On Borneo itself there are two places to do iton different parts of the island and you'd be flying into separate airports. One is really just a large enclosed area owned by the Shangri-La so not really wild per say.
Another option: Sumatra. If you are in the neighborhood anyway there is an area in northern Sumatra where you can basically go on guided hikes and see them in the wild wild.
Has anyone done the orangutans in Borneo? My H and I are considering going to Bali and Borneo this summer and I'm just curious if anyone has done the orangutans and has any thoughts on it. Thanks in advance!
I have! We went to the Batang Ai area. There are other areas where you are much more likely to see orangutans but we thought they were too commercialized. We spent 4 full days looking for them. We would start at about 6-7 am, hike in the jungle until 1 pm. Have lunch and take a break until 3 pm and then hike until 6 pm. Some of the hiking was intense and it was really hot. On our last day there we finally saw an orangutan (and she had a baby!!!) I do know other people have spent similar amount of time looking for them and never saw one. I think this is the tour we went with: borneoadventure.com/tours/wild-orangutans/ Please note it was very primitive.
We also went to Bako, Kubah, and Santubong. We did all of those places on our own.
I also want to do this so badly! My H isn't on board sadly. I also want to wait until my daughter is a little older so she can appreciate it more.
Cicero is the Shangri-La one you mentioned at Kota Kinabalu? I've looked into going there because I think my H could be swayed by a nice resort.
It is. Also when I said there were two places I meant two in the state of Sabah. I think there are a few places you can do it in Sarawak as well but there is less to do in Sarawak as a whole because there are a lot fewer people and a lot fewer places to stay.
I also want to do this so badly! My H isn't on board sadly. I also want to wait until my daughter is a little older so she can appreciate it more.
Cicero is the Shangri-La one you mentioned at Kota Kinabalu? I've looked into going there because I think my H could be swayed by a nice resort.
It is. Also when I said there were two places I meant two in the state of Sabah. I think there are a few places you can do it in Sarawak as well but there is less to do in Sarawak as a whole because there are a lot fewer people and a lot fewer places to stay.
So was going there a good experience in general? I want to know if I should move it up or down my list.
This is on DH's bucket list. He grew up in Indonesia (on Java). We have been there together several times- done Bali (every time), Java, Komodo, etc.
We are going in January with DD (will be 18 months) so I am pretty sure I do not want to do the orangutangs on this trip. We will probably do Borobudur instead - with the usual Bali stuff of course.
It is. Also when I said there were two places I meant two in the state of Sabah. I think there are a few places you can do it in Sarawak as well but there is less to do in Sarawak as a whole because there are a lot fewer people and a lot fewer places to stay.
So was going there a good experience in general? I want to know if I should move it up or down my list.
It depends on what you're looking for and what you want to do. Sabah is more built up than Sarawak and as a result there is more to do but it's still incredibly beautiful. It's an amazing place if you are wanting to relax on a white sand beach, do some jungle trekking, see proboscis monkeys and orangoutangs in the wild, or learn about the recent head hunting past of some of the local tribes. It's not such a great place if you are looking for five-star cuisine or some sort of city break.
This is one of the more traversed so/so beaches outside of KK: