Wild Encounters of Borneo - Small Group - Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu

Welcome to Sandakan, your gateway to Borneo’s wildlife and rainforests. This coastal city in eastern Sabah sits between the Sulu Sea and rainforest, with markets, temples and waterfront streets shaped by its mix of Malay, Chinese and Indigenous cultures. After settling in, meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner. Over your first evening together, get to know the people you’ll be travelling with and hear from your Travel Director about the wildlife, landscapes and local communities that will shape your time in Borneo.

Start at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, your MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, where you’ll see orphaned orangutans and those once kept as pets learning the skills they need to return to the wild. Watch them feed on fruit, swing through the trees and view the nursery where younger orangutans practise for life in the rainforest. Continue to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre for a guided tour with founder and CEO Dr. Wong, whose work protects the world’s smallest bear. At the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, walk suspension bridges and a 147 m (482 ft) canopy walkway, with giant trees and rare birds around you.

• Visit the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
• Sun Bear Conservation Centre Tour with Dr. Wong
• Rainforest Discovery Centre

Discover Sandakan on a Heritage Walk, following local streets through the city’s markets, cafes and community spaces. Dive into Culture as you taste roti kosong, kueh and teh tarik, favourites you’ll see on menus and counters across the city. Transfer by boat to Kinabatangan Wetland Resort, your Stays with Stories experience, surrounded by mangroves and rainforest near the Kinabatangan River. Cruise along the river, taking in the changing views and watching the banks for signs of proboscis monkeys, hornbills and crocodiles. After dinner at the resort, join a night walk along the boardwalk to look for insects, frogs and other creatures active after dark.

• Kinabatangan Wetland Resort
• Sandakan Heritage Walk with Tasters
• Kinabatangan River Cruise

Set out at first light on the Kinabatangan River, listening for the dawn chorus as the rainforest comes to life around you. Cruise to an oxbow lake, where still water, overhanging trees and wetland plants create a different view of this river system. Pass Kg Abai and hear about the Orang Sungai, the river people whose traditional way of life is tied to fishing, boats and the changing water levels. Return to the resort for free time before an afternoon cruise along the upper Kinabatangan, looking for pygmy elephants, mangrove species and other signs of life along the banks. After dinner, step back onto the boat for a night river safari, scanning the dark for slow lorises, tarsiers, civets and sleeping kingfishers.

• Night River Safari Cruise

Travel by boat back towards Sandakan, passing fishing villages where stilted homes, working boats and nets line the coast. At Agnes Keith House, step inside the restored home of the American writer who wrote about North Borneo before and after the Second World War, looking through its rooms, photographs and gardens. Next door, the English Tea House puts you in one of Sandakan’s best-known hilltop settings for lunch. The road to Kundasang takes you through rainforest, farmland and mountain roads, moving from the coast into Sabah’s highlands near Mount Kinabalu to your hotel for the night.

• The Agnes Keith House
• English Tea House Lunch

In the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, Kiau Village brings you into the world of Sabah’s coffee-growing Dusun community. Join your hosts for your Be My Guest experience, where fresh local coffee leads into a home-cooked lunch and conversation about village life. At Guas Nabalu, follow the coffee from plant to cup and taste the finished brew, before sampling local honey and browsing handmade pineapple jams, chutneys and juices. Pekan Nabalu gives you a chance to shop for local handicrafts, with views of Mount Kinabalu if the weather is clear. Kota Kinabalu brings you back to the coast, where you’ll visit the city mosque, pass Atkinson Clock Tower and stop at a local market. This evening, you could choose to explore the night market on foot with dinner.

• Lunch with the Dusan Community
• Everything Pineapple Project
• Kota Kinabalu City Tour

Leave Kota Kinabalu for Ara Dinawan Island, a small island off Sabah’s coast where clear water, coral and white sand show you a softer side of Borneo. Spend the day close to the sea, with the option to kayak along the shoreline or snorkel above the reef, or simply stay on the beach. For lunch, enjoy a private beach barbecue with grilled seafood, chicken, fresh salads, tropical fruit and cold drinks served near the water. Return to Kota Kinabalu, then join your fellow travellers for dinner in the city.

• Ara Dinawan Island
• Private Beach Barbecue

Say goodbye to Kota Kinabalu and your fellow travellers as your Borneo journey comes to an end. After days spent in rainforest, wetlands, villages, highlands and island waters, leave Sabah with memories of the people you’ve met and the wildlife you’ve seen.