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Early light over the stupas of Borobudur with the Central Java hills behind
The Kelingking headland and beach on Nusa Penida's west coast
The Tengger caldera in early morning, with smoking Bromo, green Mount Batok and Semeru behind, seen from the rim
Stepped rice paddies and coconut palms in the Tegallalang valley
A Komodo dragon lying on the ground on Komodo Island with its mouth open
Sunrise seen from the summit of Mount Batur, with Mount Agung on the horizon

Things to do in Indonesia: 29 experiences worth the trip

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Photo: Justine Hong, CC BY 2.0

Nusa Penida, Bali

Day-trip to Nusa Penida for the Kelingking cliffs

Check dates and prices

Photo: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0

Cemoro Lawang, East Java

Watch sunrise over Bromo from the Penanjakan viewpoint

Check dates and prices

Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tegallalang, Bali

Walk down into the Tegallalang rice terraces early

Tours in Indonesia

Photo: Philip Nalangan, CC BY 4.0

Labuan Bajo, Flores

Walk with a ranger among Komodo dragons on Komodo or Rinca

Check dates and prices

Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0

Kintamani, Bali

Climb Mount Batur in the dark for sunrise over Bali

Check dates and prices

Photo: Aaron Rentfrew, CC BY-SA 4.0

Indonesia is more than 17,000 islands, and this list covers the ones most trips actually reach: Bali for temples, rice terraces, surf and dance; Java for Borobudur, Prambanan, Yogyakarta's palace city and the volcanoes of Bromo and Ijen; Lombok and the Gilis; Komodo and Raja Ampat in the east; and Borneo and Sumatra for orangutans and the country's highest volcano. Each entry says which ticket, which hour and which rule actually matter.

Volcano and national park rules change often here. In 2026 Bromo sold entry only online with a daily cap, Ijen closed for most of September after wildfires, Rinjani suspended new bookings for fire risk, and Komodo moved to advance booking with a daily quota. Check the park's official channel a few days before you go, not only when you plan.

Most visitors need a visa on arrival or an e-VOA, and foreign tourists on Bali also pay a separate levy through the official Love Bali site.

29 things to do in Indonesia

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The Tengger caldera in early morning, with smoking Bromo, green Mount Batok and Semeru behind, seen from the rim

Watch sunrise over Bromo from the Penanjakan viewpoint

Cemoro Lawang, East Java

Book ahead

Watch the sun rise behind Bromo's smoking cone, with Semeru puffing ash in the distance on a clear morning.

Check dates and pricesPrivate sunrise trip from Surabaya or Malang by jeep
Latticed stupas on the upper circular terraces of Borobudur

Climb Borobudur on a timed ticket, at sunrise if you can

Borobudur, Magelang, Central Java

1 hour guided on the monument, half a day with the parkTimed entry

Climb Borobudur's terraces in woven upanat sandals with a guide, or catch the dawn light on the capped sunrise session.

Tours in Indonesia
A Komodo dragon lying on the ground on Komodo Island with its mouth open

Walk with a ranger among Komodo dragons on Komodo or Rinca

Labuan Bajo, Flores

A full day by speedboat, or 2 to 3 days on a boatBook ahead

Walk behind a park ranger among Komodo dragons, then add the Padar viewpoint and a beach in a fast day from Labuan Bajo.

Check dates and pricesSpeedboat day from Labuan Bajo with a ranger walk
Waves lining up over the reef below the cliffs at Uluwatu

Surf the reef break at Uluwatu, if your level is up to it

Uluwatu, Bali

No booking needed

Paddle out to a long, fast left over shallow reef below the cliffs, or watch the experts ride it from a clifftop café.

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Coral and fish under the Arborek island pier in Raja Ampat

Dive the reefs of Raja Ampat from a resort or liveaboard

Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua

At least a week, counting the flightsBook ahead

Make the long trip to the Coral Triangle for the diving, and stay for the karst view at Piaynemo.

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Segara Anak lake and the Barujari cone inside Rinjani's caldera, with the summit behind

Trek to the crater rim of Mount Rinjani with a licensed operator

Senaru or Sembalun, Lombok

2 days and 1 night to the rim, 3 to 4 days with the summitBook ahead

Look down from the crater rim at about 2,700 m onto the Segara Anak lake and the young Barujari cone.

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Stepped rice paddies and coconut palms in the Tegallalang valley

Walk down into the Tegallalang rice terraces early

Tegallalang, Bali

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

Walk down into steep rice terraces in the soft light before 9:00, ahead of the tour vans, on the way north from Ubud.

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Legong dancers performing in the courtyard of Ubud Palace

Watch Balinese dance at night in the Ubud Palace courtyard

Ubud, Bali

No booking needed

Watch Balinese dance by night in a palace courtyard, with a gamelan orchestra playing beneath the carved gateway.

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A wayang kulit shadow puppet performance at Museum Sonobudoyo

Watch a wayang kulit shadow play at Museum Sonobudoyo

Yogyakarta

1.5 hours for the evening showNo booking needed

Watch one puppeteer work every leather figure and voice every character behind a lit screen, then cross to his side.

