Over Land
Getting to the Highlands by land is hard work, especially when compared with flying.
To/from the Sarawak coast
The easiest and fastest way is by four-wheel drive or trucks between Lawas and Ba Kelalan. The journey, which takes about four or five hours, is over old logging roads and you are virtually guaranteed a bumpy ride as well as the possibility of being bogged in mud during the rainy season.
The labyrinth of trails fanning out from Bario and the nearby villages can possibly lead you to the lowlands. Besides walking, you may have to take boats to travel down river. The journey will take several days of tough walking. Guides will be necessary and costs may be high for boats. Not surprisingly, most, including the locals, turn to planes.
To/from Kalimantan, Indonesia
It is possible to enter/leave Indonesia via the Kelabit Highlands. In fact, the trek between Bario and Ba Kelalan goes through Indonesian territory and the village of Long Bawan is within easy reach. There are immigration officers in Bario and Long Bawan. From Long Bawan, there are flights to other East Kalimantan cities.
Note that Long Bawan is NOT and visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry point see Indonesia's Get in section and an Indonesian visa must be obtained before you cross the border. However, the visa requirement is waived if you are just trekking between Bario and Bakelalan. However, you must carry your passport.
There is now a logging road from Miri to the Bario area which is mainly suitable for supplies and vehicles to be brought into Bario, but this is an option for travelling although you will need to know locals as this is privately used only.
By plane
The most popular and simplest way of getting into the Kelabit Highlands is by plane. The highlands are dotted with little airfields, often just grass airstrips other than the main airport at Bario which is a modern tar-mac runway, these are linked by 16-seater Twin Otter planes operated by MASWings (http://www.maswings.com.my) since taking over from Fly Asian Xpress FAX on October 1, 2007. These are 18 seater flights and locals are given preference due to it being the main transport in and out of the highlands but you can now book online at MASWings website. Note that there are sometimes problems with non-Malaysian credit cards booking on this site; best to contact your card issuer in case of problems. There are still some cancellations of flights due to bad weather but it is a fallacy that this is regular. The transition period from FAX to MASwings saw cancellation due to MAS having much stricter regulations on safety and servicing. There is talk of lengthening the runway in the future for the larger planes.
The most popular entry points are Bario BBN and Ba Kelalan BKM. There are also air services to Long Akah LKH, Long Banga LBP, Long Lellang LGL and Long Seridan ODN although these other locations do not have any purpose-built infrastructure for travellers.
The main coastal city that acts as the gateway to the highlands is Miri where most flights originate. However, there are also flights from Lawas and Marudi in the Lower Baram, which is connected to Miri by several flights daily as well as a combination of boat between Marudi and Kuala Baram and bus between Kuala Baram and Miri.
To/From Bario:
2 daily flights to and from Miri, except for Mondays when 1 flight only carries cargo. Flights are often marked as full though actually they leave half empty - the rest of the weight is taken up by pre booked cargo. You should book ahead; they are normally full about five days ahead of time. Flights back from Bario have no cargo, and so you shouldn't need to book too far ahead; you could even do this once you have arrived. If you have a pre booked flight you should reconfirm it when you arrive; there's a RM10 charge for this. Tickets cost RM91 before taxes and surcharges. Journey time is about 50 minutes. Six of these weekly flights no flights on Thursday are via Marudi.To/from Ba Kelalan:
Flights between Lawas and Ba Kelalan run on Monday and Saturday. RM46 one-way before taxes and surcharges. Flights take about 35 minutes.To/from other villages:
Flights operate between Miri and Marudi and the various "Longhouses" in the highlands once or twice a week.