Six weeks in Indonesia: Review and budget

I'm currently soaking up some fresh mountain air in Malaysia's highlands and getting time to reflect on an incredible six weeks in Indonesia. I'd have to say it was one of the most enjoyable travel experiences I've had. The country is just so diverse! From smouldering volcanoes to ancient UNESCO-listed temples, picturesque rice fields, delicious food, bountiful wildlife and just the most gorgeous people I've ever met, Indonesia truly has it all.

My partner and I travelled across five of the country's 17,000 islands (all without flying) over six weeks. We explored the Gili islands, Bali, Java and Sumatra. They were all insanely cheap! I spent roughly $400 AUD per week. So, I've written a little budget and trip breakdown.

Java:

Overall rating - 8/10

What an island! Java has to be one of Indonesia's most diverse destinations. If you want nature, tick. If you want culture, tick. If you want incredible history, tick. Java literally has it all. We started from Banyuwangi in the east and spent two weeks travelling westward on the island's extensive train network. During that time we saw the rare blue fire phenomenon after a pitch-black hike up a volcano, slums turned into rainbow villages and ancient UNESCO-listed temples from the 9th century (just to name a few things).

My favourite city was Yogyakarta, my favourite pastime was riding on the trains, my favourite view was the volcanoes and rice fields, and my favourite memories were watching the sunrise over Mount Bromo and exploring the ancient Prambanan and Borobudur temple complexes.

Tourists explore Prambanan, one of Java's ancient temples.

In summary...

Go to Java for the:

Beautiful scenery
Hikes up active volcanoes
Hassle-free and scenic train rides
Ancient UNESCO-listed temples

Sumatra:

Rating - 9/10

Sumatra is the place I'm most looking forward to returning to in Indonesia. I love bushwalks, wild animals, good Southeast Asian cuisine, traditional tribal culture and relaxing places to swim. Sumatra delivered on all of these factors and more. I also only had time to explore the northern part of Sumatra and felt like there was still so much to see in that region. So, there are likely many other wonders waiting to be enjoyed right across the island.

My personal Sumatra highlights included:

Seeing orangutans, gibbons, hornbills, fireflies and more in Gunung Leuser National Park, Bukit Lawang
Trying delicious street food in Berastagi
Swimming in the world's largest crater lake, Danau Toba
Learning about the many traditional tribes in northern Sumatra
A 65-hour boat journey from Jakarta to Medan, Sumatra's capital

In summary...

Go to Sumatra for the:

Most amazing wildlife in Southeast Asia
Jungle trekking
Local tribal culture
Authentic experiences
More volcanoes

The Gili islands:

Rating - 6/10

We didn't spend long in the Gili islands. They were our first stop on the trip because we wanted a place to relax and reset before the mammoth journey through the rest of Indonesia. However, they were a beautiful little spot to begin! They sit just off Lombok's west coast and were very easy to reach from Bali. It was the rainy season during our stay but we still got to enjoy some snorkelling, socialising with other travellers and exploring.

We stayed on Gili Air and Gili T for about one week in total. Gili Air is a much less developed island and has a real beach bum vibe. It was a good spot to lie on the beach, read and grab the occasional beer. However, we got bored pretty quickly and were keen to start exploring further afield after a couple of days.

Gili T is known as the party island and for good reason. There are SO MANY bars and it is a lot more built up than the other two Gili islands. It made for a good social pit stop and we were able to party on the beach into the wee hours. We met people on both islands despite being the quiet season. If you're looking for a nice place to unwind, shop and socialise this would be a great place!

In summary...

Go to the Gili islands for the:

Ocean and snorkelling
Never-ending beach hopping opportunities
Socialising
Chance to relax

Bali:

Rating - 5/10

This was my least favourite place in Indonesia. However, we didn't spend much time here and I'm sure there are lots of other amazing places to explore on the island. Bali is the most popular destination in Indo and this is probably why I didn't really like it as much as the other spots.

