How long do you need for a trip to Borneo?

5 Key questions to ask yourself when you are planning a trip to the island of Borneo

If you’re planning a trip to Borneo, of course you’re going to ask yourself, how long do you need for a trip to Borneo? I always feel like that is a loaded question, as I truly believe you could spend months in a single destination and still not see and do everything a place has to offer. With that being said, I often see people asking how long they need in Borneo, so this post is all about planning your trip to Borneo, and how long you need if you want to visit the island of Borneo. Let’s consider 5 key questions you should ask yourself when you are planning a trip to the island of Borneo.

Question #1: What country in Borneo do you want to visit?

Did you know that the island of Borneo is actually divided into 3 countries? There is the Malaysian side, the Indonesian side, and the small country of Brunei, all sharing this tropical island. Visiting all 3 counties will significantly extend the time you should be planning for, but this is the first question you should be asking yourself when considering how long you need for a trip to Borneo.

My tip: I personally have only ever travelled to the Malaysian side of Borneo, however I met travellers and locals along the way to help with this piece of advice. From what I heard, the Indonesian side of the island isn’t as built up or traveller-ready, and I think a week here would be enough. From the advice of the local Brunei lady that I met, she suggested 2-3 days in Brunei would be enough. As for the Malaysian side, this could really blow out depending on what you want to do. You could cram it into a week, but I would stretch it to 2 weeks to spend solid time in both Sabah & Sarawak. 

Once you decide which country in Borneo you want to visit (or if you choose all 3, because why not!), the next question should be what do you want to do in Borneo?

Question #2 - What activities do you want to prioritise in Borneo?

Borneo has a huge range of activities for you to choose from! I honestly think Borneo has something to offer everyone, no matter your interests. I often see people asking about how long they should spend in Borneo, but a key question is what do you want to do in Borneo? Decide why you are choosing this specific island, and that will help in your planning phase. 

My tip: Focus on truly unique Borneo experiences, such as:

• Visiting the orangutans, whether that is in a centre or trying to see them on a guided jungle trek.

• Going on a river or wetlands cruise to try and spot the proboscis monkey, found only on Borneo! Plus, visiting the rivers and wetlands gives you a chance at seeing the exotic birdlife too. 

• Challenging yourself to climb to the summit of Mount Kinabalu. An epic adventure and view awaits those bold enough to conquer South-East Asia’s highest peak. 

• Journeying to the middle of Borneo to see the longhouses in Sarawak, a cultural immersion distinct to this region. 

• Exploring the Mulu caves and trying caving for the first time (or if you’re a seasoned climber, there are plenty of challenges for you here).

My suggestion is to choose what activities/sights/experiences you want to prioritise, and create your list of must-do’s versus what would be cool to do if you had time. From there, you can start to work out where to do each activity and how to sort through the logistics of it all.

Speaking of logistics, that brings us to our next part.

Proboscis monkey spotted along the Kinabatangan river in Sabah, Borneo. Borneo is the only place on Earth where the proboscis monkey is found in the wild. © 2025 Travels with Kaia. All rights reserved.

Question #3 - How do you want to travel around Borneo?

Some parts of Borneo are a lot more built up and modern than you may imagine - you can easily get a flight within the Malaysian side of Borneo and also Brunei. Flights connecting Kalimantan may be a bit harder to arrange. Where it isn’t possible to fly, consider hiring a car, or booking private transport. The key is to decide how you want to travel - one person may hate catching a flight every other day, and loves the road, whilst the next person may hate the idea of spending 5 hours on the road. Decide how you want to travel around, and of course how feasible it is to travel between those places, and that will be the next part of your equation. Make sure you research well, as often long journeys on the road are required to access certain areas across Borneo.

Question #4 - Is your trip to Borneo a standalone trip, or part of a bigger trip to South-East Asia?

This may seem like a weird thing to decide, but I see a lot of people questioning about a trip to Borneo, and they also plan to travel to other parts of Indonesia or to Peninsula Malaysia. The reason why I think this is key is because you can leave ‘generic’ activities for places that don’t have a special drawcard, and focus on the unique Borneo experiences whilst you are there. 

For example, if you want to go snorkelling but you don’t have a particular island or spot in mind, you can easily go snorkelling in another destination on your trip. If you want to do major shopping, probably save this for Kuala Lumpur over Borneo if you are doing a big trip. 

If you want to see wildlife, Borneo is going to be one of the top Asian destinations and you’ll want to make sure you get to see as much as you possibly can.

So, decide if you want to go to Borneo as a trip by itself, or to tack it onto a bigger trip through South-East Asia. 

My tip: There is definitely a lot to do on the island of Borneo, and I think it deserves a trip of its own! If you do this, you will find yourself in unique places that you’d otherwise skip over if you were just doing a quick stopover or a few days here.

Exploring the show caves at Mulu National Park, Sarawk Borneo. © 2025 Travels with Kaia. All rights reserved.

Question #5 - Are you wanting to do a tour or plan your own travels throughout Borneo?

There are a lot of amazing tours available in Borneo (such as the incredible one I did with G Adventures). A benefit to a tour is that they may take you to a lot of the spots you want to visit, and they organise all the logistics! This is super helpful in a country where public transport is not really an option. You also get to meet incredible people and you always have someone watching out for you if you do a tour.

The reason I think this is important to decide is that if you do a tour, you will likely not get to everywhere you want to go. You may be able to, but I didn't see any tours that went exactly everywhere I wanted to go. I ended up booking my 11-day tour with G Adventures, and then I spent another 2-weeks by myself in Sarawak. I decided on this early on though, and knew I would have to spend additional time on top of the tour to get everywhere I wanted. Make sure you look at this, especially for any tours you are considering. If you plan to organise your own travels the whole way, this is doable but you will need to plan carefully. You’ll need reliable information and a good driver, or you can hire a car and drive yourself around if you’re confident to do so.

My tip: Try and find a tour you like and see if they go everywhere you want to go. Decide if you are happy with the itinerary or if you’d like to add any additional dates onto a tour. Try and line up your next destination to be somewhere close to where the tour finishes, if you choose this, or try and plan so that you are always travelling in the direction of your next stop. 

So there you have it! I hope by asking yourself these 5 questions you can start to work out a rough plan for your trip to Borneo. If you need advice or help planning your itinerary, feel free to contact me and I can work with you to plan your Borneo adventure.