Sumatra to Bali: Wildlife, Waves & Wilderness (Self-Launched)

Fly into Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) and take the Railink airport train (~£3, 30-40 min) or a Grab/Bluebird taxi (~£8-10) into the city centre. Check into a budget guesthouse or hostel around Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani. Spend the evening wandering the food stalls for mie aceh and teh tarik. There's no welcome meeting needed — but message your Bukit Lawang trek organiser tonight to confirm pick-up or bus times for Day 3.

🚌Railink airport train ~£3 or Grab taxi ~£8-10

🛏Budget guesthouse/hostel in Medan city centre (£10-14, dorm or simple double)

• →Airport transfer into Medan
• →Evening street food walk
• →Confirm Bukit Lawang trek details

Do the Medan city circuit yourself with a motorbike-taxi hop or a hired becak (cycle rickshaw) — agree a price up front, roughly £4-6 for a couple of hours. Hit the Al-Mashun Great Mosque (Masjid Raya) and Maimun Palace next door, then the 19th-century Tjong A Fie Mansion and the Chinese temple Vihara Gunung Timur. Grab a Padang family-style lunch at a rumah makan Padang — point at the stacked plates and pay by what you eat (~£2-3). Afternoon free: coffee at a Dutch-era cafe or a dip in the hotel pool.

🚌Becak/motorbike taxi ~£4-6 for the day

🛏Budget guesthouse/hostel in Medan (£10-14)

• →Al-Mashun Great Mosque & Maimun Palace
• →Tjong A Fie Mansion
• →Vihara Gunung Timur Chinese temple
• →Padang lunch at a rumah makan

Take a shared tourist shuttle or public bus west to Bukit Lawang (~4 hrs, shared van ~£6-8 with hotel pickup; public bus to Binjai then angkot is cheaper but slower). Arrive early afternoon and check into a riverside guesthouse — rooms overlooking the Bohorok river run £8-14. Walk the village, cross to the bat cave side for a short sunset stroll, or book in for an evening cooking class with a local family (~£10-12) to learn Batak dishes like arsik fish or rendang. Confirm your 2-day/1-night jungle trek for tomorrow morning.

🚌Shared tourist shuttle Medan–Bukit Lawang ~£6-8

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Bukit Lawang (£8-14)

• →Settle into riverside guesthouse
• →Village riverside walk / bat cave
• →Optional Batak cooking class ~£10-12

The centrepiece. Book a licensed local guide (mandatory in the park — expect £45-65 per person for a 2-day/1-night trek including food, porters and camping gear; arrange via your guesthouse or the official guide association, not the touts at the bridge). Trek 5-7 hours through the rainforest looking for semi-wild orangutans, Thomas's langurs, long-tail macaques, monitor lizards and hornbills. Lunch is a packed nasi goreng/rice-and-veg picnic by a stream. Porters set up camp ahead of you; dinner is a cookout over the fire. Bring long sleeves, leeches socks, headtorch and 2+ litres of water.

🚌Trekking on foot

🛏Tent camp in Gunung Leuser NP (included in trek package)

• →Full-day orangutan/rainforest trek with licensed guide
• →Picnic lunch in the jungle
• →Night camp with local cookout

Breakfast at camp, then hike out on a different trail with more wildlife spotting. At the trail's end you do the classic Bukit Lawang descent: an inner-tube float down the Bohorok rapids back to the village (usually bundled into your trek price; otherwise ~£5). Riverside lunch, then free time — nap, or visit the bat cave. Tonight is the village's social night: bars along the river with live guitar, Bintang and jungle views; budget £8-12 if you're going hard.

🚌On foot plus river tubing (tubing ~£0-5)

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Bukit Lawang (£8-14)

• →Morning wildlife trek out of the park
• →River tubing back to Bukit Lawang
• →Village night out

Pick your adventure. Book half-day white-water rafting on the Sei Bingei (~£20-25, best in the wetter months), hire a bicycle to roll through bamboo villages and rice fields (~£4-6/day), or hike to the Bat Cave (15,000-30,000 IDR entry, ~£2). Book any activity the evening before through your guesthouse. A lazy option: coffee and pancakes at a river terrace and a swim in the Bohorok.

🚌Bicycle hire ~£4-6

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Bukit Lawang (£8-14)

• →Optional white-water rafting ~£20-25
• →Optional cycling village tour
• →Bat Cave trek

Hire a driver/guide for the transfer back to Medan with a stop at a Malay/Javanese/Batak village — your guesthouse can arrange a car and English-speaking local host for around £25-35 per person if you share with another traveller. Learn to weave crafts from coconut leaves, try local games, share a home-cooked lunch, and walk the farmland. Continue to Medan for the night so you're close to the airport for tomorrow's flight.

🚌Private/shared car Bukit Lawang–Kampung Lama–Medan ~£25-35 pp

🛏Budget hotel near Medan city centre/airport (£10-15)

• →Village cultural visit & craft workshop
• →Home-cooked village lunch
• →Farm walk

Morning flight Medan (KNO) to Denpasar (DPS) — book direct with Lion Air/Citilink/Batik Air in advance, ~£55-85 one way. From DPS, take a Grab or a shared airport shuttle to Canggu (~1 hr; Grab ~£8-10, shared shuttle ~£4-5). Check into a Canggu hostel (dorms £8-14, private rooms £20-30) around Batu Bolong. Note the Bali tourist levy (150,000 IDR ~£7.50) must be paid online via Love Bali before arrival. Free evening: sunset at Batu Bolong beach, warung dinner, beach bars.

