Indonesia trip report

[Cat]

Hi all, been meaning to add a few bits of advice here.

I spent a month backpacking around Indonesia during the school holidays, and thought it might be useful to one or two people. I wrote some of this in the Bali and Lombok thread, but thought I’d add it here, along with one or two bits about Flores.

– Having passed through Bali several times (far more times than necessary, due to several changes of plans after making initial bookings), I highly recommend that when arriving into Bali, or departing Bali you do the exact opposite of what you would normally do. Aim to arrive as early as possible, or as late as possible! I initially arrived from Singapore at around 8pm, but I didn’t bother with business class on a relatively short hop, so my luggage took AGES to arrive. By the time I left the airport it was 9:30pm ish, so there was no traffic. Other trips to and from the airport involved hideous traffic jams.
– Read my earlier comments in the Bali and Lombok thread, where I give advice on ways to avoid the hideous Ubud traffic jams.
– Don’t underestimate the time taken to cross Bali – I had a couple of occasions I had booked a hotel with a gorgeous pool, just for one night before departing again, but it took 3 hours to get from the ferry to the hotel, arriving at 6:30pm, when the pool was closed for the night. Again, it’s better to take the first or last ferry out of, or into Bali, either allowing you to spend a chunk of the daylight hours in the place you’re leaving or arriving into. Avoid taking the ferries around noon, if you can. the noon ferry.
– If you want to visit places all over Bali, either aim to leave early and come back to the hotel late, or change hotels midway through the trip.
– Gili Air is lovely, there are some incredible places to snorkel (with both hawksbill and green turtles all over the place!), there are some lovely beaches, and loads of lovely beachside restaurants. I recommend Fhane’s spa for a fantastic massage. It’s quite busy, but not unbearably so, and is a lovely, relaxed place to spend some time.
– If you have any interest in visiting the rest of Indonesia – do it, it’s incredible, but don’t rely on Google Maps for driving times (they’re wildly wrong!). Do a Google search for discussions on TripAdvisor.
– If you’re interested in heading to Flores, I highly recommend you *don’t* take the slow boat that I did from Lombok to Labuan Bajo. This trip has become wildly popular with 18-25 year olds, the first two days of the journey are in horribly rough seas, which made pretty much all of the passengers vomit repeatedly over the sides (it took me 24 hours of the mast oscillating from side to side and an ill-advised beer before I succumbed), the private rooms and bathroom facilities are very basic, the facilities in the open air dorm are abysmal, and the swimming with manta rays and whale sharks involves their feeding, to ensure they turn up, and you’ll almost certainly get kicked in the face repeatedly by some of the hundred or so people all snorkelling in a confined space at the same time, and panic-kicking because whale sharks are big. *Instead* fly to Flores, then maybe take an overnight boat trip from there as the seas are calmer, and all the amazing sights are right near Labuan Bajo (the pink beaches, Padar island and all of the amazing snorkelling spots).
– It really is worth seeing the sights of Flores, but be prepared for some rough, long journeys across the island and fewer lovely places to stay. The Kelimutu lakes were beautiful, the rice terraces were absolutely magnificent (far more impressive than anything I saw on Bali, and with no eyesore swings), Koka beach is gloriously beautiful (I just wish I had a few days there), Gunung Inerie is stunning (and Manulalu jungle was absolutely one of my favourite places to stay – my room had *gorgeous* views of the mountain from my balcony). Best of all – outside of Labuan Bajo, there are very few other tourists, so you will be able to enjoy these places without the crowds.
– You can learn Bahasa Indonesia on Duolingo – it really is an easy language to learn the basics of, and hardly anyone does this, so your efforts will be well received. Also, my ability to understand some of what people were saying to each other was quite helpful, and occasionally quite funny – on one memorable drive, my guide (who was having a crisis over a boat being cancelled at the last minute for the following day) was having a rather angry phone call. He kept saying a particular word before “anjing”, so when he ended the phone call, I asked him what that word meant (as I knew anjing meant dog). He looked rather embarrassed, and admitted it was a rather rude word (I’ll spare you!). This caused much hilarity over the course of the rest of the day as I proceeded to use it repeatedly (just around him, no-one else).
– Grab works brilliantly on Bali, but not many other places. On Flores, I often sorted out my lift for the following day with my accommodation, when I arrived. A member of staff always seemed to know someone who was planning to drive to my destination the next day, and would happily take a passenger for considerably less than a taxi would have cost.

