Day-to-day schedule
Day 1: Bali/Ubud
Welcome to Indonesia! Your tour starts in Ubud on the island Bali, where you can use your hotel room from check in time (12.00 hrs at noon) on day 1. Ubud is situated only 46 km (1 hour drive) from Denpasar, the capital of Bali. Your travel companions will also arrive this first day, the exact time will be depending on their flight schedule. You will meet your English speaking tour leader at 16.00 hrs on day 1 in the lobby of your hotel in Ubud.
Enjoy vibrant Ubud and take a stroll into town visiting one of the many art galleries and studios selling exquisite paintings and handicrafts. Traditional Balinese culture is held in very high esteem here. There are frequent religious ceremonies, dance performances and festivals. It is very likely that you will experience at least one of these during your stay.
Day 2: Ubud
As an alternative you may choose to take the opportunity to visit the temple in the Sacred Monkey forest sanctuary. (commonly known as Monkey forest of Padangtegal).
Day 3: Ubud - Padangbai - Gili Air
Today we’ll take the ferry from Padangbai to Lombok and the bus to Bangsal, the embarking point for the three Gili islands. We then travel onwards by ferry to the bounty island of Gili Air, situated off the coast of Lombok. Gili Air is one of the three Gili islands, the other two being Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. You will find coral reefs, idyllic beaches and excellent swimming, snorkelling and diving opportunities. You can walk around the island without leaving the sand and dine in the charming restaurants and bars.
Day 4: Gili Air
Continue enjoying Gili Airs' tranquility where there are no cars or motorbikes on the island; only the sound of birds calling, waves lapping and the tinkling bells of the horsecarts.
Day 5: Gili Air – Lingsar – Narmada – Tetebatu
We travel back to Lombok and journey inland to Tetebatu, stopping en-route at Lingsar temple complex with its sacred eels and ancient temples. Later we will stop for lunch at the Narmada temple complex, dating from 1805 and home to the ‘spring of eternal youth’ before we travel on to Tetebatu, situated at the foot of the Rinjani volcano where we will stay for the next two nights.
Day 6: Tetebatu
Why not join a guided walk through the rice and tobacco fields or alternatively through the thick mountain jungle around Tetebatu. Home to many species of ape, the jungle is lush and verdant and you also get to swim in the pool of a waterfall. There are also many short walks to explore this storybook location and in the afternoon you can attend a traditional dance performance.
Day 7: Tetebatu – Sumbawa Besar
We travel by ferry from Labuhan Lombok to Poto Tano in the Muslim island of Sumbawa. Our route through Sumbawa will take us past many picturesque Buginese houses before we arrive in the capital of Sumbawa Besar. Home to an old wooden Sultan’s Palace, it is relatively untouched and its surrounding beaches are beautiful.
Day 8: Sumbawa Besar
Today is your own to relax on the beach, take an optional snorkelling trip to the Pulau Moyo nature reserve where one coral reef alone is home thousands of different species of life from sea-anemones to butterfly fish. Out on the edge of the reef you can often spot reef sharks and devilfish. Alternatively you can take an optional sightseeing tour, visit the Sultan’s Palace and the lively market and go for a walk to a traditional village, where you can see people weaving and rolling cigarettes from lontar leaves.
Day 9: Sumbawa Besar – Bima
Today we travel past volcanoes, rice fields and fishing villages to arrive in Bima. As it is surrounded by extended salt plains where sea salt is mined, its port is often full of exquisitely decorated freight ships gently bobbing on the waves so a visit to the port is a must. Bima’s lively evening market, the Pasar Malam is also an experience not to be missed.
Day 10: Bima – Komodo/Rinca
After a short bus ride to Sape, where we bid farewell to our bus and driver, we begin our stunning 5 hour boat trip along the Komodo archipelago. You will have the opportunity to swim and snorkel, before we arrive in Komodo, home of the famous Komodo dragon. If you participate in the walking tour of Komodo, make sure you take the guard’s advice and remain in a group. After the walk we will set sail for the island of Rinca where the anchor is dropped and we spend the night on board.
Day 11: Komodo/Rinca – Labuhanbajo
After breakfast there is an optional 1-2 hour guided walking tour around the island, through a savannah-like terrain with great views over the fields, sea and island. With a little luck you may spot monitor lizards, wild horses, buffalo, deer and apes. We then set sail once more before arriving in the charming Islamic area of Labuhanbajo with its minaret, mosques and wooden village houses.
Here you can swim and enjoy the colourful marine life, or take a trip to the Batu Cermin Caves. In the caves at the end of a dark corridor we will arrive at the ‘mirror rock’, from which the Batu Cermin Caves derive their name. Through a long, narrow shaft, rays of sunlight shine down (between 09.30 and 10.30) and are reflected by the rock due to its mica content, forming the ‘mirror’. In the evening you can enjoy delicious seafood accompanied by a beautiful sunset or, for the best view of the bay climb the Pramuka, the hill just south of the village.
