Planning a family Borneo trip for July and August after GCSEs

[zurigo]

I'm starting to muse about what to do next summer, following DS2's GCSEs. It will be me, DH and two boys aged 19 and 16. They are adventurous and enjoy good food, sports/physical challenges, animals and unique experiences.

We're thinking maybe Borneo and I have a rough itinerary in mind, but I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has done something like this in July/Aug. My idea (very roughly) is:

• Fly to KL and have 3 days exploring the city;
• Fly to Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan and spend 7-ish days doing animals, rainforest and white water rafting on the Kiulu River. We would like to see orangutans, pygmy elephants, monkeys, crocodiles, etc. We don't want to climb Mt Kinabalu.
• End the trip with 3-4 nights in a really nice 5* hotel on the beach with snorkelling and chilling (maybe Gaya Island?)

I've looked at various itineraries online, but we don't want to do a group trip and none of the itineraries I've seen is quite what we want to do, so I think we'll end up booking things ourselves. If you've done this and/or done something similar to the above I'd love to hear your thoughts/impressions. TIA

Hello! I have not done this but I’m planning something very similar with my dd15.

Currently I’m looking at either Thailand or Sri Lanka, I haven’t thought about it Borneo.

Have you hopped on FB? Usually there are lots of groups specifically helping with trip planning for specific destinations.

We’ve been to Kota Kinabalu twice, the first time without children and the second time with our 6yr old and 10yr old (Aug 2025). The first time we stayed at Shangri La Tanjung Aru, it was lovely but not much to do. Last year, we stayed at Shangri La Rasa Ria for 7 nights and 3 nights in KL. Rasa Ria was amazing, plenty of outdoor activities and nature walks, nice beach too and other options for excursions in KK. We didn’t see many Orangutans on our last trip to KK. Plenty to keep teens busy in KL and KK I think.

My sister stayed at Gaya Island in Jul 2025 and didn’t love it. The hotel was run down and not very nice. Whilst staying at Rasa Ria last year, we met two separate families who had cut their stay short at Gaya Island as they said it wasn’t what they’d expected (run down hotel). If you don’t get good weather when staying at Gaya Island then there is nothing else there to do. We think 7nights in KK and 3nights in KL was plenty. Hope this helps, Borneo is amazing and we hope we can go back for a 3rd trip one day!

We booked a package via Dial a Flight, they were great!

We went to Borneo in October 24 and had the most amazing time with our then 15 yo. We had a few days in Kk, and went to Mount Kinabalu and Poring Hot springs then flew to sandakan for sepilok for a couple of days before staying at amazing lodge on the river; would highly recommend it- Hornbill Lodge. We saw the Borneo 5 and it was newly Reno acted. We had been going to an island for r&r but we were at the tail edge of a typhoon so flew back to the mainland and went to the Tanjong Jara resort which was stunning but may be the wrong time of year in July/Aug. Otherwise there is the Pangkor Laut
or Langkawi? We had 3 days in KL at the end . We’d have loved a bit longer in Borneo to explore more but the weather wasn’t on our side. It’s an amazing place!

We honeymooned there a way back. We did a few days on an eco island resort near the sea border with the Philippines and saw turtles hatching. Then we did the river and a couple of nights in a lodge there wildlife spotting. And then Sepilok for the orangutan sanctuary. Then ended with a few days r and r at the Rasa Ria. It was a pretty prefect trip. We used Audley travel to arrange it for us.

We went in 2018.
Flew via KL to KK booked through from the UK, then straight on to Sandakan with Air Asia. Didn't spend time in KL as I'd been before and kids were a bit younger than yours.

We are very much the backpacking end of the budget scale and did the following:

KK to sepilok (sunbear and orangutan sanctuaries, staying 2 nights allowed us to see morning and evening feedings) to sandakan to Kinanbatagan river (abai village homestay, amazing experience) to kk to mantanani island and back to kk (day trips there to sapi island and zip wire, and a white water rafting with riverbug).
Flew kk-sandikan return with air asia.
Accomodation booked independently.
Taxis are super cheap for smaller trips.

We went last July/August for 3 weeks with 2 teenage boys. Had the most amazing trip. Highlights were Kuching, Bako NP, Mulu, Big Fin divers just north of KK (would recommend over Gaya Island), Semporna was amazing for snorkeling and diving- we went to Mabul. Sandakan and river trip also excellent. 👍

We also travel on a backpacking budget. 8k all in including flights for the 4 of us.

We went a few years ago with 3 children (around 10, 14, 17). We did it all ourselves, flew into KL and had 3 nights there, then flew to sandakan did a jungle river cruise type thing for a couple of nights then a couple of nights at the rehabilitation centre, sunbears, flying squirrels. Then flew via quick stopover in KL, to Singapore. 2 nights in Singapore, then flew to koh samui for 5 nights. Then 1 night in Bangkok and home. I was worried it was too much but it was brilliant.

I’d visit Palau Tiga island again. I stayed there a few nights. It’s rough and basic (…includes many rats!) but the mud bath was utterly glorious.

Are you thinking of climbing Kinabalu? It was one of the best mornings of my entire life when I summited. It’s a two day adventure and perfect for fit and active teenagers. After submitting early on the second day you can go back down a little and then do a high wire thing before descending.

I did pretty much this last summer with two teens.

3 nights Kl.
fly to sandakan
city tour next day and drive to sepilok
orangatang and sun bear sanctuary tours then drive to kinabatangan river, 2 nights there - morning afternoon and evening cruises
drive to Sabah tea plantation and night there with tea factory tour.
next morning drive to have tour of Kinabalu park, saw rafflesia flower.
3 nights shangri la Kota Kinabalu.
fly home via Singapore for 2 nights.

