When travelling to East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), what is the recommended starting town? and which town should be the final landing point? I will be flying from KL and going back to KL afterward.
The plan is to at least visits the famous towns.
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closed as primarily opinion-based by Dirty-flow, Mark Mayo♦, Vince, Geeo, Flimzy Dec 11 '13 at 10:31
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Ok, Since I travel to Sabah a lot, here is my take on your plan.
- Fly from KL to KK and make that your start/end point.
- Explore KK Town
- Check out the islands (Manukan and Sapi which are only 15 minutes from town)
- Explore Kinabalu National Park (2 hrs away from KK)
- Fly KK to Sandakan (45 mins)
- Explore Sandakan, filled with Eco Tourism. Places like Sepilok Orangutan Center, Gomantong Caves, Kinabatangan River, Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, Turtle Island.
- Move down via road to Lahat Datu
- Explore Danum Valley (Pricy)
- Move down to Tawau
- Explore Tawau Hills
- Move down to Semporna
- Get on a boat to Mabul and Sipadan Islands if you dive
- Back to Tawau, then fly Tawau to KK.
- KK to KL Done!
Hope you make it to these stunning towns in Sabah Borneo! I have visited most of the places there and they are amazing in my opinion.
David
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How long yould you recommend for this programme? It looks like a minimum of 9 days would be required – Adrien Be Dec 9 '13 at 8:16
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I have visited Borneo many times and its a beautiful destination. The major draws for me to Borneo are the jungle scenery and the native tribal cultures.
If you have a lot of time and want to experience all of Borneo, I would recommend flying into Kuching and out of Kota Kinabalu (or vice versa) with a stop in Brunei.
In Kuching, Bako National Park, the crocodile farm, and the longhouse tribal tours are pretty cool.
Bako National Park:
In Brunei, there is an incredible patch of virgin rainforest in Temburong National Park that has a nice jungle treetop walk.
In Kota Kinabalu, you can climb Mt. Kinabalu and visit the Sipadan Islands for nice diving/beaches.
You could take buses or fly between each city depending on how much time you have. Brunei is relatively expensive to fly to but there is a cheaper airport in Miri, Malaysia which is very close.
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For Saba, Kota Kinabalu is a good starting point. It's a convenient small town with a good range of accommodations and easy access to the rest of Saba (plane, bus, vans, cabs). You will also be able to reserve tickets for Mount Kinabalu.
All in all, a good place to start your trip and get some nice food before diving in the wilderness.
Can't give any advice about Sarawak, though.
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Mount Kinabalu is in Kinabalu National Park, right? how long would you usually spend there, is it just a day trip? – Adrien Be Dec 9 '13 at 9:05
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1yes, it is in the park. It's about 2 hours away from KK so you could make it a day trip but you won't be able to climb the mountain. It's much better to make it a 2-3 days trip and enjoy yourself. My first time, I went up, came down the next day after watching the sunrise, then went to the poring hotspring to relax and recover a bit. For a day trip, Poring hot springs might be a better choice. – Sylverdrag Dec 9 '13 at 11:14
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thx - I also read & heard that Borneo is wet in December but that it's not that bad. would you say it's fine to go at this time of the year? – Adrien Be Dec 10 '13 at 16:51
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Forecasts look pretty wet, but I don't know what the deal is, I am not there ATM. – Sylverdrag Dec 11 '13 at 8:16
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