Borneo - Sabah in 18 days

Hi, I am busy planning a trip to Borneo in September and could use some help with my itinerary. I am a female travelling with my boyfriend, both in our 20's.

So far the plan is:
Day 0 - Leave the UK
Day 1 - Arrive in Kota Kinabalu around 8pm; stay the night [any hostel recommendations? Any travel advice for getting from the airport to the center? When does the night market close down?]
Day 2 - Catch and early bus to Kudat, arriving around midday, head to stay at Tampat Do Aman [has anyone been here? how did you find it? Any other recommendations?]
Day 3 - Explore are surrounding Kudat for beautiful beaches
Day 4 - Explore are surrounding Kudat for beautiful beaches
Day 5 - Head to Mount Kinabalu; stay at Jungle Jack Hostel to acclimatise [planning to do a full package with jungle jack. Is there any activity we could squeeze in on this day?]
Day 6 - Climb Mount Kinabalu [anyone have an update on whether you are able to climb after the earthquake?]
Day 7 - Climb Mount Kinabalu; rest at Jungle Jacks
Day 8 - Head to Sepilok and then turtle island [any recommendations on travel to here?]
Day 9 - Turtle Island, head back to Sepilok
Day 10 - Kinabatangan wildlife trip; including visiting the orangutans at Sepilok [heard Uncle Tan is a good tour option?]
Day 11 - Kinabatangan wildlife trip
Day 12 - Kinabatangan wildlife trip
Day 13 - Diving in the Semporna Archipelago [where is best to stay? heard Mabul is the island to use as a base? Looking for a cheap bed and good access to diving not fussed about anything else]
Day 14 - Diving in the Semporna Archipelago [how do you get a place to visit Sipidan as I heard there are limited permits? There are a lot of diving operators, anyone have a favorite? Looking for cheap but safe]
Day 15 - Diving in the Semporna Archipelago
Day 16 - Danum Valley Trip [advice on trips? Heard about sticky rice, what are their prices like? Where do tours start from?]
Day 17 - Danum Valley Trip
Day 18 - Danum Valley Trip
Day 19 - Head back to KK, explore the city
Day 00 - Fly back to the UK

Have I left enough time for travel and to stay at each location? Is there any spots you would recommend that I have missed?
We are travelling on a modest budget (approx £450/$700 per person not including flights) but we are looking at cheap options and would like to save money wherever possible and are planning to catch buses everywhere and eat at food markets and stay in dorms in hostels etc. However it is a trip of a lifetime for us in a limited time-frame so we are happy to go with tours as I think we don't have the time to self-plan once we are there and would be open to catch internal flights if it saves a significant amount of time.

Thanks in advance for any advice you have! :)

Day 1 - Arrive in Kota Kinabalu around 8pm; stay the night [any hostel recommendations? Any travel advice for getting from the airport to the center? When does the night market close down?]

I recommend Masada Backpackers. I stayed ther twice in May and it is is one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. Free breakfast, water/tea/coffe, towels etc for 30-35 MYR. I quite liked to 4-bed dorm, even though they are windowless, but does not feel claustrophobic. Not a party hostel, but KK is not a party city. Think the night market close down at about 11 pm-midnight, about 10-15 min walk from the hostel, so no problem.

Day 8 - Head to Sepilok and then turtle island [any recommendations on travel to here?]

Are you staying on turtle island or sepilok? I'm wondering whether you mean you're travelling to Sandakan and then going to turtle island directly. Sepilok is not a city, it's just the area around the orangutang center, about 25 km from Sandakan.

Day 9 - Turtle Island, head back to Sepilok

Again, staying in Sepilok of Sandakan? I think all the Kinabatangan tours leave from Sandakan.

Day 10 - Kinabatangan wildlife trip; including visiting the orangutans at Sepilok [heard Uncle Tan is a good tour option?]

Are you doing the orangutang center as part of a tour? I really recommend going to Sepilok on your own and spending a night or two, so you have time to go to both the morning and afternoon feedings. Tour groups rush in and leave again before the orangutangs do, so by going on your own, you will have time sit and enjoy the orangutangs (and macaques) more or less on your own. Also, the jungle resorts a quite nice. The very basic 2-bed "dorm rooms" are about MYR 45 per person, so you could get one as a private for the 2 of you. Dorm guests enjoy a lot of the resort facilities.

Day 19 - Head back to KK, explore the city

Maybe the islands just of the coast. KK itself is not the most interesting. Exept, you could go to the floating mosque.

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Sorry, don't known what happened here, read the next post Instead. Can't even delete it

That's ok, no problem, thanks for taking the time to reply :)

Thanks for the advice on Masada Backpackers; sounds like the kind of place I am looking for not planning to really party at all on this trip, good to know the market is close to here.

My plan for Turtle Island/ Sepilok/ Kinabatangan was probably a bit rough - basically I would like to do all three in 5 days so wanted to head straight to turtle island (passing through Sandakan)stay there for the night and then head back the next day (I guess to Sandakan) then was planning for the Kinabatangan trip including the visit to Sepilok, but really want to give myself the best chance to see the orangutans so would be interested in doing this on our own . Could we go straight from turtle island to Sepilok once we have finished our visit, stay there for the night, then have the whole morning for the Orangutans? Finding it hard to get the balance between doing everything and leaving enough time to properly experience it!

Day 19 is an awkward one, I kind of left it as exploring the city as I want to make sure we are back for our flight the next day. How long does it take to get to the islands off the coast? Maybe I could change my itinerary so that the Kudat section is left till last?

Could we go straight from turtle island to Sepilok once we have finished our visit, stay there for the night, then have the whole morning for the Orangutans? Finding it hard to get the balance between doing everything and leaving enough time to properly experience it!

I guess you could, just have to go to Sandakan and then bus from there (or taxi about 40 MYR I think). But you probably have to consider if you have the time, may cut down somewhere else. I don't think you can do all 3 in 5 days, if you want to stay the night in Sepilok and spend more time there. I didn't do the Kinabatangan, but seemed like everyone where doing fixed tours down the river.

Day 19 is an awkward one, I kind of left it as exploring the city as I want to make sure we are back for our flight the next day. How long does it take to get to the islands off the coast? Maybe I could change my itinerary so that the Kudat section is left till last?

The islands are quite close, 10-20 minutes by boat, but last boats leave the islands and go back to KK no later than 4 pm, so you can only do this if you arrive in the morning to KK.
You could consider the USD 55 (think you might get it cheaper sometimes) flight from Lahad Datu to KK with Malaysia Air in the afternoon, and then spend the evening at the night market.

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