Trip to Borneo in Malaysia and snorkeling to Lankayan island

WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO SEE IN MALAYSIA BORNEO?

The tour presented in this trip review begins in the borneo rainforest, Sabah region in Malaysia, with daily excursions from Sepilok and Sandakan, to the heart of borneo rainforest in 4x4 and canoe, discovering the exciting wildlife like insects, bats, exotic birds, proboscis monkeys and orang utans at the Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok or in the rainforest itself. A cruise onto Kinabatangan river and a trip to Gomantong caves, where edible nests are made by swiftlets, are included. The Borneo rainforest is an excellent destination for nature-entusiasts, where you can see many endemic species that can't be found elsewhere in the world.

WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO SEE IN LANKAYAN ISLAND?

The second part of this trip review is focused on Lankayan Island Resort, a tiny coralline atoll just off the coast in front of Sandakan, in the Sulu sea, where we had several days of relax on the beach and snorkeling around the island's reef (coralline barrier), as well as around the most important dive sites. Lankayan island is also known for the possibility of observing sea turtles coming to the beach to lay the eggs and the island is home to a nursery for research and protection purposes. Underwater pictures of Malaysia and Lankayan island are included in the trip review.

HOW TO GET TO BORNEO AND TO LANKAYAN?

One of the main gateway for Borneo trips in Sabha region (eastern Malaysia) is Sandakan and this small town is served with at least daily flights from Kuala Lumpur that usually include a stop in Kota Kinabalu. From Sandakan there are local tour operators and travel agencies offering complete packages to Borneo that include accomodation as well as land and water excursions. Lankayan island can be reach with a short fast boat trip from Sandakan and there are at least daily departures. As the boat's schedule may not connect with flights, it may be required to overnight at least once in Sandakan, but you will probably want to visit Borneo too, so this isn't usually a problem.

WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO GO TO BORNEO AND LANKAYAN?

The best season to visit Borneo and Lankayan is probably from April to August, when there is slightly less rain. We are anyway talking about a "rainforest", so expect some rain also during the time of year when the weather is supposed to be drier. July and August are the best months to visit Lankayan, because the sea turtles are more active in this time of the year and come ashore to lay the eggs. The other months of the year are just fine as well, just expect a little more rain.