Whist we attended the amazing Rainforest World Music Festival we took a day to visit the nearby Bako National Park.

This wonderfully remote, wildlife-rich National Park is a truly incredible place to visit and offers diverse flora and fauna, including amazingly close sightings of rare and endangered Borneo monkeys.

How do you get to Bako National Park?

There are no direct roads to Bako National Park so you must pay for a boat ride (or inclusive tour) to get there. You can pre-book a Bako National Park with Sea Stacks tour or Bako National Park from Kuching City tour on Trip Advisor, or alternatively make your own way there and book a boat (and a guide if you wish) when you get there.

Watch our Bako Boat ride video to see what it’s like!

Watch the video of our boat ride to Bako National Park…

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Bako National Park Day Tour

We went to Bako National Park on a day tour with everything included. We had a picturesque and informative coach ride with a tour guide. The coach ride took less than an hour from Damai Beach Resort and brought us to the Bako Jetty Terminal at the charming traditional Bako fishing village.

It’s here you catch a boat to Bako NP.

National Park entrance at Bako Jetty Terminal

Inside the Bako Jetty Terminal is a kiosk, a registration area to pay for your Bako National Park entry fee (10RM per adult for Malaysian nationals and 20RM for non-Malaysians) and a boat booking service. You can also get information about the park and also hire park guides if you would like one. You will need some cash to pay for any kiosk purchases such as water here and at the Visitor Center inside the Bako National Park.

How much does a boat ride to Bako National Park cost?

Tourists from outside of Borneo are charged about 40RM, Malaysians 30RM for a boat ride from the fishing village to Bako National Park return. For around 200RM you can opt to charter a boat privately.

At the Bako Jetty we boarded local motor boats along with an experienced guide and pilot for an exciting ride up the river to the sea, and the entrance to this very special Borneo national park.

How long is the boat ride to Bako National Park?

It takes around twenty minutes to motor boat from the Bako Jetty to the Bako National Park entrance jetty. We soon arrived and disembarked at the jetty for the short walk to the Bako National Park Visitor’s Centre.

During our walk to the Bako National Park Visitor’s Center our guide pointed out a native green viper snake in a tree, just an arm’s reach away!

I have limited mobility – how accessible is Bako National Park?

A trip to Bako National Park is not wheelchair accessible.

The motor boats carry around half a dozen people and are small but steady. There are some scrambling steps and some balancing mobility required to board and alight from the boats, plus some steps up and down at the jetties. You are given a hand in and out of the boats.

At the National Park there is a ten minute, level dirt path walk to the Visitor’s Center which is located next to a beach.

The Jungle Hikes do require good mobility and reasonable fitness due to them being uneven and slippery in places with some small, steep climbs.

Do you need to go for a jungle trek to see wildlife at Bako?

No. You can see a lot of wildlife in the Visitor’s Center area without going for any additional walks, including wild boars (that are actually quite quiet) and all kinds of monkeys.

See Proboscis Monkeys in the wild

We were privileged to witness all three resident Bako monkey breeds at very close proximity near the Bako National Park Visitor Center.

Long Tailed Macaques, Silvered Langur (Silvered Leaf) Monkeys and the endangered Proboscis Monkeys with their distinctive long noses were all around the Visitor’s Center, plus we saw more Proboscis Monkeys later on our hiking trail in the rainforests.

Our expert guide made sure that we got very close to wildlife without disturbing them, and the feeling of seeing these beautiful, rare animals in the wild was incredible! Every body there was thrilled to have actually seen them close-up. It was more than we could have ever wished for!

Bearded Pigs at Bako Visitor Center

A family of Bearded Pigs were also snuffling around at the Bako National Park Visitors Centre and looked very cute! It was exciting to see them at such comfortable close range, they barely seemed to notice us at all!

Lunch at the Bako National Park Visitor’s Center

We enjoyed a filling lunch at the Bako Visitor’s Center.

The Visitor’s Center was a great place to enjoy lunch and obtain extra information on the various species of animals at the park, use the restrooms and to buy more water, snacks and other refreshments.

A jungle trek at Bako National Park

After lunch we went on a beautiful hike through stunning rainforest.

