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- Day 1 Welcome to Sandakan 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 travelers for dinner. Over your first evening together, get to know the people you’ll be traveling with and hear from your Travel Director about the wildlife, landscapes and local communities that will shape your time in Borneo. Locations Visited: Sandakan MY.
- Day 2 Orangutans and Sun Bears of Borneo Start at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, 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 Center for a guided tour with founder and CEO Dr. Wong, whose work protects the world’s smallest bear. At the Rainforest Discovery Center in Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, walk suspension bridges and a 147 m (482 ft) canopy walkway, with giant trees and rare birds around you. Locations Visited: Sandakan MY, Sepilok MY, Sandakan MY.
- Day 3 Cruise into Kinabatangan 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, favorites 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. Locations Visited: Sandakan MY, Kinabatangan MY.
- Day 4 Borneo’s Big Five by River 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. Locations Visited: Kinabatangan MY.
- Day 5 Through Borneo Countryside to Kundasang 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. Locations Visited: Kinabatangan MY, Sandakan MY, Kundasang MY.
- Day 6 Meet Coffee Growers and on to Kota Kinabalu 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. Locations Visited: Kundasang MY, Kota Kinabalu MY.
- Day 7 Clear Waters of Ara Dinawan Island 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 travelers for dinner in the city. Locations Visited: Kota Kinabalu MY, Ara Dinawan Island MY, Kota Kinabalu MY.
- Day 8 Farewell Borneo Say goodbye to Kota Kinabalu and your fellow travelers 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. Locations Visited: Kota Kinabalu MY.
Name: Wild Encounters of Borneo - Small Group
Brand: Trafalgar
Quality: First Class
Tour Type: Escorted
Start City: Sandakan
End City: Kota-Kinabalu
Location Summary: Sandakan, MY, Sepilok, MY, Kinabatangan, MY, Kundasang, MY, Kota Kinabalu, MY, Ara Dinawan Island, MY
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Highlights
- Dining Summary - 5 Dinner (D). 7 Breakfast (B). 6 Lunch (L).
- Must-see Highlights - Discover Sandakan, Sepilok, Kinabatangan, Kundasang and Kota Kinabalu. Visit orangutan and sun bear sanctuaries, the Kinabatangan River, rainforest canopy walkways, Mount Kinabalu foothills and Ara Dinawan Island. Visit Agnes Keith House and the Dusan community.
- MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® - Sepilok: See conservation in action at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, where orphaned orangutans and those once kept as pets are cared for as they learn to return to the wild. Watch them feed on fruit and swing through the trees, then view the nursery where young orangutans practise the survival skills they need in the rainforest. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land..
- Iconic Experience - Sepilok: Meet the world’s smallest bear at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center, guided by founder and CEO Dr Wong. Learn how his team rescues and cares for sun bears threatened by habitat loss and the illegal pet trade, and see how each bear is given space to climb, forage and behave more naturally.. Sepilok: Explore the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve from suspension bridges and a 147-meter canopy walkway, with the rainforest rising around you. Look across the treetops, watch for rare birds and see the scale of Borneo’s lowland forest from above, where every sound, branch and movement draws you further into this protected habitat.. Kinabatangan River: Glide along the Kinabatangan River with your guide helping you scan the banks, branches and shallows for Borneo’s Big Five: orangutan, proboscis monkey, pygmy elephant, rhinoceros hornbill and crocodile. From the water, you’ll see why this river is one of Sabah’s great wildlife corridors, linking rainforest, wetlands and mangrove habitats.. Kinabatangan River: See the Kinabatangan after dark, when the river feels completely different. With your guide, scan the banks and branches for civets, flying foxes, palm civets and owls, using the boat’s quiet pace to pick up small movements, eye shine and the sounds that carry across the water after sunset.. Sandakan: Step inside Agnes Keith House, the restored hilltop home of the American writer who wrote about life in North Borneo before and after the Second World War. Through its rooms, photographs and gardens, you’ll see Sandakan’s past through one family’s experience of this former British North Borneo capital.. Sandakan: Sit down to lunch at the English Tea House, set beside Agnes Keith House on a hill above Sandakan. Expect colonial-style surroundings, garden views and a menu that nods to the city’s British North Borneo past, with familiar tea house favorites served in one of Sandakan’s best-known dining spots.. At the Everything Pineapple Project, see how local pineapple is turned into handmade jams, chutneys and juices. Browse the products, taste the sweet and sharp flavors and learn how this small project uses a crop grown across Sabah in ways that support local makers.. Kota Kinabalu: Get to know Kota Kinabalu through the places that shape Sabah’s capital. Visit the city mosque, pass the Atkinson Clock Tower and stop at a local market, seeing how coastal life, faith, trade and daily routines sit side by side in one of Borneo’s busiest cities.. Ara Dinawan Island: Enjoy time away from the city on a small stretch of Sabah’s coast known for clear shallows and coral close to shore. Take the pace you want here, from quiet beach time to optional activities on the water, with space to enjoy the island without feeling rushed.. Ara Dinawan Island: Enjoy a private beach barbecue lunch on Ara Dinawan Island, with grilled seafood, chicken, fresh salads, tropical fruit and cold drinks served close to the water. After time on the beach or in the sea, sit down with your fellow travelers and enjoy what’s been cooked over the grill..
- Stays With Stories - Kinabatangan River: Reach Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort by boat, passing fishing villages before entering the Lower Kinabatangan-Segama Wetlands, Sabah’s first RAMSAR site and Malaysia’s largest. Set among ancient mangrove trees, the timber-built resort places you deep in a protected wetland, reached on foot through groves of nipah palms..
- Dive into Culture - Sandakan: Follow Sandakan’s streets with your Travel Director and taste the flavors locals know well. Try roti kosong, a plain flatbread often served with curry, kueh, colorful bite-sized cakes or sweets and teh tarik, Malaysia’s pulled milk tea known for its frothy top..
- Be My Guest - Mount Kinabalu: Meet the Dusun community in Kiau Village, where coffee growing supports local families in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu. Fresh coffee gives you your first taste of the village before you sit down to a home-cooked lunch with your hosts, hearing how farming, food and daily life are connected here..
