Malaysia & Borneo Travel Plan ☪️ Highlights & Costs
Malaysia and Borneo are places where we thought we’d find a perfect blend of lush landscapes, rich culture, and exciting pursuits.
We were right, of course, but what we didn’t expect was the sheer authenticity of it all—the good bits and the less-than-ideal bits. It’s not a place you simply visit; it’s a place that happens to you. From the humid embrace of Kuala Lumpur to the untamed wild of Borneo’s rainforests, we found ourselves navigating a world that was as rewarding as it was surprising.
We put together a plan, a simple roadmap to follow, and it’s a testament to the region that we stuck to it almost entirely.
What followed was a memorable experience, a collection of moments that were often far more interesting than we’d ever planned.
Highlights
- Itinerary Around Malaysia & Borneo
- Trip Highlights 🤩 Best of the Best
- Trip Low Points 😖 A Dose of Reality
- Wish List 🤔 What We’d Do Next
- Final Tally 💰 What Our Trip Cost
- All Hotel Deals in Kuala Lumpur
- Flights between Kuantan & KL
- Our Complete Borneo Itinerary
- Useful Accessories for the Tropics
Our Itinerary Around Malaysia & Borneo
Our actual trip to Malaysia and Borneo followed our initial itinerary quite closely, which, for anyone who knows us, is a minor miracle. We planned to split our time between two key regions, each offering its own flavour of adventure.
First, we hit the Malaysian peninsula, where we arrived and departed from Kuala Lumpur, spending roughly ten days navigating its sprawling urban and coastal spaces. Then, we took a leap across the South China Sea to Borneo for the second half of the trip, which also lasted about ten days.
We carefully chose eight locations that we thought would give us an interesting and viable route:
Malaysia
✅ Kuala Lumpur
✅ Cherating
✅ Mersing
✅ Tioman Island
✅ Kuantan
Borneo
✅ Kota Kinabalu
✅ Kuala Penyu
✅ Sepilok
This route, we thought, offered a mix of city life, coastal relaxation, and jungle exploration, keeping us on our toes and ensuring we never got too comfortable.
Malaysia & Borneo
Trip Highlights 🤩 The Best of the Best
While we enjoyed every single moment of our time in Malaysia and Borneo—even the bits that weren’t exactly five-star—a few experiences truly stood out and made the journey special. These were the moments that made us feel we’d stumbled upon something genuinely unique.
Tioman Island 🏖️ The Unspoiled Beach Getaway
Getting to Tioman Island is not a simple affair, but that’s precisely its charm. The effort it takes to get there weeds out the casual tourists, leaving a more relaxed and appreciative crowd. If you love tasty local food, a laid-back vibe, and breathtaking beach and jungle vistas, then this is the spot for you.
We found ourselves on Juara Beach, on the far side of the island, a place that manages its visitor numbers so well that it never feels overrun. This careful balance between local life and visitors means the area maintains its peaceful atmosphere, leaving us with a feeling of having discovered a hidden gem.
Why we loved it:
- The Food: The local food scene was a revelation—fresh, flavourful, and not something you’ll easily forget. We found ourselves eating something new and delicious every day.
- The Vibe: The atmosphere was so chilled out, it felt like time had slowed down. We spent our days walking on the sand and listening to the waves. It was bliss.
- Unspoiled Beauty: The limited number of visitors truly keeps this place pristine. We never felt crowded, and the beaches felt like they belonged to us alone.
Malaysia & Borneo: Tioman Island
The Borneo Tempurung Resort 🌴 Seclusion and Serenity
The Borneo Tempurung resort, a few kilometres from Kuala Penyu, is another spot that’s blissfully off the beaten track. We had an entire secluded beach to ourselves. We felt as though we were the last people on earth. If you’re looking to enjoy the vast, untamed beaches of this part of Borneo, this is the perfect base.
We were the only guests for most of our stay, and the staff treated us to delicious meals and looked after our every need. If we ever tired of the jungle and beaches, which we never did, we could arrange all sorts of full-day excursions from the lodge.
Our favourite things:
- Secluded Beaches: We spent hours wandering along the beach, never seeing another person. It was the ultimate digital detox.
- Authentic Experience: With no shops or other distractions, we truly embraced nature. We learned to appreciate the simple things and just be in the moment.
- Exceptional Hospitality: We felt like we were staying with family. The staff were so kind and attentive, making our stay extra special.
Malaysia & Borneo: Borneo Tempurung
White Water Rafting 🚣 A Thrilling Ride on the Padas River
We’d heard good things about white water rafting on the Padas river, and it certainly lived up to the hype. We booked an excursion from Kota Kinabalu, and it was a rollercoaster of thrills (and spills…). We went in search of excitement, and we found it.
