Journey through some of Malaysia’s most captivating destinations, combining cities with sun-kissed beaches plus a fascinating Borneo Explorer tour giving you a deep insight into the rainforest and local wildlife. You can also extend your adventure with a stopover in Singapore on your way back to the UK.
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Itinerary
3 Nights – Kuala Lumpur
1 Night – Sandakan
3 Night – Borneo Explorer Tour
7 Nights – Kota Kinabalu
+ Optional Singapore extension
✈ UK – Kuala Lumpur (3 nights): You’ll kick off your Malaysian adventure in the dazzling city of Kuala Lumpur (or KL as it’s commonly known). Dive headfirst into its bustling streets and head to the top of the awe-inspiring Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower with their fascinating architecture and stunning panoramic views. In the evenings, immerse yourself in the buzzing atmosphere of the street markets, indulging your taste buds with the delicious local cuisine and street food.
✈ Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan: (1 night): The adventure continues as you delve deeper into the Malaysian wilderness and take your flight from KL to the city of Sandakan, in Borneo. Sandakan, though not a typical tourist hotspot, holds a treasure trove of wonders such as the fascinating Agnes Keith House, which offers a glimpse into the colonial lifestyle and the unique perspective of the expatriate writer. Next door, stop by at the English Tea house for a spot of afternoon tea and a stroll around its lush gardens. As the sun sets, take in the Buli Sim Sim Water Village where you will find some lovely restaurants to enjoy the locally caught seafood while enjoying the view over the harbour.
Borneo Explorer: Selingan Island, Sepilok & Kinabatangan River (3 nights): Today marks the beginning of a big adventure as you join the Borneo Explorer tour from your hotel in Sandakan, allowing you to marvel in the raw beauty of Borneo’s wilderness.
On the first day of the tour, you’ll leave Sandakan and board a boat to Selingan Turtle Island, a nesting area for green turtles. Here you will enjoy swimming and snorkelling before witnessing the conservation efforts of collecting eggs and releasing baby turtles into the sea. The second day begins with a return boat ride to Sandakan, followed by a visit to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Here, you’ll learn about the rehabilitation of orphaned orangutans and watch their feeding time. Afterwards, you’ll embark on a scenic drive and boat transfer to Borneo Nature Lodge, where you can relax and enjoy the river views. From here, you can take an afternoon boat ride along the Kinabatangan River to spot wildlife, including Proboscis Monkeys. On day three, you’ll wake up to the sounds of nature and set off on an early morning cruise along the Kinabatangan River and Kelenanap Ox-Bow Lake for bird watching and wildlife spotting. Explore the jungle on a short walk and return to the lodge for breakfast. In the evening, you’ll enjoy a boat cruise, taking in the beauty of the rainforest’s flora and fauna. On the final day of your tour, you’ll visit the Gomantong Cave, known for its sustainable harvesting of edible bird nests. Explore the cave and hike to Semut Hitam cave before returning to Sandakan. After a hearty lunch, you’ll have some further time to explore Sandakan, and in the evening, we’ll transport you back to the airport for your short onward flight to Kota Kinabalu.
✈ Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu (7 nights): Kota Kinabalu (or KK as it’s affectionately known) is a coastal city located just a short flight from Sandakan in the north of Borneo. It’s blessed with gorgeous beaches and surrounded by pristine islands with snowy white sand, making it a paradise for beach lovers. Head down to Jesselton Pier where you can choose from several island-hopping trips. The Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park offers five islands to explore: Pulau Gaya, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Mamutik, and Pulau Sulug.
Other than pure beach relaxation, must-sees include the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, known as the Floating Mosque, the lively Filipino Market, and the Tanjung Lipat waterfront promenade.
For a deeper insight into the indigenous cultures of the area, visit the Mari Mari Cultural Village located just outside of the city, where you can learn about the traditional lifestyle, customs, and heritage of Borneo’s ethnic groups.
