Activities in Indonesia
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TOP SELLER
Bali Reef Cruise and Lembongan Island Day Trip
by Viator
Cruise in air-conditioned comfort and style aboard the 'Bali Hai II', travel across the Badung Strait to Lembongan Island, a small and low, protected island app…
Not LP reviewed
from USD$100.00 - All activities
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Rumah Guides
This is an excellent new community project run by young Yogya citizens eager to show you their city and the surrounding area. Tours of the city (150,000Rp per day) and to Borobudur, Dieng and beyond can be set up in their Prawirotaman area office. It’s also possible to stay with local families as part of a homestay program (US$12 per day including all meals).
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Trekking
Treks into the Gunung Leuser National Park require a guide and can last anywhere from three hours to two days. Most people opt for two days so that they can spend the night in the jungle, which increases the likelihood of seeing orang-utans and other critters in the wild.
Guide rates are fixed by the Sumatra Guide Association: they are US$10 for a three-hour trek; US$25 for a day trek; and US$45 for a two-day trek, including overnight camping in the jungle and rafting back to town. Prices include basic meals, guide fees, camping equipment and the park permit.
Despite the pressure, take your time in choosing a guide. Talk to returning trekkers and decide how much jungle ti…
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Komang Dodik
Komang Dodik leads highly recommended hikes in the hills along the north coast. Trips start at 250,000Rp per person and can last from three to seven hours. The highlight of most is a series of waterfalls, over 20m high, in a jungle grotto. Routes can include coffee and vanilla plantations.
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Puri Bahasa
A professional language school offering Bahasa Indonesia classes (US$7 per hour for one-on-one tuition). Family homestays can be arranged, starting at 450,000Rp per week.
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Snorkelling
There's good snorkelling just off the Bali Hai and Bounty pontoons off Jungutbatu Beach, as well as in areas off the north coast of the island. You can charter a boat; for more information ask at your hotel. Snorkelling gear can be rented. World Diving allows snorkellers to join dive trips.
There's good drift snorkelling along the mangrove-filled channel west of Cenigan Point between Lembongan and Ceningan.
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Threads of Life Indonesian Textile Arts Center
Textile appreciation courses in the gallery and educational studio last from one to eight days. Some classes involve extensive travel around Bali and should be considered graduate level.
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Bali Eco and Educational Cycling Tour
For the active, offers a combination of mountain biking (downhill!) and cultural and culinary activities.
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Ubud Fitness Centre
For a basic workout, Ubud has a gym, Ubud Fitness Centre, which offers weight training and aerobics.
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Dolphin Watching
Sunrise boat trips to see dolphins are Lovina's much-hyped tourist attraction - so much so that a large concrete crowned monument has been erected in honour of the over-touted cetaceans. Some days, no dolphins are sighted, but most of the time at least a few surface.
Expect constant hassle from your hotel and touts selling dolphin trips - and if you want to go, it's best to buy a ticket the day before. The price is fixed by the boat owners' cartel. Trips start at a non-holiday-like 06:00 and last about two hours. Note that the ocean can get pretty crowded with loud, roaring power boats.
There's great debate about what all this means to the dolphins. Do they like being chas…
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Mentawai Islands Tours
Padang is used as the mainland launching point for tours of the offshore Mentawai Islands, which are famous for a hunter-gatherer culture and world-class surfing. The various islands of the Mentawai chain are starting to sprout reclusive resorts if you're hunting for a holiday away from the crowds.
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Yoga Barn
Yoga Barn sits in its own lotus position amid trees back near a river valley. The name exactly describes what you’ll find – although this barn never needs shovelling. A huge range of classes in yoga and life-affirming offshoots are held through the week.
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Batik Courses
Plenty of places in the Sosrowijayan and Prawirotaman areas offer short batik T-shirt courses of one or two days' duration. High art they aren't, but they provide a good introduction. The tourist information office also has a list of those offering courses.
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Batik Winotosastro
Batik Winotosastro gives free guided tours of the batik process. This place caters to tour groups, so prices are very high – view the process here and shop elsewhere.
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Wisma Bahasa
Wisma Bahasa offers Bahasa Indonesia courses in Yogya. Wisma Bahasa is a well-established school; the tourist information office can supply you with more options.