🚌Domestic flight KNO–DPS ~£55-85; Grab/shuttle DPS–Canggu ~£4-10

🛏Canggu hostel or budget guesthouse (£10-20)

• →Domestic flight to Bali
• →Batu Bolong beach sunset
• →Warung dinner

Book a beginner group surf lesson on Batu Bolong or Echo Beach — 2 hrs with board and instructor, ~£18-25 via GetYourGuide, Klook or just walk up to one of the surf schools on the sand (Pro Surf School, Odyssey, Rip Curl School). Batu Bolong's mellow waves are ideal for first-timers. Afternoon: rent a board for a few hours (~£5-7), or a scooter to explore (~£5/day). Sunset beers and a cheap nasi campur dinner.

🚌Walking/scooter hire ~£5

🛏Canggu hostel or budget guesthouse (£10-20)

• →2-hour beginner surf lesson ~£18-25
• →Optional board hire ~£5-7
• →Batu Bolong sunset

Head north. Cheapest reliable option: a private driver for the day with a stop at Ulun Danu Beratan temple (~£40-50 for the car, split between 2-3 travellers) — otherwise a Grab to Ubung/Denpasar bus terminal plus local buses is possible but slow. Ulun Danu Beratan entry is ~75,000 IDR (~£3.75); go early to beat the tour buses. Continue to Bulian/Singaraja area and check into a village homestay or guesthouse (£10-15/night, often with meals offered), then walk the rice terraces at golden hour.

🚌Private driver for the day ~£40-50 per car (split 2-3 ways)

🛏Village homestay/guesthouse in Bulian, North Bali (£10-15)

• →Ulun Danu Beratan Temple
• →Village walk among rice terraces

Do the village experience independently with a local guide arranged through your homestay (~£15-20 for a half day). Learn to fold canang sari offerings from palm leaf and flowers, walk the rice paddies and coffee/durian plots, and — with your host's help — attend a temple ceremony (wear a sarong and sash; bring a donation of 20,000-50,000 IDR). Optionally extend to the Lemukih waterfalls and natural waterslide (~£15-20 guide), or rent a bicycle and pedal the back lanes (~£3-5).

🚌On foot/bicycle (~£3-5)

🛏Village homestay/guesthouse in Bulian (£10-15)

• →Canang sari offering-making workshop
• →Village and rice terrace walk with local guide
• →Temple ceremony visit
• →Optional Lemukih waterfall trek

Free morning: join a local cooking class (~£12-15) or a sunrise fishing trip with a village boat (~£15) if the sea is calm. At midday, arrange a driver north-east to Kintamani (~£30-40 per car, 2-2.5 hrs), sitting at the foot of Mt Batur with views across the caldera lake. Tonight stay in a guesthouse or the lakeside hot-spring area — several places near Toya Devasya have hot spring access included (£15-25/night). Soak, eat, and sleep early; you're up at 3:30am.

🚌Private car Bulian–Kintamani ~£30-40 per car

🛏Guesthouse in Kintamani with hot spring access (£15-25)

• →Optional cooking class or sunrise fishing
• →Hot spring soak at Kintamani

Book the Mt Batur sunrise trek online in advance (GetYourGuide/Klook, ~£25-35 pp including hotel pickup, guide, headtorch and breakfast cooked in the volcanic steam) — or book direct with a Kintamani guide for ~£20. Start around 3:30-4am, summit by ~5:30 for sunrise over Lombok and Rinjani on a clear day. Descend, then soak in a hot spring (many day passes ~£8-12) before an afternoon nap. Great value, huge payoff.

🚌Included in trek package or local transfer ~£5

🛏Guesthouse in Kintamani (£15-25)

• →Mt Batur pre-dawn summit hike
• →Volcano-steam breakfast
• →Hot spring soak

Drive down to Ubud (~1.5 hrs, shared car ~£10-15 pp or Grab ~£15-18). Check into a Ubud hostel or homestay (dorms £8-12, private £15-25) — the Jalan Hanoman/Jalan Sugriwa area is walkable to everything. Optional afternoon: visit a women's community project such as a local PKP-style cooperative for lunch and a weaving/offering session, or independently tour Medahan village near Gianyar (local guide ~£15-20) for market, temple and rice-paddy walks. Evening: Legong dance performance at Ubud Palace (~£6-8) and dinner on Jalan Dewi Sitala.

🚌Shared car/Grab Kintamani–Ubud ~£10-18

🛏Ubud hostel or homestay (£10-20)

• →Transfer to Ubud
• →Optional women's cooperative lunch visit
• →Optional Medahan Village tour
• →Legong dance at Ubud Palace

Morning: do a self-booked 'Ubud spiritual' experience (~£20-30) — offering-making, temple blessing with a Balinese priest, and holy water ritual; or simply join the morning at Tirta Empul (entry ~£3, sarong hire ~£1) and purify at the springs. Afternoon: a half-day Balinese cooking class (~£25-30, includes market tour and eating what you cook) — the classic Ubud budget splurge. Late afternoon: Campuhan Ridge Walk for sunset (free), then a Kecak performance if you didn't do dance last night.

🚌Walking/scooter or Grab ~£4-6

🛏Ubud hostel or homestay (£10-20)

• →Balinese offering & temple blessing experience ~£20-30
• →Half-day cooking class ~£25-30
• →Campuhan Ridge Walk at sunset

Slow last morning: yoga class (~£6-8), the Ubud art market, or a final babi guling lunch. Allow 2-2.5 hrs for the transfer to Denpasar airport — Grab ~£12-15, or a shared airport shuttle ~£5-7 booked through your hostel. Arrive 2.5 hrs before an international departure to clear the tourist levy check and immigration.

🚌Grab/shared shuttle Ubud–DPS ~£5-15

🛏—

• →Optional morning yoga
• →Ubud art market
• →Airport transfer