Been to Malaysian Borneo? Come critique my trip plan!

[DressDrama]

Very loose plans so far for our honeymoon, help me fill in any gaps or feel free to make suggested edits! So far been using this helpful map as a starting point.

Looking to book for 2 weeks in either September or October. Keen to not arrive or return home totally wiped out from the long journey, but don't really want to waste too much time out of Borneo. If we're to stop over would probably be in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, what do you all think?

Day 1: London-Singapore or Kuala Lumpur
Day 2: Singapore or Kuala Lumpur stay to break up the travel
Day 3: Singapore or Kuala Lumpur-Kota Kinabalu
Day 4: Resort stay, relaxing in Kota Kinabalu
Day 5: Kota Kinabalu-Gaya Island
Day 6: Gaya Island
Day 7: Gaya Island-Kota Kinabalu, domestic flight to Sandakan
Day 8:
Day 9: Day trip to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
Day 10: Day trip to Selingan Turtle Island
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13:
Day 14: domestic flight back to Kota Kinabalu, night flight from Kota Kinabalu-London (1 hour 50 min layover in Kuala Lumpur)
Day 15: Arrive back in London 5.25am
Day 16: Day of rest!
Day 17: Back to the grindstone!

Borneo is not a great place to go for relaxing at a beach. Yes the hotels are nice but the beaches aren't exactly that nice and there is a lot of rubbish on them. Yes they are cleaned up at the resorts but if you wander down the beach even a little bit you will see lots of disgusting rubbish and household waste. Even places like Gaya and the other islands have a lot of rubbish washing up from Kota Kinabalu. Sorry - probably not what you wanted to hear.

On the other hand, if you went to the rainforest in the Danum Valley and the Kinabatangan River to see wild life and then just tagged on a couple of nights at the beach, that would be a much better holiday. Fly to Lahud Datu and plan a rainforest trip instead and see Orangutans in the wild rather than in the rehabilitation centre.

We loved Borneo. I'd personally go on honeymoon there but am not a luxury hotel and lounge on beach person.
If you want a memorable wildlife active holiday go for it.
I'd fly straight through to sandakan (45 mins from kk or direct from kl) and taxi to sepilok. Orangutan and sunbears there. If you have a whole day there, you can go for both feedings and sunbears inbetween.
Then kinanbatangan river for 2 nights - there are luxury lodges that would be fab.
Turtle island 1 night (you might need a night in sandakan for logistics).
Could then to danum valley or diving on east coast.
Back to kk for Gaya island.
We did white water rafting from kk with Riverbug if that's your kind of thing.

Or what about 2 nights in kl or Singapore on your way out with 2 nights in kk on your way back?
If you like big cities you might be underwhelmed by kk as your first destination. Kl or Singapore might be more of an exciting glitzy city option. A friend did Singapore and Bali for her honeymoon and loved Singapore.

Kl - 2 nights
Sepilok - 2 night
Kinanbatangan - 2 night
Turtles 1 night

Gaya 3 or 4 nights
Kk 1 or 2 nights

I'm looking at Borneo for next year, how exactly do you put these 'do it yourself' plans into action? We'd like to travel around during our 2 week stay, do you book lodges/hotels/flights etc before you go?

I'm such a planner and would plan everything down to the last detail! Also travelling with 2 children..

This is similar to my honeymoon nearly 7 years ago! It was amazing, a bit of city, a bit of beach and a bit of exploring, something for both me and my husband! We booked through Kuoni and thought they were fantastic, every detail was taken care of.

@dangermouse I did it independently with 3 kids.
Booked flights through ebookers, accommodation directly or through bookings.com, internal flights direct with air Asia.
Taxis are super cheap and easy to sort (e.g. fixed price taxi counter before you leave an airport- no haggling or hassle).
Booked homestay in kinanbatangan river too.
It's only marginally harder than deciding with an agent who then does those final clicks for you.
My lot aged 8-13 loved it.

P.s. I'm sure we could have made some of it up while we were there, but with 2 weeks to do as much as possible it made sense to organise first.

There are some good agents in Borneo that you would need to use if you want to go into the Danum Valley. That is a protected area so people aren't just allowed to go in there themselves. I can't recall the names but if you google you will find them.

