Volcano dawns, temple gates, seventeen thousand islands

Bali is the doorway. Java, Lombok and Komodo are the rest of it.

What the two in the morning climb up Batur is really like. Which Nusa Penida boat gets you to the mantas before the crowd. What a Bromo jeep seat costs from Malang. Reviews of the tours you can book across Indonesia.

Volcano sunrise treks Open the full list →

2,029tours to book

$6cheapest ticket

727days out under $50

The split gate at Pura Lempuyang with Mount Agung behind it, east Bali

The three that go first

01 The two a.m. start Mount Batur Sunrise Hike with Breakfast ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · from $30 Head torch up the ridge, breakfast cooked in the steam at the top.
02 The Penida boat day Nusa Penida day trip: boat, 4 snorkeling, Manta rays & Land tour ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · from $78 Four snorkel stops and the manta cleaning station off Nusa Penida.
03 The waterfall run Best of Bali Waterfalls: Tibumana, Tukad Cepung and Tegenungan ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · from $53 Tibumana, Tukad Cepung and Tegenungan in one day, swimming at each.

Before sunrise

Every good Indonesian morning starts in the dark.

Four ways to be standing on a crater rim at first light. What each one costs, how far you walk, and which island it means flying to.

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · From Surabaya / Malang : Mt Bromo Sunrise – Ijen Blue Fire 3D2N

Batur on footTwo hours up by torchlight, eggs cooked in the steam vents. from $1

Batur by jeepThe same rim, driven. No climb, and the 4x4 waits for the light. from $1

Bromo, across in JavaThe caldera floor and its sand sea from the Penanjakan viewpoint. from $41

Ijen after midnightSulphur miners, blue flame in the dark, a turquoise lake at dawn. from $39 All 130 sunrise departures →

Where to point the trip

Ubud and the Batur rim, then Java, Lombok and the Komodo boats.

Rice terraces and jungle rivers inland, a caldera you climb in the dark, the cliffs of Nusa Penida, the Javanese temple plain at Yogyakarta, dragons on Flores. Six places to build days around.

Best ofUbudRice terraces, river gorges and the monkey forest Best ofMount BaturA dawn ridge walk and the hot springs after Best ofNusa PenidaCliff arches, Kelingking and the manta channel Best ofYogyakartaBorobudur at first light, Prambanan at dusk Best ofKomodo & FloresDragons, Padar ridge and the pink beach Best ofLombokRinjani, waterfalls and the crossing to the Gilis

What fills up first

The Indonesian days out more travellers take than any other.

The whole Indonesia catalogue →

Ubud loops, Batur mornings and the Penida boats, in the order travellers actually book them.

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 14,344 reviews

All-Inclusive Ubud Private Tour

Spend 8 to 10 hours exploring Ubud with a private driver-guide such as Guna, Eka, Swandi, or Komang Godoh. Visit the Monkey Forest, Tegalalang Rice Terrace, Tirta Empul, Tegenungan Waterfall, a Balinese home, and a jungle swing. Lunch, transport, entrance fees, bottled water, and photos are included.

From · $100

Read our review →

2 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 8,571 reviews Best of Ubud Full-Day Tour with Jungle Swing from $56

3 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 7,160 reviews Ubud: Monkey Forest, Jungle Swing, Rice Terrace, and Water Temple from $31

4 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 6,424 reviews Nusa Penida by Private Boat – Snorkeling 4 spots, Swim with Mantas + Land Tour from $100

5 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 3,979 reviews Bali: Ubud Palace Legong Dance Show Ticket from $6

6 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,681 reviews Uluwatu Sunset, Kecak Dance, and Dinner Jimbaran Beach from $35

7 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,620 reviews Tanah Lot and North Bali Tour: Scenic Journey from $100

8 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,506 reviews Body Massage Experience in Ubud Traditional Spa from $21

9 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,069 reviews Bali Full-Day Traditional Village Sightseeing Trip All Inclusive from $68

Ubud

Ubud is a working town with a gorge running through it.

Tegallalang above the town, the Ayung river below it, a silver bench where you hammer your own ring, and a kitchen that sends you home able to make the sambal. Most people stay three nights and wish they had booked five.

Best ofWaterfallsBest ofRice TerracesBest ofTemplesBest ofCooking Classes

Every Ubud day out →

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 — Best of Ubud Waterfalls, Tegalalang Rice Terrace and Swing Tour

Ubud eBikes Tour to Tegallalang Rice Terrace

Body Massage Experience in Ubud Traditional Spa

Out on the water

The reef starts a twenty minute boat ride from the beach.

Mantas circling a cleaning station off Penida, turtles over the wreck at Tulamben, coral walls in the Gilis where the current does the swimming for you. The crossing is short and the water is warm all year.

