Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak is a UNESCO World Heritage Site protecting vast cave networks, dramatic limestone pinnacles and one of South-East Asia's most biodiverse and ancient rainforest ecosystems in the heart of Malaysian Borneo.
Malaysia: Sarawak – Exploring Kuching, Sarawak’s River-Front City
CONTENTS
1. About Kuching
2. Things to do
– Check out the Borneo Culture Museum
– Visit Fort Margherita
– Explore Kuching’s Riverfront
– See the famous cat statue
– Kuching Cat Museum
– Visit the Ranee Museum
– Try some kek lapis – layer cake
– Kuching Old Courthouse
– Visit Bako National Park
– See orangutans at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre
3. Getting to and around Kuching
4. Best time to visit
5. Where to stay
About Kuching
Kuching is the capital city of Sarawak, which is part of East Malaysia on the wider island of Borneo — and frankly, if you’ve only ever done Peninsular Malaysia, you’re in for a bit of a culture shock in the very best possible way. Anyone who has been to Peninsular Malaysia will find that Sarawak has a very different feel, and Kuching in particular, thanks to its strategic location on the snake-like Sarawak River, is one of the prettiest spots in the entire region. The city sits roughly 15 miles upstream from the South China Sea and has been a significant settlement since the early 19th century, when a young English adventurer by the name of James Brooke arrived and rather audaciously ended up running the place.
Brooke — who would later be knighted and become the first White Rajah of Sarawak — founded Kuching in 1839 after helping the Brunei Sultanate suppress a local rebellion. His reward was rule over Sarawak itself, which he accepted with what one can only describe as remarkable composure. He built the city’s first European-style house on the jungled southern bank of the Sarawak River and set about transforming a trading post into a proper administrative centre. The Brooke dynasty would go on to govern Sarawak for over a century, right up until the Japanese occupation in 1941, and their fingerprints are visible all over the city to this day. The city is known for being home to a number of indigenous groups, most notably the Iban and the Dayaks — the latter a broad term covering several distinct ethnic groups including the Bidayuh or Land Dayaks — and people flock here from all over the world to learn more about the unique and genuinely fascinating culture found in this part of Malaysia. Now a busy administrative centre, Kuching is populated mainly by Chinese, although Malays, Bidayuh, and Iban live on its outskirts, giving the city a wonderfully layered multicultural character that makes wandering its streets a proper pleasure.
Things to do
🏛️ Check out the Borneo Culture Museum
One place we really wanted to visit was the Borneo Culture Museum, which was only a few minutes’ walk from the Waterfront, conveniently enough. It is a very impressive and imposing building right in the heart of downtown Kuching, and even before you set foot inside, you get a sense that this is not going to be your average regional museum with a few dusty cases and some faded labels. The museum opened on 9 March 2022, making it one of the newest major cultural institutions in Southeast Asia, and its 30,000 square metre building makes it the second-largest museum in Southeast Asia and Malaysia’s largest to date — which, given how seriously Malaysia takes its museums, is saying something rather considerable.
There are five floors dedicated to Sarawak’s unique traditional crafts and rich cultural heritage, and we found the sheer scope of it genuinely breathtaking. Most of the exhibits are contained on the top four floors, so don’t be fooled by the ground floor — give it time. We started our visit on the second floor, where there is an extensive exhibit of arts and crafts covering the skills of traditional craftsmanship, dances and music from across Sarawak’s many ethnic groups. There were some beautiful examples of hand-woven cloths, hand-thrown pottery, exquisite beadwork and wood carving of a quality that would look extraordinary in any gallery in London or Paris, and we spent far longer here than we’d planned.
On the next floor is the largest exhibit area, with a theme of “In Harmony With Nature.” It explores the relationship local communities have with the natural environment through the rather inspired device of a river journey through three major geographical regions of Sarawak — the coast, the interior rivers, and the highland forests. The boats, the longhouse reconstructions, the dioramas — the exhibits were stunning, and it is truly a beautiful, world-class museum that would not look out of place in any major capital city. If you only visit one museum in Kuching — and we’d argue you should visit several — make it this one.
