Island Hopping Indonesia Escorted Group Tour
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Island Hopping Indonesia Escorted Group Tour 04 October 2013 Male orang-utan, Tanjung Puting National Park We are proud to have received a number of awards over recent years including Top Tour Operator in the 2012 Wanderlust Readers’ Travel Awards. We have also won recent awards in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine, The Telegraph, Condé Nast Traveller and the Guardian and Observer. Additionally, we have been awarded AITO's maximum five stars for our responsible travel policies and achieved two stars from the Best Company organisation for our great working environment. These awards are widely recognised as being the most respected in the travel industry as they are professional surveys of the publications’ readerships. With over 500 travel companies for you to choose from in the UK alone, we hope you find these awards are an additional reassurance of the quality of service you can expect from Audley. Contents Meet our specialists_______________________________ 4 Introduction to tour ______________________________ 6 Day by day summary of our Island Hopping Indonesia arrangements ___________________________________ 8 Price _________________________________________ 10 Why travel with us? ______________________________ 11 Introduction to the region _________________________ 12 Photographs of the region _________________________ 16 Itinerary in detail ________________________________ 18 Accommodation information _______________________ 34 Charity support ________________________________ 41 General information _____________________________ 42 Terms and conditions _____________________________ 45 Booking form _____________________________ back page Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Bali CONTACT This tour has been put together by: Quality of Service Jack Tydeman Most companies claim to offer first Indonesia Senior Specialist class service, but very few genuinely Direct Line: 01993 838 118 set out to achieve it. At Audley we are wholeheartedly devoted to Telephone: 01993 838 100 offering you first class service from Fax: 01993 838 010 the moment we start planning your E-mail: trip until after your return. If you feel [email protected] that our standards at any time drop below your expectations or you have After graduating with a degree in History, Jack took a any suggestions about how we could improve our year out, to combine travel and work in Thailand, service, then please contact the Southeast Asia Manager, Indochina, Malaysia, Singapore, Bali, Australia, New Natalie Lewis on 01993 838 101 or email Zealand and Fiji. After returning to the UK, Jack [email protected] interspersed working in recruitment and sales and marketing with numerous extended visits to Indochina We may record telephone calls to ensure quality of service and for and Thailand. His enthusiasm for the region led him to training purposes. Audley in 2006 to share his passion, knowledge and experience of Southeast Asia with our clients. Since joining Audley he has re-visited Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia and added Borneo, Indonesia and Burma to his portfolio following numerous extensive trips of the region. In his free time, Jack enjoys outdoor activities including skiing, walking, cycling, running, squash and diving. A sociable character, Jack enjoys attending gigs and meeting with friends in pubs and clubs. 4 Meet our specialists Meet our Indonesia Specialists We have a team of seven Indonesia specialists, Jack Tydeman, Sarah Howard, Angela Jordan, Caroline Parry, Jacqui Brooks, Alex Ross and Glynn Hunt. We're passionate about Indonesia and have all covered the main islands, and many of the smaller ones, over a period of several years. We regularly return to keep up to date with developments. Recent trips have involved climbing volcanoes as well as discovering new beach properties. The specialists are managed by David Singleton who is relatively new to Indonesia but is enjoying learning about the differences between the many islands. Meet our specialists 5 Introduction to our Island Hopping Indonesia tour • Introduction to the tour With years of experience operating in Indonesia, we were delighted with the success of our first island hopping group tour in 2012, and so have decided to run the tour again, with just a few alterations. This tour takes in some of our favourite places from over the years. Indonesia is so vast that even visiting the four main places this tour takes in, you will still travel some 1,200+ miles once in the country! For this year we have decided to start the tour in Bali. You will visit the beautiful town of Ubud, known for art, music, architecture and dance then explore the quieter north of the island, including the stunning Lake Bratan and a stay at the remote Menjangan Resort in Bali Barat National Park. Moving on to eastern Java you will visit the stunning Mount Ijen before heading to the spice markets and