1 Month Backpacking Indonesia Itinerary
Here’s how to spend one month in Indonesia. This well-researched backpacking itinerary will take you through stunning natural beauty of Sumatra, stunning rice terraces and temples in Bali, and pedestrian-friendly Gili Islands. If you have less than 1 month for backpacking Indonesia, the itinerary below can also serve you well, pick and choose your favorite areas. Although, that may be easier said than done!
Backpacking Sumatra (5 Days)
Sumatra is the big island that is nowhere near as crowded as Bali. The island is filled with primal rainforests, epic waterfalls, volcanic peaks, and giant lakes. If you’re coming from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, it takes about an hour and a half to get to the city of Medan. This means that even though Sumatra is a bit off the beaten path, it’s still easily accessible.
The adventurous Sumatra itineraries usually include the tiny village of Bukit Lawang in North Sumatra. This is an ecotourism hub where jungle treks give you a chance to catch a glimpse of the forest’s famous residents, the semi-wild orangutans. Then, you may want to take an optional side-trip to the island called Pulau Weh, then go to Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic caldera lake. You can plan to stick around for a while in the middle of it on the Samosir island. Bukittinggi, Padang, Mt. Kerinci, Harau Valley and the Mentawai Islands are other places that are worth your attention.
Backpacking Java (5 Days)
With over 140 million residents, Java is Indonesia’s main island and home of its capital city, Jakarta. Some backpackers craft an alternative itinerary and start in Jakarta because Indonesia’s bustling capital deserves a couple of days solely to feel the city vibe.
Arguably the most popular trip on Java is hiking Mount Bromo, and Kawah Ijen. There are plenty of tour guides and travel agents that offer tour packages to Mt. Bromo, it’s much more fun and rewarding to do on your own. Experiencing Mount Bromo without a tour is definitely a highlight of any backpacking Indonesia trip.
The next hike you can take on your way to the east of Java is Kawah Ijen. This one brings you down into the crater at Kawah Ijen to witness the magical blue flames and the impressive sulfur miners hard at work. The toxic blue-green lake It truly is a challenging hike.
While traveling across Java, don’t miss out on spending a few days in Yogyakarta. This is the cultural and artistic heart of the country and is a fascinating place to visit. Here you can visit Kraton Palace and Taman Sari water castle, enjoy the nightly performance at the Ramayana Ballet, and shop for some fly batik shirts.
Within just an hour outside of town, you can visit the breathtaking temple complexes of Borobudur and Prambanan. Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and great spots to catch a picturesque sunrise.
Backpacking Bali (5 Days)
If you’re seeking spiritual growth, there may be no better place on earth to find it than in this island paradise sprinkled with art and yoga retreats throughout the valleys, and one of the biggest hippie vibes in Indonesia. Bali has been drawing in tourists by the thousands for decades now, who flock here for culture, cuisine, art, and nature. This makes for an interesting mix of surfers, foodies, gap year travelers, digital nomads, honeymooners, and party-goers.
Although Bali is much smaller than its western counterparts, the island has many different environments. Here you’ll find world-famous beaches, beautiful rice paddies, several lakes, and a couple of active volcanoes.
Some choose to bounce around and stay in a few places, while others prefer to base in one town and take day trips from there. Ubud and Canggu are the most popular towns that so many folks from around the world call home.
Canggu is actually of the best places to base yourself in Bali. This relaxing beach town just north of Seminyak has been gaining in popularity in recent years, especially amongst digital nomad community. Canggu still attracts smaller crowds, while accommodation, yoga, dining options are pretty much endless.
To get a good feel of Bali and the best parts of what it has to offer, make sure you get out of that beach lounger. There are, in fact, many options for backpackers one can easily spend one month travelling through some of the most beautiful parts of Bali.
Need some ideas? Go surfing down in Uluwatu, Bingin, Impossibles, and Padang Padang, align your chakras in Ubud, dive in Amed, party in Seminyak, or simply practice yoga.
Backpacking Lombok (6 Days)
While you really can’t miss Bali on your backpacking trip around Indonesia, exploring some of Bali’s neighbors is well worth the effort. Lombok is only a 2,5-hour boat ride away from Bali. This incredible island is a popular choice mostly to Gili Islands, a group of three islands that have long been a backpacker favorite. The enchanting string of three tiny islands off the coast of Lombok is completely free of motorized vehicles and home to some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving sites in Southeast Asia.
The biggest island, Gili Trawangan, is known as the party island. It sees an interesting mix of visitors, ranging from backpackers to couples on holiday, to luxury tourists. Gili Trawangan is known as the party island, Gili Meno is the least developed, and Gili Air is a nice mixture of the two because it has more life than Meno but not as much a Trawangan. To get between the islands there is a fleet of boats, so you visit all three in just a few days and see for yourself which one you like the best.
Lombok boasts the second highest volcano in Indonesia which you can climb. A volcano that you can hike up to as part of many multi-day trekking tours should be high on your list when backpacking Indonesia. It usually takes from 2 to 5 days to complete the trek depending on whether or not you want to get to the summit and how quickly you want to move.
Backpacking Flores (5 Days)
The name of this island originates from Portuguese and means “Flowers”. The island of Flores is the only place in the region where a majority of the people are Catholic, meaning you’ll see a church in most villages rather than temples or mosques. A comparatively small number of tourists make it further east than Bali or Lombok, so the East Nusa Tenggara (Flores) stayed relatively untouched. The island, however, gets increasingly better known for its up to three-meter long poisonous lizards. But it has so much more to offer than just the Komodo Dragons.
The town of Labuan Bajo is situated in the most western point of the island Flores and builds the gate to Komodo National Park. Due to that, Labuan Bajo is most frequently the launching point of the Flores trip.
If you’re looking for some day trips from Labuan Bajo (Komodo NP, for instance), you can book one from tour operators near the Flores boat pier. While this trip can be a bit pricey, it’s one worth splurging on. The Komodo National Park consists of the islands Rinca, Komodo and Padar.
Boats depart from Labuan Bajo’s harbor multiple times per day and options usually range from one-day trips to longer excursions with two or three nights on the boat. Most boats will get you Komodo NP with snorkeling at Manta Point as well as Pink Beach, Rinca island and Palau Padar. It’s not necessary to book a trip in advance. Just pop into a few agencies on your way to the harbor to compare prices and quality.
Backpacking Sulawesi (4 Days)
Sulawesi is the fourth largest Indonesian island, which is usually referred to as the tropical heart of global biodiversity. The flora and fauna of Sulawesi make this lesser-known destination an incredible place to visit. If you’re adventurous enough to go off the beaten path then Sulawesi is worth a closer look.
The calm waters surrounding Sulawesi attract scuba diving enthusiasts from around the world. Like Raja Ampat Islands, Sulawesi has one of the most beautiful coral environments in the world. Bunaken Island in the bay of Manado in northern Sulawesi boasts an incredible marine life. To reach the island you can hop on a ferry from the Harbour Marina port and take a 40-minute boat ride. The translucent waters of the Bunaken National Park provide wonderful snorkeling opportunities too.
Obviously, the island sees fewer crowds (if any) than Java and Sumatra, however, there are a lot of things to do in Sulawesi. You would need a few months to truly explore the island. The highlight of any trip to Sulawesi is the elaborate funeral rituals and burial grounds of the Toraja.
It’s a bit creepy seeing dead embalmed in living trees and mummified dead bodies in everyday houses. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. The rituals are carried out in June, July, and August. The Tongkonan houses and the delicious highland coffee are the two other reasons to visit Sulawesi at least once!