On the fourth floor is the “Time Changes” exhibition, which has displays with a strong educational focus. The narrative tells the history of Sarawak from the prehistoric era right through to modern times, encompassing archaeological discoveries and findings from across the state, including artefacts from some of the oldest human settlements on the island of Borneo. The sheer depth of history on show here — tens of thousands of years of human habitation compressed into one beautifully designed gallery — left us rather humbled.
🏰 Visit Fort Margherita
Fort Margherita is an old fort constructed in 1879 by Charles Brooke, who had by then succeeded his uncle James as the second White Rajah of Sarawak, and it is situated in Kuching on the north bank of the Sarawak River, directly across the water from the main town. The fort is named after Charles Brooke’s wife, Ranee Margaret, and represents one of the most important surviving landmarks from the Brooke Dynasty’s long stewardship of the state. Built firmly in the style of an English castle — crenellations, whitewashed walls and all, looking slightly incongruous against the Bornean jungle backdrop — the fort was designed specifically to protect Kuching from the very real and persistent threat of attack by pirates, who were a significant menace in the waters around Borneo throughout the 19th century. It served as a Police Museum from 1971 before being handed over to the Government of Sarawak, and it now functions as a tourist attraction and houses the Brooke Gallery, an exhibition showcasing the history of Sarawak under the Brooke Dynasty in considerable and genuinely engaging detail.
The exhibits are set out over three floors of the main building, which are linked by a narrow, spiral staircase that is steep enough to make you wish you’d done a bit more prep work at the gym before arriving. This is emphatically not a place to visit if you have mobility issues — we say this with the warmth of people who had a bit of a wobble on the second landing — but if your knees are up to it, the effort is very much worthwhile. This was a great place to visit to get a much better understanding of the Brooke Dynasty, its sometimes controversial relationship with Sarawak’s indigenous peoples, and its lasting impact on the recent history of the state. James Brooke, for all his derring-do, remains a complicated figure — hero to some, colonial adventurer to others — and the exhibits handle this nuance reasonably well. At the end of viewing the exhibits, we headed outside into the main compound of the fort, which is very small and somewhat anticlimactic after the riches inside. Sadly, the walkway around the ramparts of the fort is in poor condition and is closed, so there was not much to see outside — a shame, as the views across the river to Kuching’s waterfront would presumably have been rather splendid.
🚶 Explore the Riverfront
Kuching’s waterfront is a wonderful place to explore and one of those urban spaces that genuinely delivers on its promise rather than being a disappointment dressed up with a bit of paving and some plastic chairs. It is the centre of events and activities for locals and tourists alike, and walking its length gave us one of those rare feelings of a city that has properly thought about how its residents actually want to use their public spaces. It is particularly lively at night, when live music drifts out from cafés and bars, food stands materialise seemingly from nowhere, and market stalls sell everything from local crafts to plastic tat with equal enthusiasm. The whole scene has a properly festive atmosphere that is infectious, and we found ourselves lingering here far longer than we’d intended on more than one evening.
The most prominent building along the riverfront is the State Assembly Hall — formally known as the Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak — a striking piece of architecture that dominates the northern bank and is planned to be turned into a cultural performance centre in the coming years. It was built during the Malaysian federal period and its distinctive design has made it something of an unofficial landmark, visible from almost every point along the waterfront promenade.
Not too far from the State Legislature Building is the distinctive Darul Hana Bridge, completed in 2017. This 335-metre pedestrian bridge connects the Kuching waterfront to the north areas of the city and is one of those pieces of civic infrastructure that manages to be genuinely beautiful rather than merely functional. This unique 336-metre S-shaped pedestrian bridge is supported by two cables that are 45 metres high from two 48-degree outward-angled steel towers, topped out with stylised hornbills — the emblem of Sarawak and a bird you will see referenced on practically everything in the state — which is exactly the sort of detail that lifts a bridge from engineering to something approaching art.
