A Family Adventure in Borneo

DAY 1 International Flight

Your adventure begins as you head to the airport and board late morning international flight to Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. The overnight flight takes roughly 13 hours so make sure the children's iPads are fully charged and filled to the brim with movies!

DAY 2 Arrive and hit the Beach

You'll arrive into Kuala Lumpur in the morning and transfer across to the onward flight to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysian Borneo's Sabah State. Your bags will be checked through and the flight takes just under three hours. Nearly there now, and we have arranged a private transfer from the airport to the Shangri-La Rasa Ria hotel, complete with beach, some 40 minutes away.

With check in over and everyone smothered in sun cream, you'll then have the afternoon to relax, run riot on the beach and host a highly competitive sandcastle building challenge. To top it all off, there are even boogie boards to borrow. Something tells us you'll be able to enjoy a nice peaceful dinner with some very worn out but happy children.

DAY 3 To Sepilok

Take a private transfer back to the airport this morning, in time for your short flight to Sandakan. Once landed here you'll be transferred to your hotel in the Sepilok Kabili Reserve and can drop your things before you head out to meet some of the area's most famous residents - the orangutans. Visiting Sepilok's Orangutan Sanctuary you'll have your first experience of the wildlife Borneo is so famous for and we're sure your cheeky monkey will fall in love with these beautiful and intelligent apes. This is the world's largest orangutan rehabilitation centre and seeing the orange residents up close is an experience we're sure the children will treasure forever.

After lunch back at your hotel you then have the afternoon to get to know your tropical surroundings (perhaps with a game of hide and seek?) before you get to explore them a little further on a private guided night walk. With a number of nocturnal species in rainforest residence this is one of the best times to spot wildlife and the darkness makes it all the more exciting!

DAY 4 To the Beach

Say goodbye to the singing treetops and lush forest surroundings of Kinabatangan River this morning as you take the transfer boat back around the coast to Sepilok jetty. From here you'll be driven around 30 minutes to the airport in Sandakan, where you'll catch a short flight to Kota Kinabalu. When you land a driver will be waiting to collect you and take you to the jetty, where the boats to Gaya Island depart. After several days in the dense rainforest, enjoy the open sea views for half an hour or so, and then dock onto the sandy shores of your beachfront hotel for the next four nights. Once you've checked in, head straight to the pool for a quick splash and a dive bombing competition before dinner.

Days 5 TO 7 Getting Sandy

Surrounded by a vibrant house reef and glorious sandy beaches and backed by verdant jungle, Gaya Island is a real slice of paradise, and makes the perfect spot to finish up a fantastic family holiday. Over the next three days take advantage of all of the activities on offer, which include watersports, jungle walks, cookery classes and diving or snorkelling trips. Sending the kids off to the hotel kids' club for a few hours every day will also provide some much-needed Mum and Dad time, which can be spent in the spa, on a sunset cruise, or even just snoozing in peace on the beach.

DAY 8 Home Time

It's time for the final of your family Olympics today; stakes are high for the winner of the sandcastle building, pool lap racing and sand sprinting competitions! Spend the morning crowning your worthy winners and then sit down for one last holiday lunch in the sun before you head to the airport. As with the inbound journey, you'll be stopping on route, with the first two-and-a-half-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur followed by an overnight flight to London that takes just under 14 hours, arriving back in the early morning.