Indonesian Summary

Days travelled - 18 days (2 weeks, 4 days)

Distance travelled - Approx. 2337 km (1461 miles)

Hours travelled - 80 hrs (3 days, 8 hours)

Destinations - 8

Top 3

3 - Gilli Trawangan - Although there's not much to do on this island if you're not diving or snorkeling, it has a chilled out vibe that's also seen through the local people. The island isn't that big so it's a nice walk around!

2 - Gunung Bromo - Our first volcano and I'm sure it won't be our last. Yes it is a big tourist attraction but it's definately worth getting there to see the sunrise-you'll be amazed. Stay away from the crowd and you'll enjoy it more. Best thing is, Indonesia is full of volcanoes.

1 - Bali - Our first trip to Kuta wasn't what made Bali the hot spot, it was the 2 day motorbike ride starting in Ubud to the north of Bali via Munduk. We rode up to the peaks and saw more volcanoes and lakes at heights above 2000m. Another off the beaten track ride for us, which makes it our number 1.

Final Advice

Starting Indonesia by flying into Jakarta isn't the ideal way to start travelling around such a beautiful country but it is the capital and a short brief visit is all that's needed. The Indonesian people are soooooo friendly, probably the friendliest people we have met on our travels. There are not many people who speak English but you can usually find someone who can speak enough broken English to get by. We visited the country at a bad time for us because played shit in the world cup and we get cussed for it all the time but I'm sure they'll love us again-give it til the next world cup!

Indonesia is made up of different sized islands and travelling from one place to another is hard work. We've realised that they never reach the destination at the correct time so you have to be quite flexible with your time. Java is the only island with a train line and if you can, try travelling on the train, it's just a lot more comfortable and usually takes less time. Buses here are good enough, it's just sometimes leg room is a problem with us generally being a lot taller then them. The only major problem we found was how badly Indonesia is connected in terms of getting from one island to the other. Yes you can get buses/boats but they're time consuming, but if you look into flights, they are really expensive.

We originally wanted to go to Kalimantan (Borneo) via a pelni boat, the only boat company that goes across, but it seems they only have 2 boats going across every month and they usually don't know the schedule until a few days before so it would be really wise to plan your trip around their boat departures to save you the hassle of going back to Jakarta like we did.

All in All, Indonesia has been a dream country to travel because every island has something different to offer. I personally could spend 3 months easily taking my time exploring the whole of Indonesia. It's just that you need a bit money to climb up the big Volcanoes, which has got to be done if you can afford it!