first draft -- java and bali, plus

Old Jan 9th, 2016, 11:25 PM
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kja
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first draft -- java and bali, plus

Warning: LONG thread ahead!!!

With the help of many previous posters, I am (I think, and hope!) moving closer to a plan for my time in and around Java and Bali. With this thread, I hope to place my trip in context, suggest a rough preliminary itinerary, and ask some questions. Thanks to all, in advance, for your help!

Previous threads: I’ve already obtained some excellent advice in response to questions I posed; here are the links:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...and-hakone.cfm and
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ana-ballet.cfm

General plan: I’m likely to spend up to, but no more than, 30 days (counting travel days) starting in May and extending, as necessary (depending on exact time) into the beginning of June. My primary destinations are central and eastern Java and Bali. My secondary destinations are Singapore, which I think would be an interesting place to recover from jet lag on my way to Java, and Narita, which I think would be a reasonable place to break my flight back to the U.S.

Likes, dislikes, and context: I’m a woman with reasonably extensive experience as a solo, independent traveler. Wherever I go, I seek to maximize the diversity of my experiences -- cities and towns, different styles of art and architecture, varied natural scenery, etc…. I typically enjoy art, architecture, museums, religious sanctuaries, parks and gardens, natural scenery, markets (for their atmosphere, not for shopping), picturesque villages, folk traditions and performing arts, the chance to see and experience other parts of the world, and delicious foods. I am not a beach person (but will want at least one sunset walk on a beach in Bali), am not interested in clubbing or nightlife, and am not looking to relax (I’m sure I’ll find time for that over meals; instead, I want to take full advantage of every available moment to see and do things I can’t do anywhere else). I am unlike many Fodorites in that I strongly prefer one-night stays that allow me to move forward rather than backtracking to a base city:

Decisions reached to date:

• I will try to avoid the May 5-8 weekend in Java
• I will avoid Waisak at Borobudur
• I will forego Ijen ☹
• I will forego Hakone

First cut at an itinerary:

(Day 1: Depart)
• Night 1: Flight -- Day 2: Flight to Singapore
• Night 2: Arrive in Singapore just before midnight. Days 3 to 6: Singapore
• Night 3-6: Singapore; Day 7: Fly fro Singapore to Semarang, bus to Wonosobo
• Night 7: Wonosobo; Day 8: Dieng Plateau, taxi/driver to Borobudur
• Night 8: Borobudur; Day 9: Borobudur
• Night 9: Borobudur; Day 10: Taxi and then bus to Yogyacarta (Jogja)
• Night 10: Jogja; Day 11: Jogja
• Night 11: Jogja; Day 12: Bus or taxi to Prambanan
• Night 12: Prambanan; Day 13: Prambanan, late in the day, take a taxi to Surakarta (Solo)
• Night 13: Solo; Day 14: Solo
• Night 14: Solo; Day 15: Train from Solo to Blitar
• Night 15: Blitar; Day 16: Blitar (and the temples of Panataran)
• Night 16: Blitar; Day 17: Train from Blitar to Malang
• Night 17: Malang; Day 18: Day trip to Mt. Bromo
• Night 18: Blitar; Day 19: Taxi to Surabaya, flight to Denpasar, maybe a taxi to Pura Tanah Lot before taking a taxi (or…) to a quiet beach-front hotel
• Night 19: Beach side hotel; Day 20: Taxi to Ubud
• Night 21: Ubud; Days 21 to 25: Ubud. (Hire a taxi for 1 day to visit Tampaksiring and Pura Besakih; Hire a taxi for 1 day to visit the Jatiluwih Road and Pura Luhur Batukaru)
• Night 25: Ubud; day 26: Taxi or driver to Semarapura and on, later in the day, to Jemeluk Beach (Amed)
• Night 26: Jemeluk (or); Day 27: Taxi (or) from Jemeluk, perhaps through Taman Tirta Gangga) to Denpasar
• Night 27: Denpasar; Day 28: Denpasar
• Night 28: Denpasar; Day 29: Depart For Narita
• Night 29: Narita (just one night and part of a day in Narita)
• Day 30: Narita to home

Key questions:
1. First and foremost – what problems do you see with my plan? Given that I don't have enough time for everything, where am I giving too little time, or too much. What am skipping that I should include, or including that I should skip. Where are my time estimates unrealistic?

