Private Sandakan Orangutan and Sun Bear Day

Sandakan, on the east coast of Sabah, is the base for three of Borneo's best-known wildlife stops, and they fit into one day if someone else handles the transport and the timing. This tour combines them, with a pickup at your hotel or at the airport and a live guide for the day. The listing title marks it as a private day tour.

The morning starts at the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, where you watch orangutans at their feeding stations in the rainforest and at the nursery if it is open; the feeding session is at 10:00 AM. You then go to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, where more than 30 sun bears live in the bear house and in outdoor enclosures, and where the guide explains the centre's work in rescuing captured sun bears and in conservation, welfare, rehabilitation and education. Lunch is at the Borneo Sepilok Rainforest Resort. In the afternoon you visit the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, inside an oil palm estate, where wild but habituated proboscis monkeys come to a wooden platform at feeding time. Silver leaf monkeys and hornbills are sometimes seen as well. The tour ends with the transfer back to Sandakan. The whole day lasts about six hours.

The price includes the pickup and drop-off, the entrance fees to the three sites, the lunch and the guide. A camera and videography fee of RM10 is paid at the ticket counter, and a raincoat, extra meals and tips are extra. Flash photography is prohibited. Wear comfortable walking shoes and light clothing, and bring a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent and water. The tour is not suitable for pregnant women, wheelchair users or people with animal allergies.

The operator is Prestige Borneo Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd, and the tour is booked through GetYourGuide with free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. It suits travellers who want to see Borneo's wildlife on a clear schedule, rather than a multi-day river safari.