Indonesia - activities - Countries Guide

Cruising via Pelni
An expensive, but unique way to travel in style is onboard the Pelni Ferry lines. They crisscross the island nation to all major towns. There are several classes of tickets although lower decks are not a pleasant way to travel. Think heat, smoke, animals, and no privacy. Top classes share a clean four bed cabin with bathroom. Meals are served in a small formal dining room complete with entertainment. The dishes are not western but a K(kalafornia)FC sells fried chicken and vendors sell many other dishes. A rooftop café sells quick eats and most wile out the day there sipping coffee and singing karaoke. Tourists quickly become novelties so expect many friends, conversation, and free coffee. The ferry stops in each port for a few hours which is enough time for a quick look around. For a real show of motivation watch the ruckus as couriers fight to be the first on decks. First class tickets are often more expensive than air tickets and travel time is much longer. But ferry travel is a timeless chance to experience the islands and meet the many different cultures of Indonesian passengers.

Diving
Travelling to Bali is an experience in itself, but Bali's dive sites are in a world of their own. With deep drop-offs, steep banks, coral ridges and a world famous wreck, these waters are home to great depths of ecological, geographic and historic sights, framed by a coast dotted with volcanoes and rice paddies. The most popular dive destinations are Nusa Penida, Tulamben, Amuk Bay and Menjangan. Some of the extraordinary local marine life includes mola mola (sunfish), hairy frogfish and pygmy seahorses, while more ‘usual' sightings are of reef sharks, blue spotted stingrays, turtles and parrotfish. Visibility can be anywhere between 6 and 45m, and current strengths also vary substantially from one dive site to another. The water is generally at a comfortable temperature and the best diving months are from April to December. There are various locally based dive operators and resorts offering anything from snorkelling over the wreck to dive excursions or courses. Visitors may use their own kit or rent equipment from the operator or resort, and all divers must carry valid scuba certification.

Bali Wedding and Honeymoon
A wedding or honeymoon in Bali is unforgettable; with beautiful weather, romantic beach settings and quaint chapels, Bali is perfect for weddings, vow-renewals or honeymoons. This exotic wedding and honeymoon location also has beautiful resorts, hotels and villas to provide an idyllic start to any couple's life together. The most popular wedding and honeymoon destinations include Lovina, Kuta, Ubud, Sanur and Jimbaran. Bali Honeymoon Things To Do While in Bali for a wedding or honeymoon, visit Ubud for art museums and galleries, or the art and crafts stalls in the market place. Ubud hosts performances of traditional dance and music, and has wonderful restaurants for romantic dinners. Bali wedding and honeymoon couples can enjoy the 'Mother Temple' of Besakih, on the slopes of the Agung Volcano, or hike to the lake in Batur. Couples visiting Bali for a wedding or honeymoon may be interested in the great surfing, diving or game fishing sites of Kuta, and revel in the island's friendly, relaxed atmosphere and vibrant nightlife. Exuding a more rural charm, Lovina is home to Bali's only Buddhist monastery, Brahma Vihara Arama, a must for wedding or honeymoon couples on the island. Bali Wedding Formalities It is possible for most nationalities to be legally married in Bali in accordance with Indonesian laws and there are wedding planners, including the Bali Wedding Butlers, available to assist in this regard. Baliweddings.com also has good information about the legal requirements and process.

. Surfing
A surfer's paradise and playground of dozens of islands with some of the best and most consistent breaks in the world, the surfing in Indonesia brings passionate surfers in search of the ultimate wave in droves to its shores.The best time to surf Indonesia is between April and September when the trade winds blow and finding a break with offshore conditions is easy since there are waves facing almost every direction. The early and late seasons (March to May and October to November) are great for mellower waves and there are more opportunities for inexperienced surfers as the waves are less crowded. Hiring a boat to get to waves is fairly easy and many locals will be more than happy to help.Since there are no surf shops on the smaller islands, and the ones in Bali are known to be overpriced, surfers will have to take everything they think they'll need, including plenty of sunblock, a rashie vest, extra leashes and a couple of spare boards of varying size for different conditions. Bali offers plenty of rentals, surf schools and camps along its shores with Kuta Bali being one of the best places for amateurs to learn to surf.Bali's key spots include Uluwatu, Dreamland, Bingin, Pedang Pedang and the ever-popular Kuta Bali. A novel and thrilling experience is to surf Airport Rights in Jimbaran Bay, and Airport Lefts on the Kuta side of Bali. Surfers can enjoy getting barrelled as passenger planes overhead come close to skimming the water's surface while coming in to land at Bali's nearby Ngurah Rai Airport, commonly referred to as Denpasar Airport. The East Nusa Tenggara and Nusa Lembongan regions of Indonesia offer some really good surf with islands such as Lombok and Sumbawa providing plenty of gnarly waves.

Lakey peak, Scar Reef, Yo-yo's and Supersucks are key breaks on Sumbawa, while Kuta Lombok boasts waves such as Grupuk, Ekas, Mawi and the infamous and still quite isolated Desert Point, widely regarded as one of the heaviest and best left-hand barrels in the world.With long, walling left-handers that rapidly peel and create perfectly hollow tubes, remaining open all the way along the half a kilometre stretch of shallow coral reef, it's no wonder G-land boasts the most consistent, and arguably, the best left-hand barrel in the world. Surf this wave just after a full or new moon when high tide is at midday.Surfers looking for hollow, deep waves can't go wrong visiting Nias in northern Sumatra, which boasts Lagundra Bay, one of the best right-handers in Indonesia. The neighbouring Mentawais islands have also become well-known surfing destinations and are definitely worth a visit, but these are only accessible by package boat tours, which can be quite pricey.

. Cities & Regions: Sumatra | Java | Bali | Lombok | Yogyakarta | Jakarta