AsiaIndonesiaIndonesia
Most people meet Indonesia through Bali and never get past it. Behind it is a crater that burns blue at midnight, one of two on earth, a dive at Cape Kri with a world-record 374 species, and sunrise over three volcanoes from a jeep that left at three. Bali is the doorway, not the country.
Who it's for
Is this your trip?
When to visit
April–October for Bali, Java, Lombok and Komodo
Festivals
Worth planning around
Destinations
16 places
Food guide
Eat like a local
Not to miss
Essential experiences
Culture
Know before you go
Daily budget
€13–34 budget · €43–105 mid · €130+ comfort, per person
Practicalities
Visa, SIM & more
IndonesiaIndonesia in a nutshell
Where to go in Indonesia
Turn these stops into a Indonesia route
Pick your favourites and Stippl orders them, adds travel times and builds the day-by-day.
Routes that work
Indonesia itineraries, one week to three
Indonesia is loved by culture seekers and backpackers alike. We recommend several routes through this country, here they are in full!
3 nights3 days, Komodo by phinisi
Labuan Bajo · Komodo
Peak dragon activity and calm seas for boat crossings to Komodo National Park; dry conditions offshore.
4 nights4 days, the Bromo and Ijen circuit from Bali
Ijen Plateau · Bromo Tengger Semeru · Pronojiwo
Dry season ensures sunrise visibility at Mount Bromo and safe access to the Ijen Plateau sulfur lakes.
6 nights1 week: East Java, Yogyakarta to the volcanoes
Yogyakarta · Malang · Ijen Plateau
Dry season gives clear volcano views at Ijen Plateau and Mount Bromo; good road conditions to Malang.
7 nights1 week, Bali first-timer
Canggu · Ubud · Nusa Penida
Dry season with calm seas around Nusa Penida and reliable volcano views from Ubud and Uluwatu.
9 nights2 weeks: North Sumatra, slow
Medan · Bukit Lawang · Berastagi
Dry season for jungle trekking around Bukit Lawang orangutans and highland walks near Berastagi.
10 nights10 days, Bali by private driver
Uluwatu · Ubud · Munduk
Highlands around Munduk and Ubud are clearest and coolest; dry season ideal for temple visits.
10 nights10 days, Lombok and the Gilis
Gili Trawangan · Gunung Rinjani · Tetebatu
Dry season opens Mount Rinjani climbing; Gilis have calm waters; Kuta Lombok uncrowded and warm.
14 nights2 weeks, Java and Bali in one run
Yogyakarta · Malang · Bromo Tengger Semeru
Volcanoes (Bromo, Ijen) clearest in dry season; Ubud and Canggu avoid peak crowds and high prices.
14 nights2 weeks: the Bali loop, south to north
Uluwatu · Nusa Lembongan · Nusa Penida
Dry season keeps island hopping smooth between Nusa Lembongan and Penida; Ubud and Munduk at their best.
21 nights3 weeks: Bali slow, with the Gilis
Canggu · Munduk · Ubud
Sweet spot for calm seas between Bali and Gili Air; dry weather across all stops from Canggu to Uluwatu.
21 nights3 weeks, Bali with children
Canggu · Ubud · Munduk
Dry season and lower crowds than peak July; Nusa Lembongan seas calm; highland Munduk and Sidemen cooler.
Updated September 2026 · Written by the Stippl editors688,000+ stops in Indonesia have been planned on Stippl. Here is what they say about the country.
Indonesia is a country you cross in stages, and most travellers give a stop 3 nights. The named set is the sunrise at Mount Bromo and the blue flame at Ijen in East Java, Borobudur and Prambanan on the way through, a phinisi boat out of Labuan Bajo for Komodo, and the diving at Raja Ampat. On Bali and Lombok it is the Batur sunrise hike, the Rinjani trek, Tirta Empul and Besakih, and the Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu.
No single place owns Indonesia the way Bali owns its reputation. The most-planned destination in the country takes only 11% of all the stops planned here, and you arrive for one island and leave having planned five. That is the opposite of what the brochures suggest, and it is the reason trips here run long.
So give it real time or give it Bali. A typical Indonesian trip runs 25 days, and that length is doing the work: the internal flights and the boat legs eat days that a shorter trip does not have. Skip Indonesia if you have one week and are starting from Europe, where the flight alone runs about eighteen hours each way, and think twice if you need polished infrastructure or reliable healthcare once you leave Bali.
