Borneo Itinerary

Well, do know that Sepilok is an orangutan "rehabilitation" center. These animals have been habituated to people and come in to feed. You can guarantee seeing orangutans there, but they won't in in the wild. It appears that none of the so-called rehab centers have actually been able to reintroduce these animals to the wild.

When I made my decision about going to Borneo, I decided that if I was going to go half way around the world, I wanted to see these magnificent animals in the wild. If you want to see them truly in the wild - the primary rainforest, The Borneo Rainforest Lodge in the Danum Valley is your best choice. I did leave enough flexibility in my schedule that if we didn't see orangutans at the BRL we could opt to go to a rehab center. We did see orangutans at the BRL. Frankly, just being in the primary rainforest was an incredible experience. But only you know what is important to you.

The only way to get to either the BRL or to Sepilok is through Kota Kinabalu. You will take a flight to the nearest town from KK. To get to Kuching (which we loved) you'll also have to fly.

The city of Kota Kinabalu is not in and of itself very interesting, while Kuching is a more interesting city, IMO. The two cities are very different from each other.

I'd say you need three nights minimum at the BRL, and probably the same at Sepilok. Three nights at the Shangri-La closest to KK would round out your time nicely. You may well want/need to spend a night or two in KK. The logistics are a bit complicated. You can get to KK from KL, SIngapore or (I understand) Hong Kong, but you'll have to spend the night there before flying on to your wildlife destination.

Here is the link to our Borneo photos: www.marlandc.com/Borneo/index.htm

Yes, go for Sepilok.....not at all like Kathie says.

Factually, many animals have been released back into the wild.

Both Shangri-La's at KK are very good hotels. The Rasa Ria has the benefit of a sanctuary, mainly for baby Orang utans.

There is no guarantee of seeing the men of the forest at Sepilok, but you will certainly see loads of other wildlife, Sepilok is a wonderful experience,,,,,don't be put off by the negative opinions of those who have not been there.

I give Sepilok a five star rating.

Leigh and I have disagreed about this before, both posting links to articles. You might google this and see the reports and why we disagree.

One of the best resources for planning where to go is a long thread on Thorntree about where to see orangutans. I know it's a long thread, but do take a look. There is an incredible amount of info here.

www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/message.jspa?messageID=2542550

How feasable is the following itinerary?
-Day 1 - Arrive KK - le meridien or shangri la (the one closer to the airport)
-Day 2- Kota Kinabalu Park- booked through hotel
-Day 3- more Kinabalu Park and hot springs
-Day 4- Fly and Transfer to hotel in Sandakan, Kinabatangan River
boat ride, maybe Gamantong Cave as well
-Day 5- Selingan Turtle Island boat trip
-Day 6- Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and latest flight back to KK.
Potentially adding a day to go to the Mulu Caves somewhere but that involves more flying.

You are trying to cram a lot into a little time. If Sandakan, Turtle Island and Sepilok are what is important to you, spend your time there. We found Kinabalu Park to be very built up, commercialized and crowded... we were really disappointed in how degraded the environment was. Since you have no interest in climbing Mt. Kinabalu, I'd say spend a night or two in/near Kota Kinabalu, then move on to the area you are really interested in.

BTW, I don't know if you found the previous thread about orangutan rehab centers or not, but basically, the Rehab Centers themselves say that they are successful in re-introducing the orangutans to the wild (especially in their fund-raising literature) and the outside conservations groups who review their work say that the orangutans have not been re-integrated into the wild.

We have to fly through KK to get to Sandakan, but I guess we can cut a day/night there and just go to the hot springs, or leave it as is and add a night to Sandakan. So one night KK, 4-5 Sandakan, maybe a night back in KK on the way back. Thinking of going to Langkawi or a beach after Borneo. Would you recommend treking to Langkawi- not sure there are direct flights from KK or just having a few beach days at the Shangri La?

Any recommendations for a place to stay in Sandakan on the high end? Price is not really an issue- just below $300 a night or so. We would like to be able to set up excursions to Turtle Island, Sepilok, etc. Should we do that through the hotel or an outside vendor?
We would like to see Orangutangs in the wild if possible, but would also like to visit the Sepilok rehab center as well as the Labuk Bay one.

To get from KK to Langkawi will take most/all of a day. I'd suggest you do your beach time at the Shangri-La. It will give you more relaxing time, less time getting from palce to place.

Sorry, I can't help with specific hotel recs in Sandakan. And any of the hotels will be able to help with excursions.

Go to Danum Valley: everything is bigger there and you can get close to impressive orang-utang males.

Sepilok is ok if you stay at least 2 days/1 night there and do the night safari (flying foxes) and go walk in the forest by day. You might get close an habituated orang-utang female.

Also I would advise you to go a least 2 days/1 night to Kinabatangan (www.kinabatangan.com) to see the Proboscis Monkeys and relax.

If you like dive or just to swim with turtles, don't miss Sipadan or Mabul Island (www.sipadan.com).

One night is enough for Kinabalu park. You can climb up to mid way to see the big pitcher plants and there may be Raflesia blooming near Poring Hot spring.

Enjoy!