How to plan Luxury Family Holidays in Borneo?
Borneo is renowned for its wild, unexplored rainforests, exotic endemic species, and indigeneous people. But you don't have to rough it on your Family Holidays in Borneo. Ultra-luxurious lodges, fine dining, relaxing spa, private river cruises and drives, pristine island resorts and beaches are all available in Borneo.
Which part of Borneo for Luxury Family Holidays?
A plan of luxury holidays in Borneo for your loving family should start with a clear understanding of the vastness of the “Borneo” island. This place spreads over 3 nations wide. So one must pinpoint to a specific part of it before starting their research. With our years of experience sending families with kids and elders in Malaysian side of Borneo, and attaining to their post-trip feedbacks, we concentrate on the Sabah state, Malaysia as the best serving candidate for Luxury Family Holiday Destination in Borneo. This portion of Borneo has all the necessary flavors of Borneo and all the main wildlife can be encountered here. The state is well-prepared to receive overseas guests.
Airport in Borneo for Family Holidays-Breaking the journey
The second important aspect should be to choose right flight to reach Sabah. We recommend to reach atleast 1 night prior to the tour starts, either stay overnight in the capital city Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia, or in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan or Lahad Datu. This allows every guest-not only the little children and elderly people-to relax and counteract the weariness from the long international flights, and acclimatize with the humid weather. This also makes sure that you do not miss any scheduled speedboat/4wd transfer, and save yourself from an extra, unexpected cost of an unscheduled transfer.
Kota Kinabalu is the international airport that most guests use, unless one changes flight via Kuala Lumpur in which case there is connection to Sandakan airport. The flight route and your Borneo Holidays Itinerary must compliment each other, we are coming to this in a short while.
Luxury Lodge/Resort in Borneo for Family Holidays?
There is no shortage of good family oriented lodge or resort suitable for a holiday with kids in Borneo. However, when you think about Luxury Family Holidays in Borneo, we have to be a bit picky.
In this article, we will cover Kinabatanagn River, Danum Valley Rainforest, Sepilok area near Sandakan, and only two Island Resorts-Lankayan Resort and Kapalai Resort. Every penny spent in these properties are well worth it.
There are only two properties that we recommend for Kinabatangan river – Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort and Sukau Rainforest Lodge. These two are, no doubt, the topmost properties for river cruise in the mighty Kinabatangan river. We stated it multiple times in other articles, both the properties are nice, but if one wants remote and pristine jungle experience, nothing can beat the Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort. It is located upriver in the Abai area of the river, and in its vicinity exists only one lodge. No road access, so no day-trip groups so far from the nearest tourist hub of Sandakan. Most of the time you will not encounter other tourist boats during your river cruises.
Sukau Rainforest Lodge, on the other hand is located in the Sukau area, which can be accessed by road from Sandakan. Also several hotels, homestays are present in this area, so you will see other tourist boats during your river excursions, that’s one downside for most seasoned travelers.
In the core area of the primary rainforests of mystic Danum Valley Conservation Area lies the ultra-luxurious Borneo Rainforest Lodge, our long time partner property and multiple award-winning, ready to blow your mind. Several categories of rooms are available – starting with Standard Jungle Chalet, Deluxe Jungle View and Deluxe River View, Premium Deluxe, and Premium Villa of one & two storey.
In Sepilok area lots of choices are available, we particularly recommend the Sepilok Nature Lodge and Borneo Sepilok Rainforest Resort.
From Sandakan area, you can visit Lankayan Island Resort by a short boat trip, and stay in their beautiful water bungalows. If you finish your trip in Danum Valley or Tabin, then we advise to visit Kapalai Island Resort to wind off. Both these island resorts are equally popular among non-divers and beginner divers.
Although Tabin Wildlife Resort, the only accommodation inside Tabin Reserve, may not be a “luxury” property, it is a child friendly nature-retreat and all the staffs there are really accommodating.
Borneo Family Holidays
Consult with us today for a tailor-made Borneo Itinerary to suit your family holiday requirements.
Child Price Policy in Luxury Lodges in Borneo
Most of the above resorts offer complimentary stay for kids until an age of 4 years, and a 50% discount for 4-11 year olds. The discounts are applicable on room and meal, and in some cases it also covers guided activities and transfers. Please contact us for further details.
Borneo with Family of Young kids
Safari Acacia can totally assist you in organizing a luxury vacation in Borneo for your family. Since many of our employees have young families of their own and we were in the Borneo with our kids, we have first-hand and very personal experience in organizing vacations that cater to the needs and interests of young children. If you are following our social media pages (Facebook/Instagram), you have noticed many of our young guests starting from an age of 4 years enjoying their sweet time in their Borneo Expeditions with us. Most of the kids are very interested to see Orang Utans, and rightly so. These intelligent and cute primates’ features and behaviors are so much human-like. Due to the rapid destruction of Orang Utan habitats, only very few lucky human have ever seen Orang Utans, give your kids this incredible opportunity.
Get in touch for personalized trip recommendations and to book your vacation today!
Borneo is an unbeatable destination for children who adore wildlife. Orangutans, cheeky macaques, and the peculiar-looking Proboscis monkeys, bearded pigs, pygmy elephants are just a few of the species found on Borneo.
The island of Borneo is a great, inexpensive Asian vacation spot for families. With accommodating, simple, always smiling local hosts, and the menu offering a mild introduction to Asian cuisine for kids, you will enjoy your family time, for sure.