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Download the appWho Indonesia is for
Divers and snorkellers
The single strongest case for the country: the Coral Triangle runs through it, Raja Ampat holds the world record for fish species on one dive, and Amed, the Gilis, Nusa Penida and Komodo are all first-rank in their own right.
Surfers
Canggu and Kuta for learning, Uluwatu and Medewi for advanced, Kuta Lombok and Selong Belanak for a quieter version, and the Mentawais for the serious pilgrimage.
Volcano hikers, pre-dawn people
Bromo, Ijen, Rinjani and Batur all start between midnight and 03:00 and all reward it.
Backpackers and digital nomads
Cheap, hostel-rich and well-trodden, with an established nomad economy in Canggu and Ubud and a newer one in Kuta Lombok.
Culture travellers
Yogyakarta's court arts and batik, Borobudur and Prambanan, and Balinese Hinduism as a living daily practice rather than a monument.
Families
Bali specifically: private villas at modest prices, ride-hailing everywhere, restaurants with playgrounds and pools; much harder elsewhere in the country.
First-time long-haul travellers
Bali has short distances, easy logistics and no need for a tour operator, which is why it is the standard first independent trip, and 25 days is typical.
Maybe not for you: anyone with one week and a European starting point, since the flight alone is about 18 hours each way; travellers who need reliable healthcare outside Bali; spontaneous travellers bound for Raja Ampat, where everything books out months ahead; and beginners riding in Canggu's traffic.
The best time to visit Indonesia
Dry season
April to October
The default window for Bali, Lombok, the Gilis, Java and Komodo: calm seas, good visibility underwater and reliable volcano sunrises. October is the shoulder, dry on the tables and wet in some years.
Wet season
November to March
Heavy showers in thirty to sixty minute bursts rather than all-day rain. The trade-offs are rough crossings, poor dive visibility, cancelled boats and plastic on Bali's beaches.
Raja Ampat, the other way round
best November to March
When the rest of the country is at its best, Raja Ampat is in its monsoon, and the reverse. A dive trip there is a wet-season trip for everywhere else.
- Nyepi shuts the whole of Bali including the airport, and the date moves every year. For 24 hours from 06:00 nobody leaves their accommodation, no flight lands or leaves, and the boats to the Gilis and Nusa Penida stop with it.
- January is the second-busiest month for Indonesia on Stippl, in the middle of the wet season, and it is planned about 84 days ahead. The rain does not move the northern-hemisphere school holiday; only 12.46% of plans are made inside a fortnight.
- The Rinjani summit route is shut from November to April. The park closes fully from January to March and the summit trail stays shut either side of it; take the cautious reading and confirm with the park before a shoulder-month trek.
- Komodo dragons are hardest to see from June to August, which is peak season for everything else. Mating season runs through those months and sightings drop; April to June or September puts you on the water with fewer boats and better odds.
- Galungan and Kuningan fall ten days apart and close roads across Bali. Both dates move with the 210-day Balinese calendar, penjor poles line every street, and village ceremonies block roads for hours.
- Weather forecasts for Raja Ampat are close to useless. Microclimates, complex currents and almost no weather stations mean forecast storms routinely never arrive; plan around the season, not the ten-day outlook.
Add your Indonesia dates and we'll flag the weather per stop
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Festivals, and when to avoid them
Nyepi
Bali's day of silence: the whole island stops for twenty-four hours from six in the morning, including the airport. No traffic, no lights, no leaving your accommodation, all shops and beaches closed. The Ogoh-Ogoh parades the evening before are the highlight; stock up the day before.
Galungan and Kuningan
Galungan and then Kuningan ten days later: penjor bamboo poles line every street in Bali and ceremonies close roads and businesses on the day itself. Twice a year on the Balinese calendar, the next pair after this one in August 2027.
Lebaran
Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, is the biggest domestic travel week in the country: flights and ferries book out, Jakarta empties and Bali fills with Indonesian families. The date moves eleven days earlier each year; book the flight months ahead.
Christmas and New Year
Bali's peak fortnight: villa rates double, Canggu and Seminyak are full and the airport queues run to hours. The rest of the archipelago is quiet in the same weeks.
Australian school holidays
The fortnights that fill Bali with families: Kuta, Seminyak and Nusa Dua are at their busiest and the surf schools are booked. Ubud and the east are calmer in the same weeks.