The waterfront really comes to life at night, and in the summer months there is a nightly fireworks and laser show that is really quite amazing and draws an enthusiastic crowd of both locals and visitors who line the promenade to watch.
🐱 See the Famous Cat Statue
Kuching, formerly named Sarawak in the 19th century, translates to “cats” — an etymological quirk that has given the city its affectionate nickname, the City of Cats, and prompted what can only be described as a comprehensive and sustained commitment to the feline theme in its public art, museums and general civic identity. Nobody knows for sure why the state’s third capital was called Kuching and what originally connected today’s feline-centric city to their four-legged meowing friends. Some historians suggest it may derive from the Malay word for the mata kuching fruit — a relative of the lychee that grows in the region — while others maintain the connection to the Malay word for cat, kucing, is simply what it appears to be. Either way, the city has leaned into its cat identity with a commitment that borders on the magnificent. One of the most famous landmarks celebrating this is a statue of cats in the middle of a roundabout close to the waterfront path — four white cats in a heroic pose that manages to be simultaneously kitsch and entirely charming. It has been photographed roughly ten million times by visitors, and we were absolutely not above adding to that total.
🐈 The Cat Museum
We had wanted to visit Kuching’s cat museum for a while, so naturally it was on the list. The museum is located a little way out of town — not a walkable distance from the centre — so we took a Grab car out to the museum, which sits on a hill inside a government building in the Bukit Siol area of the city. Let us be honest with you: the museum is quirky. It is filled with everything you can possibly imagine doing with cats, including posters, dinnerware, ornaments, paintings, figurines, folk art from around the world and much more besides. Most of the items are unabashedly kitsch and would never, not even in our most generous moments, grace a shelf in our home — but that is rather part of the charm of the place. As sad as this all was, it was genuinely fun to experience it all, in the same way that visiting the world’s largest ball of twine is more entertaining than it has any right to be. The museum actually has a surprisingly serious scholarly core — it claims to hold over 4,000 cat-related artefacts from around the world, including ancient Egyptian cat-related objects and examples from Chinese, European and Southeast Asian cultures — but the overall effect is one of cheerful, unapologetic celebration of everything feline.
The worst thing of all was the taxidermy exhibits of Bornean wild and domestic cats. It was not so much the concept of the taxidermy itself — we can see the educational argument for that — but the work was so bad! We are not taxidermy connoisseurs by any means, but even to our untrained eyes these specimens appeared to have been worked on by someone who had read about taxidermy in a short pamphlet and then had a go. We spent a good 45 minutes walking around, which was just about enough time for us, before we caught a Grab car back to town and agreed that we had, at minimum, had a thoroughly original cultural experience.
👑 The Ranee Museum
The First Ranee was the wife of the second White Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke — nephew to the original White Rajah, James Brooke — and her story is one of the more remarkable to emerge from the whole extraordinary Brooke saga. Born Margaret Alice Lili de Windt in London in 1849, she married Brooke on 28 October 1869 when she was just 19 years old, stepping into a world that must have been utterly unlike anything she had imagined when she was growing up in Victorian England. She was raised to the title of Ranee of Sarawak with the style of Her Highness upon their marriage, and she threw herself into the role with an energy and intelligence that would define her decades in Sarawak.
She was an advocate for universal education, founding the first school for Malay boys in Kuching and actively assisting in the liberation of Malay women through increased access to literacy at a time when neither initiative was remotely taken for granted. Her savvy and persistent diplomacy in England, during the long periods she spent in London, helped raise Sarawak’s international profile considerably and kept the small state in the spotlight of British public attention at a moment when it might easily have been forgotten. Ranee Margaret learned to read and write Malay fluently and became close friends with the wives and daughters of the Malay chieftains, whose customs she grew genuinely accustomed to and whose style of dress she gladly and enthusiastically adopted.
