12 independent reviews for Borneo 8 day tour, the wild heart of Borneo
Reviews for Borneo 8 day tour, the wild heart of Borneo
Fiona McDonald review 18 Apr 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Bako National park (though the accommodation was awful) and time spent with the Iban tribe2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Pack very very lightweight long trousers - the humidity makes them cling to you while hiking3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent, loved it , the experince was quite magical.Read the operator's response here:
Thank you so much for your wonderful review, we’re really happy you have thoroughly enjoyed your adventure and loved traveling around Borneo with us!
It's so great to hear that you found Bako National Park to be one of the most memorable parts of your trip, despite the accommodation being basic due to it being government run. Honest feedback is greatly appreciated and we will be sure to pass this onto our local partners. We will be delighted to help you plan many more memorable vacations in the future, so please do get in touch when you are ready to start thinking about the next one.
Alison Symons review 3 Aug 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Seeing all the wildlife was great especially for the kids -- monkeys & wild boar at Bako National Park, Semenggoh Orangutans' Center, & seeing the Irawaddy Dolphins on the Santubong Wildlife Cruise. And the rainforest kayaking was definitely fun for the whole family. For my 14 yr old daughter, she would say that having her half drunk can of Lychee drink stolen by a Macaque monkey at Bako was the highlight.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Bring good ponchos!! Even though we went to Kuching in July -- the supposed dry season -- expect rain regardless. Bring hiking / water shoes, but also flip flops because often times water shoes don't dry as quickly as you would like & having to wear smelly, damp water shoes for days is not pleasant. Being generally damp, things don't dry very quickly especially if you stay in a hotel room that don't have access to a balcony. For the rainforest kayaking, expect to get throughly wet. Wear swimsuits or like paddle board type outfits & water shoes! You will have to wade completely into the river. We also stopped a couple of times & people went swimming in the river. Bring hand sanitizers as we stopped for lunch and there was no where to wash your hands when using the bathroom. The kayak folks will provide you with a dry bag to put your valuables in so you will not be able to take any photos while paddling. The guides take photos for us & then send us the photos via Dropbox after the trip. You will be leaving all your spare clothes & other non valuable belongings in the vehicle that came to drop you off for the kayak trip. Watch out for the Macaques! They're wily ones.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes. Every excursion seem to involve a local operator who hire locals as guides etc.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
We don't usually go with a package tour vacation so this was really our first experience. But having done so I think we would consider it again especially if we're going to a destination like Borneo where we are less familiar with amenities & infrastructure of tourism. Also, when you have a limited amount of time & want to make sure that you are going with a reliable & good operator of excursions. These were the peace of mind that we got with Rickshaw Travel. I think in terms of how smoothly everything turned out where the arrangements by the operator are concerned, it was fantastic. I loved that we didn't have to think about how we were going to get from A to B. Some of the places we stayed at could use some improvements but that was beyond the responsibility of the operator. All in all we were able to spend more time enjoying our vacation rather than stressing about logistics.Tracy Bennett review 23 Apr 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The Orangutans2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Embrace it all3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Definitely supports conversation - we’ve learned the Orangutans now have a strong chance of a future thanks to the support responsible tourism is giving Borneo4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Loved it all - more fabulous memories added to our memory bank!N. Hutson review 26 Aug 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Staying in the rainforest with the Iban tribe.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Check the very enthusiastic reps at the company really understand what you want and read up on the activities rather than taking the rep's descriptions at face value. Don't bother with a sunset cruise in Kuching. Do the cultural and food tasting cycle tours of Kuching. Don't expect to see Orangutans at the rehab center. Use Grab (Asian version of Uber) to go back to the Rehad center for the afternoon session if you see nothing in the morning. Have as much time as possible in the rainforest, avoid Damai Beach Resort unless you want the kind of beach experience you can get anywhere else in the world. Do stay at Permai Rainforest Resort and use more natural beach their.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
WE have a sizable environmental impact driving around. Visiting the rainforest and staying in a local community had a positive impact. Visiting National Parks to look at wildlife helped provide an economic reason to protect more of the fast dwindling rainforest. We used a phenomenal number of single use plastic bottles for water and were positively encouraged to do so. The hotels we stayed in were not at all environmentally aware.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
9.5 out of 10John Harrington review 29 Jul 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Very personal service from booking, to the resort & host and the wonderful guide. Everyone knew my name and checked that everything was ok and could they hlep in anyway. Very nice.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Only need 1 day for Sepilok, get out onto the river for the real experience. Stay at both riverside lodges.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, we had lunch in Abai village cooked by a local resident. Our guide explained all the great work Abai village lodeg and the local community are sharing.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
