Java in Depth with Bali Highlights
Bespoke Holiday Itinerary / Experience Tour

This itinerary combines the specular scenes and attractions of central and eastern Java, along with the cultural highlights and exotic beaches of Bali.

Highlights include:

• Explore the magical temples of Borobudur and Prambanan and Yogyakarta, the cultural heartland of Java.
• Climb Mount Bromo and watch the sun rise over its dramatic Volcanic peak
• Take in the stunning volcanic sights of the Ijen plateau.
• Experience Bali’s remote Northern coast
• Wander the streets of Bali’s cultural capital of Ubud

- International Flights (usually with Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Malaysian Airlines or Singapore Airlines)

- superior level accommodation

- Fully privately guided

- All tours, meals and transfers as mentioned above.

Note that the price of flights in particular, can be higher during peak travel periods

DAY 1 - DEPART THE UK

Depart the UK.

DAY 2 – CAnGgu

Arrive at Denpasar Airport to be met by your guide. With VIP immigration assistance you will avoid the queues and head straight through passport control. You will continue on to your accommodation amongst the paddy fields and peaceful beaches of Canggu, with its lush tropical scenery, one of the few peaceful beaches and rural settings left in Southern Bali.

DAY 3 – CAnggu

After a free morning, in the afternoon your guide will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the famous Tanah Lot temple, perched on a rock formation off Bali’s south west coast. The temple was built in the 15th century as a form of worship to the Balinese Sea gods and is one of seven such sea temples along the south west coast. After a chance to explore the temple with your guide you will take in the beautiful sun set as the sun falls behind the temple. You will then have dinner on a cliff that overlooks the temple from the mainland.

DAY 4 – BOROBUDUR

After a final morning in Canggu, you will leave Bali and take a short flight to Yogyakarta where you will get your first taste of Java, Indonesia’s most populous island. From here you will travel to Borobudur, one of the finest temples in South East Asia, surrounded by stunning volcanoes and forested plains.

DAY 5 – BOROBUDUR

Today you will rise before the sun and climb Borobudur with your guide in order to reach the top for the majestic sun rise over Mount Merapi and the forested plateau to the east. Built in the 8th century and constructed from two million individual bits of stone, the Buddhist temple is made of 6 square terraces with three circular terraces and 72 small stupas on top. The temple is covered by delicately sculptured reliefs representing the life of Buddha and the Buddhist belief in kharma and reincarnation. After the temple you will have the choice of going back to the hotel to recoup or to spend the afternoon visiting a range of smaller temples in the area.

DAY 6 – YOGYAKARTA

After breakfast you will head into Yogyakarta, part of the only sultanate remaining in Indonesia. You will visit the Kraton, the traditional home of the sultan and the royal court, and the elaborate two story mansion retreat known as the Water Palace. In the afternoon you will leave the city and visit the magnificent tenth century Hindu temple, Prambanan. While it is not as well restored as Borobudur, it is a magnificent piece of architecture consisting of 8 main and 8 minor temples on a central courtyard, surrounded by 244 small temples in the outer compound. You will stay at the temple until the sun sets, when on a clear day the temple will appear as a silhouette against the backdrop of a sky of bright reds, pale blues and wisps of white clouds.

DAY 7 – MALANG

Leave Yogyakarta to take a train east through the stunning central mountains towards Jombang, East Java. You will be accompanied by your tour guide, while your driver can take your luggage to Jombang the previous evening. He will meet you at the train station and take you through beautiful countryside to Malang, via the small plantation villages of Pujon Batu, where you will have a chance to stop and take in the scenery and explore the villages. Stay in a hotel in the heart of the city.

DAY 8 – MALANG

Free day to explore the sights of Malang: see the colonial architecture, various art centres, the botanical gardens and a range of local temples. Malang is refreshingly cool and is surrounded by fantastic countryside.

DAY 9 – BROMO

Drive through the dramatic volcanic peaks of East Java towards your hillside hotel in Bromo.

DAY 10 – BROMO

Following an early rise you will be taken to view the spectacular sunrise over the crest of the Bromo volcano. After a short pony ride you will climb to the peak of Bromo, where you can take in the magnificent view of its crater lake and the surrounding mountains. After time to relax back at the hotel, you will go for a stunning walk around the mountain as the sun sets over this breath-taking scenery.

DAY 11 – IJEN

After an hours drive through the volcanic scenery, you will take the train to Banyuwangi in the far east of the island. From here you will be transferred to your hotel on the Ijen plateau, where one can hike up spectacular volcanoes, visit coffee plantations and take in the stunning views.

DAY 12 – IJEN

Wake up early and head out to explore the awesome beauty of Java’s wondrous volcano Mt. Ijen. Travel through rural villages, coffee and clove plantations then into one of Java’s rainforests. Humidity, wildlife, giant ferns and big trees cover the slopes of the mountain. From the park rangers post walk up the Ijen plateau through the hilly landscape to the edge the crater edge, at 2883m in altitude. Your effort is rewarded with breath-taking views over the plateau, and on a clear day over the turquoise sulphur lake of Kawah Ijan

DAY 13 – PEMUTERAN

Today you will take a short local ferry ride across to Bali, where you will stay in the stunning heart of the West Bali National Park, home to spectacular forests, mangroves and coral reefs. Home to one of the best snorkelling and diving sites in Bali and to some of the only white sand beaches in the north of the island, your peaceful beach villa is on an idyllic tropical bay, overlooking crystal clear blue water.

DAY 14, 15 and 16 – PEMUTERAN

Enjoy the oasis of Bali’s north-west coastline.

DAY 17 – UBUD

Drive to the southern foothills of Bali’s volcanic mountains for three nights in Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali. Famous for its markets, temples, great selection of restaurants and its traditional Balinese architecture, Ubud town is a great place for private exploration. The town is surrounded by steep river valleys and glistening paddy fields.

DAY 18 – UBUD

You will be picked up from your hotel by your guide and taken on a tour of Ubud town. You will visit the ARMA Museum's excellent art gallery, home to a wide array of paintings, woodcarvings and dancing. Have a chance to visit Ubud's famous Monkey Forest, which as its name suggests is a forest that is home to hundreds of monkeys (grey macaques in this case) before exploring Ubud's main Market and/or Palace. The day is concluded with Kecak Dance performance staged by the villagers of Batubulan.

DAY 19 – UBUD

You will be picked up from your hotel by your guide and taken on a tour of Ubud town. You will visit the ARMA Museum's excellent art gallery, home to a wide array of paintings, woodcarvings and dancing. Have a chance to visit Ubud's famous Monkey Forest, which as its name suggests is a forest that is home to hundreds of monkeys (grey macaques in this case) before exploring Ubud's main Market and/or Palace. The day is concluded with Kecak Dance performance staged by the villagers of Batubulan.

DAY 20 – FLY HOME

Transfer by vehicle to Denpasar airport for your flight home. Alternatively we can tailor your tour so that you continue on to one of the neighbouring islands.