The jungle trek started out with raised walkways and soon diverged into narrow jungle trail. The going was quite good underfoot with some slippery wet patches and short, steep up and downs. There were exposed tree roots to navigate, but overall the trail was clear and easy to follow.

There was lots to learn from our knowledgeable guide along the way as he pointed out a random hermit crab on a high section of the trail, and showed us how locals utilised native plants.

Within half an hour we had emerged onto a beautiful palm-fringed beach. There we had the convenience of being picked up by our motor boats to continue our Bako National Park adventure!

Exploring the Bako National Park Sea Stacks by boat

Our motor boats continued on up the coast to the nearby sea stacks. These famous rock formations were amazing to see close-up, and we were given some time to cruise around them slowly and take them all in.

After we had seen our fill our boats turned for home, back to the fishing village and Bako Jetty.

Before we knew it we were saying goodbye to our Bako National Park guide and once again boarding our coach to return to the Damai Beach Resort and the Rainforest World Music Festival, ready for the night’s entertainment.

What an adventurous day we had at the wonderful Bako National Park!

Watch our Bako National Park Day Trip videos to see what it’s like!

Watch these videos of our wonderful day trip to Bako National Park…

Don’t miss another of our Australian family YouTube videos! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here

For more information about accessing and visiting the Bako National Park you can visit the official website here.

Are you visiting the Rainforest World Music Festival? Buy your tickets on Klook

We always buy our online tickets using Klook – an official ticket reseller of Rainforest Music Festival tickets! Tickets for the Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 will go on sale around April 2024.

Go to Klook to buy discounted Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 tickets online

This page may contain affiliate links. If you book a stay or an attraction through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!

If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider giving it a Facebook “Like” or share!

Do you have any questions about attending the Bako National Park? Ask me in the comments below!

You may also like to read the following family travel blogs for Kuching, Malaysia…

Damai Beach Resort review – Kuching accommodation

Rainforest World Music Festival review, Kuching, Malaysia

Disclaimers: This page may contain affiliate links. If you book a stay or an attraction through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!
The Let’s Go Mum family partnered with Sarawak Tourism for this trip to Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo, including our day trip to the Bako National Park in Kuching, Sarawak.  As always, all opinions are our own.
All prices and times quoted were correct at October 2023, the time of publishing this article, but can change frequently. Please always re-check for current prices.

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The post Bako National Park – Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia, Borneo appeared first on Let's go Mum.

Where can I find Rainforest World Music Festival accommodation?

During our recent stay in Kuching we loved staying at the Damai Beach Resort. As we were attending the Rainforest World Music Festival every day, the Damai Beach Resort was conveniently located right next door to the Sarawak Cultural Village where the festival was being held – a mere five minutes stroll away.

No time to read? Watch our Rainforest World Music Festival videos here

Don’t miss another of our Australian family YouTube videos! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here

Where is the Damai Beach Resort, Malaysia?

The Damai Beach Resort is a large holiday resort located in Kuching in a stunning rainforest area of Sarawak, Malaysia. Sarawak is a Malaysian state located along the beautiful northwest coast of the island of Borneo.

What is at the Damai Beach Resort?

Covering an area of 90 acres, the Damai Lodge is a large resort with two main accommodation areas offered. The lower beach area and the upper clifftop area.

The Damai Beach Resort has everything your heart desires for a complete, comfortable and fun family holiday in Sarawak!

What facilities does Damai Beach Resort have?

Damai Beach Resort facilities at sea-level included the main reception area plus large conference rooms, restaurants, a gift shop and a large  resort pool complete with a swim-up bar and babies pool with mushroom fountain. Beach toys are available for hire.

The Damai Beach Resort Restaurant

We loved dining at the Damai Beach Resort in-house restaurant.

Breakfast offered a wide range of both western and Malaysian choices plus egg chefs.

Lunch and dinner too had a great selection and delicious meals and desserts.

Damai Beach Resort accommodation options

What are the Damai Beach Units like?

The Damai Lodge Beach Units are located at the sea level area of the resort. They are conveniently located next to the main reception area and have direct access to the Teluk Bandung sandy beach. The Beach Units are also located right next door to the Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching where the famous Rainforest World Music Festival is held each year.

Many of the beach units offer lush rainforest views or are directly facing the breath-taking South China Sea.