9 out of 10 - excellentEmily White review 2 Nov 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Stay with the Iban tribe in their Menyang Tais longhouse.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
All of the above. I had wonderful guides, one of whom purchased meals for me at a local market. I stayed in delightful lodges whose primary purpose is to promote the beautiful wilderness of Borneo. And I was able to speak to a group of university students who were at Menyang Tais for a conservation project.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Unique and wonderful adventure.Read the operator's response here:
Hi Emily, thank you so much for your fantastic five star review of your trip to Borneo! I'm so pleased that you loved your stay with the Iban tribe particularly. As we specialise in meaningful travel I think this trip is so wonderful to get to stay with a local tribe and learn about their culture and history and really get a feel for their lives! Borneo really is a unique destination not only in terms of wildlife but the wonderful people and I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! Phoenix
Don Wetherell review 8 Oct 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
It was all excellent but the experience with the Iban Headhunters was fantastic.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Cover up, wear suitable clothing. We wore long trousers, walking boots and long sleeve shirts. The clothing was specifically designed to deny mosquitos to your skin. We saw lots of other tourists with shorts, flip flops and other unsuitable footwear and they did struggle. You would struggle more if it was raining too. It is hot and very humid, but wearing good clothes is a definite must, you are under the canopy of the forest or jungle so that is out of direct sunlight. You will not need many clothes for leisure because although you do get free time you will be better keeping on your trecking style clothes. Do the bike tour around Kuching, it is great for acclimatisation. Anyone with any basic bike riding skill can do this. You tour around the poorer parts, more affluent parts, learn about the history, culture and religions and have some proper street food. Our guide spoke better English than me! Do not expect aircon everywhere you go, expect to get hot and sticky, take your time and be quiet on the treks with your guide. I am ex army and the spped of the treks resembled going on a very quiet patrol looking and listening. If you are that way you will see more and get more out of it.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Every local person was absolutely lovely. The locals love the Brits because of the heritage of the Three White Rajas, from the Brooke Dynasty. I had no idea about this until I went there. Id say read up on the Brooke Dynasty before you go, really interesting. We do think twice about palm oil, about the importance of conservation and also the importance of the Iban and keeping them in the way of life they are accustomed to. We have "adopted" an Orangutan, which is a way of donating some money to help the upkeep of the works being done to help get them back into the wild.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
This is a non-stop adventure, after 3 days we discussed that we had done so much it was like we had been there a week already. The guides will pick you up early so be ready and get the most of the adventure. It is not a difficult vacation, if you can walk around town on a Saturday afternoon with a couple of breaks you can do this vacation. The planning and checking in and out of your base hotel is absolutely seamless and we definitely would do it again.Lisa Edwards review 6 Aug 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Seeing the wild orangutan and wild elephants by the river side.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Don’t stay more than 3 nights at Gaya Island as very expensive to eat. Be brave and go and eat at Chinese cafes and markets in Kuching as very good value3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Certainly at Gaya we paid conservation tax and think orangutan conservation was very well done in both sepilok and semenggoh and felt that money was going to good cause4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Fantastic - everything went like clockwork. Guides and drivers were all terrific, especially Irik (not sure of spelling) at river and Reynard at mountain. These two were particularly knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. Five stars!Suzanne Gaffney review 1 Sep 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
We enjoyed all the different parts to our trip, own visit to see my sister in Brunei, Mulu caves, Kuching bike ride, trip to see the Orangutans and visit to Bako National Park. We also enjoyed some down time at the end at the Permai Rainforest Resort, which we suggested ourselves. Really liked the friendliness of the local people we met and the cultural diversity of Sarawak.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Local guides were fantastic with such a wealth of local knowledge about the culture, history, fauna and flora and biodiversity of the parks. Well worth booking.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Hopefully, local guides are paid well. Bottle water is available everywhere but we didn't see any evidence of recycling of bottles.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Loved Sarawak.Read the operator's response here:
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a lovely review about your family trip to Borneo this summer.
I'm so pleased to hear you had a great time and you enjoyed Sarawak so much. We love our guides that we use as you said they're so knowledgeable about the area. We know that our local partners give a fair wage to their guides and they go through proper training to become one which certainly shows in their deliverance.
Thanks again for your feedback Suzanne, great to hear from you and we hope to help you with another exciting adventure soon!
