Family holiday to Borneo
Highlights
Kota Kinabalu | Kinabalu National Park | Poring Hot Springs | Kinabatangan jungle camp | nocturnal jungle walk | Batu Tulug burial caves | cooking class and village homestay | Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary | Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre | Pulau Tiga National Park | Survivor Island | speedboat ride | Optional activities include: boat trips to Tunku Abdul Rahmen National Park, visits to the Sun Bear Conservation Centre and a hike to volcanic mud pools |Description of Family holiday to Borneo
A minimum age limit of 5yrs ensures this two week family holiday in Borneo is open to as many travellers as possible with chances to observe orangutans, proboscis monkeys and an abundant marine ecology, adding to the intoxicating experience of travelling in Southeast Asia.As this two week holiday gets under way your family will be invited to make new friends and share exciting adventures as part of a small group of like minded and similar aged travellers. Starting out from Kota Kinabalu you'll travel to a Dusun village in the shadow of Mt Kinabalu whereupon homestays and traditional longhouses provide unique insight into the lifestyles of people living in rural Sabah.
Hot springs, river cruises, jungle treks and a couple of long drives await en-route to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, with the nearby Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre providing educational animal encounters prior to negotiating the canopy walkways hanging above Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve.
A short flight and a boat ride takes your family into the realm of Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park where you’ll get to enjoy two nights in traditional Balinese style beach villas with boat access to some of the best spots for snorkelling in the whole of the South China Sea.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
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Small group holiday
Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modelled on independent travel – but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and dealing with the language. It’s easy to tick off the big sights independently – but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, travelling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. If you’re heading off on a gap year your, perhaps – but for those with a two-week holiday, a small group tour will save valuable planning time.The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.
We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.
Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!
Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.
Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.
Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.
“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.
“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.
“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.
“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.
Story: The first British woman to climb Manaslu, Valerie climbed Everest for her 50th birthday. She’s spent fourteen Christmas Days trekking to Everest Base Camp, and is involved insetting up Responsible Tourism initiatives in the Himalayas.
Story: Roshan has led over 130 trips – he adores showing travellers around Sri Lanka. He won the company Leader Award in 2010, but his career highlight was working on their Tsunami Project – which earned him a responsible tourism award.
Responsible tourism
Responsible tourism: Family holiday to Borneo
Wildlife:
A large portion of this trip is dedicated to observing the abundance of diverse wildlife in Borneo. Our care for the natural environment and indigenous species in the area extends even beyond careful briefing, meticulous waste disposal and payment of National Park fees which help to protect the wildlife. This particular trip directly supports the Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary which rehabilitates injured, orphaned and captured Orang-utans into the wild. At 43 square kilometers, Sepilok is the largest sanctuary of its kind in the world and so this is a great place to find out more about these loveable monkeys and to make a donation or buy souvenirs.
Community:
We use locally owned hotels, restaurants and employ local guides and operators. This keeps our tourist money in the host countries by providing income for people in the area. En route to the Mt. Kinabalu we stop at Nabalu market where villagers come to sell their produce and handicraft- Tea, medicinal herbs, fruit and vegetables are just some of the things produced locally. We also have a tour of a tea plantation where we spend the night in a traditional Rungus bamboo longhouse. This is a great way of providing income for these communities whilst gaining a completely authentic experience. We are keen to emphasise that interaction with indigenous groups should not be a one-way street and so our guides will teach some Bahasa Malay so those travelling can interact with local people.
Group size: This small group tour has a maximum of 18 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people.
UK office: It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.
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