Day 12: Labuhanbajo – Ruteng
Our 4-5 hour journey takes us through picturesque landscapes, along the winding route to Ruteng. The barren landscape of western Flores becomes increasingly greener as we approach Ruteng, which is full of flowers, flamboyant bamboo rice, smoking volcanoes and due to the altitude, a pleasantly cool climate. We recommend a visit to the local cathedral and Ruteng’s market, where you can buy the fine Manggarai wrap-around shawls, made from black cotton and decorated with colourful embroidery. The town is also home to the Manggarai tribe, renowned for its traditional caci (whip fights).
Day 13: Ruteng – Bajawa
The first part of our route to Bajawa takes us through the densely vegetated mountain regions of West Flores which becomes more open later on and gives fantastic views of the sea, the volcano peaks and cooled lava flows. In the afternoon we arrive in the small town of Bajawa in the Ngada district. In Ngada, the natives are mostly Catholic, although they mix this faith with many ancient traditional religions, such as Animism and ancestor worship.
Day 14: Bajawa
Bajawa is the starting point for today’s optional day-trip to traditional Ngada villages including Bena, situated at the foot of the Inarie volcano. With its many plateaus, megalithic stones, sacrifice sites and meeting places where the village elders make important decisions, it feels magical. The traditional houses here have steep, tall roofs thatched with grass and as you walk through Bena, it feels like you’ve made a leap back in time. Another optional excursion from Bajawa is to the hot springs in Soa, where you can bathe and relax in comfort.
Day 15: Bajawa – Ende
Today’s bus journey takes us along the scenic route through the flower-filled island of Flores. The mountains slowly get larger and more rugged as we continue on our journey to Ende, on the south coast of the island.
Day 16: Ende – Kelimutu volcano - Maumere
The Kelimutu volcano is nicknamed the ‘Spirit Mountain’, it is situated in a green valley where dozens of mountain streams flow. The mysteriously coloured trio of crater lakes in the Kelimutu volcano are absolutely stunning. They appear to change colour which range through light green, turquoise and black to sea green, chocolate brown, dark blue and even red. The spirits of the tribal ancestors are believed to inhabit the lakes with the old folk in one, the younger people in another and witches in the third.
After exploring the area we will then journey on to Maumere on the northern coast of Flores along a picturesque route with views of the bays and mountains. In Maumere, we can relax on the beach, go snorkelling and diving, visit traditional weaving or fishing villages or the museum.
Day 17: Maumere – Denpasar - Sanur
We fly back to Denpasar on Bali and continue on to Sanur where we have 3 days to relax and enjoy this beautiful beach resort..
Sanur is one of Bali's biggest traditional villages and its new restaurants and modern entertainment venues compliment the traditional village activities like drama and dance. It is a good place to enjoy the delights of a tropical island and still sample Balinese culture and local life.
Day 18: Sanur
Enjoy the quiet and relatively laid back Sanur, which has a certain flair about it that appeals to just about everyone. It has a great stretch of white sand beach, with a variety of water sport activities.
Day 19: Sanur
Your last full day in Sanur.
Day 20: End of tour in Sanur
The last day of your tour. You can use your hotel room in Sanur until check out time (most times at 12.00 hrs noon). Sanur is situated only 20 km (½ hour drive) from Denpasar, the capital of Bali. We wish you a comfortable journey home and are sure you will take with you some wonderful memories of Indonesia.
Your personal ‘my.shoestring’ page on our website is the perfect way to make contact with other travellers before and after your trip. You can read and create journals from trips and upload your photos onto the photo gallery. Visit my shoestring today.
When booking your tour, please check to see whether you need any post-tour nights, bearing in mind that accommodation for the night of the final day of the tour (day 20) is not included.
Difficulty Information
This tour is classified as Category B.
The difficulty of our travels varies greatly. Added to this is the fact that difficulty is a very personal perception. To give an impression of the difficulty of a particular holiday we have developed a classification system.
Category A: Light travel for everyone to do. Short distances, good hotels, travel at a slow pace.
Category B: For everyone to do as well. Sometimes long distances. Good hotels and camping facilities, sometimes an adventurous overnight experience, travel at a normal pace.
Category C: Good to do for anyone who prepares themself well and is flexible. There are tougher parts of the journey, such as longer distances or walking tours. Several nights can be spent in basic accommodation.
Category D: A relatively difficult journey, travelling long distances, often primitive accommodation or tents, and challenging walking tours.
The trip to the Lesser Sunda Islands is a Category B holiday. It can be made by any reasonably healthy individual. In the summer the trip is considerably more difficult than during the rest of the year. Although in the cities we stay in simple medium-priced hotels, remember that you are travelling in a developing country with much lower living standards than you are used to at home. Also, roads may be temporarily blocked because of the weather or owing to their state of repair, in which case a detour is unavoidable. A flexible and positive attitude is just as important as a good physical condition.
Nature of the trip
Breathtaking natural beauty, slumbering volcanoes, stunning beaches, green rice fields and a friendly population await you in this tour of the islands of Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo and Flores. We will visit traditional tribes such as the Dou Donggo, the Ngada and the Sasak and will watch the sunrise from the Kelimutu volcano with her three multi-coloured lakes. We shall search for the nerve-jangling Komodo dragons and relax on the Gili Air and Maumere beaches. In short, a trip packed with highlights through some of the most divine islands in the world.