Hi. just wanted to get some expert advice on an upcoming trip. i always seem to second guess myself after making plans (maybe its buyer's remorse in a weird sort of way) or maybe it's because i've come to the end of a fun travel investigation on FT!!

either way, here goes;

me and mrs scottandtracy are headed to Bali this July. i had all sorts of plans (visit angkor first , see friends in Singapore first, etc), but it all seemed too much, so we just decided on going straight to Bali. it's our first time on the island, so we have 3 nights booked at FS Sayan, hop to Java for 3 nights at Amanjiwo, then back to Bali for the final 4 nights at amankila.

my question is this -- is this too much interhotel/island travel? does simplifying the trip to just FS Sayan and Amankila make more sense?

kinda stuck, and i don't want to second guess myself anymore...

thanks in advance for any advice!!

Blunt answer: it's a time waster to jump to Java then jump back to Bali. With only 10 nights, it makes more sense to enter Bali, leave from Java (Yogya, Surabaya or Jakarta, depending on where you are connecting to) and spend (5 + 5) or (6 + 4) or (7 + 3) nights Bali vs Java. Again, depending on where you are planning to go in Java. Never forget that Indonesian domestic airline timetables should be considered as "guidelines" or "aspirations" only--delays are common and that is a further risk of having your vacation time eroded. As to switching hotels while you are on Bali, well, horses for courses. I personally would rather be out seeing what Bali has to offer rather than packing suitcases and checking in/out of hotels, even if they are Amans.

You have plenty of time for both but my wife and I have done (and will do again!) Bali -> Yogya -> Jakarta (CX 798 12am redeye to HKG) which means minimal flying/driving and maximum time at Amanjiwo. Last time we even had enough time to do the Borobudur dawn tour, some relaxing, and a wonderful picnic before heading to Yogya airport late afternoon for the Garuda flight to Jakarta. A long day but very memorable

In any case, you will find that the transfer between Amankila and Amanjiwo is pretty long and exhausting, lots of driving and pretty disruptive. At the wrong time of day you can encounter tons of traffic around DPS and/or Yogya (where roads are still somewhat in rebuilding from the Merapi eruption). That being said, Amanjiwo is absolutely worth the "trouble"!

As for different hotels on Bali, over 7 nights it is no big deal to switch hotels! The drive between Ubud and Amankila is not bad and there is plenty to see/shop along the way. I think these two areas are quite distinct and are each worth your time. Ubud town has become a little more commercial in recent years and Amankila is in a region with much less development.

Anyway, great itinerary, I'm sure you will have a splendid time no matter what. Feel free to PM.

jiejie:

i agree with your thoughts -- and that was why I was looking for a 2nd opinion...

my previous trips with multiple transfers/etc were a little rough -- the day leaving one hotel/going to another hotel is a loss almost 100% of the time secondary to logistics/packing/stress etc. 2 of those on an 11 day trip including the day of arrival and the day of departure is essentially 4 lost days!!

i'm thinking of revamping this trip to be less travel intensive...

Thanks!

just wanted to give an update (for those who had some similar questions to mine prior to a Bali trip).

we just got back last week from a wonderful 11 days in Bali/Java. Cathay F was amazing from SFO and we even scored the F seats on the 747 from HKG to DPS. Great suites, makes flying that far a blast!

As far as hotels go, we were really impressed with the FS Sayan. Beautiful layout and scenery and wonderful people and service. Amankila was nice, but I really expected more from all the hype it has received. definitely a great experience ... but Amanjiwo was the true highlight of our trip!! everything (and I mean everything) was perfect at Amanjiwo. great excursions, wonderful food, caring personnel and seamless customer service -- a perfect stay!

we flew Garuda from DPS -- JOG and then JOG -- Jakarta. I thought the Garuda experience was very nice. planes on time and service good. I'm all for having them in Skyteam next year -- would be a great use of Delta miles in the future!

