INDONESIA

On this page, lots of photos, travel diary and information on the wild, wonderful Indonesia.

Indonesia: information and travel tips

Why go? There are at least 18,000 reasons for leaving (many as many as the islands of which the Indonesian archipelago is composed). There is no time to list them all, also because for the more I don't know anything, but the point is that it is a country with a varied and spectacular nature, starting from the beaches (where you can surf, go snorkeling and diving or simply relax ) Up to active volcanoes. Outside the lively Bali, get out of the beaten paths is an authentic adventure that allows you to know a friendly and interesting population.
when to go? The dry season (from May to September) is certainly indicated to avoid dolving which is your travel itinerary in Indonesia.

How to move? To move you can take advantage of low-cost flights and cheap taxis. Also, you will always find someone willing to guide you for a few money. A rental car is useful where traffic is not too stressful, so as to venture into unknown places to tourism, following unique itineraries.
To rent a car here at the best prices for your travel itinerary I absolutely recommend by Search And book this link .
How much does it cost? Life in Indonesia is truly economical, if you give up luxury. To spend two weeks between Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (the cheapest) we spent much less than intercontinental flight and internal flights. In Java, a double room in an elegant hotel with swimming pool and all the comforts can cost twenty euros a night. In Bali, however, a hotel of the genre could even spend you.
Keep in mind that in what it costs I take into account all the journey ... from the middle for the airport departure to the drink passing to meals and souvenirs.
For an idea on hotel prices in Indonesia Click here to compare the hotels and find the most convenient accommodation.

Where to go? A travel itinerary that joins the nearby Java est and Bali is a good idea for various and spectacular landscapes and for contrasts between the two islands.
Other destinations? There are many possible destinations on different and distant islands: Lombok and its beaches, or Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi, with their jungles and corners forgotten by man (you can invent a very original travel itinerary! ). Not to mention the myriad of islets ideal for those who love the sea, relaxation, surfing, snorkeling or diving.

Travel Diary in Indonesia

The Indonesian Archipelago is a fascinating set of islands and islets between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, most of which deserves of a vacation. In the organization of a travel itinerary in Indonesia it is therefore necessary to decide which islands to visit: Bali and Lombok, the most tourist? Java, the most populated? The wild Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi?
We decided for a particular itinerary that I can recommend apart from some correction. We started the holiday from Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia , because flights were cheaper. From & quot; kl & quot; We would then have reached Singapore by land and from there, thanks to the low-cost flights of the excellent Air Asia, Java and Bali.
The visit of Kuala Lumpur was a first interesting experience in our Asian holiday; Skyscrapers, markets, temples, exotic food ...

Of Kuala Lumpur also struck the sultry heat. Walking through a city park, practically a small jungle, we reached the Menara tower and its panoramic terrace at 276 meters high, from which the skyscrapers of the city sampled, including the famous Petronas Towers. In the late afternoon I round for lively characteristic markets, which in the evening turned to the cheap food fair.
The next day we moved with the train to reach the long-range bus station of Kuala Lumpur, which was out of town . From here we started by bus to Singapore: six hours of travel plus the transition to customs.
We arrived at sunset and immediately the modern Singapore struck us.

Cheap accommodations were almost all full. The world on holiday in Singapore? Finally, we found a very dirty motel, which, however, won the "most typical and unpleasant and unpleasant room chamber of the holiday", as we will see in the following journal. Quay, one of the most lively areas of the city . He was along the Singapore river and was a nice glance: the lights of the bars on the riverfront and those of the skyscrapers reflected on the water in a myriad of color games. There were original bars and a certain joy. There were no tourists on vacation, some of them Italians.

The next day, always following the Singapore river, we reached Marina Bay, the mirror of water around which a jungle of skyscrapers creates one of the most spectacular skyline in the world , Meta Fixed for a travel itinerary in Singapore. It was a nice walk below a hot sun, but not too much. On one side of the bay soared the Marina Bay Sands, a set of three skyscrapers connected on the top of a huge ship-shaped structure, a structure on which a infinity pool and bars provided a truly unique show . We got up to the roof, visiting the accessible part to all, while the pools were for the hotel, rich tourists who spent as much as we throughout the holiday.

In the afternoon we made Wakeboard and Wakeskate (water skiing, but with table or skate) in a plant called Ski 360 degree: it was the sporty moment of our travel itinerary in Indonesia (even though we were in Singapore).
We then returned to Marina Bay, which starting from the sunset turned, in the area of the Esplanade , in a lively place of fun with restaurants, bars and live music.

This modern area is well maintained and, starting from the music, & quot; Westernized & quot;, but walking to the center of Singapore we also found traditional Asian markets.
The next morning, Air Asia took us from Singapore to Yogyakarta , in the central part of the island of Java, in Indonesia . Already, precisely the Indonesia, the goal of our travel itinerary of which this diary should in theory speak (here, now begins).

Yogyakarta, the arrival at the airport was not as we expected, we wanted information and Car rental, but in reality there was nothing: we felt more lost than on vacation.

In the end we found the Avis car rental in a road not far from the airport, where we rented a Toyota advanced, a low-beauty suv produced in Indonesia, to be returned to Surabaya, in the eastern part of Java.
we visited the center and the Palazzo del Sultan, we found a luxurious hotel for 12 euros per head for the night, we walked for the poor neighborhoods.

