Bali And Java – Escape To Indonesia

Meet your local guide at the airport today before transferring to your hotel. Check in, wind down and spend the rest of the day as you please.

Today, start your tropical adventure with a journey to the village of Carangsari, home of the Balis Elephant Camp. Settle in and get fitted with safety attire before hopping on your bicycle, and set off by pedal power. Cycle through little-explored areas to take in the vibrant culture of Bali before stopping off at a typical Balinese household. Get a glimpse at what life in this area is really like before hopping back on your bicycle and heading further on toward the memorial monument of I. Gusti Ngurah Rai for a historical taste of Ubud. Then, enjoy lunch and panoramic views of Ubud and regain your energy. Finally, head to the sacred nutmeg forest of Sangeh, one of Bali’s most pristine natural landscapes and the home of the area’s furrier locals – monkeys!

Start your day well before the sun comes up for your mountain trek. Start at around 1200 meters above sea level, and set off uphill for a challenging climb to 1717 meters chasing the sunrise. Experience the breathtaking views from the top of Mount Batur, where a vibrant red sky emerges as the sun appears beyond the horizon.

After this once-in-a-lifetime experience, head horizontally around the still active volcanic cone to see the crater of Batur’s last eruption in 2000. Here, learn a bit about the area’s volcanic past. Then, head downhill to an area covered in black lava that dates back to the mountain’s first eruption in 1814 before winding down over breakfast at the top of the volcano!

Begin your day with a short journey to the Munduk Wilderness Base Camp, the gateway to the Munduk territory. Get a quick introduction and safety briefing on driving the Finn Komodo – an off-road vehicle designed for jungle terrain – before setting off for a heart-racing drive toward a nearby lakeside temple. From here, board canoes and paddle toward Tamblingan Lake, rich with stretches of mandarin and coffee orchards. Disembark and catch your breath before a short walk into the rainforest – the perfect place to marvel at trees that have called the area home for more than a century.

Then, go for another gentle downhill ride in the Komodo to arrive at a nearby coffee plantation. As one of the world’s most productive areas for coffee beans, learn a bit about Bali’s coffee culture with a hands-on demonstration of roasting beans over an open fire and pounding with a wooden pestle! Enjoy a few sips of some of Indonesia’s best brew before setting off again on a short drive, returning to the Munduk Wilderness Base Camp. Rest your legs and tend to your rumbling stomach with a tasty lunch here before cleaning up and heading to Lovina, nestled along the northern coastline of Bali. Finally, check into your nights’ accommodation and enjoy a good night’s sleep

For the early birds, rise early and head out by boat to see dolphins in the wild. Otherwise, spend your first day in Lovina at your leisure.

Get ready to dive down and explore the wonderworld of the undersea. After breakfast, head to the nearby village of Banjar, home to the area’s best hot springs and the perfect setting for a rejuvenating dip. Enjoy natural pools of warm water that’s rich in natural nutrients that’ll have you feeling like an entirely new person! Then, dry off and head by car to the nearby Mimpi Banjar area. Here, collect your snorkeling equipment for the afternoon and board a small, local boat. Sail for about half an hour toward Menjangan Island, one of the area’s best spots for snorkeling, and float off with a guide to explore the area’s aquatic beauty. Finally, head back to the Mejangan mainland for the evening.

Rise early this morning and meet your local guide before you head off into the Menjangan jungles to discover the area’s best natural scenery and species. Choose to discover the area at a slower pace by foot, or pick up the pace on a bicycle along tropical trails. All the while, learn a bit about how different flora and fauna in the area are used for antiseptics, medicines and even cosmetics! Get a glimpse at what the conservation efforts look like in this area, and what effect it has on the wild locals in the jungles. Keep an eye out for a local species of deer that is unique to the area, friendly and curious monkeys and even monitor lizards along the way. After your jungle adventure, head overland from Bali to Java before hopping on a ferry bound for your accommodation.

This is one of our own personal favorites. Nothing quite prepares you for Kawa Ijen.

Get up early this morning to meet your tour guide and hop on board a jeep bound for one of the country’s biggest volcano complexes. Journey just over an hour into the area’s beautiful scenery of terraced rice fields and rolling hills, and get a glimpse at the locals here plowing the soil with water buffaloes. Try to spot the fields of clove, coffee, cinnamon and gmelina – a kind of teak wood – before arriving at the gateway of Ijen Mountain.

After parking up Paltuding, embark on your climb of Mount Ijen. Head uphill for about three kilometres and keep an eye out for local porters carrying sulfure, a natural deposit from the volcanoes here. Some of these porters can easily carry up to 65 kilograms of sulfur on their shoulders!

Arrive at the summit of Mount Ijen to reach some of the best panoramic views in all of Indonesia. From here, get a perfect view of the Ijen Crater, the largest crater lake in Java that’s filled with an eerily blue and green water. After learning a bit about the sulfur industry in this area, head back downhill and meet your jeep to head back to your hotel.

Start your morning early with a drive to Sukamade Beach, about six hours from Banyuwangi. Along the journey, experience some of Indonesia’s best scenery, including plenty of remote villages, rubber plantations, coffee fields and cacao farms. Venture through the Meru Betiri National Park and keep an eye out for rare flora and fauna before arriving at your guest house in Sukamade. Settle into your simple but clean accommodation and enjoy a tasty dinner before heading to the coast to catch the sea turtles relaxing on the beach! If you’re lucky, catch a glimpse of these creatures laying their eggs on the beach before heading out to high sea.

All good things must come to an end. Head back to Bali, but not before creating memories to remember for lifetimes to come.