Wild Sumatra to Gili Bliss: The Ultimate Adventure (Self-Launched)

Land at Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) and take the airport train (Railink, ~£3) or a Grab car (~£8) into the city. Settle into a budget guesthouse on Jalan Sutomo, grab your first nasi goreng and a cold Bintang, and sort your onward bus or shared car to Bukit Lawang for tomorrow. Withdraw cash here — ATMs thin out badly in the jungle villages.

🚌Railink airport train + Grab

🛏Budget guesthouse, Medan (dorm/private ~£10)

• →Airport train into Medan
• →Evening street-food market wander
• →Buy onward bus ticket to Bukit Lawang

Take a shared car or local bus from Medan's Pinang Baris terminal to Bukit Lawang (2–3 hrs, ~£5 in a shared car, ~£2 by bus). Bukit Lawang sits on the Bohorok River on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park. Afternoon wander, register your trek with a licensed local guide, and eat riverside overlooking the forest.

🚌Shared car / local bus (~3 hrs)

🛏Riverside guesthouse, Bukit Lawang (~£8)

• →Shared transfer to Bukit Lawang
• →Riverside village walk
• →Book 2-day jungle trek with local guide

Start early with a licensed guide and porters to trek into Gunung Leuser, one of the richest rainforests in Southeast Asia. Keep your distance from the semi-wild Sumatran orangutans at the feeding site, look out for Thomas's langurs, hornbills and gibbons, and stop for a rice-and-curry lunch packed in banana leaf. Camp overnight in the jungle with a fire-cooked dinner.

🚌On foot (guided)

🛏Jungle camp, tent/hammock (included in trek)

• →Guided trek into Gunung Leuser National Park
• →Orangutan and wildlife spotting
• →Jungle camp dinner

Trek out of the forest with a morning wildlife walk, then return to Bukit Lawang the fun way — by river tubing down the Bohorok alongside your guide and gear. Afternoon free to swim, nap and nurse sore legs. Optional add-on: take a becak to a nearby village for a Batak cooking class and learn rendang chicken, arsik fish stew and acar campur.

🚌Walking + river tubing

🛏Riverside guesthouse, Bukit Lawang (~£8)

• →Morning jungle walk
• →River tubing back to Bukit Lawang
• →Optional Batak cooking class (~£12)

Long travel day: shared car back to Medan, then a bus up to Parapat on the shores of Lake Toba (about 5–6 hrs, ~£9 total). Catch the afternoon ferry across the crater lake to Samosir Island and the village of Tuk Tuk. Check into a lakefront guesthouse and eat grilled tilapia on a terrace.

🚌Shared car + local bus + lake ferry

🛏Lakefront guesthouse, Tuk Tuk (~£10)

• →Bus Medan–Parapat
• →Ferry to Samosir Island
• →Sunset over Lake Toba

Rent a scooter (~£5/day) and loop Samosir: Batak traditional houses at Ambarita, the ancient stone chairs and tombs at Tomok, and the hot springs at Pangururan. Stop at roadside stalls for Babi Panggang (Batak roast pork) and mie goreng. If scooters aren't your thing, bicycles are ~£3/day and the Tuk Tuk loop is flat enough.

🚌Rented scooter/bicycle

🛏Lakefront guesthouse, Tuk Tuk (~£10)

• →Scooter loop of Samosir Island
• →Ambarita stone chairs
• →Tomok Batak village and tombs

Morning ferry back to Parapat and afternoon bus to Medan. Overnight near the airport or centre for tomorrow's flight to Bali. Cheap eats: a bowl of soto Medan or a plate of mie Aceh for around £2.

🚌Lake ferry + bus (~7 hrs total)

🛏Budget guesthouse, Medan (~£10)

• →Ferry Samosir–Parapat
• →Bus Parapat–Medan
• →Evening in Medan

Budget flight Medan–Denpasar (check Citilink, Lion Air, Batik Air; roughly £60–90 if booked ahead). From DPS airport take a shared shuttle or Grab to Ubud (1.5 hrs, ~£10). Ubud is your base for the next few nights. Evening Kecak dance performance at a temple (~£7) if the timing works.

🚌Domestic flight + Grab/shuttle

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Ubud (~£10)

• →Domestic flight to Bali
• →Transfer to Ubud
• →Optional Ubud dance performance

Get up early for the Ubud morning market (Tegalalang day trip optional), walk the Campuhan Ridge trail before the heat, and visit the Saraswati Temple and Monkey Forest Sanctuary (~£4). Afternoon: coffee plantation stop and a Balinese massage for around £8. Dinner at a warung — nasi campur for about £2.50.

🚌Walking + local bemo/Grab

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Ubud (~£10)

• →Campuhan Ridge walk
• →Ubud market and palace
• →Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Book a Mount Batur sunrise trek the night before — self-bookable via GetYourGuide or Klook for around £20-25 including hotel pickup. Start at 3:30am, summit in time for sunrise, then back in Ubud by midday for a long nap. Afternoon free; evening cooking class at a local family compound (~£14), or a PKP-style community visit if you arrange it locally.

🚌Shared minivan (trek pickup)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Ubud (~£10)

• →Mount Batur sunrise trek
• →Balinese cooking class (~£14)

Grab or shared shuttle to Padang Bai (~£8), then the fast boat to Lembar, Lombok (~£18, about 2 hrs). On Lombok grab a bemo or Grab to Mataram/Senggigi or head inland to a village homestay. Change of pace here — Lombok is quieter and less touristy than Bali.