We had private guide and drive from Sandakan pick up to KK drop off. Basically all the elements were put together as a package for us but it was an independent holiday.

it was an amazing holiday!

the sepilok nature lodge where we stayed gets booked up very early as do some of the river lodges. I booked 11 months ahead as soon as flights opened and we still had to shift holiday a day to get all accommodation.

Good point @snowymarbles, July and August are peak times so you’ll need to get the jungle and Sepilok lodges booked up in advance. We also saw rafflesia as part of our Poring trip.
we didn’t climb Mt Kinabalu but we did do some trails which were lovely, may be nice to stay in the foothills as quite a lot of activities around there too.
we were supposed to go to Mantanani Island but couldn’t because of the tail edge typhoon situation! There are some lovely islands further north but when we went they were still under a ( very old ) FCDO advisory. I think that’s been lifted though so may be worth a look as there were some great looking snorkelling and dive sites as well as turtles!

The one thing I would say that we didn’t see elephants - I was actually a little disappointed as our first afternoon cruise the river was like the sodding m25. turns out the guides have a WhatsApp group notifying of potential elephant sightings so everyone descended on one spot on the river at the same time as they had been spotted . The other 3 cruises we did were much better, more as I had imagined. Early am and evening there was barely anyone else on the river - just some big crocodile eyes reflecting the guides torch in the dark - that freaked my daughter out 🤣🤣🤣😄

other afternoon cruise was busier but still better than the day before.

Went with my DD straight after her last A level exam and we both loved it. We had planned it in advance (was a planned 2020 holiday) which ended up in 2024.

Flights flew Air Malaysia to KL stayed overnight both times at hotel with pool and tropical gardens by the airport. Then flew Air Asia as has credits from 2020 to Sandakan - this was a different part of airport so got taxis to it.

We then got taxi at airport to the tea gardens in Sandakan and Agnes Newton-Keith's house, she was wife of a diplomat and wrote Land Below The Wind etc about Borneo at that time which I had read. Went round house and had a lovely breakfast in their gardens. The next hotel picked us up from there and drove us 1.5 hours to the Kinabatangan river and back on return.

We stayed at The Last Frontier Boutique Resort and this hotel was amazing (ones who did pick up), food was excellent and all food and drink included and will cater to dietary requirements but let know in advance as its 1.5 hours to shops for them, only have 4 rooms. Its at the top of the jungle so there are 600 wooden stairs to get up which keeps you fit and there were orangutans in the jungle to it. They did boat tours on the Kinabatangan river as part of the experience, 5am one was the best which is an extra one you can request and we had whole river pretty much to ourselves. We did 3 boat trips and 1 jungle walk with them. On boat trips saw orangutans, pygmy elephants, lots of beautiful birds, proboscis monkeys, lots of other monkeys, crocodiles and they had a knowledgeable guide to accompany us. We both loved it and my daughter said she was going back in 5 years time and I would also love to go back.

Stayed at Sepilok Nature Resort (there are 2 hotels now with the same name), this is the original one right by the orangutan sanctuary which has a lake and tropical gardens and offers things like French toast with white chocolate and fresh fruit as one of breakfast options not the one further out. From there went to sun bears, orangutan sanctuary, rainforest discovery centre, all worth a visit.

2020 original plan after that was to go to Perhentian Islands and stay at a hotel where you could snorkel/scuba with turtles and think baby sharks (Bubbles Dive Resort) which was a short flight from KL but we were on a tighter timescale so did not do that.

The pgymy elephants, we could watch them for 30 mins or so and saw them every outing but often people don't see them. Plenty of other wildlife though. The 3pm trip river is busy as has day visitors as well. Very early is best though all trips were great.

This resort had just opened, we didn't get to go there but looked good.

https://utan.my/

Sounds amazing.

if possible I’d swap KL for Singapore. KL is allright but Singapore has loads more interesting stuff to do.

Rats? That's really not part of my holiday dream, but thanks for the warning 😂

And no, we have no interest in climbing Mt Kinabalu. Mountains are for skiing down IMO and are best summited via a chairlift 😁We don't time with the other things we want to do. If we had three weeks, then maybe, but unfortunately I have absolutely shit holiday entitlement from work so three-week holidays are off the agenda for now.

Thank you so much everyone for all this info. It is really helping us to narrow down what we want to do and please keep the tips coming.

Current itinerary is now:

• Fly to KL
• 4 nights KL + day trip to Malacca
• Fly to Sandakan
• 2 nights Sepilok (orangutans, sun bears and rainforest discovery centre)
• 2 nights Sukau for Kinabatangan River wildlife cruises
• Fly to Kota Kinabalu
• 6 nights Shangri-La Rasa Ria (day trips to Kinabalu NP, white water rafting on Kiulu River, snorkelling in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park + relaxing)

We have been looking at Borneo in the last few months and came across Sticky Rice Travel who the Bucket List Family used. They have a Borneo episode. The company offer group but also private tailored tours

I'm excited to see this thread as we have a holiday to Borneo booked for the Summer and I have been starting to stress about it as we have booked it all ourselves and I was worried it was too much. Brilliant to see so many of you have done similar! We are travelling with our 2 DC age 13&15.
Flying British Airways to KL - 3 nights
Fly to Sandakan - 3 nights on a river cruise type trip booked through SI Tours
Fly to KK - 4 X nights at Shangri La Rasa Ria and then 2 at the Magellan Suetra (partly budget and partly thinking it might be good to have a couple of days in KK to see any night markets/maybe do island trip as have heard Shangri La is quite far out of town).
Then back to KL and home!