What are the Damai Beach Resort Clifftop Villas like?

In the upper hilltop area of the Damai Beach Resort, accessed by a private road are a number of luxury units, a day spa and a spectacular cliff-top pool.

We fell in love with our Damai Beach Resort Clifftop Villa. It’s stunning views across to the lush rainforest hills plunging down to the sea made it hard to leave it every day to attend the music festival!

Our Damai Beach Resort Clifftop Villa room

Our room was entered via a generously sized hallway.

Inside was a comfortable queen size bed plus a trundle bed. The living area was very spacious, with plenty of room for our family of three to spread out. There was ample storage with a desk, wardrobes and countertops through out.

The main room had double doors leading to a large balcony with incredible views out to across the resort to the mountain and out to sea.

A flat screen tv was a feature of the room, as well as a safe inside the wardrobe, plus tea and coffee making facilities.

We had a large, modern ensuite bathroom adjoining the main room. Inside was an excellent shower, toilet and a large vanity with mirror. A selection of toiletries were supplied and the towels were thick and soft.

Our rooms were serviced regularly and kept spotless and restocked during the length of our stay.

The Damai Beach Resort clifftop swimming pool

The Clifftop Villas also feature a clifftop swimming pool – one of the most beautiful swimming pools we’ve ever had the pleasure to swim in.

We often had this gorgeous pool to ourselves, and enjoyed spending time on the deluxe poolside lounges or swimming underneath the waterfall. A pool attendant was at a beach hut and supplied towels for the pool.

With the balmy Sarawak temperatures, swimming offers a lovely cooling activity. With this amazing pool there was also the added bonus of gazing out at the incredible sea views and stunning Mount Santubong!

Our Damai Beach Resort hilltop apartment was family holiday heaven!

Resort Shuttle Buses on call

A private road leads to the upper clifftop villa area of the Damai Beach Resort. Whilst you can choose to walk down a set of stairs to the main area of the Damai Beach Resort, Hilltop Shuttle Bus Service will convey you up or down at the press of a call button. It’s a very quick and simple matter to be whisked down the restaurant for dinner or the beach for some fun activities or a swim.

Come for a ride in the Damai Beach Hilltop Villas Shuttle Bus with us!

Watch this quick video to see how you transfer from the lower Damai Beach Resort main reception building to the cliff top villas area.

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What activities are there to do at Damai Beach?

In addition to the two resort pools, ocean swimming is of course very popular at Damai Beach Resort! There are also various paid activities on Teluk Bandung beach offered. These include beach ball games, riding four wheelers and jet skis and more!

What day trips are available from Damai Beach Resort?

A short drive away from the Damai Lodge you will find the Damai Golf & Country Club. In the opposite direction you can venture out on an adventurous jungle trek in the rainforest of beautiful Mount Santubong.

A 50 minute drive away is the Bako National Park. This beautiful area makes the perfect day trip from Damai Beach Resort as it offers many native species of flora and fauna, including endangered Proboscis Monkeys in the wild! Read about our day trip to Bako National Park to see Proboscis Monkeys, hike and boat to the sea stacks here.

The Damai Beach Resort is indeed world-class accommodation in paradise! With a huge variety of activities and attractions, plus sumptuous resort options Damai Beach Resort in Sarawak truly is a gorgeous Malaysian holiday destination.

Where can I buy Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 tickets online?

We always buy our online tickets using Klook – an official ticket reseller of Rainforest Music Festival tickets! Tickets for the Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 will go on sale around April 2024.

Go to Klook to buy discounted Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 tickets online

This page may contain affiliate links. If you book a stay or an attraction through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!

If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider giving it a Facebook “Like” or share!

Do you have any questions about attending the Damai Beach Resort in Kuching, Sarawak? Ask me in the comments below!

You may also like to read the following family travel blogs for Kuching, Malaysia…

Day trip to Bako National Park to see Proboscis Monkeys

Rainforest World Music Festival review

Disclaimers: This page may contain affiliate links. If you book a stay or an attraction through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!
The Let’s Go Mum family partnered with Sarawak Tourism for this trip to Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo, including our stay at Damai Beach Resort.  As always, all opinions are our own.
All prices and times quoted were correct at October 2023, the time of publishing this article, but can change frequently. Please always re-check for current prices.

