11 of the best Borneo tours - The Times
There’s an awed hush from humans as they wander the oldest, richest rainforest in the world. We’re the only living thing that seems to fall silent in Borneo: the rest of its immense forest is alive with strange, wonderful noises. All around you, frogs, primates, birds, ungulates, insects, reptiles — even the trees — crackle and rustle, whoop and chitter, sing and screech. Becoming just one of the myriad, marvellous creatures here is one of the greatest, most humbling experiences in the world.
Equatorial Borneo is the planet’s third-largest island, divided between the countries of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia: the latter overwhelmingly its most popular destination. Its rainforest is home to 6 per cent of the world’s biodiversity, including endemic species such as the Bornean orangutan, clouded leopard, pygmy elephant, Sunda pangolin and plentiful hornbills. Borneo’s wildlife sets everyone’s schedule: despite being a delicious 27C to 32C throughout the year, the March-to-October dry season is best for spotting both terrestrial and marine animals. Still, even the dry season can surprise you with an intense (but brief) tropical downpour: consider it a rite of rainforest passage that makes a trip even more evocative.
Culture, however, is year round. Borneo has over 200 indigenous ethnic groups, known collectively as the Dayak, and including former headhunters the Iban. Spending time dining, drinking and dancing with these local people in communal longhouses, connecting with their culture and roles as rainforest custodians, is an unmissable part of Bornean life.
Throw in harrowing modern history, caving and mountaineering, mouthwatering cuisine, scuba diving off white sand beaches, and immensely fun cities like captivating Kuching and unpretentious Kota Kinabalu (KK), and Borneo truly has something for everyone. It helps to lean on those tour operators that really know the lie of the land, not only for help on the logistics side but for insider know-how and connections on the ground that make what is a trip of a lifetime for many truly memorable. Here’s our pick of the best tours in Borneo.
All recommendations within this article are informed by independent expert editorial opinion. This article contains affiliate links and links to our in-house travel agency, Times Holidays, all of which will earn us revenue.
Wildlife features on every Borneo tour, but Exodus’s locally guided 14-night Wildlife Discoverer packs in as many animal encounters as Malaysian Borneo offers. In Sabah you’ll visit the Sepilok orangutan sanctuary and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (a respected research and rehabilitation centre) to meet our smallest, cutest bears. At the Kinabatangan River, you’ll wake to the sounds of the jungle and cruise along looking for hornbills, spiderhunters, crocodiles and its ten primate species. The luckiest travellers might even encounter Borneo’s rarest finds — pygmy elephants and clouded leopards — while bird lovers will be spoiled with Tabin Wildlife Reserve’s 300 avian species.
Reached only by boat, little Bako is a big hitter, with trails, beaches and numerous species. It’s one of Sarawak’s smallest national parks and you’ll spot Borneo’s paunch-bellied proboscis monkeys — they’re constantly grazing in trees, their bulbous noses wobbling with every bite. Then there’s central Gunung Mulu, an extraordinary, isolated park, where nature treks continue into the night to spot snakes, sonorous frogs and flashy-eyed tarsiers. At dusk, watch millions of bats abandon the immense Deer Cave, a swirling black corkscrew against a blue-peach sunset. What’s more, eco-minded Exodus rewilds 100 sq m for every traveller, supports community conservation projects, and partners with citizen science platform iNaturalist. You’ll stay in a mix of hotels and lodges, with one night in a traditional Rungus longhouse.
If you don’t take part in some activity, you’re doing Borneo wrong, but the trek-focused tour from Inside Asia optimises the island’s adventurous side. Start out easy at Sarawak’s Bako National Park, with mellow trails that lead to the local, leaf-munching proboscis monkeys. Then the adventure really begins in central Gunung Mulu, with river cruises and expeditions underground into its extensive cave systems. Explore Wind, Clearwater and Deer caves — the latter having one of the world’s longest underground passage and a population of more than two million bats, whose guano keeps you on your olfactory toes.
Between subterranean adventures, you’ll trek the one-time headhunters’ rainforest trails and stay overnight in an Iban longhouse. Northern Kota Kinabalu brings whitewater rafting on the Padas River and a journey to the summit of Malaysia’s tallest mountain, the 4,095m (13,435 ft) Mount Kinabalu. The hike through misty forests and alpine scrub is hard but worth every broken sweat as you watch sunrise break over Borneo and the Philippines beyond.