2. Tranpsortation– I’ve been using various sources to identify my opitons, and am finding Rome2Rio useful – is that a reasonalby accurate source to get an idea of my options?

3. Life style. Unfortuantely, I am NOT a morning person, don’t deal well with heat, and no longer have the stamina or strength for some of the hikes I’m sure I would once have enjoyed. Any suggestions for optimizing my time in the area despite these limitations are welcome!


I know I’ll have many more questions as I proceed – please be patient and know that I appreciate your input. Many thanks!
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Old Jan 10th, 2016, 12:06 AM
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Glad your itinerary is coming together. You are moving around 5 times between nights 7 and 14 in the general vicinity. While I understand you don't mind moving around so much, I question the value of it as the distances are not very great. For example, between Yogyakarta and Prambanan, I don't recall it being that much more than an hour if that. Your time in Malang seems very short; I would want to add to that.
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Old Jan 10th, 2016, 12:41 AM
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Oops! Night 18 should be marked for Malang, not Blitar!

That doesn't address trippqanner's broader concern, but maybe makes a least a tiny bit more sense.
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Old Jan 10th, 2016, 01:50 AM
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Although your progression from Semarang to Wonosobo to Borobudur to Yogya makes sense on a map, I think you'll find getting from place to place difficult to negotiate by bus.

I've been through Wonosobo but haven't stayed there. Wonosobo is both a regency (like a county) and a town. The town is more or less 3.5 to 4.0 hours from Semarang airport, and transportation within the regency is limited. My inclination would be to stay near Borobudur (or in the Magelang area) and take a day trip with a car and driver to Dieng. Barring that, have your hotel in Wonosobo arrange to pick you up at Semarang airport.

I understand that you like to try different places, but staying in Yogya, Prambanan and Solo sounds like one too many to me too. Culturally, there's not a lot of difference. And I'd agree that you could extend Malang by a day.

Bromo Tengger National Park is not just one mountain but a group of volcanic peaks with stunning vistas at different times of day. The roads to the outskirts of the park are good, but once you get to the mountain area it's slow going. My preference would be to overnight in the mountains and go directly to Surabaya airport from there.

Denpasar airport to Tanah Lot is about 2 hours, sometimes more depending on traffic. The temple can be extremely crowded at sunset. The coast around Tanah Lot is quite scenic -- black sand, wind swept, big surf. There aren't a lot of places to stay between luxury resorts and surfer homestays, but it's a nice, less traveled part of Bali.

Your time in Ubud and Amed looks good.

Denpasar is both a city (the capital of Bali province) and the designation for Bali's airport. The airport is actually in Jimbaran on the southwest coast, about 2 hours from the center of Denpasar city.

You do not want to stay in Denpasar city! In south Bali I like the west coast (Petitenget/Batu Belig/Batu Bolong). Others like the east coast (Sanur). Both are about 40 minutes to the airport, less on a good traffic day.

If more beach time isn't what you're looking for, then I'd consider spending some time in the Sideman area (East Bali) before or after Amed.
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Old Jan 10th, 2016, 08:55 AM
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I agree with some of marmot's comments. I think you are making your life more difficult by flying into Semarang. You can certainly take a day trip to the Dieng Plateau from Borobudur. While at Borobudur, make sure you stop at Candi Mendut, a remarkable little jewel box of a temple with the original (and unique) Buddha statue inside. And I'd suggest staying in Yogya and Solo, but not staying at Prambanam. From Solo, you may want to visit Candi Sukuh, a fertility temple out in the hills.

