Hi,
We are looking at doing a trip based in Kota Kinabalu in Jan. There are 2 adults and 3 children(14, 12, 10 yrs). We are thinking about 10 days and would like to visit Turtle Island Orang-utan%26#39;s in Sepilok and maybe Brunei. Is this feasible? Can anyone give us a suggsted itnerary and accomodations
THanks
Lisa
Kota Kinabalu Brunei Sandakan
Hi Lisa
Did anyone reply to you?
I%26#39;m planning a similar trip with my kids in february - I believe we%26#39;re out of luck for turtles though as they%26#39;re just there from May to October.
It would be great to compare itineries and share advice
Thanks
Sharon
Kota Kinabalu Brunei Sandakan
Hi Sharon,
No replies yet but I did get some info from Sepilok Jungle resort. I have copied email below. The man%26#39;s name is Johnny if you want to contact the resort direct
Cheers
Lisa
have drafted a plan for you...have a read and see if this is what you want
Dec 25 - airport pick up at 10am, kinabatangan river (overnight bilit Adventure Lodge) (LD)
Dec 26 - tranfer back to jungler esort, visit sepilok in the afternoon (overnight jungle resort) (BLD)
Dec 27 - turtle island (BLD)
Dec 28 - check out and airport trnasfer (B)
Pls refer below for the price
Airport trnansfers at RM10 per person X 5 persons X 2 ways = RM100
River in air cond room at RM499 per person X 3 + RM249.50 X 2 persons = RM1996
Sepilok at RM130 X 3 + RM65 X 2 = RM520
turtle island at RM430 X 3 + 215 X 2 = RM1720
room at jungle resort in mini suite with balcony with extra bed at RM330
total price is RM4666 for your whole family for 5 persons..pls note that room at turtle island is common bathroom. if you want room with attached bathroom, you need to add RM50 per room (total RM100) to get the air cond room with attached bathroom.
Thanks so much - I%26#39;ll look into it.
My grils are quite a bit younger than yours (8 and twins at 4) so am quite anxious.
We have the Shangri-la booked in Kota Kinabalu and I haven%26#39;t booked the accommodation in Brunei yet.
When do you get back? We leave on the 10th feb - if you%26#39;re back before then, it would be great if you could give me some tips!
My email address is sharon.bentley@o2.com
It would be great to hear from you!
Sharon
Hi,
We spent 3 weeks touring around Brunei and Borneo in March. We spent some time in Brunei and then based ourselves in KK stopping alternatively at the Rasa Ria and STAR before / after 7 days wildlife tour through Sabah.
It is certainly feasible to take in Sepilok, Turtle Island and Brunei in 10 days; it just depends on how much RR (if any) you would like. After much searching we booked our tours through a Malaysian tour operator (Marimari), which were very prompt and professional. However I believe you can go directly to tour operator http://www.wildlife-expeditions.com/ for a cheaper price. Marimari at least seemed quite flexible and willing to put together an itinerary to suit our needs. Sepilok-Turtle Island could be done as a 3D2N package with return flights to Sandakan.
Please note that turtles (at least green) come all year to Turtle Island. When we were there in March, 15 turtles landed that evening! We were lucky, but the numbers did not seem unusual for that time of year. Of course these things can not be guaranteed, and you might be in for a wait. If the numbers on the Island exceed approx 30, then they split the group into two viewings of different turtles. If you are unlucky, you could be up very, very late so make sure you have a pack of cards or other entertainment. Sepilok is amazing, and will be great fun for your children too. We loved the jungle tours on and around the Kinabatangan River, but they are not particularly suitable for most children. Mt Kinabalu Park is also very interesting for wildlife but more child friendly.
Really, there is nothing much worth seeing in KK and the Sunday market isn%26#39;t very good. Instead spend your time on the Islands opposite and take your snorkelling gear if you have some. The STAR was much cheaper than the Rasa Ria on all fronts. In fact the Rasa Ria is expensive by any standards (especially for alcohol), but you can view Orang-utans at the Rasa Ria (not a patch on Sepilok though, more of a tourist attraction). Both Rasa Ria and STAR are very good hotels, both have good and bad points, which we found were endlessly argued over in KK forum. Personally I preferred the STAR. If you like a drink, then take advantage of the happy hours, or take some duty free. Alternatively we got a very good price (£3pppn) on the Horizon club at the STAR; free buffet and alcoholic drinks from 5-7pm! Children are frowned upon in the club though, so double check with the hotel first before booking the club.
For Brunei, you shouldn%26#39;t need more than 2 days unless you would like to journey into the rainforest. If your budget can stretch to it, then the Empire hotel is truly amazing and you will (probably) never stop in such opulence again!! We had the pools to ourselves most days. Some pools are shaded and all are child friendly (with supervision). Arrange pick-up drop-off via the hotel of your choice, and a one day tour including water village can be arrange upon arrival or through operator above.
I can provide some pictures of any of the hotels or places you plan to visit should you wish. Either way you will be in for a fabulous holiday.
Hope the above helps out.
Richard
Spambo,
I just noticed you other post regarding the price for the Empire. We originally stopped over in Brunei because we were on a cheap Royal Brunei flight to KK (I suspect similar to you).