Cenemmo in the hotel - Good Indonesian, but repetitive and less tasty dishes than the Thai food ate in Singapore - and we soon went to sleep after an hour of relaxation by the pool (finally a bit of vacation).
The day After driving until fascinating temples of Borobudur and Prambanan , sets of impressive Buddhist buildings built in the green 1300 years ago.

They are relatively frequented tourist destinations, often part of organized travel routes, but it is not yet mass tourism and the outline is very rustic.

The temples deserved the visit to the grandeur of the monuments, as well as for the mystical atmosphere that reached the top at the least famous monuments near Prambanan, in particular the Palace of Rato Boku. In the evening we left east, direction Gunung Bromo, colliding with the worst traffic in the world. It was a double-way street, and for each lane there was an endless row of flocked vehicles that moved at thirty kilometers per hour, while on the road board they proceeded motor scores of bananas, people and serraples.
Our itinerary Travel was inevitably slowed down. We had to sleep in the most dirty motel for truck drivers in the world: it was zeppo of insects, but it cost us only 4 euros.
After 350 kilometers of busy road surrounded by cabins and houses, finally we arrived at the foot of the Bromo volcano. The road climbed into the jungle, tapping villages and cultivated fields, up to the picturesque village of Wonokitri, to two thousand meters of altitude. Among the many aggressive sellers, we found a very simple hotel and immediately left for the trip to the Bromo volcano. We had read that the dawn was preferable, but also at sunset it was fantastic, aboard a jeep with a little anglophone but nice guide.

We went down into the volcano caldera, and then climbed up on the summit of one of the most recent craters. Fumbled smoke and sulfur to repeat.

In Jeep we then reached a viewpoint from which to admire the wonderful sunset over the caldera.

Inmoded in the morning there was a random travel itinerary by car in the jungle, meeting occasional villages of farmers, until we decided inexplicably to walk into a school

It was incredible, because masters and students welcomed us as extraterrestrials, they played with us, laughed, asked us the autograph ... it really seemed the meeting between two different worlds. Other than vacation, we felt explorers from other times .

After that exciting experience we continued south on secondary roads, which were a pleasure, between jungle and villages. We found an indication for Sedangbiru, a country on the sea with palm trees and beaches and fishing boats. To be clever, our travel itinerary in Indonesia should have stopped here for a dozen year.

We followed a road along the beach, admiring the ocean, lagoons, vegetation on the beaches and a nice fisherman with his pirogue.

A little further on, along the beach, there were some houses. We hoped there was a hotel and a restaurant, a holiday idea at a long-occoured holiday outside the standings of Sedangbiru and surroundings. On the other hand, there was only one small shop, whose owner who nicknamed Mowgli proposed us to cook a grilled fish, and then let us sleep on the beach next to a bonfire: we immediately accepted!

La famiglia di Mowgli He was Catholic and the alone inhabitant of that area. There were neither tourists nor other Indonesians. Between dinner, chatter at gestures and the night at the beach, we spent one of the most incredible evenings of the holiday, but of our life!

The night actually was quite uncomfortable and humid, but we woke up in a magical place, which we explored and enjoyed ourselves for the rest of the morning: I hope these emotions emerge from the travel diary. Mowgli proposed us to stay with him, but reluctantly we said that we had to continue our senseless route.

Guided to Bali staying in a luxury hotel at 13 euros each per night. Luxury vacation at economic prices!
The next day we visited the Meru Bitiri National Park, well stocked with jungle, monkeys and beaches .

Here we also made a boat ride on the river: an improvised itinerary of great satisfaction, between mangroves and beaches and characteristic places.

After another pleasant night in the luxurious hotel we headed to Bali passing through the non-memorable city of Banyuwangi. We took the ferry and reached the incredible island of Bali: beaches, rice plantations, Hindu temples and infernal traffic welcomed us.

Our travel itinerary in Indonesia in effect was often complicated by the confusion on the roads.
We reached the immense and chaotic city of Kuta towards evening. After some research we found a hotel suitable for our needs (downtown, with parking and at a good price). Kuta's Movida was very lively.
in Bali dozens of surf masters offer lessons and renting good prices, so in those days we had fun among the waves. We crossed the island to the north, along an itinerary on idyllic streets as one might expect from Bali. The traffic here was no longer a problem while guided among rice paddies, lakes and green hills.

The next day we wanted to do snorkeling on the coral reef of the Isola di Menjangan , which has splendid backdrops and colored fish: to go there, just ask some kind with the boat.

By ferry we returned to Bali to Java and always passing along splendid beaches we arrived in Surabaya.

Traffic was not unbearable as in the road we had traveled. From Surabaya airport we flew to Kuala Lumpur with Air Asia and from here to Italy.
Thus ended another exciting vacation, a random and improvable travel itinerary but still very satisfying. To pull the sums, as a final of this travel diary, I would say that among the wonderful places described, certainly those that gave us the greatest emotions were the villages outside the tourist itineraries, visited almost by chance in absolute freedom. In hindsight, it would have had to spend more time to wander like unknown lands, perhaps reducing some heavy movements. If you like these wild trips or if you want to find more photos of this and other destinations, as well as advice and new itineraries, visit our FB page and put like: