Borneo small group vacation

Planet

The very ethos of our style of travel is responsible; small groups on fully escorted tours, experiencing the very best of a region, a culture and a landscape, with a friendly local hand guiding the way. Our itineraries are designed to give our travelers real life experiences without compromising the part of the world through which we are journeying. This is our commitment as a global tour operator.

When visiting a destination such as Borneo, with its pristine rainforests, tropical beaches and stunning array of wildlife it becomes even more important that we as a tour operator manage our trips in a manner which allows this natural paradise to continue to thrive alongside the country’s own tourism infrastructure, ensuring that it is as stunning when we leave as when we arrive.

Environmentally, we ensure that our groups respect the region we are visiting. Our local group leader who is with you throughout the tour will gently guide the group in this respect. On the snorkelling trip off Manukan Island, you’ll be briefed on how to behave in the marine environment to best protect the fragile eco-system that exists beneath the waves. You’ll learn about the work taking place with the orangutans at Sepilok and the proboscis monkeys at Labuk Bay, without harming the efforts taking place to re-introduce these amazing creatures back to the wild. And you’ll journey by boat down the Kinabatangan River, observing, but not affecting the array of wildlife that makes its home on the shores.

As a company we acknowledge that our responsibilities don’t stop when our tours end and in Borneo we have an ongoing project whereby we work with HUTAN, the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Program. The purpose of the project is to study the lives of orangutans and develop innovative solutions to preserve them. This support comes in the form of donations from our own not-for-profit foundation which is part funded by donations from our travelers. In this instance its helps support a team of 12 research assistants and helps ensure the future of these magnificent apes on our planet.

People

In addition to operating responsibly traveling through the natural world, our trips also try to look after the communities we meet along the way. We recruit our group leaders and drivers directly from the regions through which we travel, developing their skills and offering regular employment. We source the produce and supplies we use on route from local merchants, eat where the locals eat, stay in comfortable, privately owned hotels and chalets rather than larger chain hotels and encourage all our passengers to purchase souvenirs in local craft markets and smaller shops, again supporting local enterprise and encouraging traditional skills.