mosques of Surabaya. The colourful East Java anniversary will take place while you are in Surabaya and you will see the procession and carnival of floats. Sure to be a highlight is Tanjung Puting National Park in southern Kalimantan, home to over 5,000 wild orang-utan and numerous other animals. You will spend three days exploring here, making your way through the narrow backwaters under the rainforest canopy. The tour ends with a visit to Yogyakarta in central Java, the cultural heart of the island. Visit the Sultan's Palace and watch a performance of the Ramayana ballet at the magnificent Prambanan temple. Your final day is spent at Borobudur, the largest Buddhist relic in the word, where you will explore this awe-inspiring 8th century monument. • Airline choice Singapore Airlines are considered to be one of the best airlines in the sky. Their economy class took first place in the Guardian and Observer Travel Awards 2011. In economy class you can enjoy a 32" seat pitch and 1,000 on demand entertainment options are available on KrisWorld, presented on a 10.6-inch personal screen with the highest resolution in the sky, and the largest in its class. In business class their seats offer unrivalled comfort with angled lie flat seats or fully flat seats (depending on the aircraft). In suite class you have the ultimate flight experience with a private cabin. If you need to fly with a different carrier for any reason (eg airmiles, preference, route) we can arrange alternative flights for you. We can also operate the trip without international flights if you prefer. • Domestic airlines Please see the information on page 13 regarding domestic flights within Indonesia. • Home truths We aim to provide accurate and detailed information and to make you aware of the less positive aspects of the journey you are undertaking, some facts you should be aware of are outlined below: • Money Indonesian Rupiah (Rp) is widely available in the UK and is the only currency used in Indonesia (with the exception of your visa on arrival). You can take up to Rp 100,000,000 in to the country without declaring it and as long as you are sensible with keeping it in hotel safes or locked in your luggage then we would suggest this limit is best used. Automatic cash dispensers are available in all big towns, cities and airports as well as travel hubs such as Ubud and southern Bali. Machines take all credit cards and the majority of debit cards, Visa and MasterCard are accepted widely in shops, restaurants and hotels. Most of the hotels you are staying in will take all major credit cards. • Single Travellers We especially welcome single travellers on our tours. You have two options, you can choose to share a room with another single traveller on the tour and pay the standard tour price or you can choose to guarantee sole occupancy of a room, in which case a supplement is payable. • Dining All meals indicated will be taken as a group. Some will be in hotels, some local restaurants and in Kalimantan all lunches will be buffets on board the klotok boat. Facilities in local restaurants are basic so be prepared. 6 Introduction to our Island Hopping Indonesia tour Introduction to our Island Hopping Indonesia tour • Group size The group size is kept to a maximum of 16, this ensures that the trip is a more personal experience and that you can always hear and speak to your guides. The small group size also ensures that your experience of a particular sight is not marred by presence of too many people. • Extending your trip You have the option to extend your trip in Indonesia. The best option is to drive from Yogyakarta to Semarang and then take the flight over to the island hideaway of Kura Kura. You could also return to Bali or nearby Lombok for some beach time. You may also choose to break the journey to and from Indonesia with a stop over in Singapore. On any extension, you will be looked after by our carefully selected local agent. • Travelling around You will be accompanied throughout the trip by a western tour leader. An experienced English-speaking local guide will also meet you on arrival in Bali and you will have a local guide for each area you travel to. Our local guides are carefully selected for their in-depth knowledge, interpretation, and ability to manage large groups as well as their skills as charming hosts. • Health & fitness requirements To ensure that all participants get the most out of the tour, it is important that you are fully aware of the level of activity and fitness and medical health required to successfully complete this itinerary. Please read this dossier carefully prior to confirming your place on the tour, and having established the facts, it is your responsibility to contact us with any concerns regarding individual levels of fitness, health or ability. Please be aware that our tour leaders have the right to exclude people from the tour if they feel they are not sufficiently fit, healthy or able to complete the tour without affecting its safety, comfort or smooth progress.