Share one of our images to Pinterest…

The post The Damai Beach Resort review – Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia appeared first on Let's go Mum.

If you thought your fun music festival days were behind you now that you have children – think again! My family recently had the pleasure of attending the Rainforest World Music Festival 2023 (also known as the RWMF) and both my kids and I all agreed it was a fantastic holiday – we can’t wait to attend the Rainforest World Music Festival 2024!

What is the Rainforest World Music Festival?

The Rainforest World Music Festival is a celebration and coming together of the world’s different music and cultures in a beautiful natural setting. It draws people to it from all around the world, and is often sold-out.

Combined with cultural presentations, workshops and traditional and contemporary arts and crafts held by day, the Rainforest World Music Festival also showcases an impressive array of delicious world-food stalls representing many countries and nationalities.

This incredibly unique festival is both an amazing event – and a great family holiday destination!

Where can I buy Rainforest World Music Festival tickets online?

We always buy our online tickets using Klook – an official ticket reseller of Rainforest Music Festival tickets! The 2024 Rainforest World Music Festival tickets are expected to go on sale in April 2024.

Go to Klook to buy discounted Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 tickets online

This page may contain affiliate links. If you book a stay or an attraction through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!

Are children allowed at the Rainforest World Music Festival?

Yes! Children are allowed to attend the Rainforest World Music Festival.

Rainforest World Music Festival is a family-friendly music festival that welcomes the whole family – and that includes the children!

The kids have a fantastic time playing, learning a new culture including hands on art at workshops plus bopping to the beat of the music at the concerts each night – often with a brightly coloured light-up toy in hand!

Where is the Rainforest World Music Festival held?

The Rainforest World Music Festival is held in Kuching in Sarawak, a state of Malaysia located on the island of Borneo.

No time to read? Watch our Rainforest World Music Festival videos here

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How long does the Rainforest World Music Festival run for?

The Rainforest World Music Festival is held over three days and nights.

Is the Rainforest World Music Festival held in a rainforest?

Yes – or at least, right next to it! The Rainforest World Music Festival is held inside the Sarawak Cultural Village which is located at the foot of the rainforest clad slopes of Mount Santubong in Kuching, Sarawak.

The expansive two-stage concert area is showcased by its lawn amphitheatre, and backs onto a lush rainforest jungle.

Explore Kuching during the day and dance through the night!

Our Sarawak visit days were made up of having fun learning about the local culture at the Sarawak Cultural Village, Kampung Budaya Sarawak , or exploring the local area of Kuching.

Often during the afternoons we would head back to our deluxe accommodation at Damai Beach Resort to take a break at our stunning clifftop villa or go for a swim in the pool before returning to the Sarawak Cultural Village in the evening for all three nights of wonderful music concerts from around the world at the Rainforest World Music Festival.

The Gypsy Kings and Big Mountain

The Rainforest World Music Festival 2023 featured the huge headline acts Gypsy Kings and Big Mountain, plus there was an impressive line up of both local and international bands and performers. You know that you’re going to experience some incredible music acts as the festival attracts top performers from around the world!

Watch Big Mountain at the RWMF!

Watch Big Mountain perform their global smash hit song Baby I Love Your Way at the 2023 Rainforest World Music Festival! The crowd erupted and the atmosphere was electric as soon as they heard the music we all know and love…but they played a little trick on us before starting the number properly! See here for yourself…

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From Russian throat singing to African dance and drum troupes to reggae and rock – the Rainforest World Music Festival has it all!

The family friendly music festival

Best of all, the atmosphere is one of family-friendly fun. The audience atmosphere at the festival was one of enjoyment and relaxation.

Some families spread blankets on the grass lawn and hills surrounding the performance stages. Other concert-goers preferred to dance and sing along with their favourites up front, near the stage.

The music started in the early evening and continued deep into the night, so you could pick and choose if you only wanted to stay for a few hours, or for the entire time.

Festival security and safety

The festival organisation is one of precision with safety in mind. Entry to the festival is controlled via a daily wristband system and security is present.

My family felt completely safe at all times of the day and night in Sirawak, no matter where we were – from the beach at night to the very front of the music concerts dancing and singing along with the other festival attendees!