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Street hawkers selling food in a Glodok lane in Jakarta's Chinatown

Eat your way through Glodok, Jakarta's Chinatown, by day

Glodok, West Jakarta

2 to 3 hoursNo booking needed

Go hungry and order a little at each stop, from iced coffee served since 1927 to gado-gado sold since 1967.

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The curtain of cascades at Tumpak Sewu falling into its gorge

Climb down to the base of Tumpak Sewu waterfall

Lumajang, East Java

Half a day with the descent to the riverNo booking needed

Climb down steep bamboo ladders and wade the river to stand beneath a semicircle of cascades about 120 m high.

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Pura Tanah Lot on its rock just off Bali's southwest coast

Time Tanah Lot for low tide, then stay for the sunset

Beraban, Tabanan, Bali

1.5 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

Walk across at low tide for a spring-water blessing at the temple rock, then watch the sunset from the clifftop.

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A Bornean orangutan in the forest of Tanjung Puting National Park

Watch orangutans from a klotok boat in Tanjung Puting

Kumai, Central Kalimantan

3 days and 2 nights on a klotokBook ahead

Sleep aboard a klotok on the Sekonyer River and walk into the forest to watch orangutans at their feeding platforms.

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Shallow water off Gili Meno with Lombok and Mount Rinjani across the strait

Snorkel over the Nest statues off Gili Meno

Gili Meno, Lombok

About an hour in the waterNo booking needed

Swim out from the beach with a mask and fins to a ring of 48 life-size figures slowly being colonised by coral.

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Terraced courtyards and meru towers of Pura Besakih on the slope of Mount Agung

Visit Pura Besakih, Bali's mother temple, on Mount Agung

Besakih, Karangasem, Bali

2 hours on siteNo booking needed

Walk up through the terraces of Bali's holiest temple complex, 23 temples on the slope of Mount Agung.

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Potato Head on the beach at Seminyak

Book a sunset daybed at Potato Head Beach Club

Petitenget, Seminyak, Bali

Book ahead

Watch the sun go down from a daybed by the pool at Petitenget, with DJs playing into the night.

The green waters of Telaga Warna on the Dieng Plateau

See the coloured lakes and old temples of the Dieng Plateau

Dieng, Wonosobo, Central Java

A full day, better with a night on the plateauNo booking needed

Look down on twin lakes whose colours shift with the light, on a cool volcanic plateau with some of Java's oldest temples.

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The Shiva temple and Nandi shrine of the Gedong Songo III group

Walk between the hillside temples of Gedong Songo

Bandungan, Semarang Regency

2 to 3 hours on footNo booking needed

Climb a hillside path from one group of small Shiva temples to the next, above Bandungan, before the cloud rolls in.

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Mount Kerinci in the morning, seen from Kersik Tuo village

Climb Mount Kerinci, Indonesia's highest volcano

Kersik Tuo, Kerinci, Jambi

2 to 3 days returnBook ahead

Climb Indonesia's highest volcano through rainforest and cloud forest to a crater that still releases sulphur smoke.

Blue flames of burning sulphur gas inside the Ijen crater before dawn

See the blue fire at Kawah Ijen, with a mask and a plan

Banyuwangi, East Java

About 2 hours up, 45 minutes down into the craterBook ahead

Climb in the dark to see sulphur gas burning blue at the edge of an acid crater lake.

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Dancers on stage during the Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan

See the Ramayana Ballet with Prambanan lit up behind the stage

Prambanan, Yogyakarta

1.5 hours, 19:30 to 21:00Book ahead

Watch the Hindu epic told through Javanese dance and gamelan, with the floodlit towers of Prambanan behind the stage.

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The carved west gate of the Taman Sari water castle in Yogyakarta

Explore the pools and tunnels of Taman Sari water castle

Yogyakarta

1 to 1.5 hoursNo booking needed

Wander from the Sultan's bathing pools into lanes where people live among the ruins, down to tunnels and an underground former mosque.

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Traders in jukung canoes at the Lok Baintan floating market

Reach the Lok Baintan floating market at first light

Lok Baintan, Banjar, South Kalimantan

A morning, leaving Banjarmasin by 5:30No booking needed

Be on the river at first light, when traders paddle canoes loaded with fruit and breakfast cakes and sell from boat to boat.

A plate of babi guling with rice and crackling at Ibu Oka in Ubud

Eat babi guling at Warung Ibu Oka in Ubud

Ubud, Bali

No booking needed

Order a plate of Bali's spit-roasted pig with crisp crackling and sambal at Ubud's best-known place to eat it.

The entrance of Pasar Beringharjo on Jalan Malioboro in Yogyakarta

Bargain for batik in Pasar Beringharjo, Yogyakarta

Malioboro, Yogyakarta

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

Compare hand-drawn and stamped batik stall by stall on the ground floor, then bargain before anything is cut or wrapped.

Sunrise seen from the summit of Mount Batur, with Mount Agung on the horizon

Climb Mount Batur in the dark for sunrise over Bali

Kintamani, Bali

About 1.5 to 2 hours up, half a day in allBook ahead

Climb an active volcano in the dark and reach the summit in time to watch the light come up over Lake Batur.

