Indonesia

[gottadobe]

What are must-sees in Indonesia?

My sister lives in Thailand and I have the opportunity to take a month off and travel to the area.

I told her I wanted to see Bali, but she asked if there was anything else I wanted to do.

Thoughts?

I'm not a super regular poster, but always get such great travel ideas from you all.

[origami]

I loved Bali. If you want something less traveled, I’ve heard good things about the Gili islands

[ESF]

I haven't been, but H and I have started sketching out an itinerary for a trip in the next couple years, so I can't wait to see others' responses.

So far, my must-sees are the temples on Java and Komodo National Park.

[4speedy]

gottadobe,

I’m late in replying because I was actually in Bali when you posted this. What month are you planning on going? That changes my answer somewhat depending on weather.

We have traveled quite a bit in SE Asia and Asia Pacific because we are expats in Korea so travel is cheaper for us right now. I loved-loved-LOVED Bali. It has been m favorite place so far and we are making plans to go back again in 6 months. We were there for 8 days and we barely scratched the surface of all there is to do on that somewhat small island.

To get to Bali, most flights have a layover in Jakarta on the island of Java. We didn’t spend time there but I think this spring when we go back, we might try to spend a couple of days there. Indonesia has announced that they are relocating most of their government offices away from Jakarta because it is slowly sinking into the ocean. They plan to have the capital city entirely moved by 2030. So the Jakarta that has been an important cultural and historical site for Indonesia might not soon exist in the same form as it is today. It would be worth seeing.

Closer to Thailand, I also loved Cambodia and Vietnam Nam. Visiting Angkor Wat in Siem Reip was fantastic.

My neighbors were in Borneo the same week we went to Bali and they loved it—the pictures looked amazing. They had both jungle and beach time. If you go to Borneo, a lot of the flights go through Singapore, which is also a great spot to spend a couple of days. (But 2 days max there)

[meowmaps]

Yogyakarta for the Borobudur and Prambanan. The Borobudur is particularly spectacular.

[yaga]

Aug 23, 2019 1:43:11 GMT -5 4speedy said:

gottadobe ,

I’m late in replying because I was actually in Bali when you posted this. What month are you planning on going? That changes my answer somewhat depending on weather.

I'm considering a trip to Bali next year but I'm torn on when to go. I'll be there 11-12 days. Any advice on that?

[rupertpenny]

I’ve only been to Bali but I’ve also heard great things about Gili and the rest of Lombok. I also think Borneo sounds amazing.

You could easily spend the whole time in Bali though. And I know this is kind of Debbie downer, but I would not take ferries in Indonesia and I’d be very reluctant to take short haul flights in local airlines. Neither have great safety records. Garuda is fine though.

[4speedy]

Aug 23, 2019 10:00:21 GMT -5 yaga said:

Aug 23, 2019 1:43:11 GMT -5 4speedy said:

gottadobe ,

I’m late in replying because I was actually in Bali when you posted this. What month are you planning on going? That changes my answer somewhat depending on weather.

I'm considering a trip to Bali next year but I'm torn on when to go. I'll be there 11-12 days. Any advice on that?

We just went in July and it was perfect for us.  It was their winter so it was less humid and temps were a high of 87 and a low of 80 every day.  It rained once in the late afternoon for about 30 minutes and then was quite sunny again.  We’re from Michigan so the weather was perfect for us.  I think much warmer or more humid would have made it difficult fo us because we’re just not used to it.  (We went to southern Japan last week and the temps and swampy humidity were brutal for us—we walked about 12 miles each day and it took a lot out of us). If you are used to warmer temps, you might be enjoy other times of year.  The only down side was that when we went white water rafting, the water level was low so it was fun and beautiful but not particularly adventurous.  I asked our diving guide the best time of year to go and she told us the very end of  March is the best time, in her opinion.  We’re planning to be there the last 10 days f March for my kids spring break.  That would be like September in the US.  She said water temps are warm, it’s the tail end of the rainy season so water levels are higher for water sports and the daily highs are not brutally hot.  She said it’s before the tourist season really kicks in so it’s less crowded and hotel rates are cheaper.  By tail end of the rainy season, I mean that it’s really tapering off.  It will still rain probably every other day or so but only for a few minutes in the afternoon and then be sunny again.  It’s not an all day thing.  So if you are having a beach day, you just walk to one of the many beach side bars and have a drink and then head back out into the sun to continue whatever you were doing.

[rupertpenny]

Aug 23, 2019 10:00:21 GMT -5 yaga said:

Aug 23, 2019 1:43:11 GMT -5 4speedy said:

gottadobe ,

I’m late in replying because I was actually in Bali when you posted this. What month are you planning on going? That changes my answer somewhat depending on weather.

I'm considering a trip to Bali next year but I'm torn on when to go. I'll be there 11-12 days. Any advice on that?

