Visit the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre to look for rehabilitated orangutans living freely in the surrounding forest reserve. Rangers share the centre’s decades-long effort to care for rescued apes and prepare them for independent forest life.

Listen for branches swaying and leaves rustling as orangutans approach feeding sites or move through the canopy. The experience offers a rare, ethical window into great apes’ behaviour, from cautious juveniles to confident mothers with young.

• 7 Dinner (D)
• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 8 Lunch (L)

• Sepilok: Meet the world’s smallest bear at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, 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-metre 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 favourites 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 flavours 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 travellers and enjoy what’s been cooked over the grill.
• Kuching: Explore Kuching with your Travel Director, walking through a city shaped by river trade, Malay, Chinese and colonial influences. See the cat statue and cat fountain, visit a Chinese temple, follow the river promenade and view the mosque before sitting down to Sarawak laksa, a local favourite made with noodles, coconut, spices and fresh herbs.
• Bako National Park: Explore Sarawak’s oldest national park and one of the best places to see Borneo’s habitats packed into a small area. Your guide will help you understand how rainforest, mangroves, cliffs and beaches support different species, from long-nosed proboscis monkeys to plants that survive in poor coastal soil.
• Semenggoh: See rehabilitated orangutans at Semenggoh Wildlife Conservation Centre, where those once orphaned or rescued are released into the surrounding forest. You’ll watch for them moving through the trees and feeding nearby, while learning how the centre gives orangutans space to live more freely in their natural environment.
• Visit a Bidayuh longhouse and meet a community whose traditions are tied to shared living, food and family life. Sit down to a home-cooked lunch, see a community dance and explore the longhouse, learning how its spaces bring generations together under one roof.

• Sandakan: Follow Sandakan’s streets with your Travel Director and taste the flavours locals know well. Try roti kosong, a plain flatbread often served with curry, kueh, colourful bite-sized cakes or sweets and teh tarik, Malaysia’s pulled milk tea known for its frothy top.
• Try playing Sarawakian instruments with members of the Bidayuh community guiding you. Hear how the rhythms support local dance and celebration, then have a go yourself as your hosts show you how the instruments are held, played and used in community life.

• Selected hotel dinners plus a locally hosted meal
• Deluxe coach travel and select flights
• Standard regional accommodation

Visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre to observe rescued great apes relearning forest skills among tall trees and screened nurseries. Watch for juvenile orangutans testing their balance and grip as they move toward independence, guided by rangers who share insights into feeding, foraging and habitat.

Continue to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre for a guided tour that reveals threats facing the world’s smallest bear. Learn from Dr. Wong Siew Te’s team how rehabilitation works and see conservation in action as bears climb, dig and forage in spacious forested enclosures.

Explore the Kabili–Sepilok Forest Reserve from above on a network of suspension bridges and a 147 m canopy walkway. Move quietly between emergent trees as the forest opens to treetop views alive with calls and wingbeats.

Guides help you spot hornbills, kingfishers and forest specialists while you examine epiphytes clinging to giant trunks. This elevated perspective shows how Borneo’s lowland rainforest layers connect, from leaf-litter insects to high-canopy fruit that draws birds and primates.

Walk Sandakan’s layered waterfront, temples and markets on a Sandakan Heritage Walk that reveals Chinese, Malay and colonial-era influences. Incense curls from shrines, shop signs crowd narrow streets and fishing boats bob along the harbour.

Pause to sample local favourites—roti kosong, kueh and teh tarik—as your guide explains how migration and trade shaped this port. The flavours and street scenes offer a vivid snapshot of daily life in one of Sabah’s most storied cities.

Travel by boat through the Lower Kinabatangan–Segama Wetlands, a protected Ramsar site where mangroves meet river channels lined with towering trees. The hum of the engine softens as kingfishers, egrets and monkeys animate the banks.

Glide past fishing villages on stilts and groves of nipah palms to reach your timber-built wetland retreat. The journey sets the tone for wildlife exploration, revealing the waterways that sustain Borneo’s richest mosaic of habitats.