The Kinatabangan river is actually really great for spotting wildlife (with a good guide). You could see the "Borneo Big 5" there without going to the valley.

It is a great trip for kids.

Climbing Mount Kinabalu is also good for those who are interested in climbing/walking.

Apologies about spelling of "Kinabatangan". Have a mental block on that word!

If I were you I’d cut out the KL/Singapore stay. The journey on to
Borneo from either is not long so you don’t really need it to break the journey up. You can always do KL/Singapore again on another trip, whereas you won’t do the extra couple of days in Borneo again, so personally I’d maximise my time on Borneo that I wouldn’t get back again - there’s so much to see and do!

YY to Kinabatangan recommenced by a PP. we stayed for three days and saw LOADS with jungle treks and river cruises. A must in my book.

KK isn’t much to write home about and like a PP has said doesn’t have the wow factor of large SE Asian cities. However, there is a brilliant luxury hotel nearby - Shangri La Rasa Ria. I’d stay there for a few days on arrival or before departure to tick the luxury box and avoid KK (there was also a nature sanctuary in the grounds with an orangutan rehab programme when we were there, so we got nature as well as luxury in one go!).

Enjoy, it’s a wonderful place.

Thanks so much everyone.

Think we’ve honed it down to:

Friday night straight after work: Fly London-Kuala Lumpur
Saturday: Arrive Kuala Lumpur morning
Sunday: Kuala Lumpur
Monday: Fly Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan, taxi to Sepilok
Tuesday: Potter around Sepilok
Wednesday: Visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
Thursday: Kinabatangan River, stay in a river lodge
Friday: Kinabatangan River
Saturday: Boat to Turtle Island, or possibly one night in Sandakan if crossing timings don't work out
Sunday: Turtle Island
Monday: Fly Sandakan-Kota Kinabalu
Tuesday: Boat to Gaya Island
Wednesday: Gaya Island
Thursday: Kota Kinabalu, stay at the Rasa Risa for some luxury

Friday: Kota Kinabalu, stay at the Rasa Risa

Saturday: Kota Kinabalu-London, hopefully find a flight with a short layover

Is this cool do you reckon?

DangerousMouse - in terms of DIY, I get the ol' Excel spreadsheet out and put plans and movements for each day, inputting as much info as I can about transit/ferry crossing times/our booked transportation details/confirmation numbers etc. If you look at the likes of Audley or Kuoni's suggested packages depending on how many days on the ground you have, these can be good templates to build your own and book your own.

Whoever gave the tip (think it may have been on another Borneo thread) about booking 'club' rooms if booking accommodation yourself via Expedia/Booking.com etc - THANK YOU! This is a super helpful tip.

From memory you will need a night in sandakan before getting boat to turtle island.

Only change is make is the 'potter round sepilok' day as it is tiny. Nice to have a whole day to see both feedings of orangutan but you could see sunbears inbetween and use that day elsewhere (or do them the day you arrive if your flights isn't late).

Have you got 2 night on kinanbatangan river? Worth it in my mind.

In kk eating at the evening fish market on the water front is massively cheap, a great atmosphere and delicious.

P.s. looks like a great itinerary!

P.p.s. turtle island people can be hard to get hold of. We didn't go there in the end as dates didnt work, but Sandakan Backpackers were great at finding info and would have booked for us.

Ooh lucky you, Borneo is fab - I've been there twice.

I second HappyHoliday's comments -there's nothing to do in Sepilok other than the sanctuary, so save your spare day for the Kinabatangan - it's worth it. The longer you're there, the more chance you have of seeing stuff. I've stayed at a couple of riverside lodges there - my advice would be to go for the best that you can afford but they all do the same thing which is multiple boat trips up and down the river to spot wildlife, and also jungle walks. I'd recommend doing at least one night walk - the wildlife is incredible. Just watch out for leeches!

Enjoy it, you'll have a fab time!

Book the garden wing rooms in Rasa Ria. Nicer part of the hotel and a calmer place for breakfast! Also sunset drinks on the beach included which are nice. New itinerary sounds much better! I would personally recommend a 3 night stay at the Sukau Lodge on the river if possible. The new villas are lovely. A river transfer to the lodge is also included when you book those rooms as far as I can recall and it’s a great way to get there as you’ll possibly see wildlife on the way