Bali Arts Festival
A month of parades, dance and exhibitions at the arts centre in Denpasar, free and mostly in the evenings. It changes nothing about rooms; it is worth a night from Sanur or Ubud.
Raja Ampat rest day
Boat transfers and tours are limited or unavailable across Raja Ampat on Sundays, and on Saturday on Batanta. Plan the arrival and the diving days around it.
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Things to do in Indonesia
Sunrise at Mount Bromo
Take the three o'clock jeep from Cemoro Lawang to the viewpoint over three volcanoes, then cross the Sea of Sand and climb the steps to the smoking crater rim, about €25 for the jeep. The single most repeated Java experience.
The Ijen blue flame
Climb at midnight to the crater where burning sulphur glows blue, one of only two such sites on earth, above the world's largest acidic lake, with a guide and a gas mask for about €30. The sulphur miners pass you on the path with seventy-kilo loads.
A Komodo boat from Labuan Bajo
Spend two or three days on a wooden phinisi: Padar's sunrise ridge, Pink Beach, a guided dragon walk on Rinca and the manta cleaning station, from about €150 a night. A day boat covers the highlights for about €60.
Diving Raja Ampat
Dive Cape Kri, the site that holds the world record of 374 fish species on one dive, and Melissa's Garden and Manta Sandy from a homestay or a liveaboard. Far and expensive; a week is the realistic booking.
Borobudur and Prambanan
See the largest Buddhist temple in the world and Indonesia's largest Hindu complex, both ninth century and both within an hour of Yogyakarta, on one day with a driver for about €35. Borobudur's upper levels are capped and ticketed by the hour.
The Mount Rinjani trek
Climb Indonesia's second-highest volcano from Senaru or Sembalun over two to four days, with the crater lake halfway and a summit sunrise at 3,726 metres, about €200 with a licensed operator. Permits are issued online and the season is April to December.
What to eat in Indonesia
fried rice with chicken, prawn crackers and a fried egg; the de facto national dish
the fried-noodle version of the same plate
rice with an assortment of small sides: the flexible everyday plate, also called nasi rames
grilled chicken skewers in a sweet peanut sauce
vegetables, tempeh or tofu, potato and egg under peanut sauce; the name means "mix"
turmeric chicken soup, the best loved of many soto variants
beef braised down in coconut milk and spices until dry
meatball soup sold from carts and stalls
fermented soybean cake, fried or braised, the vegetarian backbone
young jackfruit slow-cooked in palm sugar and coconut milk
a spread of small dishes brought to the table; you pay only for what you eat
the standard national lager
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Indonesian customs and what not to do
Bring your own sarong
Temple dress on Bali is not optional: shoulders and legs covered and a sarong at the gate. Some ticketed temples include one and others rent them, so carrying your own is cheaper.
Processions close the roads
Balinese Hinduism is daily practice rather than heritage: offerings appear on every doorstep by morning, Besakih is an active place of worship, and a ceremony will close a road without notice.
Bali's rules are not Java's
Java, Lombok and Sumatra are Muslim-majority: cover shoulders and knees in towns and at religious sites, keep beachwear at the beach, and read up on Ramadan before travelling in it.
Anger loses you the deal
Social style is soft and indirect and people rarely refuse outright or show anger; negotiate with a smile, because visible irritation ends the exchange.
Staring is not hostile
In less-visited areas, Java especially, people stare and often ask to photograph Western visitors; it is curiosity, and a yes with a smile costs nothing.
The app takes a big cut
Tipping Grab and Gojek drivers directly, a few thousand rupiah in cash, is appreciated because the platforms keep a large share of the fare.
Do
- Carry your own sarong, and use it without being asked at temples
- Learn selamat pagi and terima kasih; the effort lands disproportionately well
- Get up for sunrise; the famous viewpoints are quiet and cool before nine
- Accept the helmet on any scooter, and wear a cap under the rental one
- Take a motion-sickness tablet before any Bali to Lombok or Gili fast boat
Don't
- Book a flight across Nyepi; Bali's airport closes for the full 24 hours
- Go anywhere near drugs; possession can carry the death penalty
- Rely on Google Maps' shortest route for a car on Bali
- Ride a scooter assuming your insurance covers you; without a motorcycle licence and an IDP it almost certainly does not
- Open a backpack in front of the monkeys at Uluwatu or the Ubud Monkey Forest
What a Indonesia trip costs
Budget
€13–34
Homestay or hostel bed, warung meals, a shared scooter, public boats and ferries.