Check dates and pricesGuided sunrise climb with breakfast and pickup
The Kelingking headland and beach on Nusa Penida's west coast

Day-trip to Nusa Penida for the Kelingking cliffs

Nusa Penida, Bali

A full day from BaliBook ahead

Stand above the T-rex-shaped headland of Kelingking, with a white beach far below, a fast boat ride from Sanur.

Check dates and pricesBoat day from Bali: Kelingking by land, manta snorkel
The tall stone towers of the Prambanan temple compound by day

Walk the Hindu temples of Prambanan and Sewu at opening time

Prambanan, Yogyakarta

3 hours, most of a day with SewuNo booking needed

Walk into the raised court of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva at 6:30, ahead of the heat and the groups.

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Long-tailed macaques grooming each other in the Ubud Monkey Forest

Walk the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud, with empty hands

Ubud, Bali

1 to 1.5 hoursNo booking needed

Walk among more than 1,000 long-tailed macaques in a temple forest in the middle of Ubud, with nothing in your hands.

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Plan your trip

  • When to go

    The dry season, roughly April to October, is the main window for Java, Bali, Lombok and Komodo: volcano hikes, boat trips and the open-air Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan (May to October) all run best then. It is also when European summer and the August holidays fill Bali. From November to March expect heavy afternoon rain, cheaper rooms and greener terraces; Rinjani closes every year from 1 January to 31 March. Raja Ampat works the other way round: its calmer, drier months are roughly October to April.

  • How many days

    Two weeks is a realistic minimum for two islands: five or six days on Bali (Ubud, the temples and one coast), three or four in Yogyakarta for Borobudur and Prambanan, and three for Bromo and Ijen, which chain together across East Java on the way back to Bali. Komodo needs two or three days from Labuan Bajo, Tanjung Puting three days and two nights on a boat, and Raja Ampat at least a week once you count the flights via Sorong.

  • Getting around

    Domestic flights do the long hops: Denpasar to Labuan Bajo for Komodo, to Yogyakarta and to Sorong for Raja Ampat, and Jakarta to Pangkalan Bun for Tanjung Puting. On Java, trains link Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Banyuwangi, and ferries cross from Ketapang to Gilimanuk on Bali around the clock. Bali has little public transport beyond the Trans Metro Dewata buses, which take only card or QRIS, so most visitors hire a car with a driver by the day or use ride-hailing apps. Fast boats run from Sanur to Nusa Penida and from Bali to the Gilis.

  • Entry rules

    Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (page updated 27 May 2026, checked 25 October 2026) says visa exemptions remain suspended for Spaniards, so you need a visa on arrival or an e-VOA: 500,000 rupiah for 30 days, extendable once for another 30. Apply for the e-VOA only on evisa.imigrasi.go.id, because look-alike sites charge more. Your passport must be valid for six months from departure and you need an onward ticket. Arrivals also fill in the free All Indonesia arrival card online shortly before landing, and foreign tourists visiting Bali pay a 150,000 rupiah levy, in advance on Love Bali or on arrival.

  • Money and payments

    The currency is the rupiah, and prices run into the hundreds of thousands, so check the zeros. Cards work in hotels, malls and beach clubs, but park gates, temple donations, markets, warungs and boatmen want cash in small notes, while some buses and ticket desks take only card or QRIS: carry both. Foreigners pay far more than Indonesians at national parks and the big temples, which is normal and legal.

Questions travellers ask

Do I need a visa to travel to Indonesia?

Most visitors, Spaniards included, need a visa on arrival or an e-VOA, which costs 500,000 rupiah and gives 30 days, extendable once for 30 more. Apply only on the official evisa.imigrasi.go.id site, and carry a passport valid for six months and an onward ticket.

How much is the Bali tourist levy?

Foreign tourists pay 150,000 rupiah, in force since 14 February 2024. Pay it on the official Love Bali website or app, where the voucher arrives by email, or on arrival. It is separate from the visa fee.

Can you still climb Borobudur?

Yes, but only with the Temple Structure ticket: a guided visit up the terraces from 8:30, with upanat sandals included and a limited number of tickets per hour. A separate sunrise session starts at 4:00 and takes 100 people a day. Both are sold on InJourney's official ticket site, and the top platform stays reserved for ceremonies.

Is it safe to see the blue fire at Ijen?

It is a night hike into an active crater with sulphur gas, so wear a proper gas mask, follow your guide and leave if the gas turns towards you. The park asks for a health certificate issued no more than three days before your visit, closes on the first Friday of each month and can close without notice for gas, weather or fire.

How do I get from Bali to Komodo National Park?

Fly from Denpasar to Labuan Bajo on Flores, the base for every Komodo boat. Since April 2026 park entry is booked ahead through the SiORA system, usually by your boat operator, with a daily visitor cap, so book the trip before you fly.

What is the best time to visit Indonesia?

For Bali, Java, Lombok and Komodo, the dry months from April to October are best, with July and August the busiest. Raja Ampat is calmer from October to April. Rinjani closes from January to March every year.

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