As Ranee for nearly half a century, one of her greatest contributions to the state was her appreciation for traditional crafts such as songket weaving and keringkam embroidery, becoming a patron and advocate for these skills at a time when they were at risk of declining, and building a personal collection that can now be shared in this very exhibit. Her life with Charles Brooke was troubled in ways that would make a very good period drama. Her first three children died within a week of each other on board a ship in the Red Sea in 1873 while returning to England with the Rajah — a tragedy of an almost unimaginable scale. Once three more sons were born, the couple separated and lived estranged, with Rajah Charles living in Sarawak and Margaret in London, where she was at the centre of a lively social circle that included several of the leading literary talents of the 1890s, including Oscar Wilde and Henry James. One imagines the dinner parties were something rather special.
Ranee Margaret was by all accounts an intelligent and creative person of quite extraordinary range. She was a talented photographer at a time when photography was still a considerable technical undertaking, painted, designed dresses and jewellery, and was a writer and an accomplished musician, especially on the piano. In 1872 she composed “Gone Forth Beyond the Sea,” which served as the national anthem of Sarawak — not the most common item on a person’s list of achievements. She was a fascinating person and her story deserves far more attention than it generally receives. The museum itself is small and is made up of display panels and exhibit cases filled with memorabilia of the Ranee, but the quality of the curation makes it feel richer than its modest size might suggest. We really enjoyed learning about Margaret Brooke — she deserves a Netflix series, frankly.
🍰 Try Some Kek Lapis
The kek lapis Sarawak, or Sarawak layer cake, is a renowned delicacy from the state of Sarawak that comes in either straightforward horizontal layers or in elaborate, almost geometric intricate patterns that seem to defy logic when you consider they are produced by hand, layer by careful layer. This cake is distinguished by its intricate layers, vibrant colours and rich, buttery flavours, and it has become an integral part of Sarawakian culinary culture — a genuine icon celebrated for both its craftsmanship and its unique taste, in the same way that a good Portuguese custard tart or a French macaron is as much about the craft as the eating. Its origins trace back to Indonesia’s lapis legit, which itself arrived in the Indonesian archipelago via Dutch colonial influence in the 17th and 18th centuries — so there is a surprisingly long and tangled history behind what appears at first glance to be simply a very pretty slice of cake. In Sarawak, local bakers took the original concept and ran with it in spectacular fashion, developing patterns and colour combinations that have no equivalent anywhere in the world. We bought several boxes to take home and they were demolished with unseemly speed.
🏛️ Kuching Old Courthouse
If you like to see heritage-style architecture — and frankly, who doesn’t — you should pay a visit to the old courthouse, which is now a tourism complex right in the heart of Kuching’s colonial district. The building dates from the 19th century and was constructed during the Brooke era as the administrative centre for Kuching, handling everything from legal proceedings to government administration in the manner of colonial administrative buildings across British-influenced Asia. Its neoclassical colonnaded façade is one of the most photogenic in the city, and the whole complex — which also includes the Charles Brooke Memorial, a clock tower and the adjacent Square Tower — gives a very good sense of what Kuching’s civic centre looked like at the height of the Brooke period. It now hosts all sorts of events, including weddings, corporate events and a multitude of indoor and outdoor private events, and there are a number of cafés and restaurants operating in the complex that make it a pleasant spot to stop for a coffee and a bit of gentle architectural appreciation.
🌿 Visit Bako National Park
One of Southeast Asia’s smallest national parks by area, Bako nevertheless punches considerably above its weight by containing almost every variety of Bornean vegetation within its modest boundaries — from mangroves and sea cliffs to kerangas heath forest and dipterocarp rainforest — making it one of the most ecologically diverse patches of jungle on the island of Borneo. It was established in 1957, making it the oldest national park in Sarawak, and its position on a peninsula jutting into the South China Sea gives it a dramatic coastal character that larger, more landlocked parks cannot match.
