Borneo Tours and Vacations Packages: Taking You In and About an Amazing Island

Tagged as one of the most diverse places on earth, there's no doubt why Borneo continues to be a top destination for tourists, vacationers, nature lovers, adventurers, and the like. Anyone who visits and tours Borneo can expect endless fascination with its dense and lush tropical forest that is home to a large population of exotic flora and fauna, its white sandy beaches with their sparkling blue waters that are home to diverse underwater organisms, as well as its verdant jungles that is home to the world's largest cave chamber. With such scenes, you're in for some exciting, captivating, and unforgettable Borneo tours and vacations.

Borneo, the world's third largest island, is surrounded by vast seas and oceans: the South China Sea in the north, Celebes Sea in the east, and Java Sea in the South. Its northern region is divided into Sarawak and Sabah; both of which are known for their expansive rainforests and jungles, raging rivers, breathtaking oceans, and national parks.

Borneo's highest peak is the massive Mt. Kinabalu, which is located in Sabah, Malaysia and is the island's top attraction. If you are in for fun and adventure, you can sign up with Kota Kinabalu tours and climb this gigantic mountain. You can also visit the famous Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park where a variety of activities, such as bird-watching, camping, sunbathing, swimming, windsurfing, kayaking, and even parasailing, await you.

The Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary is also a famous destination that you don't want to miss when you visit Borneo. The sanctuary, which is home to a large number of orangutans and proboscis monkeys, gives you an exciting opportunity to get a glimpse of these species in their natural habitat. You'll also get a once in a lifetime chance of seeing some endangered and rare species which include the Sumatran rhinoceros, Asian elephant, and clouded leopard.

Borneo is indeed a great and exciting place for nature lovers to go to. If you are an adventurous type of individual, ready to get wet, muddy, and sweaty while trekking and camping, take advantage of the many Kota Kinabalu and Sabah tours and vacations packages available. Many of the islands' tours and vacations packages can also take you to an overnight trip to Borneo where you get the chance to see turtles as they lay eggs and as their babies scramble their way into the sea.

Borneo tours and vacations packages can also take you to its breathtaking sandy beaches where you can do a variety of water sports activities, from snorkeling to diving, and get a glimpse of an exciting and captivating underwater world. The island is home to one of the world's richest marine habitats with over 3,000 species of fish and marine life and hundreds of species of corals, making it a top diving destination.

Indeed, there are just a lot of things to do in the island. And with the many affordable Borneo tours and vacations packages available, you're in for some inexpensive yet fun-filled and memorable adventure in one of the world's most amazing islands. Adventure, natural wonders, beauty, diverse wildlife, and responsible ecotourism. These are what Borneo is all about.

Borneo Escapade

East Malaysia has always fascinated me. Despite being a part of Malaysia, there has been something enchanting, almost foreign about it that has always stroked my fancy. And while I'm a regular visitor to Sarawak, it is Sabah that I had yet to experience. Thanks to Firefly, I managed to do exactly that. The subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines had their inaugural flight to Kota Kinabalu recently, and I was one of the lucky few to board their brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Everyone is used to seeing Firefly's ATR 72-500 turboprops, so having their corporate bright orange-and-white colors on a larger jet is rather refreshing. The bigger planes also mean longer hauls and better comfort, which makes perfect sense when it comes to their flights to East Malaysia.

Upon touchdown at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), we were greeted with a traditional aviation industry welcome, which was a water spraying guard-of-honour. After the welcoming ceremony and press conference, we were taken to Kota Kinabalu's Grand Borneo Hotel, which is part of the 1Borneo Shopping Paradise mall. A simple cocktail party with light food, music and dance followed. And luckily for me, I had a friend who's local; she took me sightseeing around town and beaches at night. Kota Kinabalu is really a town which has to be travelled by car, and it is gorgeous at night.

The next day, we were taken for a preview of Saracen Reef World, which was a reef activity pontoon out at sea. From Sutera Harbour, we took a breezy two-hour-and-twenty minute catamaran ride through Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, where we saw numerous beautiful islands along the way. We were told that the pontoon would be towed more than 40km from its current location to a reef area and be similar to the one at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Despite it being a preview, we did manage to see a couple of fish underwater and also to get an overall feel of how the pontoon would be like when it is expected to open in May. We later took a much smaller boat back to shore where we joked how we sat like refugees on the floor.

That night, dinner was at Kampung Nelayan, a floating seafood market restaurant. The seafood there was served fresh and the dishes served included fish maw soup, pucuk paku (wild fern shoot), succulent prawns, steamed grouper, crispy chicken and soft-shelled crab. I also experienced tasting a type of snail/shellfish called Siput Tarik, aptly named because we used a toothpick to pull it out from its shell. It was rather daunting at first, but I found it tasted somewhat similar to squid. Not too bad I must say.

We were also treated to a traditional Sabahan cultural performance, where dances like the Daling-daling, Sumazau and Magunatip were presented. The Magunatip or bamboo dance was particularly interesting, as it required precision and skill so that the dancers avoided getting their feet trapped in the bamboo as they danced. Guests were also invited to have a try, with many hilariously getting their legs snapped. We were also given a chance to try the famed sumpit (blow-pipe). Later, my Sabahan friend once again took me around town, bringing me to a lovely Irish Bar that was located just beside the sea.

On day three we took a two-hour drive to Kuala Penyu jetty, after which we set off to Pulau Tiga via a fun and bumpy 45-minute ride on speedboat. Pulau Tiga is also popularly known as "Survivor Island" thanks to its role as the site for the first season of reality show, Survivor.

Upon arrival I was drawn by the breathtaking view of a true island paradise; white sandy beaches and greenish waters. Our rooms were little chalets on stilts, surrounded by jungle terrain and wildlife. I wasn't kidding about the wildlife; we found out there was a family of over 20 giant monitor lizards behind our chalets. These lizards will chase you if they detect sudden movement, as demonstrated by one of the resort staff. Monkeys were also common residents, as seen from all the 'do not feed the monkeys' signs around the resort.