With its cultural activities, rare wildlife and hands-on activities, Borneo is an extraordinary destination for curious, nature-loving kids. Small-group specialists Wild Frontiers have curated a jam-packed, family-friendly itinerary that keeps youngsters awed, educated and engaged. Based in the rich Sabah region, this adventure begins with the sprawling Tamparuli suspension bridge and a farmstay in beautifully green Kiulu. Here, kids join in harvesting produce, planting rice, net fishing, crafts, games and even trying traditional dart blowpipes, before dinner and pre-bedtime folktales with locals.
Wildlife encounters abound with the orphaned orangutans, rehabilitated sun bears and river cruises along the khaki-coloured Kinabatangan River, where children can spot crocodiles, fireflies and maybe even elephants. Then it’s onto the bubbling mud volcanoes at Tabin Wildlife Reserve, where you can identify footprints in the mud and swim in the rainforest. The trip ends with glorious Gaya Island, where families get three free days of beaches, water sports and sunshine. Hotels can be tailored throughout to ensure the perfect trip for your whole clan.
When people speak of Bornean travel, they usually mean Malaysian Borneo. But Malaysia only accounts for 26 per cent of the island, and tiny Brunei around 1 per cent: the other 73 per cent is the stunning, untamed, exciting wilderness of Indonesian-owned Kalimantan. Intrepid lives up to its name with this rare tour dedicated to Kalimantan. Its brilliant eight-night itinerary is centred around the wild and rehabilitated orangutans, spotlighting incredible indigenous culture on the way. After your welcome blessing at Tumbang Malahoi’s longhouses, you’ll dine, dance and stay overnight with locals. Then it’s boarding a traditional klotok boat to Tanjung Puting National Park, traversing meandering rivers watching for elusive wildlife and visiting Camp Leakey, renowned for its orangutan care and release programme. With luck and beady eyes, you’ll spot gibbons, proboscis monkeys, giant squirrels and wild pigs. It’s not all remote rainforest though: the tour travels to Kalimantan’s burgeoning city of Palangka Raya, the seafood-rich port city Sampit, and flies via frenetic, fascinating Jakarta.
If you’re wanting to save money on the ground, G Adventures has a wonderful seven-night East Sabah tour that keeps costs down by staying in one, richly biodiverse region. You’ll support local communities and nature initiatives with a homestay in Kota Belud, where you’ll hike, water tube, visit farms and learn to cook village recipes. In Kinbatangan, you’ll take multiple river safaris through crocodile-rich waters to spot primates like proboscis monkeys, multitudinous colourful birds and maybe a pygmy elephant too. After visiting the sun bear and orangutan sanctuaries to watch the animals feed, don’t miss the optional jungle night hike — perfect for spotting creepy-crawlies, frogs, bats, snakes, and the immensely shy tarsiers and slow lorises. The trip ends with a day exploring vibrant Kota Kinabalu, whose thriving waterfront overflows with market stalls, street food, music and drinks that flow until the wee hours.
Borneo isn’t exactly a luxury destination — five-star accommodation can be a tough ask in the midst of a remote rainforest. However, the Ultimate Borneo tour from luxury experts Scott Dunn manages to blend island indulgence with unparalleled, boot-muddying experiences. The ten-night journey begins not in Borneo but mainland Kuala Lumpur, bringing a deluxe, capital contrast to the island’s far smaller cities. Indulge in two nights of KL food, shopping, and the Mandarin Oriental’s five-star service before heading onto Borneo’s best jungle lodges, with suites and pools embedded in the cacophonous rainforest. In between, you’ll get the definitive Sabah wildlife experience: orangutan and sun bear sanctuaries, jungle boat rides through nature-rich Kinabatangan where pygmy elephants wander your lodge grounds, and treetop walks in less-visited Danum Valley, home to orangutans and hornbills. Lastly, Bungaraya Island Resort — an idyll off the coast of Kota Kinabalu — returns you to the lap of luxury with treetop and beachside villas, infinity pool, Padi dive centre, a superb wine cellar and a blissful jungle spa.
