Have a look at Stacey's trip report here

A great many people head for Kota Kinabalu as a base, with trips out to Sepilok (a short flight via Sandakan) to see the Orang-Utan. You wouldn't want to swim in the water by KK, as its a working city with over water housing near the main tourist hotels. However nearby (five minute speedboat trip from the Shangri-La at Tanjung Aru for example) is the marine national park, a small number of islands with good beaches and casual snorkelling from the shore. These get frequented by day trippers but its possible to stay the day on the beach...we'ed quite often have the beach to ourself on Palau Manukan, taking over a picnic lunch with us.

Yes I have been 2 years ago. A lovely place. I did a one week tour mountain/river/turle island then a week at a beach resort.

Remember the Orang Utans are in a sanctuary very rare to see one in the wild but it was a good place to go to see them. Its about a 2 hour visit but there are plenty of other places to see.

Any questions let me know.

Kind Regards
Stewart

thanks for your info not made up our minds yet but will keep checking back for more info thanks

all booked flights via hong kong in april. will i need injections or anti malaria tablets? flights booked to k.k. undecided whether to stay put for 12 nights or split holiday in half and fly to tawau for 1/2. what does anybody recommend seeing and what internet sites are best to gleen info

Elaine,

we went around 10 yrs ago, 1 week kuala lumpar, and 1 week at the kauumbeni resort kota kinabalu borneo.

marvellous holiday, my only advice to you dont do the same mistake as us , but we opted not to visit the orang utans, from memory only because it was a very early morning start. my wife goes on about it to this day!!

enjoy.

Eifion.

thats on my list as a got to do!!! if hubby goes diving i go to see the ginger monkeys!! giving kuala lumpa a miss saw the rain today on the F1 racing ~ not my type of weather.

well borneo her we come!!!! all booked staying at Shangrila Tanjung Aru, hubbys booked the kinabalu club rooms which look fab. going to boat out to the islands for snorkelling, and visit the orang utan santury wherever that is (any info please post) any other recommendations please post
we are not taking any malaria medication but i would like to do the rainforest canopy walk ~ anybody know how, where and whats it like?
thanks for info in advance we are leaving thursday 23 april but will be checking my posts for any info thanks in advance
elaine

Elaine, the famous orangutan sanctuary is at Sepilok. There's some info about it here.

But if you (or your other half!) don't fancy the long trip out there, as a guest at the Tanjung Aru, you're allowed to visit the small sanctuary at its sister hotel, the Rasa Ria. When we were there a few years ago they only had 3 young orangutans, but you get to see them really close up being fed and it was definitely worth seeing (we went twice!).

I'm in the early stages of planning another trip to Malaysia for next April, so look forward to seeing your report - especially if you do the canopy walk!

Elaine

Hi Elaine,

The canopy walk is at Poring Hot Springs which is part of the Kinabalu National Park. I don't like heights, so haven't experienced it but my husband and a friend did. Apparently it's a bit of a climb to get there and they didn't see any wildlife, but interesting, nevertheless. We have visited Borneo several times and when in KK always use the same taxi driver, who speaks excellent English and is very reasonable - if you're interested I can pm you his phone number. A couple of years ago we were lucky enough to see a Rafflesia in flower near the hot springs thanks to him asking the locals.

Malaysia Airlines currently have some very good deals from KK to Sandakan, from where you travel to Sepilok - currently from 47 MR (about £9) each way. You can either return on the evening flight or stay overnight as we did. The Centre tends to be much less busy in the afternoon - your admission ticket will cover you for both sessions.

Regards,

Heather

thanks for your posts both,
im making notes in my diary not to forget what to see

elaine

hi heather,
well hubbys looked at those flights and its a must, very cheap, hoping to travel there and back in 1 day not stay overnight. how do you go about booking to visit Sepilok, will they pick you up at the airport. we would prefer to sort out from the UK end before we go at least then we know we have the flights booked and its a definate trip.
thanks for the info on flights

Hi Elaine,

You don't need to book to visit Sepilok - you just turn up and buy a ticket but check out the times as they have two daily sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each preceded by a talk. There are plenty of taxis outside the airport - don't know about public transport but taxis are cheap. It may be best to book a return with your driver as I'm not sure about transport back from Sepilok. I'm sure if you check out their website, they will give you details.

I meant to say in my earlier post that you should book flights before you leave as they get progressively more expensive nearer departure date. If you get a seat on the left-hand side (I think) of the plane flying to Sandakan, you'll get a stunning view of Mount Kinabalu, if you're lucky.

From your husband's point of view, April is still whale shark season - my friend saw one on her first dive 3 years ago.

Regards,

Heather

for info, ive been sent a link to sepilok info centre might be useful to others
not long before im off to borneo 4 more sleeps!!!

http://www.sepilokjungleresort.com/RehabCentre2.html

You are so lucky wish I was going back, have a great time.