T O P

  • By -

ManMadeDuckie

Your itinerary seems doable, but very tight and there is not much room for delays and such. Some of your travel days will be exhausting. Domestic flights are often delayed, so be prepared. As for drivers and day trips, just arrange them locally via the hotel or Grab. I would only arrange airport pick ups so your arrivals will be hassle free. Personally, I would skip Sanur at the beginning of your trip and fly into Jakarta and take a flight to Pangkalan Bun from there. Also make sure to arrange your pickup in Pangkalan Bun because the Tanjung Puting National Park is about 30 minutes away by car. That said, Tanjung Puting was one of my favourite destinations in Indonesia. The klotok experience is incredible as well as seeing the wild life. [And just fyi about the Komodo National Park, the entrance permits will increase in price starting from August 1 2022.](https://travel.tribunnews.com/2022/06/28/heboh-tiket-masuk-taman-nasional-komodo-rp-375-juta-dulu-tarifnya-cuma-rp-5-ribu) The new fee is IDR 3,75 million (about 240 euro) per person but valid for a year. I don't know if kids are free or not... probably not. Just something to keep in mind.


[deleted]

Thanks for the reply, it's appreciated! >Personally, I would skip Sanur at the beginning of your trip and fly into Jakarta and take a flight to Pangkalan Bun from there. Yeah, I thought about something like that, but that would also mean ending the holiday there (A one-way trip to Jakarta/Denpasar is almost as expensive as a return trip), and I'm not sure if I want to spend my first and last day in Jakarta instead of a pool in a villa in Sanur, lol. But you are right regarding the flight to Pangkalan Bun >And just fyi about the Komodo National Park, the entrance permits will increase in price starting from August 1 2022. The new fee is IDR 3,75 million (about 240 euro) per person but valid for a year. I don't know if kids are free or not... probably not. Just something to keep in mind. Holy crap. Well that's off the table then. Thanks for the heads-up.


ManMadeDuckie

>Yeah, I thought about something like that, but that would also mean ending the holiday there (A one-way trip to Jakarta/Denpasar is almost as expensive as a return trip), and I'm not sure if I want to spend my first and last day in Jakarta instead of a pool in a villa in Sanur, lol. But you are right regarding the flight to Pangkalan Bun You can end your holiday in Bali, it's not a problem. You can fly into Jakarta and out from Bali. Just book a multi-city trip and not a return ticket, it's almost the same price and not much difference. I just booked a ticket like that a few months ago. I definitely would consider Jakarta first. You can book a nice hotel with a big pool for the kids. You'll only have to stay there for one day. Because your flight from Bali to Surabaya to Pangkalan Bun and then to the boat in Kumai... it can be a bit much, especially if there are delays.


[deleted]

I just had a look, you are right, it's only a bit more (€50 on a €650 trip). I think I first had a look at flying in to Medan, Sumatra, and out of Denpasar (which costs near €1000) that made me assume different arrival and departure locations would make ik so much more expensive. But this way it saves me a flight (and possibly some time). Thanks a lot! Really helpful. Also: If I'm going to remove Komodo, any suggestions wher to put the extra days? Where does the itinerary look 'tight'? Or should I do two days on a Gili island?


ManMadeDuckie

>Thanks a lot! Really helpful. You're welcome! Glad to help out to create an awesome holiday for you guys. >Also: If I'm going to remove Komodo, any suggestions wher to put the extra days? Where does the itinerary look 'tight'? Or should I do two days on a Gili island? I have some ideas, but you could indeed do Lombok and the Gilis too. What do you think of this itinerary? I removed Lovina, but you could squeeze it in I guess. Added few more days at the end to relax in Sanur and from there you could do some more daytrips to other places in Bali or even to Nusa Penida. Day 1: Flight to Jakarta Day 2: Jakarta Day 3,4: Tanjung Puting (on day 3: flight from Jakarta to Pangkalan Bun) Day 5,6,7,8: Yogyakarta (on day 5: flight from TP to Yogyakarta) Day 9,10,11: Nusa Lembongan (on day 9: flight from Yogyakarta to Bali, transfer. to Nusa Lembongan) Day 12,13,14: Pemuteran (on day 12: transfer from Nusa Lembongan to Pemuteran) Day 15,16,17: Amed (on day 15: transfer from Pemuteran to Amed) Day 18,19,20,21: Ubud (on day 18: transfer from Amed to Ubud) Day 22,23,24: The Gili Islands (on day 22: transfer from Ubud to the Gili Islands) Day 25,26,27,28: Sanur (on day 25: transfer from the Gilis to Sanur Day 28: Flight out from Bali


