This tailor-made adventure pairs the ancient cultures and 21st-century delights of one of Asia’s city greats with the very best of Malaysian Borneo’s unique natural world. It all begins in Singapore, with a luxury stay in a converted warehouse, located in one of the city’s trendiest neighbourhoods. Then, having ticked off the temples of Chinatown and Little India, and sipped Singapore Slings in Raffle’s iconic Long Bar, you’ll fly across the South China Sea to arrive amid Borneo’s jungle verdure. Here, between tribal longhouse visits and Kota Kinabalu’s acclaimed foodie scene, you’ll be treated to a host of wildlife encounters, from a tour of the world-renowned Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre to jungle walks in the Danum Valley and a scenic cruise along the Kinabatangan River – a region known for its populations of pigmy elephants and proboscis monkeys.
As with all of our holidays, this one begins in truly relaxing style with an included access to a VIP UK airport lounge, followed by your overnight flight to Singapore.
Arriving in Singapore, you’ll be met for an included private transfer to your hotel – a converted 19th-century warehouse in vibrant Robertsons Quay.
You’ll have the rest of the day to explore, perhaps taking in the multi-tiered temples and bustling hawker markets of Chinatown and Little India, exploring the Gardens by the Bay with its 21st-century ‘Supertrees’ linked by elevated walkways or indulging with afternoon tea or a Singapore Sling at the iconic Raffles Hotel.
Bookended by a pair of private transfers, your morning flight sees you out across the South China Sea to Kuching in the Bornean state of Sarawak. Check into your hotel, then spend a leisurely day exploring the city on foot.
It’s an eclectic mix of Chinese shophouses, colourful temples and narrow streets, which spill out onto a pretty riverfront park – the ideal spot for an evening stroll.
Stay: The Ranee Boutique
Breakfast included
Today’s included transfer is a scenic affair, cutting through swathes of cultivated farmland dotted with rural villages to reach the small town of Lachau and then the port of Lubok Antu. Having paused to take lunch en route, you’ll then board the ferry to arrive at your lakeside hotel, hidden among the ancient rainforests of Batang Ai. It’s a delightfully scenic base from which to explore the region’s rich tribal heritage, which you’ll showcase on an expert-led tour on day five. Heading out on a motorised longboat, your guide will bring you out across the lake, tracing its verdant shoreline to reach a remote longhouse on the Engkari River.
Here, you’ll be treated to a cultural performance, enjoy a blowpipe demonstration and have some time to relax and mingle with the locals before retracing your steps to arrive back at your hotel in time for dinner.
Stay: Aiman Batan Ai Resort & Retreat
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included
Leave Batang Ai this morning, returning to Kuching by lake and road, and stopping for an included lunch at one of the rural roadside villages. Check into your hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.
Stay: The Ranee Boutique
Breakfast included
Transfer to Kuching Airport this morning for the short flight to Kota Kinabalu on Borneo’s beach-fringed north coast. Having checked into your hotel, via another included private transfer, you’ll enjoy a day at leisure to take in the sights and sounds of Sabah’s capital.
Perhaps take a journey through the city’s rich culinary landscape, with everything from street-food markets to high-end restaurants, or call into the superb Sabah Museum to learn about the region’s indigenous cultures. Or, you might simply choose to relax, making the most of your hotel’s spa and swimming pools, which boast wonderful sea views.
Stay: Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu
Breakfast included
After breakfast and a short flight to Sandakan, again bookended with included private transfers, you’ll be treated to a real trip highlight. Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is Malaysian Borneo’s flagship conservation project, where orphaned and injured orangutans are rehabilitated and, if all goes well, released back into the wild. It’s vital work, which you’ll learn more about through a fascinating video presentation before you head, in the company of the centre’s trained staff, to a feeding platform in the neighbouring lowland forest where you’ll watch the young residents tucking into their morning meal – a truly magical experience.
After your Sepilok experience, a scenic transfer will bring you out through green countryside to Borneo Nature Lodge on the banks of the Kinabatangan River where a programme of including touring, including a naturalist-led river cruise, will see you into the wilds in search of hornbills, proboscis monkeys, pigmy elephants and orangutans.
Stay: Borneo Nature Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included
Enjoy a relaxing breakfast at the lodge overlooking the river before transferring to Lahad Datu in Sabah’s remote southwest. It’s then time to meet your guide for a further two-and-a-half-hour off-road transfer to Borneo Rainforest Lodge, deep in the Danum Valley. This region of virgin rainforest is utterly spectacular, and your accommodation, which comes complete with unobstructed jungle views, makes the absolute most of it. Consider an upgrade to a Deluxe Cabin to enjoy the added luxury of a private balcony complete with bathtub, for relaxing soaks to the sounds of the forest. In all, it’s a truly special base for two unforgettable days of adventure, with everything from guided nature hikes to canopy walkways and river tubing excursions bringing you to the very best spots for wildlife viewing.
Indeed, with your expert guide at the helm, you’ll be in for the very best chance of spotting gibbons, orangutans, red and silver leaf monkeys and a whole host of birds, reptiles and insects. There’s also the chance to learn something of the valley’s human intrigue with a hike to Coffin Cliff – an ancient burial site – or take a refreshing swim in the delightfully secluded ‘Jacuzzi Pool’, complete with its very own waterfall shower.
Stay: Borneo Rainforest Lodge
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included
Enjoy a final morning in Danum Valley before lunch and an included transfer back to Lahad Datu where you’ll board a flight to Kota Kinabalu, sweeping over a landscape of jungle and rivers. It’s then time for three days of unashamed relaxation as you check into the Shangri-La Rasa Ria with its sprawling golden sands, indulgent spa, 18-hole golf course and spectacular nature-reserve setting.
If you do feel like getting out and about, there’s the magnificent Kinabalu Park, home to Malaysia’s highest peak, as well as the Poring Hot Springs and, just off the coast, the coral-fringed islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park.
Stay: Shangri-La Rasa Ria
Breakfast included
After a final breakfast at your hotel, transfer to Kota Kinabalu Airport in time for your overnight flight home.
Breakfast included
"I've put together this itinerary as the ideal contrast between Southeast Asia's urban and natural worlds. Singapore is everything you could want from a big-city experience, with its unique blend of ultra-modern innovation and ancient traditions, all set alongside one of the continent's finest food scenes. It's also a superb base for exploring the wider and wilder regions around it, in this case Malaysian Borneo, whose ancient rainforests, home to the likes of orangutans, gibbons and proboscis monkeys, are just an hour-and-a-half flight away."
Andy Austen
Destination Specialist