The Sarawak community is one of warm welcome and friendship.

Sarawak Cultural Village

The Rainforest World Music festival is held in the Sarawak Cultural Village, a wonderful tourist destination all of its own.

We loved exploring the traditional raised and long houses, climbing up the wooden stairways and balancing along the bamboo bridge! There is so much to see and do at the cultural village.

We joined in on some really fun traditional dances, and you can even learn how a dart blow pipe works there!

Festival Workshops

During the day there are all kinds of special workshops you can join in on.

We all loved dance workshops, a drum workshop and a batik painting workshop where my daughters painted some gorgeous souvenir silk paintings we could take home with us. They now hang in pride of place in our home – a very special memento of our wonderful trip.

We beat the Malaysian percussion record!

During the festival there was an organised successful attempt at the Malaysian percussion record.

Everyone was given percussion instruments, or improvised with anything that could make musical rhythm – even water bottles with sand in worked beautifully! The result was a really fun music session of music festival attendees from right around the world making beautiful, rhythmic music together. We were so proud to be a part of it!

Delicious food from around the world

There was a huge range of international food choices at the Rainforest Festival. This was indeed Foodie heaven!

Every food you could possibly imagine was on sale – from exotic fresh fruits to delicious fried food and a huge range of drinks.

You can find every food your heart desires inside the huge food pavilion, and also dotted all around the festival grounds.

Delicious Malaysian dishes and other traditional Borneo delicacies soon became our new favourites, including red bean pancakes and fried-coral mushrooms!

Where can I stay for the Rainforest World Music Festival?

Like any trip, accommodation is a big part of it. There are many different hotel and luxury resort options in Sarawak, Borneo. We stayed close by in a beautiful beachside hotel, Damai Beach Resort.

The Damai Beach Resort – Kuching accommodation

We loved staying close to the Rainforest World Music Festival in our luxurious clifftop villa at the Damai Beach Resort. Located right next door, the Damai Beach Resort is a mere five minutes stroll away from the Rainforest Music Festival.

You can book a room at the Damai Beach Resort and read all about it in our Damai Beach Resort review here.

Cove 55 hotel – Kuching luxury accommodation

One evening in Sarawak we also went on an evening excursion to the stunning Cove 55 boutique hotel. Set against the backdrop of the stunning Mount Santubong, Cove 55 offers elegant and exclusive Sarawak accommodation options.

There we enjoyed tropical cocktails and delicate hors d’oeuvres as we watched the sun sink into the South China Sea, marvelling at the beautiful infinity pool and over-water accommodation.

Cove55 is another excellent Kuching accommodation option for the luxury accommodation vacationer. You can book or check availability for Cove 55 accommodation here.

Kuching day trips – Bako National Park

Whist we attended the Rainforest World Music Festival we took an exciting day trip to visit the incredible Bako National Park. You can read all about our visit which included witnessing lots of wildlife, including the endangered Proboscis Monkeys in our Bako National Park feature here.

The Rainforest World Music Festival of 2023 was a huge success. My family all loved it so much we’re already planning our visit for the next Rainforest World Music Festival in 2024.

Find out more about the Rainforest World Music Festival at the official website here.

If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider giving it a Facebook “Like” or share!

There are few events where you can not only have a lot of fun learning about a beautiful cultures and international music, but you can also relax at a gorgeous beach front resort and visit a world-class national park all in the same place.

Stunning Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia is a wonderful part of the world for Australian families to visit.

Do you have any questions about attending the Rainforest World Music Festival? Ask me in the comments below!

You may also like to read the following family travel blogs for Kuching, Malaysia…

Day trip to Bako National Park to see Proboscis Monkeys

Damai Beach Resort in Sarawak, Malaysia review here.

Disclaimers: This page may contain affiliate links. If you book a stay or an attraction through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!
The Let’s Go Mum family partnered with Sarawak Tourism for this trip to Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo.  As always, all opinions are our own.
All prices and times quoted were correct at October 2023, the time of publishing this article, but can change frequently. Please always re-check for current prices.

Share one of our images to Pinterest…

The post Rainforest World Music Festival review – Sarawak, Malaysia appeared first on Let's go Mum.