· Sabah, 'Land Below the Wind', has two monsoon seasons. I've heard June to October described as the 'wet' season and December to April as 'dry', but it's not quite as cut and dried as that.

For a beach holiday, I'd recommend April as a good time to go. However, prime turtle viewing at Turtle Island, off the coast of Sandakan, apparently takes place in June. For anyone wanting to bliss out with fantastic scuba and snorkelling and a limited number of tourists (maximimum 38 at any one time) I'd recommend Langkayan Island, a small, family-run jewel of an island set in the Sulu Sea. Turtles visit it to lay their eggs, and it has a small turtle hatchery. Langkayan Island staff will collect you by speedboat from Sandakan (which is close to Sepilok, the orang-utan rehabilitation centre).

Fiona Ford

· Having visited Borneo seven times, I know the destination fairly well. Normally they say that December to February is the wetter season, but I have been in December and not seen a drop of rain. My last visit was in September and we had two afternoons and one evening of torrential downpours, thanks to the tail end of a typhoon that was hitting the Phillipines.

We try and visit in May, and when it does rain - normally late in the evening - it really is welcomed as it cools the air. It is tropical, so you can never say what it is going to be like -
except very hot!!

I would recommend a night or two on the Gayana Island resort. It is a Marine Environment Research Centre and the accommodation comprises of stilted rooms over the sea with all mod cons, two good restaurants, and an interesting swimming pool. We had great fun canoeing around the bay, and you can go kayaking in the mangrove swamps.

Mercedes Conde-Nieto

· We visited Sabah in February just after the worst of the rainy season. The weather is ideal for the beach and not too hot for energetic activities such as climbing Mount Kinabalu.

Sepilok orang-utan sanctuary is open all year and well worth a visit. To find an orang-utan in the wild is more down to luck and how far from the tourist areas you are willing to go.

Turtle Island has nice beaches, althouhg you may be disappointed by the commercialisation of the egg laying experience.

Mike and Viv Pannell.

· I've been in Sabah at all times of year, and usually experienced clear mornings with some rain in the afternoon. The locals claim that Christmas is the wet season - I've certainly experienced very wet weather then, but equally the dryest spell I saw was at that time of year and I've known very wet days in August! So be prepared for heavy rain at any time of year.

The east coast, where most of the beach resorts are, and the west where Sepilok orang-utan sanctuary and the turtle islands are, can have very different weather on the same day.
Do enjoy your trip and be sure to include some time at Sukau on the Kinabatangan river for the best wildlife viewing.

Eileen Gribbon

· As Borneo straddles the equator and it rains all year round, there is no bad time to visit Sabah. However, I went in August and found it fairly busy as it was the Malaysian school holidays, and travel was particularly difficult in the week running up to their National Day on August 31. In comparison to the rest of Malaysia, though, it is still relatively quiet even in August.

Listen out for news of typhoons in the Phillipines and Japan, as the sea bed can be stirred up for weeks afterwards making it impossible to see anything when snorkelling or diving. Finally, spend a whole day visiting the orang-utans at Sepilok - the only problem is you are not guaranteed a sighting as they are erratic and might not bother to get up in time for feeding at 10.30am and can be on their siesta by the second feeding time at 2.30pm!

Further information at www.jaring.my/sabah

Joanna Steer