One week family Borneo adventure

Itinerary in brief:

• 2 nights Kota Kinabalu
• 1 night Sandakan
• 2 nights Kinabatangan
• 2 nights Danum Valley

Day 1: Arrive Borneo

On arrival in Kota Kinabalu you will be met at the airport and driven to your hotel, where you will check in for two nights.

Day 2: Kota Kinabalu

Today is yours to explore at leisure – why not enjoy a day at the beach before having dinner at the night market later this evening.

Day 3: Fly to Sepilok

After breakfast, you’ll be driven to the airport for a short flight to Sandakan. On arrival, you’ll be taken to your hotel where you’ll check in for one night. Spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 4: Travel to Kinabatangan

After breakfast, you’ll head to the world’s largest orangutan rehabilitation centre, where you can watch these beautiful animals at feeding time, as they get to work on a pile of bananas and papaya. After spending some time with the orangutans, you can head next door to visit the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre where 36 bears are cared for. After your morning with the animals you’ll be driven south towards the Kinabatangan River, making the last part of the journey by boat as you approach the lodge, where you will check in for two nights.

After lunch, the adventure begins! Take a cruise down the river, looking out for proboscis monkeys, wild orangutans and macaques before dinner in the lodge in the evening. As night falls you’ll take a night safari into the jungle for crocodiles, nocturnal mammals and interesting insects.

Day 5: Kinabatangan

This morning you’ll wake up to a cacophony of gibbon and hornbill calls, rousing you in time to take an early morning cruise on the oxbow lake, where you can look for colourful birds in the tranquil morning air. Spend the rest of the day at leisure enjoying the lodge’s facilities before head out on an evening cruise, where you can keep a lookout for rare pygmy elephants and clouds of fireflies along the riverbanks.

Day 6: Travel to Danum Valley

After breakfast, you’ll travel to the lush landscape of Danum Valley, a thick virgin rainforest area of Borneo. The last couple of hours drive are on unsealed road but once you reach this jungle paradise, you’ll know the bumpy journey was worth it!

On arrival at the lodge you can enjoy an afternoon walk on the canopy trail, 130 metres high where the 100-million-year-old rainforest is humming with life. After dinner, board one of the open top 4WD vehicles for a night spotlighting tour – you could spot samba deer, leopards and a colourful array of insects and frogs in the twilight.

Day 7: Danum Valley

A morning chorus of birds, insects and monkeys will wake you early, ready for a morning hike along the View Point Trail to the morbidly fascinating Coffin Cliff - a 200-year-old local burial site where coffins dangle from the edge of the rocks. The end of the trail showcases spectacular views over an ocean of million-year-old jungle – truly one of the best sights in Borneo.

On the way back, you can enjoy a dip in the waterfalls before spending the afternoon at leisure in the lodge. You could head out on one of the optional activities like tubing on the Danum River, or simply relax in the lodge, taking in the fresh air and serenity. In the evening, you’ll take a nature walk in the forest to learn about the plants and insects that come to life in the evening hours.

 Day 8: Depart Borneo

Sadly, your amazing family trip through Borneo has come to an end – today after breakfast, you’ll be driven to Lahad Datu Airport where you can catch your onwards flight.