🚌Shared shuttle + fast boat

🛏Village homestay, Lombok (~£12)

• →Fast boat to Lombok
• →Transfer to homestay

Settle into village rhythm: walk the rice terraces with your host, try your hand at traditional Lombok weaving (~£10 for a workshop), and join a Bulian-style cooking class in the evening (~£12) to make sambal, grilled fish and plecing kangkung. Optional early sunrise fishing trip on a local boat (~£10).

🚌On foot

🛏Village homestay, Lombok (~£12)

• →Rice terrace walk
• →Weaving workshop
• →Village cooking class
• →Optional sunrise fishing trip

Hire a driver for the day or take a shared bemo south to Kuta Lombok (~£8). Beach-hop the south coast — Mawun, Selong Belanak, Tanjung Aan — and stop for grilled fish at a beach warung. Return north in the late afternoon or overnight in Kuta if you want the surf-town vibe.

🚌Shared bemo / hired driver

🛏Guesthouse, Lombok (~£12)

• →Beach-hopping the south coast
• →Grilled fish lunch at a beach warung
• →Optional surf lesson (~£15)

Public boat or fast boat from Bangsal or Teluk Nare to Gili Trawangan (~£8 and 30 mins). No motorised vehicles on the islands — get around by bicycle or cidomo (horse cart). Snorkel gear, beach, sunset at the west side of the island, and a beach barbecue dinner. Note Gili T has a lively nightlife scene if you want it and quiet corners if you don't.

🚌Public/local boat from Lombok

🛏Budget bungalow or hostel, Gili T (~£14)

• →Boat to Gili Trawangan
• →Bicycle hire and beach time
• →Sunset at the west side

Join a three-island snorkel boat trip, easily booked directly at any dive shop on Gili T for around £20-25. Snorkel the Turtle Point reef off Gili T, glide through the calm water around Gili Meno (also check out the underwater statues), and finish at Gili Air's coral gardens before heading back. Lunch and gear usually included. Not a certified diver? Intro dives can be arranged for ~£35.

🚌Local snorkel boat

🛏Budget bungalow or hostel, Gili T (~£14)

• →Three-island snorkel boat trip
• →Turtle Point snorkelling
• →Underwater statues at Gili Meno
• →Optional intro scuba dive (~£35)

Nothing on the itinerary today. Swim, cycle to the island's quiet north side, hunt for the famous swings, watch the sunset from a beach bar. Kayaks and paddleboards rent for a few pounds an hour. Keep an eye on the calendar: book your onward boat and bus to Ubud or Kuta for tomorrow.

🚌Bicycle / on foot

🛏Budget bungalow or hostel, Gili T (~£14)

• →Cycling around Gili T
• →Kayaking or paddleboarding
• →Beach bar sunset

Fast boat from Gili T back to Padang Bai (~£18, around 1.5 hrs — book with the BlueWater Express or similar), then shared shuttle north to Kuta (~£10). If you skipped the 'Bali Express' add-on on the group tour, you can just book the same boat and shuttle yourself — same journey, no group surcharge. Sunset at Kuta beach, dinner on Jalan Poppies.

🚌Fast boat + shared shuttle

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Kuta (~£12)

• →Fast boat to Padang Bai
• →Shuttle to Kuta
• →Sunset at Kuta beach

Take a Grab south to the Bukit Peninsula and explore Uluwatu Temple (~£4 entry), perched on the cliffs above the surf breaks. Beach-hop Padang Padang, Bingin and Dreamland. Stay for the sunset Kecak fire dance performance at Uluwatu (~£8) — worth the ticket.

🚌Grab / shared car

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Kuta (~£12)

• →Uluwatu Temple
• →Beach-hopping the Bukit
• →Sunset Kecak dance

Fast boat from Sanur to Nusa Penida in the morning (~£15 return), then a driver for the day (~£12 between a group). Highlights: Kelingking Beach (the T-rex cliff), Angel's Billabong, Broken Beach. Optional add-on: snorkel with manta rays at Manta Point (~£15). Last boat back to Bali around 4:30pm.

🚌Fast boat + hired driver

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Kuta (~£12)

• →Kelingking Beach viewpoint
• →Angel's Billabong and Broken Beach
• →Optional manta ray snorkel

No fixed plan. Do a morning yoga class in Canggu or Seminyak (~£8), brunch at a cafe that has actual coffee, and pick up souvenirs at the Beachwalk mall or a market. If you have a late flight home tonight, the airport is 20 minutes away. Otherwise overnight as needed.

🚌Grab / on foot

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Kuta (~£12)

• →Yoga class
• →Cafe brunch
• →Souvenir shopping

Flight day transfer to Denpasar airport, or keep rolling onto other Indonesian islands if you have time. If you'd rather stay longer, consider a couple of days in the Gilis or a quick hop to Flores for Komodo dragons. This is a rough route — extend or shorten as your budget allows.

🚌Grab to DPS airport

🛏None (flight day) / optional overnight (~£12)

• →Airport transfer
• →Optional onward travel

Keep a spare day in the plan for flight disruptions, ferry weather cancellations, or simply wanting one more beach day before you go home. Indonesia's inter-island transport can eat a day unexpectedly, so a buffer day here is genuinely useful rather than wasted.

🚌On foot / Grab

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Kuta (~£12)

• →Beach day
• →Spa or massage
• →Last-minute shopping