I went in July and the weather is great. I think rainy season is about January to April and any other time is good. I’d recommend checking the schedule of holidays. We were there during a Hindu holiday and a lot of stuff was closed. We still had a good trip but I never got Babi guling because all the small, local restaurants were closed 😩

[4speedy]

Aug 23, 2019 20:24:41 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

Aug 23, 2019 10:00:21 GMT -5 yaga said:

I'm considering a trip to Bali next year but I'm torn on when to go. I'll be there 11-12 days. Any advice on that?

I went in July and the weather is great. I think rainy season is about January to April and any other time is good. I’d recommend checking the schedule of holidays. We were there during a Hindu holiday and a lot of stuff was closed. We still had a good trip but I never got Babi guling because all the small, local restaurants were closed 😩

When we go back in March, we will be there for one of their most important holidays, which is the day of silence and reflection.  It’s a day to thank the gods and show gratitude for all you have been given.   The day before is a huge festival and parade in Ubud but the next day, for 24 hours, the airport is closed as are all the tourist attractions and restos.  We are asked to stay within the confines of our resort that day.  All the resort amenities will be available, such as pool, resto, etc.  I’m actually quite looking forward to it and I want my family to spend quiet time together that day.  My kids are 10 and 13 and a day of gratitude would serve them well.

[origami]

I went to Bali for 2w in December, which is the rainy season, and we only had 1 day that rained out our activities. It rained every day in the afternoon (in Ubud at least) but it was short-lived. Ubud was a bit cold for swimming but that could’ve been because our hotel pool was in the shade. We had no issues swimming in Nusa Dua. I don’t even remember it raining down there at all.

[notsopicky]

rupertpenny, origami, 4speedy, I love this thread so much--we are going to Bali May 11-15 (for free--well, sorta free, we have to pay for our son, our flight upgrades, and any additional travel we will do).

Would you recommend going to Sydney from Denpasar? We don't think we'll get back to this part of the world maybe ever, so we want to get the most bang for our buck/time.

[origami]

Aug 24, 2019 18:46:29 GMT -5 notsopicky said:

rupertpenny, origami, 4speedy, I love this thread so much--we are going to Bali May 11-15 (for free--well, sorta free, we have to pay for our son, our flight upgrades, and any additional travel we will do).

Would you recommend going to Sydney from Denpasar? We don't think we'll get back to this part of the world maybe ever, so we want to get the most bang for our buck/time.

Would you only see Sydney? Or do you mean tacking on a longer trip to Australia? I wouldn’t fly 6h just for Sydney. If you only have a short time to go elsewhere I’d vote for something else in SE Asia (like Vietnam or Thailand), or doing a long layover in Japan on your way back. (Assuming japan is also a place you likely wouldn’t make it to.) just in case- someone else mentioned Borneo up thread. I went there and wouldn’t recommend that either unless your kid is older. Real jungle trekking there isn’t kid-friendly. The area that’s less intense is also less interesting.

[rupertpenny]

I agree with origami. I’d do somewhere else in Indonesia or SE Asia before I went to Sydney. But I’ve never been to Australia so maybe idk what I’m missing.

I do know adding Sydney will be much more expensive than adding Borneo or Vietnam or similar.

[4speedy]

Do you have your flights booked yet? Where are you leaving from and what layovers do you have? I looked into flights leaving from Michigan so friends can meet us in Bali. One of the cheaper flights is SUUUUUPER long, about 31 hours. It’s a Delta flight that goes from Detroit—LAX—Sydney—Denpasar. So for them it would make sense to stay over in Sydney for a few days since that’s their route, anyway.

You’re right, it’s a really long way to travel for such a short time in Bali. Don’t forget, when you change locations on a major trip, you pretty much lose a day to travel because you spend so much time getting to and from your hotels and sitting in the airport. Also, if you change countries, then you have to stand in customs lines. We’ve Done trips like that . We’ve added a lot of work and stress to trips by adding in locations that aren’t logical and then we realized it didn’t add enough to the trip to make it worth while.

So all that to say that there is plenty to doin Bali. Add days there if you want. If you really want to see something else, stay within Indonesia or pick something that is somewhere along the route that breaks up a long flight, not adds more to it.

Do you know where you are staying in Bali?  If your paid for trip is in Ubud, you could add one of the beach towns as a second location or vice versa.  The middle of the island is more of a jungle, tour, cultural spot and the beach towns are more for water sports or relaxing.  Pretty much the entire island has good food and fun bars.

[yaga]

Aug 23, 2019 20:24:41 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

Aug 23, 2019 10:00:21 GMT -5 yaga said:

I'm considering a trip to Bali next year but I'm torn on when to go. I'll be there 11-12 days. Any advice on that?

I went in July and the weather is great. I think rainy season is about January to April and any other time is good. I’d recommend checking the schedule of holidays. We were there during a Hindu holiday and a lot of stuff was closed. We still had a good trip but I never got Babi guling because all the small, local restaurants were closed 😩

Thanks for this and to you too 4speedy! I ended up choosing to go in early May since I have a weird thing about traveling to somewhere hot when it's hot here (here being NYC). Also flights start going up in price after May. I'm doing a group trip for solo travelers and I cannot wait.