Found this thread too late. I would have encouraged you to do FS Sayan, then amankila, then amanjiwo, so apparently my advice was not needed. That sequence saves a trip to/from DPS and shortens overall transfer times. Depending on whether it's a first trip to Bali, I might schedule 4 days for FS Sayan and 3 for amankila, since you'll be out touring from Sayan more, as it's that much more convenient as a starting place. In any case, those three are three of my absolute most favorite resorts in the world, so it's hard to go wrong. I too found Garuda nice enough and reliable for our trips BKK-CGK-JOG and JOG-DPS. We departed JOG in the morning, which might have helped avoid delays.

I'm also looking forward to GA joining SkyTeam, as it will open up another way into Bali on SkyTeam, with morning departures from ICN and NRT and redeyes back northward on the A330. Connections aren't perfect to US-bound flights, but can be done.

For our upcoming Christmas-New Year's trip, Mr. Megatop and I will be doing a variation on this itinerary, with the off-Bali part in the middle. Despite the hassle of four transfers in/out of DPS, I decided it was worth it because it avoided having an international connection at DPS on the same day as the trip to or from Moyo Island. So this year, it will be 3 days FS Sayan, then 4 days amanwana on Moyo Island, then 4 days at amankila. Sure, it will be a bunch of time making inter-resort transfers, but we'll see how it goes.

I'm hoping traffic won't be too bad in and out of DPS. If construction on the Dewa Ruci underpass (at Bali Galleria) progresses fast enough to open some stages of the project by December, that would be great. But it's unlikely since the project isn't supposed to be done until May 2013. So anyone doing these transfers should expect delays until the project is completed some time next year.

thanks for the update megatoplover! will be awaiting your review of amanwana -- maybe in the future for us!

i'm hoping the new DPS international terminal will be a success. by the looks of things last week, they are probably not on schedule for a spring 2013 opening, but who really knows. also read an interesting article about a north Bali island second international airport that is in the works to start construction after the DPS upgrade is done. somehow, doubling the amount of tourists doesn't seem like a good idea. i personally wouldn't like Bali to become a place like the Bahama islands...

nonetheless -- we had a spectacular trip. i'm saving up some miles now to maybe take the kids to Bali next year and try some starwood properties -- will obviously be a "different" trip than our recent Aman swing... as my kids just need a great pool and a beach

I am looking to do a similar trip as Scott and Tracy did, with the addition of KK (Sabah) on Borneo if it's feasible within the time constraints I have to work with.

Here are some specs to work with:
I am planning to travel in Sept. 2013, after Ramadan, before the rainy season in Indonesia.
I will be using AA miles to fly on either CX or JL in J or F so we will pass through Hong Kong or Tokyo. If I have to stopover in HK for 1 or 2 nights inbound or outbound due to flight connections that would be fine. I have not been to Hong Kong since the handover.
I'd like to fly into DPS and out of KK, or the other way around if possible. I'd buy flights for cities in between.

So let's say we flew to DPS, stayed on Bali 5-7 days, then flew to Yogyakarta for 2-3 nights, then flew to KK for 2-4 nights. In Sabah I'd like to go to one of the eco lodges for a few nights.

Is this too much to cram into 2 1/2 weeks? Should we stick to Bali and Java?
Should I save Borneo for another trip?

I've done some checking on how one flies between KK and either DPS or YOG. I'm not finding any direct flights.

Thanks in advance for any help in the preliminary stages of another of Susie's excellent adventures.

I drive through the roundabout here in Bali everyone is complaining about. Indeed, it will not be on time. They just made a few traffic changes and even though it was recently high season, I was amazed at how much traffic improved. Getting TO the airport is much easier from the north now, so less worries on the way out.

Not sure there are any budget travelers on this thread, but if there are, don't forget to check out the departure lounges in JKT (and maybe Bali). Last time I was there, it was $6 for all I could eat and drink and sit in the foot massage chair. Including Bintang! A good excuse to get to the airport extra early