Every boat day

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 241 reviewsBali Nusa Penida and Private Snorkeling (Manta Bay, Gamat, Wall)

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 864 reviewsOpen Water Course in Nusa Lembongan – Get Certified on remote island (next Bali)

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 330 reviewsGili Island Snorkeling Trip – Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, & Gili Air, From Lombok

Best ofPenida SnorkellingBest ofManta RaysBest ofDivingBest ofThe GilisBest ofKomodo BoatsBest ofWater Sports

Stone and water

Temple gates, terraced water and a waterfall you can stand under.

The island irrigates itself through its temples: every terrace draws from a water shrine upstream, and the same rivers drop off the edge of the highlands into pools you can swim in. One day covers a gate, a terrace and two falls without rushing.

Temples Waterfalls Rice terraces Jungle swings Monkey forest Caves

Line up every temple day →

What it costs

What a day out costs, from Ubud to Labuan Bajo.

Every tour on the site grouped by price. A driver, a guide and lunch for the day still lands under the cost of dinner at home.

Under $40

Dance tickets, a waterfall run with a driver, a rafting seat, a cooking class in a family kitchen.

$40 to $120

The full-day standards: Batur at dawn, the Penida boat, Borobudur and Prambanan in one run.

1All-Inclusive Ubud Private Tourfrom $100
2Best of Ubud Full-Day Tour with Jungle Swingfrom $56
3Nusa Penida by Private Boat – Snorkeling 4 spots, Swim with Mantas + Land Tourfrom $100

$120 and up

Private cars with a guide all day, Komodo speedboats, Ijen overnights and the multi-day jungle treks.

1Mount Bromo Sunrise Tour from Surabaya or Malang – 1 Dayfrom $153
2Nusa Penida Snorkeling Adventure (Private & All-Inclusive)from $129
3Exclusive Early Bird Komodo Tour: Beat the Crowds by Speed Boatfrom $151

Only here

Three things that happen here and on no other coastline.

Beaches and rice fields belong to half of Asia. A lizard that hunts buffalo, a crater that burns blue at night, and the last wild orangutans do not.

Flores

The Komodo dragons

Three metres, venomous, and entirely indifferent to the boat that brought you. The dragons live on Komodo and Rinca and nowhere else on earth, and rangers walk every group through the dry forest on foot. Most trips pair them with the ridge climb on Padar and a stop at the pink beach, sailing out of Labuan Bajo before the wind gets up.

1Exclusive Early Bird Komodo Tour: Beat the Crowds by Speed Boat★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,038 reviews
2Explore Komodo and Swim with Whale Sharks★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 138 reviews
3Full Day Trip to Explore 6 Destinations in Labuan Bajo and Komodo★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 116 reviews

See the full list →

East Java

The blue fire at Ijen

Sulphur gas escaping the crater ignites as it hits the air and burns electric blue, visible only in the dark. Miners carry eighty kilo baskets up the same path you walk down. The walk starts around one in the morning, masks are handed out at the rim, and by sunrise the flame is invisible and the lake below has turned turquoise.

1Mount Ijen Crater Tour From Ubud Bali★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 59 reviews
2Ijen Crater Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 33 reviews
3Mount Ijen Volcanic Crater Overnight Trip from Bali★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 21 reviews

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Sumatra and Borneo

Orangutans in the wild

Bukit Lawang on the edge of Gunung Leuser is the easiest place on the planet to meet a wild orangutan, and the guides there know the individual apes by name. In Kalimantan the trip is a river boat instead: you sleep on the deck of a kelotok and wake up moored at a feeding platform in Tanjung Puting.

13-Day Ethical Orangutan Jungle Trek | Bukit Lawang, Sumatra★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 401 reviews
22Ns Orangutan Kelotok Tour in Tanjung Puting Kalimantan – Borneo★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 208 reviews
33ns Private Orangutan and Bornean Primates Kelotok Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 176 reviews

See the full list →

Book before you fly

Four Indonesian days that will not wait for you.

Most of this country can be arranged over breakfast the day before. These four run on boat manifests, park permits and gates that open in the middle of the night.

01Exclusive Early Bird Komodo Tour: Beat the Crowds by Speed BoatBoats out of Labuan Bajo leave at first light on a fixed manifest, and the national park charges entry per person on the day.
023Days – Tumpaksewu Bromo Ijen Adventure via Malang or SurabayaThe trail up Ijen opens in the middle of the night and the blue flame is gone by sunrise, so there is one departure window and it is not flexible.
03Mount Bromo Sunrise Tour from Surabaya or Malang – 1 DayJeeps to the viewpoint leave around three in the morning from Malang and Probolinggo, and the seats are sold by the vehicle.
043-Day Ethical Orangutan Jungle Trek | Bukit Lawang, SumatraTrekking permits inside Gunung Leuser are capped per guide per day, and the walk runs over two or three days with a night in camp.

Wet-season afternoons

Afternoon storms from November to March, and what to do inside them.

Wet season here is not a washout. It is a hard hour of rain around four in the afternoon, most days, then steam rising off the road. Put the volcano and the boat in the morning and keep a roof over the rest of the day: a kitchen, a silver bench, a spa pavilion, a dance stage after dark.

Cooking classes Silver classes Spa afternoons Dance shows Yoga and healing Market runs