Hey,
Have been in Borneo a few times now, super place to visit... good choice.
If you only want to climb and dive then its best to fly into Kota Kinabalu (KK) on Air Asia or Malaysian airlines. From KK you can organise accom at the Park H.Q and on the mountain for you ascent. You need to pre-book and prepare to wait or have little choice dependng on when you go. Buses usually go from early morning til lunch to Park H.Q where you need to register, confirm accom, hire a guide, etc. These costs depend on whether you are part of a group and its a good idea to find some people to share guide fees. Don't worry, even if you find some overweight grey haired wally to share the fees with you don't have to walk with the guide..... they just bring up the rear and walk with the slowest person.
Its recommended to start climbing earlier rather than later so its a good idea to stay near the Park H.Q which is cheaper than the actual H.Q, there a couple of places just outside the park but not many so it is a risk if you don't book before you arrive. Accom on the mountain is heated/non heated at Laban Rata and the food prices are extremely high therefore take your own or be prepared to eat one meal and take loads of snacks. You need to have overnight accom, its well regulated.
Total pricing for the climb...? Its hard to say... as I have only done it with groups but I would budget about 200 -250 Ringgits (£40)
From the Park H.Q you can take a bus all the way to Sempourna to dive around Sipadan, however you may want to have a break prior to this at one of the hostels/hotels built to accomodate the visitors to the Orangutan sanctuary on the way therefore breaking up the 12 hr + journey. Sempourna is a dive... excuse the pun, stay on an island if there is room.
I dived with Borneo Divers which came recommended by my Dive Masters/ Instructors I know, they took very little attention to my Open Water status and we were diving at the 40m mark on drift dives....! Was unaware of wrecks, just know Sip is famous for large shouls of deep sea pelagics such as Hammerheads/Barracuda and of course the hundreds of Green Turtles you almost get bored of!
If you have more I would recommend flying into Kuching in Sarawak, checking out the Bako national park etc then cruising up the coast to Miri where you can head into the strange Brunei or fly into the jungle to see the Gunung Mulu caves before taking ferries along the coast to KK via Pulua Labuan.... sooooo much to do!
Hope that is not too boring... and definately have a real waterproof jacket, long trousers, a fleece, a warm hat and a head torch to climb. These are a pig to buy in KK so get them in K.L or Singapore first.
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