Explore Indonesia from Chengdu: Ultimate Chill Self-Guided Travel Guide

The two of us, one starting from Chengdu and the other from Shanghai.

Attributes [Right R] Entire trip is self-guided + lazy people who don’t like to get up early + visiting both volcanoes and waterfalls

This trip was all thanks to the various travel guides on Little Red Book! [Praise R] So I decided to write a super detailed version for everyone as a reference for traveling, to avoid pitfalls.

I transited through Singapore from Chengdu to Surabaya, so I will write the most detailed guide for a self-guided trip in Indonesia for you all [Raise Hand R] based on [Timeline, Itinerary, Transportation, Accommodation, Expenses, Tips].

August 15: Beijing to Chengdu (personal itinerary)
August 18: Chengdu to Singapore (transit), met up with my friend that day, stayed in Singapore (Sheraton), chose to check-in luggage directly, very convenient, remember to fill out the entry application three days in advance
August 19: Spent the day in Singapore, flew to Surabaya in the afternoon (got an e-visa in advance, took 5 minutes online to get it), local drivers asked if we wanted to hire a car right after exiting the airport, about a four-hour drive, checked into the Bromo volcano hotel (called Artotel) at night (we booked 1000/night, good breakfast, very cold at night, no air conditioning, can borrow a hairdryer from the front desk), the hotel is inside the scenic area, need to buy two tickets to enter, about 250k/person
August 20: Watched the sunrise at Bromo volcano 🌋, since the hotel is on the mountain, we set off around 5 am to watch the sunrise, many motorcycles at the hotel entrance asking if we want to go to the top of the mountain, 20 RMB per person, after watching the sunrise, returned to the hotel to freshen up and have brunch, took photos at the hotel, could see the Ijen volcano 🌋, in the afternoon, a 3-hour drive by the driver to stay near Sewu waterfall (called Artha Cottages, 500 RMB, the fried noodles were delicious, had air conditioning and a hairdryer, no hot water that day, the environment was quite beautiful)
August 21: Set off at 9 am to visit the Blue Cotton Waterfall [Blue Heart R] and Sewu Waterfall [Blue Heart R], specific navigation locations are (Panorama Kapas Biru, Goa Tetes | Lumajang), the perfect photo spot at Blue Cotton took only 5 minutes, climbing up and down Sewu took two hours, after which a 4-hour drive back to Surabaya (stayed at Novotel under Accor, 500 RMB, finally everything was available), both waterfalls charged admission, about 100k/person
August 22: Flew from Surabaya to Jakarta (stayed at Sheraton, 800 RMB/night), city walk
August 23: Visited the cathedral + bought durian and mangosteen (didn’t go to Durian Street, bought from a place called All Fresh on the way)
August 24: Attended JJ Lin’s concert in Jakarta [Heart R]
August 25: Return journey

💰 From Surabaya airport to the volcano hotel, then to the waterfall, and finally back to the Surabaya hotel, the entire journey cost 270k. The hired driver was incredibly friendly and spoke some English, making it a breeze to navigate without worrying about transportation. For city trips, Grab is a convenient option, but remember, cash is still king in many local transactions.

📱 Upon landing, I found that my One Belt One Road mobile data package didn’t work. After a bit of a hassle, I purchased a local SIM card from [3] using my passport. It cost around 65 RMB and came with 40GB of data, valid for 90 days.