The star of Bako National Park is undoubtedly the proboscis monkey — the big-nosed, pot-bellied comedian of the rainforest — an animal found only on the island of Borneo and one that becomes more magnificently improbable in appearance the longer you look at it. But the star has a very capable supporting cast: long-tailed macaque monkeys that have absolutely no qualms about attempting to relieve you of your lunch, silvered leaf monkeys, monitor lizards of impressive size, bearded pigs, squirrels and flying lemurs that are all easily seen in the park, particularly in the early morning and late afternoon. The journey to Bako National Park involves a 37-kilometre car ride from Kuching to the village of Kampung Bako and from there a 20-minute boat ride across the bay to the park — a journey that is an attraction in its own right, particularly if you spot dolphins en route.
🦧 See the Orangutans at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre
This is genuinely one of the best places in the world to see orangutans going about their business in their natural rainforest habitat, and it is very much worth a half-day trip outside the city to get there. The Semenggoh Wildlife Centre was established in 1975, originally as a rehabilitation centre for orangutans that had been orphaned or illegally kept as pets, and over the decades it has grown into a semi-wild sanctuary where around 30 orangutans live in the surrounding forest and come and go largely as they please. There are nearly 30 orangutans here at any given time, and there is a genuinely good chance of seeing quite a few during the twice-daily feedings in the rainforest, when rangers put out fruit to supplement the animals’ natural foraging. You may also see these remarkable and frankly rather magnificent creatures swinging through the canopy above you with a fluid ease that makes human locomotion look embarrassingly clumsy, or ambling about on the ground with an air of complete and justified self-possession. For safety reasons — and this is worth taking seriously, as these are very large, very strong animals — it is important to stay at least five metres from the orangutans at all times, though they are not always entirely cooperative about maintaining that distance from their end.
Planning Your Visit to Kuching
✈️ Getting to Kuching
By Air: Kuching International Airport (KCH) is the main gateway to Sarawak, handling both domestic and international flights from a single terminal. From Kuala Lumpur (KLIA or KLIA2), flights take around 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours with AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and Batik Air, with fares ranging from around RM 100–400 one-way depending on timing and how far in advance the ticket is booked. Direct services operate from Singapore (around 1 hour 45 minutes), Kota Kinabalu in Sabah (around 1 hour 30 minutes), and several other regional hubs. International connections via Kuala Lumpur are straightforward for travellers arriving from further afield. The airport sits about 12 kilometres south of the city centre, with taxis and Grab cars readily available at the arrivals hall.
From Peninsular Malaysia by Air: There are no ferry connections between Kuching and peninsular Malaysia; the only practical link is by air. Kuching is not connected to the Malaysian road or rail network, as Sarawak sits on the island of Borneo, separated from the peninsula by the South China Sea.
From Other Parts of Sarawak: MASwings and AirAsia operate domestic routes connecting Kuching with Miri, Sibu, Bintulu and the remoter interior airstrips of Sarawak. Overland buses link Kuching with Sibu and Bintulu, though the journey times are long — the Kuching–Sibu coach is around eight hours.
🚗 Getting Around
Grab: The most straightforward way to get around Kuching for most visitors. The ride-hailing app operates widely across the city and its fringes, with fares agreed upfront and the app making navigation simple. It is the recommended option for reaching Semenggoh (around 30–40 minutes from the city centre) and for other out-of-town destinations.
Taxi: Available outside the airport and at major hotels; fares are generally negotiated rather than metered, so it is worth agreeing the price before setting off.
Public Bus: The city’s public bus network has improved considerably and the free Kuching Metro electric buses now serve several routes, including the useful K6 to Semenggoh and a weekend service to the Santubong area. The Kuching Metro app shows real-time bus positions and timetables. The older STC buses cover additional routes, including Bus 1 to the Bako Bazaar boat jetty.
Boat: The wooden penambang river taxis crossing the Sarawak River between the waterfront esplanade and the north bank (Fort Margherita, the Astana) run continuously through the day for a couple of ringgit. Getting to Bako National Park requires a bus or taxi to Bako Bazaar, then a separate boat to the park entrance — a 20-minute crossing that can be rough in unsettled weather.