Optional Singapore stopover: If you’re not quite ready for your adventure to end, why not add a stopover in Singapore on your way back to the UK? Singapore is a beautiful city, with lots to see and do including the iconic Gardens by the Bay with its magnificent Supertrees, stunning floral displays, and immersive indoor gardens or the vibrant neighbourhood of Chinatown and the historic district Kampong Glam. Or head to the top of the luxurious Marina Bay Sands hotel for a panoramic view of the city.
✈ Kota Kinabalu to UK: Home time! We’ll take you back to the airport for your return flight back to the UK.
Why choose eShores?
One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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AlisonFletcher
Brilliant trip organised by Dave, included Helsinki, Tallin, Vilnius and Riga. (4 different countries) Everything ran smoothly. Dave organised hotels, flights, taxis, ferry and coach. Have used this company a few times and can't recommend highly enough they are fab 😀
Posted 2 days ago -
Sandra
As always, Chris was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He gave me good advice on my travel plans and booked the holiday on my behalf. I've used eshores a number of times, and will continue to do so.
Posted 5 days ago -
Harrison
We haven’t been on our trip yet but based purely on the experience of booking the trip we are pleased with the result. It started with a bit of a hiccup as we spoke to a member of staff who never came back to us but when we reached back out again we were placed in the hands of Andy who has helped us book a 2 week trip to India including the golden triangle and then a few days on the beach. Andy was very patient with us with our changes to our tailor made holiday, even when we asked him to explore different areas only to revert back to the original plan. He also recommended moving the holiday back one week which created a saving of over £700 which meant we could upgrade the room for our beach stay in Goa. Andy was also available on weekends if we wanted to speak and regularly picked up the phone as opposed to keeping it to purely email dialogue. Hopefully the holiday will be amazing but based on the booking experience I would recommend eShores if you’re looking to book a tailor made holiday
Posted 5 days ago -
Wendy
I spoke to Lynette who was extremely helpful in understanding the trip that myself and my sister in law wanted from Thailand. Myself and my sister in law are both 72years young and we are really looking forward to our trip.
Posted 6 days ago -
Dawn
Excellent service from Matt at eShores. So very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. I booked Mya holiday after all his hard work finding me the perfect holiday that I wanted. Superb service and not pushy all all.
Posted 1 week ago -
Amrik
We have booked two big holidays this year for a group of 8 and a group of 10, Rachel has coordinated our holidays with the utmost excellence, during the consultation we changed countires hotels and even flights but it did not phase Rachel one bit. Exceeds customer expectations by helping advising and supporting throughout the holiday. We are off to Thailand and Dubai in August and then followed by India and Thailand in November, I have rang emailed Rachel many times during the booking and I got very prompt responses even on her days off. Rachel is a credit to EShores and EShores is setting standards regarding customer focus.
Posted 1 week ago -
IainWilliam
I can’t praise Lynette at EShores enough. She has organised my trips perfectly to the point that I wouldn’t use anyone else. She listens to what I want or to the problem I have and comes up with a solution. Nothing is too much trouble. Try them out yourselves and I bet you become a repeater too!
Posted 1 week ago -
Kevin
At short notice, I needed a quote to travel through the USA (July the 20th) I emailed eShores with an idea of what I wanted to do, within a short period of time I had a response from Matthew, After several amendments to my holiday which wasn't any trouble to Matthew, Holiday all booked, now looking forward to travelling through the USA Have to say, the service I had through eShores was fantastic, well done Matthew for working through the changes,
Posted 1 week ago -
Marcus
Dealt with Adam who was great, I went back and forth many times, nothing was a problem for him. We got there in the end and Adam arranged a 3 place holiday to Malaysia and Singapore. We go on 5th August, will if update review when we return. EShores so far brilliant hats of to Adam.
Posted 1 week ago -
Jill
We as a family used eShores last year to go to USA, and they were brilliant, my husband and 1 are going to Italy with them this September and we have just booked again to go back to USA with them next May, very efficient and Matt is lovely to deal with
Posted 1 week ago
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