I also agree that there is no reason to stay in Denpasar (and lots of reasons not to). You may want to stay in the south for a few days to visit places in the area, after your time in Ubud. I like the Sanur area, but marmot lists other areas to consider.

I think your plans are coming together well.
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Old Jan 10th, 2016, 02:51 PM
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@ tripplanner001, marmot, and Kathie -

I can't thank you all enough! I will study your suggestions and improve my itinerary accordingly.
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Old Jan 12th, 2016, 07:54 PM
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Thanks again for the invaluable insights!

I’m pursuing options to
• fly into Jogja rather than Semarang;
• visit the Dieng Plateau from Borobudur rather than Wonosobo (and yes, Candi Mendut is firmly in my plan for the area);
• spend a night in the Bromo area and go straight from there to Surabaya for my flight to Bali; and
• avoid spending a night in Denpasar.

More questions!

4. Regional airlines. I seem to have limited options for flying from Singapore to Jogja non-stop. Most seem to route through Jakarta, which I think I would prefer to avoid. Anything I should know about Silk Air or Air Asia before booking, or about booking a multi-city ticket with or without this particular leg? I know that Kathie mentioned some difficulties in booking Silk Air for her last trip to the area, but I’m not sure I fully understood the issues. Also, many of the flights I’m seeing from Surabaya to Bali are with Garuda – any comments about that?

5. Museum Negeri Propinsi Bali. From your comments about Denpasar, I assume I should visit this museum as a day trip from Ubud or elsewhere – correct?

6. Night before flight from Denpasar [embarrassed smile – I should have known that the airport wasn’t in the city itself ] If my primary goal in spending a night near Pura Tanah Lot is to spend a night somewhere on a pleasant beach with the sound of the surf, would somewhere near that temple make sense for the night before my flight? I think marmot mentioned Canggu on another thread; I’m not sure I can afford anything beachfront there, but if I can, would that be worth considering?

7. Malang. If I add a day to Malang, but can’t combine my night near Pura Tanah Lot with my last night in Bali, what should I consider cutting to make time available?

8. Hiring a car and driver. I would welcome any recommendations anyone can offer for ensuring that I negotiate fair prices for cars and drivers. My pockets are not particularly deep, and I’m getting a bit concerned about these costs.

Marmot wrote: “Your time in Ubud and Amed looks good.” Music to my ears!

And Kathie wrote: “From Solo, you may want to visit Candi Sukuh, a fertility temple out in the hills.” I definitely plan to visit it!

And you all seem to think that my plans are coming together reasonably well -- I can't tell you how reassuring I find those words!

Again, my thanks, one and all!
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Old Jan 13th, 2016, 12:58 AM
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Regional airlines
Silk Air, which is owned by Singapore Airlines, is a very good airline. For service and reliability it would be my first choice, though the fares may be the highest of the three.

Air Asia is also very well run. Their website is easy to use. The fares are low, lower and lowest. Just be aware that every thing is "ala carte" so you pay extra for amenities like checked bags and for flexibility like changing dates or times. This is my airline of choice between Bali and Java or Singapore, and I've had mostly excellent experiences.

Garuda's neither particularly well run nor well priced, but as the flagship carrier of Indonesia it offers the most flights and services the most places. I've not had any problems booking flights on line using an Indonesian credit card, but I understand it's not so easy to negotiate from overseas.

Museum Negeri Propinsi
I'm not so keen on this museum. The displays are tired and dusty and the so-called guides are a major annoyance. I'd concentrate on the many fine museums in Ubud and not make a special trip to Denpasar to see this one. Bali is really a living museum with a wealth of temples large and small and traditional family compounds and markets.

Night before flight from Denpasar
I think you have to deal with getting to the airport and spending a night on the beach separately.

If your objective is be within an hour from the airport then you'll want to stay in one of the nearby beach communities like Sanur, Jimbaran or Seminyak. Any place near Tanah Lot will be about 2 hours to DPS (about the same as Ubud). I don't see this as insurmountable. It really depends on your flight time.