I hope this is helpful to one or two people. I’ll try to answer questions, and will come back with further advice, if it occurs to me!

[Aston100]

Thanks for the report.
What were the names of the places you stayed in Bali? What did they cost, where/how did you book them? how did you get around Bali, what did it cost? did you do any of the swings? any other popular activities? did you stay or visit any of the popular beaches or did you go further north to Amed etc?

I appreciate you’ve made references to the Bali & Lombok master thread, but it would be easier to have it all on this one dedicated trip report, for convenience.
I’m heading there next summer so will be useful for me and no doubt others too.

[FH2]

Aston100 wrote:

Thanks for the report.
What were the names of the places you stayed in Bali? What did they cost, where/how did you book them? how did you get around Bali, what did it cost? did you do any of the swings? any other popular activities? did you stay or visit any of the popular beaches or did you go further north to Amed etc?

I appreciate you’ve made references to the Bali & Lombok master thread, but it would be easier to have it all on this one dedicated trip report, for convenience.
I’m heading there next summer so will be useful for me and no doubt others too.

@Aston100 – we hired a private driver in Bali. He was very good and reasonable rates – airport transfer from DPS to Ubud was IDR 375k (around £25) and for a full day driving he charged IDR 650k. He also helped plan our sightseeing itinerary and booked white water rafting activity for us at a significantly cheaper local rate for us. His name is Wayan Merta and you can Whatsapp him on +62 812 3609749. We went to Real Bali Swing – it is expensive but my daughters loved it and we got some great photos! Other recommended sights near Ubud are the Tegalalang Rice Terrace; Tirta Empul temple and Tegenungan waterfall. Hope that helps.

[Aston100]

FH2 wrote:

Aston100 wrote:

Thanks for the report.
What were the names of the places you stayed in Bali? What did they cost, where/how did you book them? how did you get around Bali, what did it cost? did you do any of the swings? any other popular activities? did you stay or visit any of the popular beaches or did you go further north to Amed etc?

I appreciate you’ve made references to the Bali & Lombok master thread, but it would be easier to have it all on this one dedicated trip report, for convenience.
I’m heading there next summer so will be useful for me and no doubt others too.

@Aston100 – we hired a private driver in Bali. He was very good and reasonable rates – airport transfer from DPS to Ubud was IDR 375k (around £25) and for a full day driving he charged IDR 650k. He also helped plan our sightseeing itinerary and booked white water rafting activity for us at a significantly cheaper local rate for us. His name is Wayan Merta and you can Whatsapp him on +62 812 3609749. We went to Real Bali Swing – it is expensive but my daughters loved it and we got some great photos! Other recommended sights near Ubud are the Tegalalang Rice Terrace; Tirta Empul temple and Tegenungan waterfall. Hope that helps.

That is very helpful. I have noted the driver’s number.
Can you remember the cost of the swing, and was that pretty much the going price for all swings, or are some regarded as far better hence costlier?

Thanks.

[Cat]

I mean, if you’re planning to go mainly to Bali and Lombok, I’d read the Bali & Lombok thread. However, if you’re hoping to spend time around Ubud…