The only downside? We were so focused on not falling out of the raft that we didn’t get to fully appreciate the stunning jungle canopy that the river carried us through. It was an epic, pulse-pounding experience we would recommend to anyone with a sense of adventure.
Malaysia & Borneo: White Water Rafting
The Kuala Lumpur Deluxe Suite Upgrade ✨ A Stroke of Luck
Not everyone will get as lucky as we did, but on our arrival in Kuala Lumpur, the Vivatel hotel had a full house, so we were upgraded to their most expensive accommodation—a Duplex Suite that’s normally priced at a cool €360 a night!
The suite was a modern masterpiece, decked out with two wall-mounted TVs, a full living room and kitchen, two sleek bathrooms, and an internal staircase connecting the living and sleeping areas. It even had two entrances on different floors.
- The Upgrade: We thought we were dreaming. We were paying for a budget room, and we got the VIP treatment. It was an amusing and welcome surprise.
- The Perks: We took advantage of every single one of the amenities, from the two modern bathrooms to the two TVs. It was a proper, five-star experience that we certainly weren’t expecting.
Deluxe Suite, Kuala Lumpur
Considering we only paid €55 for this, we couldn’t think of a better way to end our trip.
The Trip’s Low Points 😖 A Dose of Reality
To be completely honest, we didn’t encounter any serious negatives on our travels through Malaysia and Borneo. However, there were a few minor situations where we could have made better choices and avoided a bit of discomfort.
Mersing 🤢 A Brief, Unpleasant Stay
We knew our hotel in Mersing was a low-budget option, but we weren’t prepared for the state of the bed and bathroom. We decided not to undress or wash in it, a decision that felt perfectly reasonable given the circumstances.
The flimsy lock on the door made us feel quite insecure, and the ground floor served as a drinking hole for the local non-Muslims, which could feel a bit intimidating, especially for a female travelling alone. The constant, pervasive stench from the open sewers made our stay miserable.
If we ever visit Tioman Island again, we’ll try to avoid staying overnight in Mersing and maybe just get a very early ferry.
Sepilok Jungle Resort 🍳 An Uninspired Breakfast
If you are planning to stay in Sepilok, we have some advice for you: book early and book the Borneo Nature Lodge.
We stayed at the Sepilok Jungle Resort which cost us €37 per night, including breakfast, but the breakfast turned out to be the least inspiring meal of our entire trip. It was a disappointment, to put it mildly.
We still managed to eat and get on with our day, of course, but it was a bit of an uninspired start.
The Wish List 🤔 What We’d Do Next Time
Our trip to Malaysia was a smashing success, and we were very happy with our choices. But if we had the luxury of a few extra days, we would have tried to fit in a few more things.
- Climbing Mount Kinabalu: It is one of the tallest mountains in Southeast Asia, and it’s situated in the Kinabalu National Park. We know it would be a challenge, as it takes two days to ascend and descend. But the idea of reaching the summit in time for a breathtaking sunrise is a dream we still have (see Kinabalu Warm-Up for K2).
- Staying in Cherating: We loved Cherating, but next time we would skip the resort and choose to stay in one of the more modest bungalows further up the coast, in Cherating itself. We want to be closer to the local life, the true heart of the town.
- Snorkelling in Sandakan: We travelled to Sandakan primarily to see the jungles and wildlife in and around Sepilok. But if we had more time and a bit more budget, we would have spent some time in Sandakan town and gone snorkelling around the local reefs.
The Final Tally 💰 What Our Trip Finally Cost
We are pretty good at sticking to a budget, and we’d estimated our trip through Malaysia and Borneo would cost €1,861 per person for 21 days.
This included the cost of international flights (KLM from Amsterdam at €521 per person) and domestic flights (three one-way Malaysia Airlines flights for a total of €171 per person).
We also added the cost of getting to Amsterdam, which was an additional €131 per person for a return flight with one of the European budget airlines.
Our daily budget for Malaysia was €50 per person, to cover all daily costs including accommodation, transport and food. We had to find accommodation for 19 nights and planned to vary our modes of transport to keep it interesting.
We pre-booked all of our accommodation for a total cost of €429 per person based on two sharing. This usually included breakfast.
We were pleased to find that our actual costs were even better than we had estimated, coming in at €1,671 per person (€3,343 combined).
It was not the cheapest trip we have ever made to Southeast Asia, but considering everything we saw and did, we were more than happy with the results. It was worth every penny, and we would definitely return in a heartbeat.
If you enjoyed Malaysia & Borneo Highlights, check out our East Malaysia & Borneo adventures. You may also like:
Spice up your inbox…
… with discounted hotel deals, cost-saving travel itineraries and SandSpice escapades! 😉
