We are planning a trip to Indonesia probably mid June or slightly later in 2026. I have read a lot of posts on the Forum so far, in fact my opening sentence seems to be the start of every post! LOL. We don't have an itinerary yet that would be of much use other than a bunch of names, I will be back for more advice later, however, I know you need a Visa which seems to be good for 30 days. I've seen posts of people staying 4 - 5 weeks, do you need to get a new Visa every 30 days? We will probably be there under 30 days but who knows.

We will be arriving from Tapei. I can fly to Jakarta or Denpasar. Tentatively I want to go West to East ending in the Bali area. Is there any reason to go East to West? I have read you have to have a ticket out of the country. We had planned on doing One Way tickets but I'm seeing that some countries want you to prove you are moving on. What is that process? Upon arrival, do you have show a forward ticket? Do you continue to show that ticket as you move through the country? I read a recent post about arriving in Jakarta but nothing was mentioned about the forward ticket issue.

If we go West to East, is there any reason to spend more than a day in Jakarta? My current idea is to take the train across Java stopping at Yogyakarta, then on to either Surabaya or Malang and fly to Denpasar. Surabaya seems to be the bigger city with maybe more flights? Need advice there.

Yes, we are going to Bali, I know it's not what it was, but I used to buy french fries at McDonalds for 10 cents, and I'm still buying them. I have the waistline to prove it. We've never been to Bali and we have access to some timeshares in the Candidasa, Kuta, Ubud or Denpasar areas. Is there a big day trip culture in Bali, and by that I mean, is it as easy as getting from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat, or from Chiang Mei to Chiang Rai?

Finally in the Bali area, any thoughts on Lembongan, Penida Island vs the Gilis? We will being going to one of them. Have watched a lot of Youtube videos but interested in anyone who has been on the ground so to speak.
Thanks

I can’t answer most of your questions, but thought I’d give you a link to my report covering Java (I skipped Jakarta, but visited the other places you mention) and Bali. I travelled in the footsteps of two other well-traveled Fodorites, Kathie and crellston. A Memorable Solo Month in Singapore, Java, and Bali

As I discuss in that report, there are many places that I thought well worth visiting as day trips from Ubud, but it isn’t like going from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat: If you check a map, you’ll see that many locations are further afield. I would not want to stay in Denpasar – traffic around that city is, IME, terrible, and you basically have to go through that traffic to get anywhere.

Good luck with you planning!

Thanks KJA, I've just started your TR and I'm sure I will have a lot of questions!!

Ask away, here or on that thread! I'll do my best to answer.

I just walked with you through Singapore, wow, so many wonderful sights. My first question is, how did you get around? For instance from the Botanic Garden to Little India is quite a long ways. Did you use mostly taxis? Also you mentioned a pre-arranged van for your trip to the airport for flying to Java, did you pre-arrange that at the hotel or before. BTW, according to Google, the Adonis Hotel is now the Hotel NuVe, also it looks like the bird show is permanently closed. Good thing you got to see it!

Wow, Tdiddy12, what questions! Thank goodness I kept my journals.

For most of my time in Singapore, I either walked (despite the heat. OMG, it was hot. And humid. Did I mention that?) or I took public transportation, which I found to be excellent. Its MRT was, I thought, easy to use; for example, I took the MRT from the Botanic Gardens to Little India. In a few cases I used buses. As a rule, my preference is to go by foot when possible and to use public transportation as a first priority if walking distances are prohibitive -- I find traveling by public transportation to be an excellent way to get glimpses of people going about their daily lives.

I did take taxis four times, if my notes are correct: (1 & 2): From my hotel to the zoo and back; (3) to my hotel from a place near my failed attempt to take a boat along Singapore's waterways at the end of Day 5, and (4) from the Merlion to the Gardens by the Bay.

I arranged the van from my hotel to the airport through my hotel the day before my flight.

I remember learning that my hotel had changed ownership. The location and the Adonis's perks were great for my purposes, but I recommend that you consult reviews on booking.com if you are planning a stop in Singapore to see what would work for you.