I checked the cost for the Empire, and we paid £98/room/night. We got this rate via airline network (packaged in with flights). I believe you can get the empire slightly cheaper still via marimari or also try pinganchorage, but we preferred to keep flights and hotels with UK operator (one company) and tour with marimari.
I also forgot to mention, Feb/March is the best time to cruise the Kinabatangan River. Since it is toward the end of the dry season the rivers and tributaries are much reduced, and so do not flood into the surrounding forest. This attracts lots of monkeys and wildlife to the rivers edge at dawn/dusk for easy and reliable viewing from the spotting boats. We actually saw gibbons, which were told was very, very unusual for the Kinabatangan (in fact the local river guide had not seen one any in that area for over a year).
Regards
Richard
Richard,
Your information was extremely helpful. With the Rasa Ria, do you think it is worth spending the extra MSR250 per night (AUD90) to get buffet dinner for 2A and 2C included along with free non-motorised sports and free laundry? Or is it wise to just pay as you go?
Also how did you get from Brunei to KK? We are flying in from KL to KK via Air Asia but they don%26#39;t seem to have flights from Brunei to KK.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I think there were three restaurants as follows at RR;
- An expensive and plush restaurants (international fine cuisine) where people went to have a nice romantic meal, price was circa £20-30pp + drinks. As mentioned above, wine is very expensive, especially for you guys from oz (£15 / bottle for an average to half decent bottle)
- An ethnic open air restaurant where you can sample small amount of traditional foods (Malay, Indian, Asian, etc). The food set up is a central eating area surrounded by individual stalls where each prepares different cuisines to order. The food was very good here and very more-ish! From what I can remember, the price for a buffet was in the region £15pp (90MR) + drinks.
- A standard buffet restaurant serving all type of foods (there are theme nights also - e.g. bbq sea food); basically this is a standard hotel buffet, nothing special. Price was again in the region of £12-15pp. This will be where you can eat the inclusive buffet dinner.
The price you are quoted seems quite fair for inclusive food; but it kind of depends what type of food you would be looking to eat. We preferred the ethnic foods, but this is our personal travel style.
By Malaysian standards the prices are very expensive and are actually comparable to UK prices; but it is not really possible / practical to eat out of the resort for most people. Also look out for the happy hours at the bars (different times at different bars) for two4one offers on cocktails. We found the STAR much better value for money because they could not charge so much because it was closer to KK where the food is very much cheaper than at either Shangri La. Still the Rasa Ria has a good beach, better rooms and a much nicer, more relaxed ambiance. Both hotels are very nice indeed (It’s like splitting hairs), they just appeal to different styles of holiday and you will enjoy a comfortable stay at either hotel.
Entry to see the Orang-utans was 50MR for hotel patrons.
Flights from KK to Brunei can be taken via Royal Brunei airways. Our flights from the UK included free stopovers in Brunei, but I think the flights from KK are in the order of £30-40.
I’ll post you some photos of Rasa Ria .
Richard
Richard
This info is great.
We have booked 2 nights in Brunei (not confirmed accommodation yet but would love to stay at the Empire).
7 nights at Rasa Ria because of the sanctuary - my twins are only 4 and I thought Sandakan may be a bit too old for them
7 nights at the Tanjung Aru because of the kids club and proximity to the airport.
I am hoping to take my eldest (she%26#39;ll be 8) on some kind of adventure, I%26#39;d like to show her how people live so perhaps a visit to a local village (or long houses?), Turtle Island, perhaps Sandakan.
She%26#39;s also been reading about Borneo%26#39;s indigenous pygmy elephants but I can%26#39;t find anything about seeing them anywhere.
The twins will stay at the hotel with their Grandma whilst we do an overnight trip.
My husband is also an avid diver so I%26#39;d like to book him some dive packages (the actual trip is his 40th birthday present) and a white water rafting experience. Did you experience any?
It would be great to hear all your tales and advice - my email address is sharon.bentley@o2.com
PS what were the Royal Brunei flights like?
Hi,
I%26#39;m a Brit living in Brunei. Myself and my husband have been to Sabah 3 times, and have loved it more and more every time. We spent New Year 2005 in Sandakan and down the Kinabatangan River. We saw the Borneo Pygmy Elephants at 6.30am New Years Eve at the back of our lodge (2 adults and 2 babies). We also saw them in Danum Valley in Feb this year, but we had to go looking for them that time. The surrounding forest wasn%26#39;t flooded at all in Kinabatabgan. I cannot begin to tell you what wildlife we saw. Female Orangutan and baby nesting for the night, crocodiles, so many birds. Would thoroughly recommend a stay there.
We also visited Sepilok and Sandakan. We haven%26#39;t done the turtles, so can%26#39;t advise on that.
We stayed at Tanjung Aru on our first trip to KK - fantastic resort, would recommend. The next two times we stayed at the Shangri-La in the centre of KK - very reasonable, clean and comfortable. Ideal location for KK centre.
If you have any questions about Sabah let me know, and i%26#39;ll do my best for you.
Lesley
Hi Lesley
Where did you stay in Sandakan and did you do a prearranged tour or did you just book the tours when you got there?
It is going to cost us roughly $1600 Australian Dollars for 3 nights for 3 Adults and 2 Children. Does this sound reasonable to you?
Regards
Lisa
