Wild Encounters of Borneo - Small Group

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.

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.

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.

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.