I greatly enjoyed my interactions with birds while in Singapore. I think the bird show you mean is the one I saw at Jurong Bird Park. I see that it closed ... or more precisely, it moved to a new location, Bird Paradise at Mandai. If interested, you should be able to visit it.

Keep those questions coming!

We did pretty much the same journey arriving in Jakarta and then traveling down through Indonesia , mainly by train but hiring a guide/driver for one section where the logistics were otherwise too difficult. From memory our route was roughly - Jakarta - Magelang - Malang - Yogyakarta (Borobudur ) driver to Mount Bromo Mount Ijen and then ferry to Bali from there we headed to Sulawesi - ( a bit of a jaunt but highly recommended). The train was great way to go though sourcing tickets out of country involved going through an agent (that may have changed). The last part of or time on Java was with a driver who dropped us off at the ferry for Bali at Gilimanuk (or something like that!) . We than go a bus down to Denpasar for a night before heading to Ubud the next day. (if into diving is may be worth a diversion to Permuteran in the north)

As far as visas are concerned, I am English so the rules may be different, but a VOA is for 30 days and can be renewed within that 30 days for another 30 days. Alternatively , a 60 day visa is available online from the Indonesian Gov website in advance.

Java was great. Bali was just a waypoint for us to head to Sulawesi which was the highlight of our time in the country. Denpasar has nothing to commend it. Ubud is the cultural centre but VERY busy. Day trips certainly are a thing on Bali whether staying at a resort on the coast or Ubud. Most people seem to hire a car and driver to take them around which is efficient and relatively cheap. Personally , I would minimise time on Balie in favour of Java or Sulawesi. Can't help with any of the islands you mention as I haven't been.

If you can, try and avoid ramadan which makes travelling more difficult (and beer hard to come by!)

kja - Thanks for the info! Great to hear about the Metro, we will most likely use it. In general would rather take public transport than taxis. Will look for the Bird Paradise at Mandai. I used to go to the small bird show at the Los Angeles Zoo so much that I could practically mouth the routine along with trainers! LOL

catch23 - Thanks for your input. I see where you would have crossed over on the ferry to Gilimanuk from Ketapank. Did you already have a driver once you got on Bali or are there drivers there that you can hire to move on further inland. I see there are also ferry's from Surabaya. We haven't finished an itinerary for the East Side of Java yet. I saw a video on Youtube of a couple taking a fancy train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta and it was super upscale. I know I can fly most of these places, but we will have been probably two weeks in Japan and a few days in Tapei, so a long, luxurious train ride sounds really good to us. What are your thoughts on Jakarta, haven't seen too much that gets my interest.

You are welcome Tiddy12 . First , that is the ferry we took but I believe there have been some new routes added since we went so Surabaya may be more convenient. We were coming from Mt Ijen so it worked for us.

I did look at hiring a driver to take us down to Ubud or Denpasar but the skinflint in me decided that it was too expensive as we weren't in a hurry we just got the bus to Denpasar and stayed a night in a small B&B and then got a taxi to Ubud. As I recall, it was a longish bus ride (maybe 5-6 hours ) so make sure to allow time to get there before dark.

The trains in Java were ok. Comfortable rather than luxurious but all with aircon which was essential given the heat at the time we were there! We love travel by train and use them whenever possible. Haven't seen that train but check out www.seat61.com for details of train travel anywhere - arguable the most useful website ever for trips like yours (good for ferries around Asia too. If you are into train travel then take a look at the routes between Bangkok and KL /Singapore - another great rail trip.

I have been to most cities in Asia over the years and I struggle to think one that I like less than Jakarta. Very little of interest there that I could find, nightmare heat, pollution and traffic. We ended up staying for 5/6 days to wait for a train departure - really wish I had planned better and just had a night there.

Both Penida and Gili Trawangan are very pretty. We eventually decided to go to Penida first and then we realised that Trawangan is like 1.30 by ferry, so we gave it a go! Totally worth is, amazing waters and nature! I recommend you check on ferryhopper for things to do and check the prices and the duration of the ferry tickets. Also videos on yt helped a lot!