Indonesia

Bali is Indonesia's most famous island — a tropical paradise of terraced rice paddies, ancient Hindu temples, volcanic peaks, and world-class surf breaks. From the spiritual heart of Ubud to the beach clubs of Seminyak and the cliffside temples of Uluwatu, Bali offers something for every type of traveler.

Bali's quieter neighbor offers pristine beaches, world-class surf, the challenging Mount Rinjani trek, and the idyllic Gili Islands just offshore. Less developed and more affordable than Bali, with a distinctive Sasak culture.

Home of the Komodo dragon and some of Indonesia's best diving. Pink beaches, manta rays, and the dramatic Padar Island viewpoint make this a nature lover's paradise.

Java's cultural heart — home to Borobudur and Prambanan temples, thriving batik tradition, and Javanese arts. One of Southeast Asia's best-value destinations with incredible food and warm hospitality.

Three tiny islands off Lombok's northwest — Gili Trawangan (party), Gili Meno (honeymoon), and Gili Air (balance). Zero motorized vehicles: walk, bike, or pony cart. Turtles guaranteed on the snorkel, diving world-class, Bintang at sunset swings. 2-hour fast boat from Bali Padangbai or 20-minute public ferry from Lombok Bangsal.

The highest marine biodiversity on Earth — 1,500 fish species, 700 molluscs, and 600+ coral species inhabit these four islands and 1,500 islets in West Papua. Cape Kri holds the world record for fish species counted in a single dive (374). The Pianemo viewpoint — karst limestone islands dotting a turquoise lagoon — is one of the most photographed landscapes in the world.

Bali's cultural and spiritual heart, set 200 m up in the foothills above Denpasar — the rice-terrace, monkey-forest, yoga-shala alternative to the surf-and-club Bali of Seminyak and Canggu. The Sacred Monkey Forest sits in the middle of town with 1,200 long-tailed macaques; Tegallalang's terraces are 9 km north; The Yoga Barn runs 15 daily classes; and a hundred warungs serve nasi campur for IDR 25,000. Eat Pray Love did the marketing in 2010, and the digital-nomad wave hasn't really left.

Indonesia's 11-million-strong capital and the economic heart of ASEAN — a sprawling, traffic-choked, food-obsessed megacity layered over the Dutch East India Company's old port of Batavia. Kota Tua's whitewashed VOC warehouses face Sunda Kelapa harbour where pinisi schooners still load cargo by hand, the 132-metre National Monument (Monas) spikes the skyline at Merdeka Square, and Istiqlal — Southeast Asia's largest mosque — stands face-to-face with the neo-Gothic Jakarta Cathedral. Glodok Chinatown and the kerak telor and soto betawi stalls of Setu Babakan are ground zero for Indonesian street food. Most travellers transit through the CGK or HLP airports en route to Bali, Yogya, or Komodo, but a 48-hour stop reveals a city most Instagram itineraries miss.

An Indonesian island in the Riau archipelago lying 20 km southeast of Singapore, close enough that Sindo Ferry and Batam Fast catamarans cross from HarbourFront Centre and Tanah Merah in 45 to 60 minutes for about SGD 38 round-trip. Batam is the duty-free weekend escape Singaporeans use for cheap seafood at Top 100 and Welcome Restaurant, beach overnights at Montigo Resorts Nongsa, Turi Beach Resort and Nongsa Point Marina, golf at Palm Springs and Tamarin Santana, and the reflexology and shopping circuit of Nagoya Hill. The centre is industrial rather than pretty, but it is the most affordable island getaway in the region — and the only one with no flights from Singapore because the ferry is simply faster.

A long volcanic spine of an island in Indonesia's Lesser Sundas chain east of Bali, anchored by the harbour town of Labuan Bajo where every Komodo National Park live-aboard and day boat departs. Inland, the 1,639-metre Kelimutu volcano holds three crater lakes that shift colour independently — turquoise, olive, black — and the cool highland villages of Bena and Wae Rebo preserve thatched conical houses and Ngada megalithic ancestor stones. Days run from dawn dragon walks on Rinca to swim stops at Pink Beach, manta cleaning stations at Manta Point, and the 5km drone-friendly ridge of Padar Island. Christian-majority and overwhelmingly local in feel.

Indonesia's second-largest city and East Java's industrial capital, a 3-million-strong port at the mouth of the Mas River that most travellers treat as a launchpad for Mount Bromo and Ijen Crater rather than a stop in itself. The Tugu Pahlawan (Heroes Monument) commemorates the 10 November 1945 Battle of Surabaya, the first major engagement of Indonesia's independence war, and Arab Quarter alleys behind Sunan Ampel mosque feel transplanted from Hadhramaut. Madura Bridge — Indonesia's longest at 5.4km — links the city to Madura island and its sapi sono cattle races. East Javanese rawon, lontong balap and rujak cingur define the food scene.

The Christian-majority capital of North Sulawesi province, perched on a tropical bay 1.5 degrees north of the equator and almost entirely visited as the launch point for Bunaken Marine Park — a 75,000-hectare protected reserve whose vertical reef walls drop 1,500 metres into the Sulawesi Sea and routinely deliver mantas, barracuda tornadoes, hawksbills and 70+ coral species on a single dive. Inland, the cool Tomohon plateau hosts Indonesia's most fragrant flower market and the Pasar Beriman extreme market where Minahasan cooks shop for paniki, rica-rica and tinutuan porridge. Bitung and Lembeh Strait, an hour east, deliver world-class muck diving for rare critters.