Indonesia: Bali, Java & Komodo

Indonesia is a dry-season country and the middle of the year is its best stretch. From May to September the rains hold off, the seas around Komodo settle, and the humidity that hangs over Java and Bali for much of the year lifts. The volcanoes are clear at dawn and the diving in the east is at its best.

Fifteen nights, three very different places. Java first, for the temples and the volcanoes; then Bali, for the rice country and the coast; and finally Komodo, joined by a chartered phinisi for the last stretch. The order matters, Java is the cultural heart and rewards a fresh eye, Bali is the decompression, and Komodo is the reward at the end.

The mornings are the thing. Borobudur, the great Buddhist monument on the Kedu plain, opened privately before the gates; the sunrise over Mount Bromo and the sulphur of Ijen; the temples and terraces around Ubud; and then, off the boat in the Komodo park, the dragons on Rinca, the pink sand, the climb on Padar for the view of the three bays, and the manta rays at the cleaning stations. The diving and free-diving here are as good as anywhere in the region.

Movement is by jet between the islands and by boat at the end. Jakarta and Bali's Denpasar are the long-range gateways, Yogyakarta's airport serves the Java temples, and Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo, has been upgraded to take jets, after which the phinisi becomes the base. Distances are real and the aircraft earns its place across an archipelago this size.

Among our preferred hotel partners we use Amanjiwo facing Borobudur on Java, Four Seasons Sayan and Amandari around Ubud in Bali, and a chartered phinisi through the Komodo park rather than a fixed hotel.

Ask your advisor about Borobudur before opening, a private phinisi through Komodo instead of day boats out of Labuan Bajo, and the diving at the manta points with a dedicated guide.