2 independent reviews for Bali and Java holiday in Indonesia
Reviews for Bali and Java holiday in Indonesia
Rob Briggs review 14 Aug 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Being really lucky and getting a great group of people to travel with. Also climbing a volcano (Mt. Bromo) after a Jeep ride up and up through forests and across a mini-desert.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The itinerary is as good as it looks but some things may happen on a different day to what appears in the Explore info pack, e.g. one temple is closed on Mondays so two days were swapped around and we went on Tuesday. Tour leader said he’d fed this back so it would be good if information could be adjusted accordingly.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Definitely, though maybe more could be done in each aspect: more encouragement to try street food stalls rather than just tourist-orientated restaurants; a scheduled visit to a nature conservation project; greater use of trains in Java (though only if this doesn’t still require a bus to be driven between places of departure and arrival).4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
So highly! Two beautiful islands, many interesting places visited along the way, a fantastic tour leader who knew the answer to every question I asked him and taught us so much about Indonesia, and a great group of people with which to share the experience. Update the tour information with the changes to the schedule and it would be perfect!Sayka Hussain review 26 Sep 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
I loved the people in Indonesia; they seemed so peaceful and patient. The roads were choked with motorbikes and cars and people overtook on both sides. However never did I see any road rage, far from it as our coach lumbered along narrow roads as cars and bikes made way for it.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Look for a different tour operator: some of the accommodation was downright dirty and grotty when better options were available, the restaurants in Java particularly, were sub-standard and not catering to vegetarians when better alternatives were available, and the tour guide only gave information when we dragged it out of him. There are better tours out there, spend your money on one of them. The country is lovely, the operator and its organisation, not so much.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
In a word, no. The only help was when we bought from the shops and hopefully helped the local economy. Some of the hotels had filters and in Bali they did try and limit plastics; this was nothing to do with the operator though.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
I’d give it a 3 out of 5. Lovely country, lack lustre tour operator. I’ll go back to Indonesia but not with this operator!Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for your review. I am sorry to hear that you did not feel the accommodation was up to par or that the restaurants on the itinerary catered to vegetarians.
I have forwarded your feedback to the Programme Manager for this holiday as we did notate that you were vegetarian and we would have expected appropriate accommodations to be made for this.
In terms of supporting conservation, we do work with vendors who are passionate about this endeavour and were just named the Sustainable Travel Company of the Year. We do try and do our part to make our trips more environmentally friendly and support conservation.
We do thank you for your feedback as we constantly review the quality of our tours to ensure we are offering unforgettable experiences. Should you have any additional feedback you would like to share, please reach out to us.
Kind regards,
Customer Relations
Holiday Reviews
You can trust Responsible Travel reviews because, unlike many other schemes, reviews can ONLY be written by people who we have verified have been on the holidays. In addition, we don't run these holidays ourselves - our only interest is giving you the best independent advice.