1) go to Petulu village for one sunset (if you have any interest in nature, don’t worry if not), purely to see the madness of all of the herons of Bali coming to roost in the trees of Petulu. It’s an incredible sight!
2) for food in Ubud, I recommend I Love Bali for a cheap and cheerful substantial meal, Bebek Bengil Crispy Duck for said crispy duck, or Hujan Locale if you want a fancy meal. I also had the crispy duck there. It was incredible.
3) For a massage, I *highly* recommend Sang Spa Ubud. I’m a bit of a massage afficionado, and I have no time for bad massages. Tini was fantastic, and from the reviews I read, the rest of the staff are wonderfully skilled at sorting out aches and pains. Also the prices are fair.
4) for anyone who wants to avoid the hellish traffic around Ubud, stay outside of the city centre, ideally to the North where there are some incredible accommodation options (either with jungle/gorge views, or rice field views) , and do one of two things
– plan a trip in first thing (after an early breakfast) or last thing (to enjoy dinner in Ubud), the traffic seems to be at its worst between check out time and mid afternoon
– if you have reasonable mobility, get a grab to one of the trailheads for the walks into town (you won’t encounter traffic that’s too awful until you get closer to Ubud), then enjoy the views of rice fields while strolling the rest of the way. Do the same on the way back, in reverse. This worked brilliantly for avoiding the stress of the traffic repeatedly.

Two obvious routes are:

https://strava.app.link/hT1F0eK5ALb

and

https://strava.app.link/j8RgfhN5ALb

It helps if you’re on one of the roads that connects easily to those trailheads, rather than across one of the larger gorges.

The only reason they took so long is that I kept stopping to take photos!

For the second trail, I recommend you continue along the section where I completely missed the turn for the bridge and had to backtrack (unless you have the surefootedness of a mountain goat) – the path is narrow and bordered by a steep drop into a gorge for the last section between the bridge and Ubud. Continue down my wrong path onto the road into Ubud.

There’s also a Sari organic walk, and various other trails on Google maps.

I hope this is useful to someone!

[Cat]

Places I stayed

Bali:

Villa Jempana after I arrived – I assumed it would be far easier to get to the trailhead for the Mount Batur dawn hike, from a hotel in the village near the trailhead. I was very wrong! There were no taxis willing to drive me the 3km or so at that time in the morning, so I had to arrange it with the trekking company, and it ended up costing just as much as the transfer from Ubud. Ah well!

Madani Antique Villas, in one of their private pool villas – I would absolutely recommend this, and would go back in a heartbeat. If you can’t afford the Viceroy and that glorious pool overlooking the gorge, the plunge pools at Madani Antique Villas overlooking the rice terraces come a close second. The room itself was lovely, and the open air bathroom was just gorgeous. While the location was very convenient for getting a Grab to a trailhead for a hike into town, it was further out than I thought, as Madani has rooms at two locations, and mine was a couple of km further out than the location marked on Google maps.

Anahata Villas and Spa – I stayed here for one night, after I changed my mind about taking the slow boat back from Flores to Lombok – oddly enough I didn’t fancy revisiting the seasickness or the marine wildlife feeding after all, so replanned my journey to the Gilis at the last minute, and ended up with a night in Bali, due to not great flight and ferry availability. This was one of the places that closed their pool inexplicably at 6pm, which was the main reason I picked that hotel, and the Grab availability on that road wasn’t great. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this hotel, as it wasn’t the easiest to get to other places from.

Poppies, Kuta, for my last night in Indonesia, before flying to Hong Kong – my Grab driver dropped me 200m from the hotel, saying he couldn’t drive down that road. I hauled my luggage 200m down a narrow alleyway, dodging motorbikes squeezing past, only to be told by reception staff that there was a hidden carpark right next to the hotel, that none of the taxi drivers seemed to know about that we drove past 30 minutes before (one way system traffic jam), so I could have been dropped right at the door ages ago. When I asked them why they didn’t just tell me about this when I emailed them to tell them my arrival time, they didn’t have an answer for me. As a result of traffic I missed the pool here too. The pool may make staying here worthwhile, I don’t know TBH. If you stay here, note there is a car park, which can be accessed by driving from the West end of the alleyway only.

Nusa Penida:

Mahendra Cottage – lovely owners if you really want to come to Nusa Penida to see the stunning sights, but just beware that EVERYONE and their aunt wants to see the same sights, and it sometimes feels more crowded than Ubud (especially Diamond beach, and the view over Kelingking beach). There are nicer, cheaper places to stay, but this was a good cheapie, that allowed me to splurge a couple of times.

