Birding Borneo - The Best of Sabah

Tour Code: MYS01

A 12-day holiday to Borneo, focusing on the varied birdlife and special mammals of Sabah’s lowland rainforests and mountain cloudforests.

12 days from
£5,195 (Inc flights)

Land only price from
£4,495

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Highlights

Summary

The rainforests of Borneo are among the most species-rich habitats on Earth, and this tour covers all the major habitat types in Sabah focusing on the splendid birdlife to be found here. During the tour, we will be trying to find the special mammals too of course! We visit Sepilok Reserve (famous for its nearby Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre), the Kinabatangan River and Gomantong Caves before moving on to Tabin and finishing in Kinabalu National Park. A fantastic bird list includes hornbills, malkohas, broadbills, pittas and many other colourful Asian specialities. Mammals such as Orangutan and Proboscis Monkey are also very likely to be seen with spotlighting at Tabin making Leopard Cat and a range of civets likely.

Pristine rainforests with varied and colourful avifauna
Visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and the Sun Bear Centre
Bornean Bristlehead in the lowlands, Whitehead's Trogon in Kinabalu and many other endemic bird species
Orangutan, Proboscis Monkey and spotlighting for other mammals
The Gomantong Caves (for bats, swiftlets, Bat Falcon)

Grading

Grade A/B. Easy to moderate walks in humid conditions.

The Malaysian state of Sabah, in the north-east corner of Borneo, is widely recognised as one of the most exciting and productive birding destinations in south-east Asia. Such mouth-watering possibilities as Bornean Bristlehead (in its own monotypic family), sumptuous pittas (including the endemic Blue-headed and Black-and-crimson Pitta), several species of broadbills and trogons, the endangered Storm’s Stork, the amazing Rhinoceros Hornbill (and up to seven other hornbill species), and raptors such as Wallace’s Hawk-eagle, Bat Hawk and the endemic White-fronted Falconet await us, together with a wealth of other rainforest birds. We will cover all the key habitat types, beginning in the lowland rainforest and ending in the mossy cloudforest of Kinabalu National Park.

After a flight via Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan, we will begin this holiday with a 2-night stay at the Sepilok Wildlife Resort, where we will enjoy some excellent birding from a nearby canopy walkway. Highlights here could include the striking Bornean Bristlehead, Blue-headed and Giant Pittas, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Blue-throated Bee-eater, up to eight species of hornbill, Red-naped and Scarlet-rumped Trogons, Black-and-red and Black-and-yellow Broadbills and Grey-rumped Treeswift, to name just a small selection. Whilst here, we will also visit the Bornean Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, and make a special visit to the nearby Sun Bear Centre to enjoy close-up views of these wonderful mammals.

We will head next to the mighty Kinabatangan River. The longest river in Sabah, and the second longest in Malaysia, it is flanked by some marvellous protected rainforest. We will explore the Kinabatangan and its tributaries by boat, hoping for our first views of wild Bornean Orangutans. Herds of Bornean Pygmy Elephants are also possible, and this is the best place to find troops of bizarre Proboscis Monkeys, including adult males with their extraordinary bulbous noses. Birding here is easy and some of the special birds we will hope to find include Changeable Hawk-eagle, Wreathed, Wrinkled, Asian Black and White-crowned Hornbills, and Stork-billed, Collared and Blue-eared Kingfishers, as well as the very rare and range-restricted Storm’s Stork. Orangutans are often seen at our lodge, and the birding here is excellent, with the chance of Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Rufous Woodpecker, Lesser Cuckoo-shrike and Dark-throated Oriole. Night walks often produce Philippine Slow Loris, Western Tarsier and a variety of civets. On one evening we will visit the amazing Gomantong Caves, timing our visit for dusk to observe the spectacular exodus of millions of bats (eight or more species roost in the caves), and to watch the Bat Hawks and Peregrine Falcons exploiting this abundant food supply.

Moving on, we will travel to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve — a vibrant mix of mature secondary and primary lowland rainforest, where we will go birding along an extensive network of tracks and trails. Over 250 bird species have been recorded in this large reserve and with luck it is possible to see 70 or 80 species in a day, including many Bornean specialities such as Great Argus and Crested Fireback Pheasant, Great-billed Heron, and Large Green, Thick-billed and Little Green Pigeons, plus leafbirds, pittas, malkohas, trogons, and all eight hornbill species; the list is almost endless! We will also go in search of the resident Bornean Gibbon family and undertake night drives in search of Sunda Leopard Cat, Malayan Civet, Sunda Flying Lemur (Colugo) and other nocturnal mammals, as well as such birds as Buffy Fish Owl and Sunda Frogmouth.

Following a varied and exciting stay at Tabin, we will complete our holiday with a flight to Kota Kinabalu and a drive to Kinabalu National Park. Rising to a height of 4,095 metres, Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain between the eastern Himalaya and New Guinea and its forested slopes hold a rich diversity of montane and sub-montane fauna and flora. Amongst the flocks of feeding birds that rove the forest we will find such species as Chestnuthooded and Sunda Laughing-thrush, Chestnut-crested Yuhina and Mountain Leaf-warbler, and we will, of course, search for the legendary ‘Whitehead’s trio’: Whitehead’s Trogon, Whitehead’s Spiderhunter and Whitehead’s Broadbill. The delightful Tufted Pygmy Squirrel will be another target.