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Bikram Yoga
Bikram Yoga gets good reports for its hot yoga, Vinyasa, Asthanga and beginners’ classes.
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Via Via
Has excellent half-day cooking (85,000Rp), batik- and silver jewellery–making (both 80,000Rp) courses.
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Superbowl
There is a Superbowl on the top floor of the Mega Mall for those looking to strike out.
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Wayan Karja Painting
Intensive painting and drawing classes are run by abstract artist Karja, whose studio is on the site of his guesthouse, the Santra Putra.
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Trekking
If you don't fully succumb to Samosir's anaesthetising atmosphere, there are a couple of interesting treks across the island. The trails aren't well marked and can be difficult to find, but ask any of the guesthouses for a map. In the wet season (December to March) the steep inclines are very muddy and slippery and can be quite dangerous.
The central highlands of Samosir are about 700m above the lake and afford stunning views of mist-cloaked mountains on a clear day. The top of the escarpment forms a large plateau and at its heart is a small lake, Danau Sidihoni. Samosir's vast tracts of jungle have long since vanished and the only forest you will pass through on either w…
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Air Panas Banjar
Not far from Brahma Vihara Arama, these hot springs percolate amid lush tropical plants. You can relax here for a few hours and have lunch at the restaurant, or even stay the night.
Eight fierce-faced carved stone naga (mythical serpents) pour water from a natural hot spring into the first bath, which then overflows (via the mouths of five more naga), into a second, larger pool. In a third pool, water pours from 3m-high spouts to give you a pummelling massage. The water is slightly sulphurous and pleasantly hot (about 38°C), so you might enjoy it more in the morning or evening than in the heat of the Balinese day. You must wear a swimsuit and you shouldn’t use soap in the…
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Surfing
Surfing here is best in the dry season (April to September), when the winds come from the southeast. It's definitely not for beginners, and can be dangerous even for experts. There are three main breaks on the reef, all aptly named. From north to south are Shipwreck, Lacerations and Playground. Depending on where you are staying, you can paddle directly out to whichever of the three is closest; for others it's better to hire a boat. You tell the owner when to return.
A fourth break - Racecourses - sometimes emerges south of Shipwreck.
The surf can be crowded here even when the island isn't - charter boats from Bali sometimes bring groups of surfers for day trips from the m…
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Volunteering at PPLH Bali
Volunteering at PPLH Bali organises a broad range of environmental and educational programmes. Located in the Hotel Santai, the PPLH has a large library and resource centre. Volunteers and employees are understandably passionate about Bali, its land, the sea and the environmental challenges faced across the island.
Just dropping by to peruse some of the wealth of information on issues such as fair trade or have a chat is an illuminating break. Donations and possibly volunteer services are welcome. With the hotel, the adjacent Café Tali Jiwa helps fund the centre.
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Short Walks
There are a number of short walks around Bukit Lawang that don't require guides or permits, but you'll be lucky to escape town alone.
The canal that runs alongside the river is an easy stroll through the village. In the evening everything gets washed in the rushing waters: frolicking kids, soiled bums, dirty laundry. Activities usually considered private are social in the communal waters.
The most interesting is a 20-minute walk, signposted from the Bukit Lawang Eco Lodge, to a bat cave.
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Pae Nope Guide
Timor has many fascinating traditional villages, pockets of rainforest, and remote regions. But Bahasa Indonesia - let alone English - is often not spoken, so a local guide is very advisable. Pae Nope Guide is a highly recommended English-speaking guide who organises superb ethnological, trekking and bird-watching trips around the island (and to East Timor). A two-day tour costs around Rp1,100, per person (minimum of two people), including all accommodation and meals.
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Dunia Fantasi
The biggest draw card is Dunia Fantasi, a fun park that must have raised eyebrows at the Disney legal department. Spectacular rides here include the Halilintar twisted roller-coaster ride, the Niagra flume ride and a Ferris wheel. The park gets very crowded on weekends, but on weekdays it’s fairly quiet. Take a bus or city train to Kota train station, then bus 64, 65, 125 or angkot 51. A taxi will cost around 45,000Rp from Jl Thamrin.
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