Lombok & Gili Air:

The Puncak – lovely views, lovely pool, lovely food, helpful owner and staff, I would recommend. If you aren’t a fan of those air freshener things that spritz every 15 minutes all day and night long (either due to the overwhelming smell, or the annoying noise), ask them to remove it from your room.

Gilizen resort – it had just opened, so was available at short notice when I arrived on Gili Air earlier than originally planned. I had a gorgeous tiny little plunge pool, the breakfasts were amazing, the staff were brilliant, I really liked it there. It’s on a very dusty dirt road, so I did tend to have very dirty feet whenever I went anywhere, but the sea sorted that out pretty quickly! Plenty of lovely restaurants and bars nearby, close-ish to both nice beaches and the best snorkelling spots.

Vyaana – very nice, close to nice beaches (which BTW are best at high tide), great bars and restaurants and the lovely sunset views. Further from the snorkelling spots. Having a pool for when the tide is out is great. I liked my room, the open air bathroom was wonderful, and I loved their bedtime stories of local myths and legends, written out and left at turndown, with a local sweet.

It’s also worth noting that I *highly* recommend bringing a rash vest and water shoes for the Gilis – walking across the coral sand can get painful near the tideline, and snorkelling with the turtles often involves snorkelling with lots of tiny, and very annoying, jellyfish.

Flores:
Seaesta, Labuan Bajo – a hostel, but a *really* pretty one. Staying in one of the private rooms does not feel like slumming it. Beware they have DJ sets in the evening in the rooftop bar, so if you’re hoping for an early night, this isn’t the place for you.

Gecko homestay, Moni – your options are limited for Kelimutu. This place was fine for me, but possibly a bit basic for most people on HfP! I was devastated that they didn’t have *ANY* milk, for tea in the morning. Not even UHT. I mean, WHY???

Ricky Cowboy’s Homestay – this was what you would expect, for less than £5 a night including breakfast. I struggled, especially with the bathroom facilities, which were also open air, but not in a good way. Koka beach is stunning enough that I wish I could have stayed for another couple of nights though. Genuinely, it was glorious. I just want to emphasise, once again, that the bathroom was not.

Manulalu Jungle and Bajawa – allow more time than I did. There are some wonderful sights to visit near Bajawa. Bear in mind it will take 8-9 hours to drive from Moni/Ende (more like 10 from Paga), and it’s another 8 hours or so to Labuan Bajo. I used it as an overnight stop, unaware that I would have no time to see anything. Stay for 3 nights, and see sunrise and sunset right next to Inerie from your stunning veranda (with daybed). I loved this hotel.

Menjaga Bay, Labuan Bajo – this was supposed to be a highlight of my trip, as I had booked a stunning room, and I was really looking forward to it. I got an absolute steal of an introductory offer, as when I booked, it had just opened, combined with a Gold Hotels.com discount. They clearly decided that the price I paid wasn’t enough for the room I booked, as they involuntarily downgraded me to a cheaper room, with no compensation whatsoever. Hotels.com were no help. I wouldn’t recommend, as you just can’t trust them to not pull a similar bait & switch.

Also – I do recommend staying around Labuan Bajo for a few days, to see Padar island, the Komodo dragons, Pink Beach and less Pink Beach, and to do some incredible snorkelling diving.

I’m sure I’ll think of other things to mention! I hope some of this is useful to someone.

[FH2]

Aston100 wrote:

FH2 wrote:

Aston100 wrote:

Thanks for the report.
What were the names of the places you stayed in Bali? What did they cost, where/how did you book them? how did you get around Bali, what did it cost? did you do any of the swings? any other popular activities? did you stay or visit any of the popular beaches or did you go further north to Amed etc?

I appreciate you’ve made references to the Bali & Lombok master thread, but it would be easier to have it all on this one dedicated trip report, for convenience.
I’m heading there next summer so will be useful for me and no doubt others too.