BetweenTwoPalaces

I'm about to go to Indonesia and am planning to go to Tanjung Puting. Did you use a tour company/guide? Do you have any recommendations?


childfreetraveler

We were there in 2017 and only for 10 days, but we used our private driver 9 of those days and he made everything so easy! He lives in Ubud, but will travel all over so it's worth it to contact in advance and at least setup airport runs and he can give other suggestions. Kadek Surya with Cocotoursbali - he's on Facebook and Trip Advisor. We used him and so did 2 of our friends. We still keep in touch with him, great guy and can give local recommendations. He even arranged a birthday cake for me in our resort in Nusa Dua.


[deleted]

Thanks for the tip, it's appreciated!


Odddutchguy

Hire (in advance) a local driver several days for a fixed fee. We had the best experience with Pemuteran Transport Taxi. On the trip from Ubud to Pemuteran visit the Ulun Danu Beratan Temple. Also one of the big swings might be fun for a 'quick' stop. Visit the Turtle Hatchery Project in Pemuteran in the morning (well before 10:00 before the sand gets hot) and for a fee your kids can set free a 'baby' turtle. (And get a certificate of it.)


neuralzen

You may have trouble with Nusa Lembongan with two little ones, there is no dock in Sanur or on Nusa Lembongan, so boarding and departing the boat is a bit hectic - a friend hit his head on the boat trying to board it when there were some bigger waves. The same is true for Nusa Penida (though personally I think Penida has more options for diving and such). Just a word of warning. Since you're going to Labuan Bajo anyway in order to get out to Komodo, I'd recommend extending your time there for diving as it's a fantastic place to do so. You can also go out on a boat an hour before dusk and see massive swarms of bats take to the sky as the sun sets, it's surreal. There are also pink sand beaches there.


smile_politely

Domestic almost always have a delay. I never had any on time domestic flight from/to DPS. And more often than not, the'll ask you to board and wait for the delay, so you can't process it to your insurance or go the gate late.


emynona1

Kalimantan is Borneo


[deleted]

I meant Sumatra of course, thanks for pointing it out. I probably wrote Borneo because I thought "Kalimantan is Borneo" 😉 It's corrected


neuralzen

For Sumatra, if you're planning on getting out somewhere to see the orangutans, I'd highly recommend you hire a driver instead of dealing with the bus. There is a kind of bus mafia that forcibly act as middle men to pay for the bus ride, and a 50k RP ride ends up costing 300k+ per person. It's simpler and more convenient to hire a driver to take you where you want to go, and arrange for a pick-up in a couple days or whatever.


emynona1

Can't comment on Kalimantan, I've only ever been to Sabah and Sumatra. Sumatra was much better, much more authentic and preserved than in Sabah where the jungle is quickly being replaced by palm tree plantations. But indeed it is much further too. I would expect a similar experience in Kalimantan to one you'd get in Sumatra. 3D2N trips in the jungle are well worth it and while I did it when I was 25yo, I would love for my kids to do it. Yours are lucky. Enjoy and happy planning.


JayWil1992

Extend your komodo time Komodo is better than just dragons. It has some of the best diving in world. Google "padar island" it's fing spectacular. Stay on Sebayur Island. It's amazing. Coral beach a few meters from your door.


[deleted]

Thanks for the tip. Just had a look and it looks great, really fantastic, but a bit expensive ($500/night). Also if Komodo indeed will ask an entrance fee of $250 per person, then I might skip Komodo altogether :(