Rental Car: Available at the airport and through agencies in the city centre. Useful for those intending to explore beyond the main day-trip destinations, though Grab handles most in-city and suburban needs adequately without the overhead of a rental.
Walking: The old town — waterfront, Main Bazaar, Carpenter Street, the museum complex — is entirely walkable, and the flat riverside terrain makes it a pleasant city to explore on foot in the early morning before the heat builds.
The Best Time to Visit Sarawk
Sarawak sits just north of the equator on the north-western edge of Borneo, which means its climate follows a broadly tropical pattern of heat, humidity and rain rather than four distinct seasons. Average temperatures remain remarkably consistent year-round — daytime highs hover between 28°C and 35°C — so the main variable when choosing when to visit is rainfall. Sarawak experiences a drier spell from roughly March to October and a wetter monsoon period from around November to February, though the state is large enough — stretching some 1,200 kilometres from end to end — that conditions in coastal Kuching can differ considerably from those on the upper Rejang River or around Miri in the north.
🌞 March to October — Dry Season
This is Sarawak’s longest and most reliable window for travel. Rainfall is at its lowest, skies are sunnier and rivers are calmer, which makes this the best time for almost every kind of activity the state has to offer. Trekking in Gunung Mulu National Park is at its most straightforward when the boardwalks and forest trails are dry underfoot; the cave systems there are accessible year-round, but the walk-in and wilderness camps are considerably more manageable without the added obstacle of muddy paths. Bako National Park, Sarawak’s oldest and most accessible reserve, rewards dry-season visitors with reliable proboscis monkey sightings at dawn and dusk, and the coastal sandstone trails are far safer when they are not slicked by rain. Boat trips along the Rejang — Southeast Asia’s longest river — run more smoothly in lower-water conditions, and longhouse visits in the Batang Ai area are easier to arrange when river levels are predictable. For divers and snorkellers, the seas off Miri and around Similajau Marine Park are at their calmest between April and September, with good visibility at Miri’s famous wreck and reef sites. July and August represent the very peak of the dry season and also align with Sarawak’s festival calendar, including the Rainforest World Music Festival held annually at the Sarawak Cultural Village just outside Kuching, one of the most celebrated outdoor music events in Asia.
What to pack: Lightweight, breathable clothing in quick-dry fabrics; long-sleeved shirts and long trousers for jungle treks and longhouse visits (both practical for insects and respectful of local custom); sturdy waterproof hiking boots or trail shoes; high-SPF sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat; insect repellent with DEET; a refillable water bottle; a light waterproof layer for brief afternoon showers, which occur even in the dry season; a dry bag for boat trips.
🌦️ November and February — Shoulder Season
The months immediately before and after the main monsoon occupy a transitional position. Rainfall increases noticeably in November as the north-east monsoon establishes itself, and February sees it beginning to ease, but neither month experiences the sustained downpours of December and January. This shoulder period offers a reasonable compromise for travellers working around peak-season prices: accommodation and tour rates in Kuching and Miri are generally lower than in the July–August peak, wildlife remains active and visitor numbers are thinner. Wildlife watching can actually be productive in these months, as animals become more active around dawn and dusk during cooler, overcast conditions. The main practical consideration is that river-based trips and some boat crossings may be disrupted by swelling waterways in November, and itineraries built around multiple boat journeys benefit from a degree of flexibility.
What to pack: Everything from the dry-season list, with the addition of a more robust waterproof jacket or poncho; waterproof footwear or sandals with good grip; a compact umbrella; waterproof covers for bags and camera equipment; a flexible itinerary in case of disrupted river transport.
