Planning a 3 week trip to Indonesia in August this year, with multiple stops across Java followed by Komodo, Lombok (maybe) and Bali.

Current high level itinerary:

• Bandung - 3 days (fly in from Melbourne, Australia)
• Yogyakarta - 4 days (train ride from Bandung)
• Malang - 4 days (train ride from Yogyakarta)
• Komodo - 4 days (fly in from Malang)
• Lombok - 4 days (fly in from Komodo)
• Bali - 5 days (fly in from Lombok)

Seeking help/advice on the following:

• Have I allowed enough time per city to comfortably hit all important/main sights at a somewhat relaxed/moderate pace?
• Still tossing between either Bandung or Lombok as I'll only have enough time for one of the two. Any recommendations on which is more worth a visit?
  • From what I heard, Kawa Putih (White Crater) and Tangkuban Perahu are the only two sites in Bandung worth visiting?
  • Whereas Lombok on the other hand has far more to offer being sort of a mini-Bali?
• I have placed Bali last as it is the most convenient city to fly back to Melbourne from.

Any advice or suggestions at all will be very much appreciated

Hmmm... I would have sworn I entered a response to one of your posts, but now I don't see it! (You have at least two threads -- you might ask the moderators to merge them. To do so, click the orange traingle.)

I don't know enough about the area to advise you about most of these locations, but I can say that I wanted more time in central and eastern Java than you are planning. I'm sure you'll have some amazing experiences no matter what you decide -- it's a fascinating part of the world!

You might find some useful information in my trip report. The section on Java begins with post # 67; the section on Bali follows that.
A Memorable Solo Month in Singapore, Java, and Bali

From my experience going through those cities (except Komodo) it depends on the what kind of attractions you interested in. Bandung offers hills sight, parks, zoo, markets and foods. It is quite similar with Yogyakarta, but in Yogyakarta they have beaches as well and offers more cultural herritages, souvenirs and stronger local wisdoms vibes. You can spend a day in Lembang, a city nearby Bandung as well besides Tangkuban Perahu and White Crate. Malang is a simple city, not as big as Bandung and Jogja, but it is near Mount Bromo (a must visit) and Batu Region (Optional). Lombok have astonishing views! Yeah it is like Bali, but you gonna need more time to travel around. Expect to see less food options if you are in Lombok. Don't know much about Komodo, since the attraction is the dragon itself, I think you just need 3 days with high quality accomodation. Bali offers more, and you should see Menjangan Island (I'm here like already 5 times and want to go back again, recommended place to stay is Mimpi Resort Menjangan and Dynasty Glamping Resort Menjangan), Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida while you are there, but yeah it probably need 6-7 days itself to explore it. Train ride is not a really fast train, it consumes time (not as fast as shinkansen in Japan or High Speed Rail in Taiwan), I recommend only from Bandung to Yogyakarta, it already covers almost half of the Java train tracks. Prepare yourself with personal medicines especially for stomach, the food is full of spices and some foods are mixed with chilies.