Cycling Indonesia's Islands

Indonesian cuisine is generally fairly simple, with rice as the main staple, though noodles are also common, accompanied by dishes enlivened with ingredients such as cloves, chilies, coconut and lemongrass. Fish is popular but meats are also common. Peanut-based dishes are also common on Indonesian tables (if you have a peanut allergy, make sure to inform us beforehand and to inform your tour leader). Food is often spicy but you can generally avoid the spicier food if you wish. Western food is available in Ubud and Canggu, though it is well worth trying the local cuisine. Quite often, tea or water is drunk with a meal. Beer is often not cold and coffee is unfiltered and usually very sugary. On some days, we have a packed lunch as we cycle. Vegetarian food is available in Indonesia; however, the concept of vegetarianism can be misunderstood, so if you are vegetarian, please be clear and state you don’t eat meat, chicken or fish. Please advise at the time of booking if you have any dietary requirements. Snacks and local fruit are provided when cycling but you may want to bring your own snacks from home too.

Indonesia has an equatorial monsoon climate with the weather remaining similar throughout the year. It is hot and humid; temperatures are 23C-33C (73F-91F) during the day and rarely drop below 20C (68F) at night. In the mountains, temperatures are much cooler; on the coast, sea breezes usually keep temperatures comfortable. In most parts of Indonesia, the long rainy season falls between late October and early May, though rain occurs throughout the year. Rain tends to come in sudden tropical downpours.

This trip is rated Activity Level 4 (Moderate & Challenging) and classified Road. For more information on our trip gradings please visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.  

Nine days of cycling

Average daily distance: 26mi (42km)

90 percent vehicle support

Terrain and route: The trip is 85 percent paved, 15 percent dirt tracks. The sealed sections vary in condition from relatively smooth paved roads to partially broken stone. The dirt tracks can be muddy if it has recently rained. Most of the roads are fairly quiet but you should be comfortable riding in traffic as we approach towns. There is vehicle support on most rides, including the harder mountain rides; however, there may not be vehicle support on a couple of the shorter rides on days 9 and 10. The heat and humidity can also make some of the rides tougher.

Suitability: Most rides are moderately challenging with mostly flat terrain. There are, however, two potentially very challenging days. The harder routes include the ride to the top of Batur volcano (Day 3) and, especially, the ride up Mount Ijen (Day 7). The daily elevations are listed on each day of the itinerary so you can be the judge of your ability. There is the opportunity to jump in the bus at any point if necessary so there is no pressure to complete these two rides.

Traffic: There will be some traffic on this adventure (notably on Day 4 and the early morning of Day 5). If you don’t want to ride in the traffic, you can always hop in the support vehicle

Local tourism: The trip ventures into some of the lesser visited areas of East Java and West Bali, where the accommodation can be more basic, in particular when we stay with a local family for one night where there are squat toilets and bucket showers. When travelling in some areas of the country, service may not be as fast or reliable as you are used to in other countries and Indonesian attitudes towards certain things such as animal welfare and food may differ from your own. That said, if you come ready for an experience, the country rarely fails to deliver.

Transfers: There are some vehicle transfers but journey times are usually one to three hours maximum apart from when transferring from Ketapang, Java, to Canggu, Bali, which is a longer journey by ferry and private minibus.