Borneo Family Wildlife Adventure

Enjoy a tropical family adventure combining jungles, wildlife and beaches

Borneo is a tropical paradise fit for the whole family. Get up close to the island’s ‘wild men’ at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and to the big-nosed proboscis monkeys at Labuk Bay Sanctuary. Enjoy idyllic island beaches and snorkel among colourful fish and sea turtles. From a jungle lodge, we head out by longboat and on foot in search of wild macaques and crocodiles. There’s time, too, for exploring the trails in Kinabalu National Park and for relaxing in the thermal pools of Poring Hot Springs.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that improve life for the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Find out more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here, and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• The use of a local guide means our customers will be well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food, and by supporting other local enterprises.
• Staying at Kinabatangan provides employment opportunities to the local orang Sungai people who are working as boatmen and drivers at the local wildlife lodge.
• Staying at a homestay in the Dusun village of Tanak Nabalu provides employment opportunities to the local orang Dusun people, the largest ethnic group in Sabah.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment. Part of this itinerary is in the Dusun village of Tanak Nabalu, where we stay one night in a local homestay.
• This trip visits and directly supports the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, which rehabilitates injured, orphaned and captured orangutans into the wild.
• While visiting Sepilok, there is the option to visit the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, a wildlife conservation and research centre for improving animal welfare and rehabilitation of the Malayan sun bear.
• Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for reusable bottles.
• The Exodus Travels Foundation launched the Community Kickstart Project to help our destination communities recover and rebuild following the impact of COVID-19. In Malaysia, we’ve contributed to both the Rainwater Harvesting initiative (read more here) and the Jungle Trek Path initiative (read more here).

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Read about Exodus Travels’ Planet Promise here, including our rewilding and carbon compensation commitments for every customer who travels.
• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• Vegetarian and vegan options are available at some accommodation and restaurants.
• This trip favours locally owned and run accommodation.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring your own reusable water bottle on this trip; filtered water will be provided where tap water is not drinkable

Cultural respect

• Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country so modest dress is required when visiting holy sites such as the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur (ie legs, shoulders and upper arms covered as well as a headscarf for women).
• One should not show the soles of their feet or touch someone’s head, both are considered disrespectful.

Is this trip for you?

This trip is rated Activity Level 3 (Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings please visit the Activity Level Guidelines page.

Though this trip has been designed for nine to 12-year-olds, it’s also suitable for 13 to 16-year-olds. Our Family trips are aimed at children in the primary age group, so if your child is in the secondary age group, they may find it a little easier. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.

Uncover the best family-friendly parts of Borneo using a mixture of private buses, boats and flights. Anyone in good health should be able to go on this trip as there is no real physical difficulty involved, although we do a fair amount of walking in some places and the heat and humidity can be tiring. Travel time is kept to a minimum, although there are some long travel days and, as we use local transport at times, it may sometimes be quite cramped and without air conditioning. On some long travel days, we depart early to ensure we optimise our time at our next destination.

Some of the accommodation is basic, staying in guesthouses and homestays with limited facilities. Some facilities are shared and some accommodation has cold water only. Much of the accommodation is comfortable with air-conditioning and private bathrooms.

Borneo has an equatorial monsoon climate with the weather remaining similar throughout the year. Only in the mountains does it get cooler.

Local people and other Asian tourists may want to take photos of themselves with your children particularly if they are young, blond and have blue eyes, you shouldn’t be surprised if they do this without asking permission first.

Vaccinations and Health

Malaysia

There are no mandatory vaccination requirements. Recommended vaccinations are: Polio, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Typhoid, Hepatitis A. The risk of malaria is slight, but you may wish to consult your GP or travel health clinic for further advice.

Dengue and zika fevers, both spread by mosquitoes, are known risks in places visited. There are currently no vaccines or prophylaxes available; therefore, we recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Visa

Malaysia

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Malaysia. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/malaysia
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/malaysia
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/malaysia/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Malaysia.html

Important information

All foreign visitors must now complete and submit the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) within three days (including date of submission) prior to their arrival in Malaysia.

To complete the MDAC form, you need to add your date of arrival/departure in Malaysia, passport details, and accommodation (the start hotel of your tour). To obtain these details, please refer to the Final Joining Instructions, which are sent one to two weeks before your departure.

Once the MDAC form is submitted, you will receive an email with a PIN to check your registration on the MDAC website where you can download a PDF copy of your authorised MDAC. It is advised to also print a copy of your MDAC for immigration. All visitors must then present their printed, completed form and their passport at immigration upon arrival in Malaysia.

Your passport must be valid for at least six months from the date you arrive in Malaysia.

Food & Drink

All breakfasts, four lunches and four dinners are included.

Malaysia is renowned for its culinary excellence; however, food can often be relatively unexciting and limited in the lodges and for hotel breakfasts. Meals will be more varied for everyone in cities and seafood is widely available on the coast.

Most meals are basic, based around rice and noodles although most accommodation does offer a Western breakfast of beans, toast and eggs. In the bigger hotels and cities, the full range of Western and local foods are available. You can generally avoid the spicier food if you wish. Allow at least 70-140 ringgits (US$15-US$30) per day for lunch and dinner. You can eat out very cheaply in Borneo, but if you go to the more expensive restaurants most of the time, you will spend more than the suggested amount.

Vegetarians can be catered for but will find the food choice limited. Please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests.

Please note, in Borneo the availability of certain products is minimal or non-existent, for example wheat- or dairy-free, please be prepared for this, you may need to bring such items from home.

Weather

Borneo has an equatorial monsoon climate with the weather remaining similar throughout the year. It is hot and humid; temperatures are 23C-33C (73F-91F) during the day and rarely drop below 20C (68F) at night. The rainy season is from November to January/February and the dry season is from May to September, though it can rain at any time. A Borneo rain shower is quite an event!