Best wishes,
Chloe
Karl Schurr review 3 Jul 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The highlights of the trip for us were: 1. The initial introduction to Sarawak in the Permai treehouse. Lovely house set high amongst the trees with glimpses of the sea from the balcony through the leaves. 2. The trip to Bako National Park where monkeys abound amongst the trees, birds, wild bearded boars and lovely walks in the forest. Perhaps it would be worth staying overnight here, although there are various negative reviews about the accommodation here. Added bonus of Irrawaddy dolphins and a sea eagle on the boat trip on the way to the park. 3. The Longhouse trip. A glimpse into the lives of people as they have lived in the forest for generations. Making rattan backpacks, mending fish nets, growing their own food, but with some mod cons (solar panels amongst the satellite dishes on the roof). The walk into the forest with orang-utan beds in the tree tops and a glorious lunch of chicken, beef and sticky rice, each cooked in bamboo over coals by a very energetic elderly woman who cleared the path with her machete. A definitely memorable day. 4. Trip to the Semengoh orang-utan sanctuary. Made even more interesting because of the guide we had who was a wealth of knowledge about Malaysian culture as well as the orang-utans. 5. The guided bike trip of Kuching was an excellent introduction to the city and is probably a good thing to do on the first day in Kuching. 6. A serendipitous cooking class which was not part of the organised tour. If you are interested in good food, learning about local Sarawak ingredients and having a good time then this is recommended! This cooking class included a visit to a local market for ingredients with our very informative guide Trudy to tell us about what we were seeing and smelling. Then the preparation of various pastes, fresh coconut milk, cooking under the guidance of our Malay chef (Emma) and eating the delicious results. Lots of things learned amongst the frequent laughing and delight. Highly recommended of you are interested in cooking and learning from locals: Indah House Kuching - Cafe, Art & Event Space. This would have been our choice of place to stay in the heart of Kuching China town in preference to the hotel if we had known.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
We would not go on the evening boat trip with the chance to see the proboscis monkeys, irrawaddy dolphins (hiding somewhere) and fire flies. A trip that promised much more than what occurred. A noisy boat, a smoking guide and distant monkeys glimpsed vaguely in the lowering light. We would have preferred to watch the beautiful sunset from the verandah of our Permai treehouse or go wandering in the surrounding forest where we would have seen fireflies. Be aware that the driving trip to the longhouse is 4-5 hours of boring, poor quality highway (it is currently being upgraded). Not necessarily a good use of 8- 10 hours if your guide is not that interested in communicating during the trip.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
On the whole yes. It seems that we were mostly around local people. Not really sure of the environmental impacts though. For example the food and water on the boat trip was in plastic bottles and packets. Not sure what happened to the waste afterwards. Not sure of the hotel's environmental credentials either. On reflection, the house would be our choice of a place to stay in Kuching. They support local artists, are deliberately committed to sustainable behaviours and provide a knowledgable local perspective on Kuching..4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Overall an good introduction to Sarawak. Our stay was short so this trip gave us a varied, interesting and memorable experience. All organisation occurred as planned and without hitch.Read the operator's response here:
Hi Karl,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review about your fantastic trip to Borneo! It's great to hear you both had a wonderful time and I am really pleased you enjoyed the longhouse experience so much, As you know it was one of my favourite experiences, really immersive into the local culture and way of life.
It's so good to hear your highlights, you are right about the Bako accommodation we don't generally recommend it! I am jealous if your irrawaddy dolphin sighting, that's fantastic! The cookery class sounds great too, as well as Indah House. It looks like more of a homestay, but it is certainly something we can look into as do like supporting small local businesses where we can.
Thanks for the tips and the feedback regarding the evening boat cruise. I have bought this to the attention of my Product Manager and our local partners to look into and review.
We are also confident that our local partners share the same values as us when it comes to having a positive impact on the environment, so recycle as much as possible and pass this on to the guides they use as well. I will of course address your concerns so thanks for bringing them to our attention.
I am really happy you both had a great time overall and you found the trip varied and interesting and will find it a memorable experience! You will have to come back to Sarawak as there is plenty more to explore, let alone Sabah too!
Thanks again for your feedback Karl and we hope to hear from you again soon.
Best wishes,
Chloe
Avni Dhanani review 19 May 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Seeing a wild orangutan2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Book AC rooms where possible and take lots of bug spray and long sleeve clothes3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes but I would have liked to learn more about how they were conserving the forest and what impact palm oil had. No one seemed to want to talk about it.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
It was a great vacation. The team were fantastic to book with and great communication between everyone.Read the operator's response here:
Hi Avni,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review about your recent trip to Borneo. I am so pleased that you both had a lovely time and you were able to see a wild orangutan too!
Thanks for the helpful tips, we have recently put together a more detailed packing guide which I will hope will be useful for future customers to Borneo and I have fed back to my local partners about what you have said about the conservation. Hopefully this will encourage more guides and locals to feel comfortable talking about it and learning more where they can.
Hope you have settled back home okay and it was a pleasure booking your exciting trip for you!
Best wishes,
Chloe
John Oliver review 6 Dec 2016
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
As a child I loved animals and dreamed about seeing the orang u tangs in their natural environment. As a 54 year old man I realised that childhood dream the first day of my vacation to Borneo. I stood in the sepilok rainforest park and on the trees top pathway just a few metres away from a wild female orange u tang with her baby. It completely blew me away. I was so lucky and blessed and have been left with memories I will never forget2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Do bring a pair of binoculars : it sounds so obvious now but I just didn't think about it. I rented them but lesson learned. Do go on as many night trips as you can. You won't see orang u tang but you will see most animals of those trips. You often won't have wifi. Again obvious. You are in the middle of rain forests. But still a shock to we western wifi addicts3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Without doubt. In fact I would go further than that. I think eco tourism here sustains a entire country infrastructure in protecting and sustaining wildlife and rain forest habitat. It actually feels really important that eco tourism is carefully nurtured in Borneo.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent. Orobaby the best vacation I have ever had. I loved it. So many memories that I will simply never forget.Holiday Reviews
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