Indonesia travel guide: when to go, budget and itineraries

A small island of 5,600 km2, Bali holds most of the country's tourist infrastructure. The south (Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu) revolves around beaches and restaurants; Ubud, an hour inland, works as a cultural base with its rice fields and temples. Plan at least four nights so you are not stuck on the road, and avoid south-north transfers at rush hour, when 40 km can take two hours.

The most populated island on Earth, Java is crossed west to east in a week. Yogyakarta opens access to Borobudur and Prambanan, both UNESCO-listed; further east, the Bromo and Kawah Ijen calderas are visited on night hikes, starting around 1 to 3 a.m. to reach the rim at sunrise. The train links Jakarta to Surabaya in comfort at a moderate fare.

Bali's neighbour, Lombok has wilder beaches in the south (Kuta, Selong Belanak) and Mount Rinjani, whose climb takes two to three days with a guide. Offshore, the three Gilis are reached by fast boat from Bali in one to two hours: Gili Trawangan for nightlife, Gili Air for balance, Gili Meno for quiet. No cars run there, you get around on foot or by bike.

From Labuan Bajo, in western Flores, one to three-day cruises reach Rinca and Komodo islands, the only places on Earth to see the giant monitor lizards in the wild. The same loop takes in the Padar hill, the pink beach and the manta rays of Manta Point. The park permit is bought the day before; the sea is calmer from April to October.

Less visited, Sulawesi stands out for the Toraja culture in the central mountains: tongkonan houses with boat-prow roofs, cliff-carved graves guarded by wooden effigies, and funeral ceremonies lasting several days, mainly from July to September. From Makassar, allow eight hours by road to Rantepao, the regional hub, then two to three days of walks between villages. The north of the island, around Bunaken and the Lembeh Strait, adds some of the best wall and muck diving in the country, best from March to November.

The sixth-largest island on Earth, Sumatra draws travellers to Bukit Lawang, three hours from Medan, where one to three-day treks cross paths with wild orangutans on the edge of Gunung Leuser park. Lake Toba, further south, fills a volcanic caldera 100 km long, with the Batak island of Samosir in its middle. Distances are long and the roads slow, often 40 km/h on mountain sections: Sumatra sits badly with a short trip and is best kept for a second visit of two weeks or more.

The country spans 5,000 km east to west: domestic flights are unavoidable and stay cheap, often 30 to 70 EUR a leg, as across the rest of Southeast Asia. Ferries and fast boats link Bali, Lombok and the Gilis. For a first two-week trip, it is better to stick to two islands; anyone comparing with a circuit in Thailand will find transport times noticeably longer here.