Mid-range
€43–105
Private room or a shared villa, restaurant meals, private-driver days, a dive or a boat trip.
High-end
€130+
Design villas and resorts, a private guide and driver throughout, a Komodo phinisi or a liveaboard.
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Visas, SIM cards and getting around
Entry & visa
Visa on arrival, apply online
EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports get a 30-day visa on arrival for about €24 (500,000 Rp), cheaper applied online. Bali adds a €7.50 (150,000 Rp) tourism levy.
Money
Withdraw big, unblock first
The rupiah is the currency and cash dominates outside Bali's tourist south. ATM fees run to a few euros a withdrawal, so draw large amounts and unblock your card first.
Connectivity
Telkomsel reaches the islands
Local SIMs are cheap and eSIMs work well across Bali, Java and Lombok. Telkomsel is the only network that works in Raja Ampat, where most homestays have no wifi.
Getting around
Hire a driver for the day
There is no usable public transport, so everyone rides a scooter, opens Grab or Gojek, or hires a driver for the day at about €30 to €43, the best-value decision.
Health
The list grows with the trip
DTP and hepatitis A are the standard recommendations, typhoid beyond two weeks. Scooter accidents are the most common serious harm, so wear a helmet and check your policy covers you.
Water
Even for brushing teeth
Tap water is not drinkable anywhere, Jakarta included; brush your teeth with bottled water. Refills are offered at most homestays and hotels, so a filter bottle pays for itself.
Tipping
Small notes, given in person
Tipping is not obligatory, but small amounts are appreciated at local wages. Tip Grab and Gojek drivers directly rather than in the app, because the platforms take a large cut.
Power & plugs
European plugs fit
Sockets are type C and F at 230 V, the same as the Netherlands, so European travellers need nothing. Pack a power bank; Lombok and the small islands lose power.
Language
No tones, so easy to say
Bahasa Indonesia is written in Latin script with no tones, which makes it unusually approachable. A handful of words is appreciated, and English thins out fast beyond Bali's tourist areas.
Indonesian worth knowing
Nobody expects you to speak the language, which is exactly why a handful of words goes so far.
se-la-mat pa-gi
Good morning (06:00–10:00) · selamat pagi
se-la-mat see-ang
Good day (10:00–15:00) · selamat siang
se-la-mat ma-lam
Good evening (from 18:00) · selamat malam
te-ree-ma ka-see
Thank you · terima kasih
sa-ma sa-ma
You're welcome · sama sama
be-ra-pa har-ga-nya
How much is it? · berapa harganya?
a-pa ka-bar
How are you? · apa kabar?
e-nak
Delicious · enak
ba-goos
Great / good · bagus
wa-roong
A small family-run eatery · warung
Indonesia questions, answered
By choosing one island group. An Indonesia trip runs 25 days on Stippl and that is one group done properly, because every hop between them is an internal flight. Lay those flights into Stippl first, then show the route to people who have done it, in the Indonesia subreddits.
Ubud, Canggu, Uluwatu, Seminyak, Lombok, Yogyakarta and the Gilis get three; Nusa Penida, Kuta, Sanur, Sidemen and Labuan Bajo two; Denpasar and Jakarta one. That is across the 688,000+ stops planned in Indonesia on Stippl, and it is a country of three-night bases.
Two trips in three do, and Thailand is the most common partner by a wide margin. Only 35.19% of the Indonesia trips planned on Stippl stay inside Indonesia, which is worth knowing before you book a return into Denpasar: plenty of people fly out from somewhere else.
Bali for infrastructure, food, temples and variety; Lombok for emptier beaches, better value, real surf and a volcano you can climb. Lombok is harder work: fewer roads, fewer drivers, less that runs to a timetable. Most people with a fortnight do Bali, then a week of Lombok or the Gilis.
It is a twenty-four hour shutdown of the whole of Bali, airport included, once a year in March. Nobody flies in or out and you stay on your property all day. Check the date before booking a March flight, and if it falls inside your trip, the Ogoh-Ogoh parade the night before is the reason to be there.
Rental shops will often hand over the keys, and that is not the same as being allowed to. These are motorcycles: you need a motorcycle entitlement and an international permit, police do check, and without them your travel insurance almost certainly will not pay out on a crash. Hire a driver instead.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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