🌧️ November to February — Monsoon Season (Peak: December and January)
Sarawak’s monsoon arrives with the north-east monsoon winds, bringing heavier and more sustained rainfall that peaks in December and January. Certain forest trails in Gunung Mulu and Bako close when they become hazardous, certain boat routes are suspended when rivers run dangerously fast, and coastal visibility for diving around Miri typically deteriorates. Flash flooding is a real possibility in low-lying areas and can affect road connections between towns. That said, Sarawak in the monsoon is not without its appeal. Temperatures ease very slightly — still warm but marginally less oppressive — and the rainforest is at its most extravagantly lush. Rhinoceros hornbills, Sarawak’s state bird, are particularly active during this period, and birders who can tolerate the weather are often rewarded with sightings that would be harder to come by in the busy dry season. Hotels and guesthouses across Kuching, Miri and Sibu offer their lowest rates of the year, and those travelling to cultural rather than adventure highlights — the Sarawak Museum, the Chinese temples and waterfront of Kuching, the longhouse communities accessible by road — will find the rain a manageable backdrop rather than a serious obstacle.
What to pack: A proper waterproof jacket or hooded poncho; waterproof hiking boots or sealed footwear; quick-dry clothing; a dry bag for cameras, documents and electronics; waterproof sandals for wet-market wandering; insect repellent; a flexible, unhurried itinerary; and a good book for the afternoons when the rain sets in and shows no sign of clearing.
Overall Best Time to Visit
March to October is the most straightforward answer for most travellers, combining the best trekking and diving conditions, the calmest rivers and the fullest festival calendar — particularly the Rainforest World Music Festival in July. Within that window, April, May and June offer a sweet spot of decent weather, fewer visitors than the July–August peak and more manageable hotel rates. Travellers primarily interested in cultural Kuching rather than jungle adventures will find the monsoon months entirely workable and meaningfully cheaper, while birders and wildlife photographers willing to tolerate wet conditions may find November and February — when the forest is at its lushest and crowds are at their thinnest — the most rewarding months of all.
Where to stay in Kuching
1. Luxury – The Waterfront Hotel Kuching
Set atop Plaza Merdeka Shopping Centre, The Waterfront Hotel Kuching puts the riverfront and its main attractions within easy walking distance, which is exactly what you want after a long day out at Bako or Semenggoh. The property features a semi-outdoor infinity pool — very welcome in that heat — along with two dining options: the Cafe Via Mare for buffet breakfast and all-day dining, and the Kilig Bar Lounge for drinks, snacks and live entertainment in the evenings. Every room comes with air conditioning, flat-screen TV and a well-appointed private bathroom, with some rooms offering city views and a bathtub. Free parking is provided for guests who are driving, and free WiFi runs throughout the property.e.
2. Mid Range: Meritin Hotel
Located in Kuching and with Borneo Convention Centre Kuching reachable within 4.6 miles, Meritin Hotel has concierge services, non-smoking rooms, a garden, free WiFi throughout the property and a shared lounge. This 3-star hotel offers room service and a 24-hour front desk. Guests can enjoy American and Chinese dishes at the restaurant or have a drink at the snack bar.
At the hotel rooms include air conditioning, a seating area, a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, a safety deposit box and a private bathroom with a shower, free toiletries and a hairdryer. Meritin Hotel provides certain accommodations with city views, and rooms are equipped with an electric tea pot. At the accommodation the rooms come with bed linen and towels.
3. Budget – Upspot Kuching Waterfront Premium Hostel
Set atop Plaza Merdeka Shopping Centre, The Waterfront Hotel Kuching puts the riverfront and its main attractions within easy walking distance, which is exactly what you want after a long day out at Bako or Semenggoh. The property features a semi-outdoor infinity pool — very welcome in that heat — along with two dining options: the Cafe Via Mare for buffet breakfast and all-day dining, and the Kilig Bar Lounge for drinks, snacks and live entertainment in the evenings. Every room comes with air conditioning, flat-screen TV and a well-appointed private bathroom, with some rooms offering city views and a bathtub. Free parking is provided for guests who are driving, and free WiFi runs throughout the property.
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