So much of Borneo is about inland encounters with indigenous people and rainforest creatures, so it’s incredibly rare to find it on a cruise itinerary, despite the fact that it’s a very big island with dynamic coast and cyan seas. However, Asia specialist Wendy Wu has teamed up with Norwegian Cruise Line to combine all the fun of cruise life with in-depth excursions. Borneo is the star of its extensive 25-night itinerary, which also visits Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Hong Kong. Eight days are dedicated to the island, starting with cultural visits to Kota Kinabalu’s Chinese Temple, Blue Mosque, Sabah State Museum and more. You’ll then travel to the hot springs and rainforest trails of Kinabalu National Park, under the looming lavender shadow of Mount Kinabalu, before meeting the orangutans at the Sepilok sanctuary. Alongside cruising wildlife-rich rivers and oxbow lakes to see endemic species, you’ll also get to explore the majestic Gomantong Cave system, home to millions of bats and swifts.
Wildlife is often seen as the island’s headliner for good reason, but Borneo is also home to hundreds of indigenous cultures and peoples. Collectively known as the Dayak, their ways of life have been largely protected from outside influence and industry. Contiki’s nine-night Wild Borneo tour is the finest for experiencing both wildlife and culture, splitting the trip between nature excursions and Dayak village life. In Kiulu, guests will learn traditional bushcraft skills and how locals live off the rainforest, they’ll prepare four signature Kiulu dishes for a slap-up feast, try Dalai bead-making and learn about Tapai (a punch-packing rice wine) from village elders. What’s more, you’ll get to try rubber-tapping with a community farmer, while away the evening hours with dining, drink and dance, and receive a send-off performance of Silat, a traditional martial art, before heading on to the classic Sabah wildlife experiences.
The third-largest island on the planet deserves more than a single trip, but when the majority of tours cover the same places, it’s hard to find one that suits a second or third visit. That’s where Inside Asia’s brilliant 11-night tour comes in, bypassing the better-known destinations in favour of two seriously wild, remote alternatives: one in Sarawak, the other Sabah.
Sarawak’s Batang Ai, on the border with Indonesian Kalimantan, is the ancestral homeland of the Iban people. You’ll stay in a communal longhouse, sharing fiery rice wine and learning about their culture. Batang Ai also has one of the highest densities of wild orangutans in Borneo, making it the perfect place to trek the rainforest in search of these critically endangered creatures.
The Maliau Basin in Sabah is so remote and inaccessible that it’s known as Borneo’s “Lost World”. Over half of it still hasn’t knowingly been explored. Here, guests embark on a multi-day hike through its untouched, towering primeval forest, spotting carnivorous flora and giant Rafflesia corpse flowers, seeing the terraced Maliau Falls, and going on a 4×4 night safari. You can extend your trip to tie in some beach time, too.
Providing trips purely for solo travellers, Just You are experts in curating small-group tours that carefully balance social dynamics, fostering friendships and personal enrichment. Their 11-night Wild Borneo tour casts a wide net for Bornean activities, so there’s something for everyone. Wildlife enthusiasts will meet orangutans and sun bears at devoted sanctuaries, cruise the Kinabatangan River, home to rare endemic animals, and hone their wildlife eye at Sukau, an Attenborough-filmed destination known for orangutans and pygmy elephants. Active travellers get a chance to stretch their legs on riverside walks at the gorgeously green Kiulu Valley, and again at Kinabalu National Park, where the dense forest opens up to reveal the limb-soothing Poring Hot Spring. For culture, the group will cook and shop with locals at Papar, visit the sobering Sandakan Memorial Park to learn about the Second World War death marches, try Kadazan-Dusun cuisine in Kota Kinabalu, and join a tree-planting project in Abai.
Little Brunei rarely makes it on to any travel itineraries in this region. The tiny 5,765 sq km (2,226 square miles) sultanate, whose name shares the same Sanskrit root as Borneo, is made of two disconnected regions on the island’s northwest coast, surrounded by Malaysian Sarawak. Mercury Holidays is one of the only operators to insert Brunei to its 19-night tour, adding not only a rarely visited country but also some less-visited areas of Malaysia along the way. After a few indulgent days of exploring Kuching’s amazing river city — its Chinatown, colonial buildings and Semenggoh Wildlife Centre — the tour heads north into rarely seen rural areas. Between Sibu, Similajau and Niah, you’ll get to safari, go caving and experience longhouse culture. From there, you drive into Brunei, where a capital city tour of Bandar Seri Begawan covers its opulent mosques, halls and state palace (the largest in the world). You’ll also visit the incredible water village of Kampong Ayer, where some 10,000 people live in a patchwork of stilt houses along over the Brunei River.
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