This highly varied tour will cover the very best habitats of Sabah, focusing on finding a great many of the region’s birds while also targeting the key mammal species.

DETAILED INFORMATION

Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1

Depart London

Day 2

Arrive Sandakan. Overnight Sepilok Wildlife Resort

Day 3

Sepilok Wildlife Resort

Day 4/5

Kinabatangan River and Gomantong Caves

Day 6

Kinabatangan to Tabin

Day 7/8

Tabin

Day 9/10

Kinabalu National Park

Day 11

Depart Kota Kinabalu

Day 12

Arrive London

Download Full Itinerary

What's Included

What's Included?

Flights
Accommodation:
Simple but comfortable accommodation, with private facilities throughout.
Food:
All included in the price.

Reviews

Hamit was outstanding, one of the best ever. The leader was superb, found birds, general knowledge and people skills outstanding.
D.R. Berkshire
The overall tour leader, Hamit, was better than very good, not only with his encyclopaedic knowledge, but always helpful.
R.K. London
Excellent accommodation and food. Guides were good throughout. Night trips and boat trips excellent. No wasted time.
R.C. West Midlands

We had a fantastic trip - was wonderful to see orang-utans in the wild on three different occasions along with all the other mammals and birds. Hazwan was a great tour leader - he was very patient and did work very hard to find all that we saw, very happy with what we saw. All the lodge staff were so very friendly and helpful and the lodges were wonderful places to stay in.
P.F. Cheshire

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Dates & Prices

2025

Departures Availability Cost

Sat 20th Sep – Wed 1st Oct SPACES £5,195

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Flights:

Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.

Flights are included in the tour cost

Regional Departures:

On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.

Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051

Land only cost:

The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.

£4,495

Single Room Supplement:

Single Room Supplement.

£895

Tour Leader:

Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary

Dean Jais

Tour Leader: Dean Jais

Not many people can say they've introduced a royal couple to an Orang Utan and her baby. Dean can! Fuelled by a curious personality, with the jungle as his classroom and a fascination with wildlife, Dean started guiding in his late teens. Dean quickly excelled, and indeed won the esteemed 'Best Specialised Tour Guide' award at The Sabah Tourism Awards in 2015! Dean has led a great many groups throughout Sabah, knowing the area extremely well and is always excited to be out in the field finding wildlife.

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Our bargain birdwatching tours suit keen birders who want an active, fast-paced birding holiday with a dedicated focus on searching for birds rather than on looking at the area’s other wildlife or cultural highlights.
We offer a wide selection of long-haul holidays to many destinations in South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and elsewhere.
What can I expect?

An expert English-speaking local ornithologist leader
Outstanding value for money
Dawn-to-dusk birding with limited time for rest, relaxation and outside interests
Enviable bird lists
Focused searches for endemics and regional specialities

Who are these tours best suited to?

Keen & active birders – whether expert or making their first visit to a country or continent
People looking for an action-packed bird-focused tour

Where can I go?
Naturetrek's selection of birdwatching holidays includes many South and Central American countries including Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Panama.
In Africa our selection includes Malawi, Ethiopia and South Africa, while in India and Nepal we offer a choice of 17 bargain birdwatching tours! Here are a few more choices:

Endemics of Western Australia
Argentina's Mar Chiquita
Birds of Brazils Atlantic rainforest
Colombia – home to the world’s richest avifauna
Sri Lanka’s endemic birds

 
 

 
Our specialist recommends...




"I’d recommend our ‘Nepal’ holiday visiting Chitwan National Park and Koshi Tappu Reserve, and ‘India – Bharatpur & Chambal’ within Asia. Try ‘Ecuador – Cock-of-the-rock’ for a superb introduction to Andean birding, while, if you want a bit of luxury, the accommodation we use on our ‘Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park’ tour is top class.” 

Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager

 
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The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.
Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours
We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.
The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.

Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:

Southern Morocco – an exploration of the birdlife in Morocco’s southern deserts, oases and mountains
The Camargue in Spring – a short break to enjoy the spring birds of the Rhône Delta and Camargue wetland
Wallcreepers & Cranes in Northern Spain – a 2-centre holiday focusing on Lammergeier, Wallcreepers, raptors, Cranes, bustards, sandgrouse and more!
Madeira & Desertas Islands – A Seabird Extravaganza! – a short break focusing on special breeding seabirds, including a night on the remote Destertas Islands
Peru – Macaws & Machu Picchu – searches for boobies, macaws and Inca Terns
Spain & Morocco: Birding on Two Continents! – watch the spectacular spring bird migration from both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar

Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection
Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.
 

Our specialist recommends...


"Try Coto Doñana & Extremadura for an excellent introduction to Europe's wetland and steppe birds. I would recommend our bargain holiday, 'Nepal – A Birdwatching Tour' for those interested in Siberian rarities and Ibisbill, while Costa Rica offers a chance to search for arguably the world's most beautiful bird, the Resplendent Quetzal."

Byron Palacios - Tour Leader

  
 
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Tour Dates or Itinerary Don't Suit?

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Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?

For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.

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Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

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