How to Spend One Week in Borneo

Planning a trip and want all the details taken care of? Book yourself onto Culture Trip’s 10-day adventure to Borneo, which includes a visit to an orangutan sanctuary, organic tea farm and a snorkelling trip in Kota Kinabalu.

Take one of the regular two-and-a-half-hour flights between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, arriving in the late morning. Spend the first day of your week in Borneo exploring Sabah’s capital city. Check out the Floating Mosque, stroll Likas Bay – which hugs the coastline for 7km (4mi) – and snap a panoramic photo of Kota Kinabalu from Signal Hill Observatory Platform. In the evening, experience Borneo’s spectacular sunset on the beach at Tanjung Aru. Plenty of budget-friendly restaurants serving local fare, Western food and fresh seafood are along Gaya Street and the Waterfront.

The crystal clear water and pristine sands of five-island Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park attract snorkelling enthusiasts and beach lovers. Adventurous tourists can island hop on a day pass from Jesselton Point or stick to one and spend the day relaxing. Head to Manukan, the second largest island, for beaches and snorkelling. More adventurous travellers should head for Gaya, the largest island, and walk through a floating village, hike in the jungle and enjoy secluded coves. Sapi and Mamutik Islands get fewer visitors and are our favourite spots for diving and snorkelling. Sulag is further away and more difficult to reach.

The fastest way from Kota Kinabalu to Sarawak’s capital Kuching is a one-hour-and-20-minute flight from KK Airport. After arriving in the City of Cats, explore the Old Bazaar and Carpenter Street, stroll along Kuching Waterfront and visit the Sarawak State Museum. Feline lovers can wander the streets in search of the famous cat monuments and check out the Cat Museum. All tourists should taste Sarawak Laksa during their week in Borneo and Kuching is the best place to find it (we recommend Poh Lam Laksa). Marvel at the Astana (Palace), Fort Margherita and the magnificent Sarawak State Legislative Assembly on the opposite side of the river in the evening.

A week in Borneo wouldn’t be complete without experiencing the rainforest, and Bako National Park conveniently sits an hour by bus from Kuching. Sarawak’s oldest national park offers visitors the ultimate jungle experience without arduous trips into the interior. Colour-coded trails penetrate the dense foliage, taking hikers to cliffs, hidden beaches and mangrove swamps. Wild (but gentle) proboscis monkeys live here, too. Tourists can buy food and drinks from the restaurant, but bring extra just in case.

It’s back to the airport for a short flight to spend 48 hours in Miri, Sarawak’s booming oil town. Explore the city, climb Canada Hill for panoramic views of Miri, and visit the Grand Old Lady oil rig replica. The adjacent Petroleum Museum is worth 30 minutes or so, too. Visit the urban Miri Fan Recreation Park in the afternoon before witnessing Sarawak’s mesmerising sunset at Brighton Beach (Tanjong Lobang).

Miri acts as a gateway to the historical Niah Caves and Unesco-listed Gunung Mulu National Park. The breathtaking Niah Caves are approximately one-and-a-half hours south of the city by car. Highlights here include prehistoric rock art, limestone cave systems with boardwalks passing through them and canoe-shaped coffins. Archaeologists have discovered what is believed to be Southeast Asia’s oldest human skeleton here. Homo sapiens first migrated into Eurasia some 50,000 years ago, and scientists have found human remains in Niah that are over 40,000 years old, making it a vitally important site in our understanding of early human evolution.

To finish a one-week trip to Borneo, take the two-hour bus from Miri to Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The tiny Sultanate is among the world’s least-visited countries (pro tip: double and triple check visit requirements beforehand). In the capital, visit Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque with its artificial lagoon near the waterfront and get an insight into the Sultan’s opulent lifestyle at the free Royal Regalia Museum. Photographers love the sprawling floating village, which houses over 30,000 residents and is often referred to as the Venice of the East. Direct flights leave Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.

After two days in Kota Kinabalu, take the three-hour ferry to Labuan, a duty-free island near both Sabah and Sarawak, for night three. Regular boats travel to Bandar Seri Begawan for day four before catching the bus to Miri and flying to Kuching. Or start in Kuching and follow the route in reverse, departing home from Kota Kinabalu.

Tourists might also choose to spend their entire week in Borneo exploring just Sabah or Sarawak. A full week in Sabah allows tourists to visit and climb Mount Kinabalu, check out some of the islands on the East Coast such as Sipadan and see orangutans at Sepilok or Danum Valley. Likewise, seven days in Sarawak provides more flexibility to explore the caves and national parks as well as trekking to traditional longhouses in the jungle.