@Aston100 – we hired a private driver in Bali. He was very good and reasonable rates – airport transfer from DPS to Ubud was IDR 375k (around £25) and for a full day driving he charged IDR 650k. He also helped plan our sightseeing itinerary and booked white water rafting activity for us at a significantly cheaper local rate for us. His name is Wayan Merta and you can Whatsapp him on +62 812 3609749. We went to Real Bali Swing – it is expensive but my daughters loved it and we got some great photos! Other recommended sights near Ubud are the Tegalalang Rice Terrace; Tirta Empul temple and Tegenungan waterfall. Hope that helps.

That is very helpful. I have noted the driver’s number.
Can you remember the cost of the swing, and was that pretty much the going price for all swings, or are some regarded as far better hence costlier?

Thanks.

I just looked back at my itinerary and realised that we went to Aloha Ubud Swing and not Real Bali Swing, because the location fit in better with our plans that day. I think we paid around IDR 400k per person. The photo package was expensive – I think it worked out to almost GBP 100. We had decided we would not buy the photos and just take our own but when we saw their photos we decided to buy them as they were so much better than the ones we took on our phones! Not sure about prices of other swings – I suspect they are all roughly the same price.

[BBbetter]

FH2 wrote:

but when we saw their photos we decided to buy them as they were so much better than the ones we took on our phones! Not sure about prices of other swings – I suspect they are all roughly the same price.

Lol, we did the same at Tanah Lot. Whatever advanced tech we might have on our phones, its difficult to get the angle, focal length, background etc right, especially when you are in a mood to enjoy and cant be bothered with that stuff.

[BBbetter]

The swings and the ‘gates of heaven’ (just a temple gate with a scenic view behind) are the most trending ones on insta.

Am surprised no one is visiting Yogyakarta along with other places in Indonesia. We found it underrated given the massive monuments nearby. Maybe the lack of a beach is keeping it under the radar.

[Cat]

Sorry BBbetter, I meant to quote. I think I might just stop quoting, I seem to be incapable of not accidentally reporting!

I wouldn’t say Yogyakarta is under the radar though, or that no-one’s visiting there. The temples there are stunning (especially Borobudur, which is just glorious at sunrise), and it’s well worth a visit.

[brian]

I really enjoyed reading this trip report, thanks so much for taking the time to write it up. I had seen that you intented on doing a report from reading the Bali & Lombok thread but I just assumed it was going to cover some high end hotels that I’m unfamiliar with. Instead you’ve triggered a flood of memories as I covered a very similar trail to you about 15 years ago and I still to this day consider Flores to be one of my favourite destinations of all time.

I saw little of Bali beyond Kuta as I had just arrived from a sizeable time in Borneo so was happy to base myself there for a few days before travelling east.

I then stayed a few days in Gili Trawangan rather than Gili Air stopping off somewhere along the way that I genuinely can’t remember where it was. I also considered getting the slow boat to Flores. Instead I opted for possibly the most gruelling trip of my life where I set off from Gili T at 7.00am and arrived in Labuan Bajo about 40 hours later crossing both Lombok and Sumbawa by bus along with the two ferry rides between islands. The first thing I did the next day was book a flight back to Bali.

I adored Flores and visited all the sites beyond LB that you listed. Did Rinca Island rather than Komodo. Can’t remember exactly why. The highlight for me was my time at Riung visiting the 17 Islands National Park. I don’t think I’ve ever (and may never again) felt as far removed from modern life as I did during my few days there.

As you mention, accommodation was very basic while in Flores. Coincidentally, I returned to Bali and treated myself to a few nights in Poppies Kuta where I did get to experience the swimming pool.

Thanks again for the write up, it really has brought me back to a trip that I will never forget. Sounds like you’ve had equally as good an experience.

[Aston100]

BBbetter wrote:

Am surprised no one is visiting Yogyakarta along with other places in Indonesia. We found it underrated given the massive monuments nearby. Maybe the lack of a beach is keeping it under the radar.

I’m booked at the Melia Yogyakarta. Combining the 20% gold perk with the 5% app discount and the birthday upgrade thingy to get a >100sqm duplex ‘junior’ suite for peanuts. Hopefully there’ll be a sale before year end so I’ll cancel for free and rebook for even less than peanuts.