Backpacking Indonesia: 23 best places to visit
The most rewarding stops for backpackers in Indonesia, ranked and mapped — and real routes through them, written by travellers who went.
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Ubud
Bali
Rice terraces and temples.
2
Canggu
Bali
Surf, cafes, digital nomads.
3
Borobudur
Central Java
Vast Buddhist stupa temple.
4
Gili Islands
West Nusa Tenggara
Car-free turquoise trio.
5
Komodo National Park
East Nusa Tenggara
Dragons and pink beaches.
6
Mount Bromo
East Java
Smoking volcano sunrise.
7
Nusa Penida
Bali
Dramatic cliffs and manta rays.
8
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta
Java's cultural heart.
9
Lombok
West Nusa Tenggara
Rinjani volcano and quiet coast.
10
Kawah Ijen
East Java
Blue-flame sulphur crater.
11
Raja Ampat
West Papua
The planet's richest reefs.
12
Labuan Bajo
East Nusa Tenggara
Gateway to Komodo.
13
Lake Toba
North Sumatra
Huge volcanic crater lake.
14
Flores
East Nusa Tenggara
Coloured lakes and villages.
15
Tana Toraja
South Sulawesi
Elaborate cliff burial culture.
16
Bukit Lawang
North Sumatra
Jungle orangutan trekking.
17
Malang
East Java
Cool colonial base city.
18
Prambanan
Yogyakarta
Soaring Hindu temple spires.
19
Bandung
West Java
Cafes, volcanoes, cool climate.
20
Bunaken
North Sulawesi
Wall diving off Manado.
21
Dieng Plateau
Central Java
Misty highland temples.
22
Banda Islands
Maluku
Historic remote spice isles.
23
Jakarta
Jakarta
Sprawling megacity capital.
Backpacking routes through Indonesia
Real trips through Indonesia, drawn on maps by the people who took them.
One Month in Indonesia — Bali, Nusa Penida, Lombok and East Java
A real one-month backpacking route through Indonesia — Bali, three nights on Nusa Penida, Lombok, then an East Java motorbike overland (Ijen, Bromo, Tumpak Sewu, Malang) and Surabaya to Jakarta, finishing on the Whoosh bullet train. Timings, ferries and what I'd change.
Java Overland: Trains, Temples and the Volcanoes of the East
Overland across Java by train — Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Borobudur, then sunrise on Bromo and the blue fire of Ijen. Routes, costs and timings for 2026.
Bali to Lombok the Slow Way: Rice Terraces, Gilis and the South Coast
Bali to Lombok without the rush: Canggu, Ubud, the Gili Islands, Rinjani's foothills and Kuta Lombok, with fast-boat fares and 2026 daily budgets.
Flores and Komodo: Dragons, Boat Days and the Trans-Flores Highway
Fly to Labuan Bajo, sail Komodo and Padar, then bus the Trans-Flores Highway to Kelimutu's tri-coloured crater lakes. A two-week route with 2026 costs.
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