Reviewed 21 Jul 2011 by Portia Lloyd
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Staying with the Iban tribe and seeing the orangutans in Sarawak, and Borobudur at sunset in Java. The beaches on Lombok and the Gilli Islands were gorgeous. We also saw an amazing kecak fire dance and had the best massage ever in Bali.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take time to choose an itinerary that takes in everything you want to see.
We found domestic flights were often delayed in Indonesia, so it was good to use other forms of transport too e.g. trains and boats.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, as all our guides and drivers were local people. Also we visited some very interesting places, e.g. small villages such as Candirejo, which seemed to have just started opening up to tourism. We probably wouldn't have known about these spots if travelling independently and hopefully the majority of the profits will have gone directly to the villagers who showed us around. Environmentally we didn't do so well as lots of flying and endless plastic water bottles - probably should've taken a filter...
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Fantastic! It was incredible to have everything pre-arranged and all the logistics sorted out for us, so relaxing and just what we needed after a hectic wedding! It also made it possible to squeeze a huge amount in to the time we had available. The guides were all good and some exceptional - we learnt a huge amount about everyday life in the countries visited, which enhanced our experience greatly.
Reviewed 26 Oct 2010 by Erin Bunting
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
It's very hard to pick just one - but I think it was probably touring about on our boat for three days in the Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan visiting the orangutans. They were just amazing to watch and we got some great photos too. It was really relaxing being on the boat surrounded by nature and we were well looked after with an excellent guide and fabulous home cooked, traditional food.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
We spent a couple of days in Surabaya in Java which wasn't really worth a visit - if I was going again I'd skip this or stay a shorter time if a stopover was required. There is a fantastic colonial hotel though - which is where we hung out for most of the time. Also in Lombok we stayed in Sengiggi and visited the Gili islands - if I went again I think I'd book to stay on the islands - probably Gili Meno which was gorgeous.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Benefited local people - We always had local guides and many of the tours we went on were run by locally owned companies - in particular a cycling tour in Ubud, Bali run by Banyan Tree Cycling where we went for lunch at the with the owner and his family at their compound after the tour. Wages are low here so we tipped generously. I think most of the hotels we stayed in were owned by international owners/companies - I guess that is to be expected for luxury hotels though.
Environment - There was a lot of flying so not exactly carbon neutral! When we climbed up Rinjani there was a considerable problem with rubbish and although we took all our rubbish down with us and we did discuss the problem with our guide more could be done.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Really brilliant - it was our honeymoon and we really had a fabulous time. It was so well organised by the operator which took a lot of the stress out of travelling which was exactly what we needed with such a complicated itinerary. The hotels we stayed in were second to none - really fabulous and we were spoilt rotten!
Reviewed 20 Mar 2009 by Kathryn White
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The whole trip from start to finish was fantastic and I wouldn't do any of it differently. Seeing the orang-utans at Tanjung Puting National Park was the highlight, followed closely by the couple of days spent on board the boat to Komodo Island. The orang-utans were a joy to watch and we felt privileged to see these animals in their natural habitat. Cruising on the Blue Dragon to Komodo was very relaxing and we were very well looked after by the crew - the food they cooked for us was fabulous. Seeing the Komodo dragons was a unique experience and the snorkelling nearby was excellent - although watch out for the jellyfish!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Don't be put off going in the rainy season. Maybe we were just lucky but we didn't get too much rain and travelling in the low season meant that the national parks and other tourist attractions were very quiet - apparently places like Tanjung Puting can get very busy in high season.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Flying half way round the world obviously has a negative impact on the environment. However, many of the places we visited rely on tourism so not going would also have a negative impact. To compensate for flying, we offset our carbon emissions with a donation to the Orangutan Foundation. We used local guides and drivers and supported community tourist initiatives such as visits to traditional villages. We also paid conservation fees to enter the national parks. So all in all I think the holiday did benefit local people and contributed to conservation in that area.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was one of the best holidays I've had - partly due to the superb organisation by the tour company making it completely stress free - but mainly due to the people of Indonesia being the friendliest I have come across anywhere in the world.
Reviewed 17 Aug 2006 by Caroline Hoyes
We went on the Ombak Putih pinisi Schooner for a week to Lombok, Comodo etc. Probably the best bit. Looked after wonderfully. Mainly Dutch and French passengers. They don't seem to advertise in the UK. Saw remote tiny islands, snorkelled several reefs, went to remote villages and had lots of lovely Indonesian food with different fruits each day.
The boat was just wonderful. Also loved the Tanjung Sari hotel at Sanur. Old hotel with great charm on the beach. Not mad on Ubud but loved the trip we did to the north just beautiful, also loved Tanah lot sea temple.
Was it benifitting local people? Hard to know. Boat built with Dutch money but crewed and actually made by locals. I was assured both hotels owned by Balinese but second hotel part of an Asian chain so one wonders. They certainly employed plenty of locals so that has to help the area.
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