Join guided boat safaris along the Kinabatangan River, scanning floodplain forests and an oxbow lake for proboscis monkeys, crocodiles and hornbills. Your guide interprets this vital corridor where rainforest, wetlands and mangroves converge, increasing the chance to spot Borneo’s Big Five.

After dark, return to the water for a night river safari. Torches catch eye-shine as owls, civets and sleeping kingfishers reveal a quieter, more secretive river world under a canopy of stars.

Step inside Agnes Keith House, the restored home of the American writer who chronicled life in British North Borneo. Photographs, period rooms and garden views frame stories of Sandakan before and after the Second World War.

Afterwards, unwind beside the English Tea House gardens overlooking the bay. The hilltop setting combines colonial-era ambiance with coastal scenery, placing Sandakan’s layered history within a serene vantage point above the town.

In the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, meet the Dusun community to explore small-scale coffee growing amid cool mountain air and terraced gardens. Share insights into planting, roasting and aroma as beans journey from plant to cup.

Sit down to a home-cooked lunch showcasing village produce and hear how coffee supports families across Kiau and nearby Guas Nabalu. Conversations reveal rhythms of highland life, from harvest routines to traditions passed between generations.

Explore Sabah’s capital on a guided overview taking in the lagoon-fringed Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the timbered Atkinson Clock Tower and a bustling local market where produce, spices and sea harvests fill the aisles.

Your guide connects the city’s coastal character with its trading past and modern growth, revealing how faith, food and seafaring shape daily life on the South China Sea. Expect photo stops and lively commentary along the way.

Escape to Ara Dinawan Island for a day of clear shallows, soft sand and time to kayak or snorkel above coral gardens. Gentle waves and swaying casuarina trees set a relaxed rhythm beside the water.

Midday brings a private beach barbecue with grilled seafood, salads and tropical fruit served steps from the shoreline. The setting highlights Sabah’s warm coastal spirit, with ample time to unwind or explore at your own pace.

Join a guided stroll to walk Kuching’s riverfront, passing pastel shophouses, a riverside mosque and an ornate Chinese temple. Cats—symbol of the city—appear in statues and playful motifs along the promenade.

Pause for a bowl of Sarawak laksa, fragrant with coconut, spices and fresh herbs, as your guide traces Kuching’s story of Malay, Chinese and Brooke-era influences. The flavours and river views capture the city’s easygoing tempo.

Explore Bako National Park, Sarawak’s oldest protected area, where mangroves, kerangas heath and coastal forest meet secluded bays and sandstone headlands. Trails and boardwalks lead through changing habitats alive with rustling leaves and surf.

Watch for proboscis monkeys, bearded pigs and vivid kingfishers as your guide explains how plants adapt to sandy, nutrient-poor soils. Weathered rock formations and secluded beaches offer memorable photo stops between wildlife encounters.

Enter a traditional Bidayuh longhouse, where timber and bamboo architecture gathers families along raised galleries. Meet your hosts and sit down to a home-cooked lunch rooted in highland produce and time-honoured recipes.

Afterwards, enjoy a community dance and try traditional instruments guided by local musicians. Stories of kinship, harvest rituals and shared spaces reveal the Bidayuh’s enduring ties to land and community life.

Experience the forest after dark on a guided boardwalk search for insects, frogs and nocturnal mammals. Under torchlight, gleaming eyes and quietly pulsing wings reveal a hidden layer of life close to handrails and leaves.

Your guide explains night sounds, camouflage and the delicate food webs that thrive after sunset. The intimate pace contrasts with river cruising, highlighting textures, scents and subtle movements along shadowed trunks and vines.

Glide along the Sarawak River on a sunset cruise as pastel light settles over kampung stilt houses and the waterfront. Views sweep to the golden-crowned State Legislative Assembly and historic Fort Margherita, with reflections dancing across the water.

This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Gentle breezes, photo stops and commentary bring Kuching’s river history to life as the skyline glows and evening calls drift across the banks.

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