Best Things to Do in Kota Kinabalu

Good main guides who knew their stuff. Reasonable accommodation.
See all types of monkeys and animals in the wild/boat trips


Group leaders both were excellent and went out of their way to help and
support and organised everything even when not part of inclusive package -
both brilliant.


Don't expect nice hot showers anywhere until KL


No real need for separate guide in KL on food tour and especially not two of
them, the girl did nothing really.
You arrive at Tea place after long drive, you then drive 45 min to national
park, for 30 min walk around garden and then 30 min walk in jungle. Drive
back another 45 min.
Next day do tea tasting, factory tour and then drive to KL, on the way you
pass the park - this is silly. Do the tea tasting and factory tour when
arrive at Long House, then on way to KL do park. Saves 1.5 hrs in transport
on previous day.
We had big bus for part, then small busses for rest. For long runs e.g. from
Tea house other group had a big bus, suggest use big busses far more
comfortable and keeps group together when 15 small buses not that
comfortable.
Frangipani hotel is nice but tired, you suggest it as an alternative and thus
imply recommendation of it. I would be careful of that as whilst it was okay
fans in restaurant did not work, no net out for safe swimming area, tiles
missing in swimming pool, fountain not working in pool etc just felt
tired/tatty.
In Malaysia Jeremy even on non inclusive nights organised things - GREAT,
worked really well but noticed we all had a beer, he had a juice when offered
he had a beer. Implies to me they are not given an allowance to have a beer
with us, sorry give them a kitty to spend on drink so they can enjoy a drink
with the rest of us. At 2.5k x 15 there is enough margin there to give him
£100 for drinks with us.
Maybe i did not read carefully enough, but certainly I did not realise the
number and thus added total cost of optional extras. I think a good summary
per day could be produced of optional extras and their cost so that if you do
everything, and most people did then you can see what the total extra amount
of money is you will need.
I missed the advice if it was there to bring binos, really feel to get the
best out of this trip you need binos if you are interested in wildlife.

Our family thoroughly enjoyed this varied trip. The first week in Borneo was
great for seeing wildlife. We were lucky to watch a herd of pygmy elephants
on and in the river and a wild orangutan make his nest for the night. The
cities were fun and the food was good. The food tour of KL was particularly
good. Relaxing by the pool and beach at the end was a a good way to finish
Seeing wild orangutans


Both were excellent. They were fun, organised and knowlegable. Jeremy seemed
to have boundless energy and took us to so many different types of
restaurants for evening meals.


Wear a jumper and trousers for the train, it's cold. Try not to take too much
luggage - with a ferry, a train, a plane and lots of minibuses, you have to
move your bag a lot. Most of the time we all wore shorts. You will need long
trousers or smarter wear for the roof top cocktail bars. In religious places
any extra clothing was provided. Take binoculars for the wildlife. Extra
layer at night needed in longhouse, it was colder at night than anywhere else
and only a small cotton cover provided. Take an umbrella for downpours in
cities. If you like to make drinks in your room all places had a kettle but
not all provided tea bags/ coffee. Insect repellent is required but insects
are not as bad as other places we have been. Do take up the offer of wellies
and leech socks in the rainforest, leeches did try to get us!


Great trip and we enjoyed it, just a couple of niggles- some of the trip note
travelling times are quite inaccurate. Minibuses in West Malaysia cramped and
difficult to see out of.

This is a trip of two halves - the first week the focus on the flora and
fauna of Borneo and the second week the multicultural nature of Malaysia in
the cities on the Peninsula. I enjoyed the variety of the trip and also the
chance to try out the different types of Malaysian cuisine.
In Borneo, seeing an orangutan in the wild and a heard of Pigmy elephants
from a boat on the Kinabatangan River. We had seen a number of the animals
in the sanctuary's and rehab centre in Sepilok but very special to see them
in their own habitat.
On the Peninsula I really enjoyed exploring Malacca and all the steet art and
the food tour in KL was great fun


We had two group leaders, one for Borneo and one for the Peninsula, Johmin
(J) and Jeremy respectively. Both were well organised and easy to get along
with and had good knowledge of their country as well as a good senses of
humour. This is the first time on a trip I have had 2 tour leaders but due
to the varied nature of the trip it worked very well in this case


I would recommend taking a sheet sleeping bag and lots of deet for the
longhouse as the blankets provided are very short. I took mine and felt
quite cosy and protected from the bugs!
take binoculars for the wild life - monkeys climb quite high up trees!
take light comfortable clothing for the humid weather

A great holiday or rather two in one. The first week was getting close to
nature - basic accommodation but that's what you need if you want wildlife on
your doorstep. The second week was a good mix of different cities.
Seeing truly wild Orangutan that had never been in in a sanctuary as we
cruised from out river lodge.


Best ever - great sense of humour, totally committed to making our holiday
truly memorable.


Think twice before you sign up - we loved it but one of our trip didn't like
the idea of bugs and "roughing it" in slightly lower standard accommodation
near the nature parks. If you want to get close to nature expect nature to
get close to you!


One change I would make to the itinerary - our free half day in KL was a
Monday which is the day most museums close. Perhaps change the itinerary
slightly and have the free time on Sunday afternoon.

I initially booked this trip on a bit of a whim... I'd always fancied seeing
the Orangutan's and had been looking online for various trips. This itinerary
stuck out a mile - the promise of nature, culture and vibrant cities
instantly sucked me in.

Just prior to booking I called the Exodus team to ask if anyone else had
booked to travel alone, this would be my first holiday of this kind by
myself; so needless to say I was a bit apprehensive. After the team confirmed
there were other solo travellers, I bit the bullet and I'm so glad I did.

The leisurely nature of this trip was perfect, not only did we visit key
sites in all locations but the time we had to ourselves provided the
opportune moments to explore areas further.
I absolutely loved the Orangutan visit and the river in Borneo. We visited so
many places though so it's really hard to pin down inspirational moments - I
had so many in every place we visited.


The exodus leaders were brilliant. Highly organised, sociable and kept us all
engaged throughout. Their knowledge was tremendous and they really did go out
of their way to ensure the group were well catered for.

We also had a few additional people lead tours for us - the river boat, night
walks and the food tour in KL. I found them all to be professional and
fantastically enthusiastic.


If you're considering a solo holiday, especially if you haven't done this
before - just go for it! It's the best thing I've done!

This trip is IDEAL for all age groups - the variety of nature, city and
country life, lively night life and quiet group meals, jungle walks, river
cruises and beaches, is just the start.

Malaysia is truly stunning!

This was an absolutely fabulous holiday. It had been very well thought out
to give us as much exposure as possible to as many aspects as possible of the
wildlife of Borneo. The accommodation was good and we saw an amazing variety
of animals, birds, plants and insects. The local guides were excellent at
spotting things of interest and Sheila, our leader, was one of the best I
have ever had, all done with a lovely sense of humour. I'd thoroughly
recommend it.
Probably seeing the giant flying squirrels as I wasn't expecting them. The
orang-utans in the sanctuary and in the wild were just lovely.


Excellent! A grand sense of humour, always patient, interested in us all
personally, very knowledgable and very good at spotting the wildlife


If you are interested in wildlife, go for it