It's hard to find inexpensive accommodations that are actually beachfront. The ones that come to mind are either not on nice beaches or not in nice areas (e.g., Kuta, Nusa Dua). There are, however, plenty of choices near the ocean -- within walking distance of the beach -- that are moderate to budget, both on the east and west coasts.

Canggu refers to the general area just north Seminyak/Petitenget which covers several beach-y communities such as Brawa, Batu Bolong, Pererenon, Seseh. It's mostly private villas in this area, but there are a few resorts, surf camps and wellness retreats as well. The same is true of the east coast beach communities north of Sanur, like Keramas, Candi Dasa.

Malang
I've kind of lost track of your Java time, but I would think you could do with 4 nights total among Yogya, Prambanan and Solo. 2 nights each in Malang and Blitar.

Car and driver
The lack of public transportation is a challenge in Java and Bali. I'm not up to date on rates in Java. In the Ubud area the prevailing hourly rate is IDR125,000 (about USD9.00) but you can also negotiate by the trip or by a half or full day. In some of the beach communities you have to hire transport from the village. The rates are about the same as Ubud.

You can also arrange for whole or half day guided tours of temples and archeological sites. The guide will often take you to village ceremonies or family compounds. I can't recommend any particular guide, but others on this board have favorites.

In the southern beach areas (Sanur, Seminyak, etc.) there are plenty of metered taxis which are quite reasonable.

There are buses between Ubud and the southern beaches and airport. Uber has also come to Bali, but it's still in an incipient stage and isn't widely available. The local version is GrabCar which everyone seems to like. Motorcycle taxis -- especially those run by the company Go-Jek -- are very cheap. I mostly rely on metered taxis and haven't tried any of these services yet.
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Old Jan 13th, 2016, 03:33 AM
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We took AirAsia from Singapore to Yogya and again from there to Bali. For short flights like these, it's a safe and pleasant choice.

For a beach close to DPS, Sanur would fit the bill for nice sands and relative quiet. Unsure of the prices as we did not stay there.
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Old Jan 13th, 2016, 05:23 AM
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We used air Asia exclusively on our last trip and took 20+ flights with them including in and out of Indonesia. Couldn't fault their service, punctuality or fares. Their website is easy to use and it is worth signing up now for their newsletters as they do have frequent genuine sales with some excellent deals.
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Old Jan 13th, 2016, 04:17 PM
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I am, once again, awed with the wealth of information! Thanks marmot, tripplanner, and crellston -- it is a privilege it is to benefit from such knowledgable and generous Fodorites.

@ marmot – special thanks for your comments on the museum in Denpasar. It had been a very high priority for me; now, not so much.
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Old Jan 13th, 2016, 08:23 PM
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Just confirming: Singapore is not affected by the May 5-8 holiday weekend?
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Old Jan 14th, 2016, 03:01 AM
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kja,
When I was researching airlines for a similar trip, I looked at Singapore Air for my international flights. What seemed to work the best was NYC to Jakarta, with a few day stopover in Singapore and then return flight from Bali (Denpasar). I figured I'd then take an AirAsia flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta upon arrival.

I don't know if that works for you since you plan another stopover on the way home, but I looked at the ways I could maximize the stopover privilege to reduce the overall international flight fare.

Looking forward to following in your footsteps someday!
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Old Jan 14th, 2016, 04:10 PM
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Thanks, progol! I will explore this option. But it makes me wonder whether I'm going about my planning in the best way possible: I've been treating my time in Singapore and my time in Narita as separate stops on a multi-leg ticket, not as layover options on flights to or from Indonesia. If any of you care to help me understand the differences, I'd welcome the information!
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Old Jan 15th, 2016, 02:46 AM
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kja,
I'm by no means knowledgeable about stopover privileges, but some airlines will allow a multi-day stopover in their hub city for no extra cost for more than 24 hours on the way to the next destination. Singapore airlines is one that allows this. But by plugging in the itinerary on their site, you'll find that the rate with a stopover in Singapore (ie, when booking onward to Jakarta) will be the same however long the stay.

