Malaysia forum

The first 3 weeks in November.

Hey JayBee - rather than fly into Jakarta, you might want to consider flying into Yogyakarta (east-ish end of Java), then go overland to Bali and across to Lombok. Given your short-ish timeframe, I think east Java will give you the more interesting time.
[ul][li]Yogyakarta: Min 2 nights (Borobudor, Prambanan, batik craft factories, etc)[/li][li]Mt Bromo: Min 1 nights (volcano)[/li][/ul]
Then bus to Bali.... by memory, this might take 6-8 hours? One in Bali, you have loads of options, depending on your interests. You can also get to Lembongan (my personal favourite) - a small island off of Bali. From there you can go direct to Lombok (via the Gili Islands, if preferred)

So.... you could consider:
[ul][li]Bali - 5-6 nights (obviously it's very easy to spend more nights here!)[/li][li]Lembongan - Min 1 night, 2 is better (one hour boat ride from Sanur)[/li][li]Gili Islands - 2-4 nights (you can take a fast (expensive) boat direct from Lembongan, or a slow (much cheaper) boat via Sanur I think.[/li][li]Lombok - 2-5 nights (Senggigi, Kuta, Rinjani - depends on your interests!) [/li][/ul]
Depending on how you are placed for time, you can cut out Lembongan and/or the Gilis. Obviously you can adjust the number of nights in each place. Generally, I would suggest spending at least 3 nights, but realise that you are pushed for time.

Anyhow... just some ideas to consider....hope it helps

Wow, thanks for the excellent information Lizzy, just the sort of info I was looking for. I shall digest and incorporate into the 'plan'

I can't believe that I initially thought 3 weeks would be enough time, but once you start 'planning' where you're actually going, you soon realise just how little time you have in reality. I should probably just skip out Malaysia, but it seems such a shame to not even stop by when I'm soo close.

Cheers
Jay

I've never done anything like this before and must admit, I was worried about spending as much as 3 weeks without really having a clear idea of what I'm up to (got either side a little more organised)

As much as I would like to do Sabah and see the wilderness, I think it'll just add too much travel time to the trip. So I think I'm going to drop off in KL, visit the national park and get a flight from singapore which allows me to stop off in Malacca. Will be quick, but it just seems such as shame to not at least pop into Malaysia. That should give me 15 days or so to do those parts of Indonesia at a hopefully more relaxed pace.

I'd soo like to fit in more of Malaysia, but as you say, you need to sacrifice some places so you can get the most out of the others. And I can always come back and do the other parts at a later date.

Getting quite excited now

Thinking about it further, if you really want to cover off that sort of ground in Indonesia, my suggestion would be to skip out Malaysia altogether unless you have a particularly strong desire to see the National Park (I haven't been in that area so can't comment on what you would be missing).

You don't have much time, and I really think that you will have wished that you spent more than 2 weeks in Indo. I spent 2 months in a relatively small area, and could have easily kept going. Bali and Lombok are bigger than you (probably) think!

Just some things to think about... (it's very hard, isn't it?!)

Indonesia is an incredibly large country. Five 'major' islands and 17,000+ islands in total. Transportation and roading in some areas leaves a bit to be desired, and is very slow going.

It really depends on where you want to go. If you focus on Java, Bali, Lombok and the Gili's (which is what most travellers think of as Indonesia), then 2 months is fine. You could easily spend 1-2 months just in Sulawesi. Or just going through Sumatra and Java. Or going through the islands of Nusa Tenggara.

I guess you could also cover off my of the highlights across a wider range of islands by flying and doing brief visits at each destination but I think that diminishes the experience.

Attractiveness of Hawaii and Bali for me is that you can rent the house and rooms have everything you want / need, plus a kitchen, living room, outdoor space, private pool, in many cases, etc. This would be cheaper than most Part of the hotel.