It has great tourist infrastructure but I felt it detracted from the authentic charm that probably put Bali on the map in the 1900s. That being said, it is a super convenient location for a holiday for Australians and is crazy cheap. Plus the people are wonderful, there are loads of food options and plenty of places to escape the crowds (such as Sidemen).

My Bali highlights included exploring the abandoned theme park in Sanur, hiring a motorbike to ride around Sidemen's stunning countryside and devouring the delish food in Ubud (including during a cooking class with Mama!)

In summary...

Go to Bali for the:

Food (great mix of local and international options)
A tropical holiday
Gorgeous rice fields
Established tourist infrastructure (from budget to luxury)

Transport in Indonesia

Getting around the islands in Indonesia is a very varied experience. If you travel to a few islands, you'll likely experience a 20-hour sleep-free overnight bus ride AND a smooth, somewhat luxurious train journey. So, let me break it down.

Best country for transport:

Java. By far! Most of the island is connected by trains and we had really comfortable, easy journeys onboard the train network.

Worst country for transport:

Sumatra. Simply because of the vast distances and poor road conditions. That being said, we still had a fairly good experience and were always able to find a way to our next destination.

Transport options

E-hailing services: Download Grab or Gojeck (similar to Uber). These services were available in most places we visited and were really affordable. A 15-minute drive in a busy city usually costs about $4 AUD. We didn't use a taxi during our entire trip because the Grab app was SO EASY.

Ferries: We caught quite a few boats. The most adventurous was the Pelni ferry from Jakarta to Medan. We also caught boats to and from Bali, the Gili islands, Java, and Sumatra to Malaysia. We took the Wahana Virendra Group ferry from Bali to the Gilis. We bought the public ferry ticket from Bali to Java at the wharf in Gilimanuk Port. We paid for our tickets from the Parapat port at Lake Toba to our accommodation on Samosir Island once onboard the ferry. And we paid for an Indomal Fast Ferry ticket from Dumai Port in Sumatra to Malacca/Melaka Port in Malaysia online.

Paddy and I spent 65 hours onboard a ferry to Sumatra.

Buses: We used Traveloka and easybook to purchase most of our bus tickets throughout Indonesia. When we couldn't find a route on the app, we simply asked our accommodation owner and found our way to a local public bus. We never had any issues (even in Sumatra!)

Budget for six weeks in Indonesia

Essentially: $4,859 for two people. $2,430 each.

Indonesia is an incredibly cheap country for Western tourists. I was travelling with my partner and that helped reduce some of the costs even further. We were able to split the price of a private room, which was usually cheaper than the cost of a bed in a dorm. We would also sometimes share meals and split the cost of transport such as Grabs.

I roughly spent $405 a week across the six weeks in Indonesia. The most expensive week was getting from Java to Sumatra and the cheapest was in Lake Toba, Sumatra (because my dad joined us and paid for our accommodation).

Buying local is incredibly cheap, but so is eating out in most places.

Most expensive travel cost:

Transport

We spent about $1,055 on transport, accounting for 22% of our total costs. This was due to the vast distances we travelled and the fact that we avoided flying (so had heftier expenses for long-distance boat trips etc).

Accommodation

We spent $770 in total on accommodation for two people. Private rooms were mostly $24 a night but ranged from $16-$42.

Food

Eating out was incredibly cheap. Most meals ranged between $3-$6, but you could spend much more money in areas such as Ubud or Yogyakarta.

We mostly drank beer and some other bottled drinks in Indonesia.

Alcohol

Booze is more expensive in Indonesia (and Malaysia) than in other Southeast Asian countries, simply because it is a Muslim nation. We didn't drink very often because of the cost and lack of options. If you were keen to drink throughout Indonesia that would probably add a considerable amount to your overall spending.

In summary...

Indonesia is super affordable. We ate out for most meals, enjoyed private rooms (many of our stays also had pools), went on some tours and took more expensive transport options while trying not to fly. So, you could probably do it even cheaper!