It's a little confusing on their website -- in addition to the stopover, they offer a holiday package which includes reduced rates at some hotels for 1 night and the option for other benefits, so information on the stopover privilege alone isn't easy to find. Here's a link to the Singapore airlines stopover packages:
https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/s...pover-holiday/

This site was interesting, and mentions that it's possible to include more than one stopover on Singapore airlines for just a little extra. I haven't explored this, but it might be worth looking into:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...isflyer-award/

Here's a link to general info about some of the airlines that provide stopovers:
http://www.hopper.com/articles/1048/...these-airlines

Good luck, kja! I did find it daunting when I began to look into the various options for booking. I did find that it was inexpensive to book an airline such as AirAsia once in Indonesia for flights between locations.

Paule
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Old Jan 15th, 2016, 04:33 PM
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@ progol -- OMG, I had no idea! Awesome info, and much appreciated, Paule.
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Old Jan 16th, 2016, 03:16 AM
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My pleasure, kja! I hope it helps in the planning!

Looking forward to watching your trip unfold...

Paule
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Old Jan 16th, 2016, 05:36 PM
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Warm Singapore Sunday morning greetings to you kja - and glad you are planning brief holiday in our sweet city-state of SIN.

Paule has thoughtfully provided you with good information on our cherished Singapore Airlines. Have been privileged to fly SIA for early holidays with my parents, and later for work, for ~ four decades; will fly her again tomorrow for business. Nothing to lose by staying abreast of her ever-evolving website for ongoing promotions.

Noticing your interest in art, will suggest the fine and recent addition of the National Gallery Singapore to our SIN culture scene. We were guests at a reception and tour around the time of her grand opening festivities; lovely evening. Hope you and other Fodorites have a chance to visit the Gallery.

This should be a fine holiday for you, kja. You have a good sense of adventure; suspect you would also enjoy some trips we were fortunate to recently experience: Nepal / Bhutan in July, and Patagonia / interior Antarctica a few weeks back. As always, happy to assist with suggestions.

Savour you planning. Warm Sunday wishes to you and all from Singapore,

robert


... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...
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Old Jan 16th, 2016, 09:38 PM
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@ AskOksena, and welcome back from Patagonia and Antarctica. And you were also in Nepal and Bhutan this year -- awesome! I will look forward to following in your footsteps one day.

I will definitely visit the National Gallery Singapore -- thanks for making sure it was on my radar! I'm a tad envious of you for attending a reception there, but have confidence that I will enjoy my time there even without that privilege.

While in Singapore, I'm thinking of staying in one of the converted shophouses -- any thoughts about whether that's a good idea or not?

Thanks again, Robert!
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Old Jan 23rd, 2016, 05:55 PM
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You are most welcome, kja; pleasure. And, warm Sunday greetings from a just completed business trip in Seoul.

A stay in a converted shophouse in our Singapore is a fine idea. One suggestion is the delightfully named, The Sultan. (Bit of a promotion, as we are friends with some individuals who have been involved with The Sultan for a number of years.) The property is located in an interesting neighbourhood, Kampong Glam. Other charming converted shophouse lodging options to be found in SIN; The Sultan immediately came to mind. Happy to offer alternatives.

Concerning our Singapore Airlines, some recent promos to be found on her website. Will be flying her later today from Incheon to SFO (SQ16) for work. Any aviation questions, honoured to help.

Enjoy your planning, kja. Signing off from a place you know, lovely Seoul - and thanks again for your brilliant South Korea trip report. (And the recently opened Four Seasons, Seoul remains a wonderful locale for business and leisure travellers. Active times in the Seoul lodging trade.) Warm Sunday wishes to you and all from Seoul,

robert
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