers. Below are some of the most popular activities available:

For wildlife lovers

Some parts of the rainforest in Borneo have been estimated at least 1 millions years old where a 25-acre plot of rainforest in Borneo may contain more than 700 species of trees – a number equal to the total tree diversity of North America.

Source: Rain-Tree.com

For real flower hunters the rafflesia is the holy grail as it is very rare and Rafflesia Arnoldii has the largest single flower of any flowering plant, at least when judged by weight. If you are lucky enough to find one it is a thing of beauty but you have to get over the repulsive smell of rotting flesh, which attracts beetles and flies helping to transport pollen between the male and female flowers.

Proboscis monkeys with their long noses are endemic to the wetlands, swamps and mangrove forests of Borneo and are found in small groups. The best way to see these fantastic creatures is to take a boat trip allow the backwater ways through the swamps, watch out for snakes sleeping the trees above! The monkeys can be seen in the trees close to the waterways and with a good zoom you should be able to get some great photos. If you go on a tour that finishes at dusk you may be lucky enough to see the giant fruit bats that fly in their thousands as the sun sets and as it gets dark millions of fire flies come out, both of which are truly remarkable sites.

There are many places to go and see Orang Utans, but the Sepilok Orang Utan sanctuary is one of the most famous rehabilitation centres for orphaned baby orang utans. Some places keep them in small cages and bad conditions, so try to stay clear of these kind of outfits. For more information click here

Watersports and Adrenaline Junkies

Diving in Sipadan is world renowned and anyone looking for the best dive sites should give this place a try. Situated off the North East coast this beautiful perfectly formed island is home to some spectacular varieties of fish including Barracudas, reef sharks and parrot fish. The resorts on the island itself have closed due to environmental reasons, so neighbouring islands now have the resorts for people to stay and boast take you to the dive sites. Many holidays to Borneo will include diving at this resort in the itinerary.

Wake boarding and water skiing are available from many of the hotels in Kota Kinabalu.

Snokelling trips to the islands just off the shore in Kota Kinabalu are abundant, remember to take some disinfectant as snokelling gear gets cleaned but not well, so its easy to pick up germs.

For luxury indulgence you may want to visit the Sutera Harbour resort with golf, marina, spa and country club.

Holidays to Sarawak

Kuching the capital of state Sarawak, is the largest city in Borneo. Situated in the far south of the Malaysian part of Borneo. It is an interesting city with a strong cultural heritage. Sarawak state has many similar trips like Sabah including:

Tours to see the Long Houses with native tribes
Wildlife rehabilitation centres
National park trekking
Swamp cruises
Boat trips to neighbouring small islands of the main island.

About Borneo

The 3rd largest island in the world after Greenland & New Guinea, Borneo is a spectacular location for nature with some of the worlds oldest rain-forest’s and holidays to Borneo are popular amongst ecotourists. The island has a unique political make up as it is divided between Malaysia, which occupies the states of Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesia which has 73% landmass and the tiny sovereign of Brunei.

There is also a sad side to Borneo which is the excessive amount of logging going on as the value of wood has become attractive to cut down rainforest. The Indonesia side of the island has lost so much forest that the scar is visible from satellite mapping.

Things to do and places to visit in Borneo

Main areas of Borneo to visit

Sabah is the second largest Malaysian state and is situated on the Northern end of Borneo.

Sarawak is the largest of all 13 Malaysian states and is situated south west of the state of Sabah.

Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian part of Borneo in English. It is made up for four provinces, East, South, West and Central Kalimantan.

Brunei is a Sovereign State and is officially known as the State of Brunei Darussalam. It is completely surrounds by the state of Sarawak, but has it own coastline. It is best known for its oil wealth and the Sultan of Brunei who is heir to an unbroken 600-year Muslim dynasty. He is one of the world’s richest royals with a private fortune estimated to total at least $20bn.

Holidays to Borneo – Review of Trekking Holiday up Mount Kinabalu

Many holiday makers are looking for more adventurous tours and climbing Mount Kinabalu is up there with the best of them.

There are many different treks and trekking companies offering a range of tours. Some have filler days with not a lot of excitement, so make sure you know exactly what you getting.

It is recommended to get a guide who will walk with you with relative ease as you huff and puff up the first ascent which takes about 7-8 hours. You arrive at a lodge just on the tree line looking out over the land below, which in itself is spectacular if the air is clear. You then go to bed at around 7-8pm and are awoken in at 2am to do the last 4 hours by torchlight. When you get to the top as the sun rises it is truely spectacular and one of those views that you will never forget. It takes about 5-6 hours to climb down the mountain to the park gate.

It does take it out of you, so allow a few days recovery time for those tired legs. You will get a certificate to say you have achieved climbing the mountain as a momento.

An 83 yr old and a 10 yr old have climbed this mountain, but it is no mean feat so a good level of fitness is required. You will be in awe of the locals ladies who carry supplies up to the lodge almost every day.