19 Days Birding
In Indonesia Tour
"The Best Birding Holidays"
Birding in indonesia
This is the ultimate 19 days birding tour in Indonesia, guided by experienced local bird experts across Bali, Flores, Borneo, and Sumatra. Throughout the journey, you'll explore diverse habitats on both sides of the renowned Wallace Line and identify more than 150 bird species, including many rare and endemic varieties. In addition to world-class birding, you’ll connect with the fascinating cultures of Indonesia, gaining insight into local traditions and daily life.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, stretches across an estimated 13,000 to 17,000 islands. Significantly, the Wallace Line divides this nation into two distinct ecological zones. To the east, dry tropical environments reflect Australasian influence. To the west, lush rainforests host rich Asian biodiversity. As a result, Indonesia offers unparalleled ecological variety.
Moreover, bird enthusiasts will appreciate that Indonesia supports over 380 endemic bird species and hundreds of migratory visitors. Alarmingly, around 50 species face endangerment and approximately 70 are considered vulnerable. Along the way, you’ll also encounter some of the country’s most iconic endangered mammals, including Orangutans, Proboscis Monkeys, Komodo Dragons, and Sumatran Elephants.
At Ecolodges Indonesia, we design every tour with purpose. We combine unforgettable wildlife experiences with our long-standing commitment to conservation—actively supporting efforts to protect Indonesia’s endangered wildlife and the critical habitats they depend on.
19 Days
Bali, Borneo, Sumatra, Flores
Wildlife
Include
Return airport transfer services
Full board accommodation
Full board private tour base on program above
English-speaking guide, permit and park entrance fees
Internal conservation fees
EXCLUDE
Internal flight, bar, laundry, and other personal expense is not mentioned above
* Budget cost for the internal flight about USD 1170-1250 per person
ITINERARY
Welcome to Indonesia! You will arrive at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, where you will be met by one of our senior staff members. We will transport you to our partner hotel for a welcome and briefing. Overnight and dinner at the hotel.
Explore The Batu Karu Richfield, Tabanan to look for the Javan Kingfisher, Long-tailed Shrike, and Glossy Starling. We then drive you along the West Coast of Bali through Tabanan and Jembrana to your hotel near West Bali Barat National Park, stopping for lunch along the way. Here you will be briefed by your guide, who will immediately take you for an afternoon bird walk hoping to see the Bali Starling, Banded Pitta and other key Bali bird species.
You may also see the Ebony Leaf Monkey. Overnight here at our partner hotel with dinner at a local restaurant.
You will have the chance today to spend most of the day birding in the National Park with your guide. Enjoy hiking through several stunning areas where bird species should be seen. If you have not seen the Bali Starling on day 2, we will go to great lengths to spot this special bird on day 3.
Today you will spend another morning birding around this unique National Park and after an early lunch depart to Bedugul and the beautiful mountain lake region of Bali and check into our partner hotel (usually the Handara). In the afternoon and evening, your guide will take you birding around Handara Gardens. You will overnight here and enjoy lunch and dinner at a local restaurant.
It’s Day 5 and you will spend most of the day birding around Bedugul Botanical Gardens with your guide. These beautiful gardens have many species of interest. Lunch will be in a restaurant in Bedugul town in the invigorating mountain air. In the afternoon you will drive back to your hotel in South Bali in preparation for an early start to Flores.
For the next stage of the tour, you fly to Ende via Labuan Bajo. You will be picked up by your guide and begin the magical run through valleys and mountains to the Kelimutu Crater Lakes Ecolodge.
If there is a time en route, you will visit a traditional village to view some of the fascinating cultural aspects of the Lio people who inhabit the area around Kelimutu.
From here you will visit a market village and the village of Moni at the base of Mount Kelimutu, only one kilometer from the lodge for a welcome and lunch. After a siesta, you can either wander birding through the stunning valley area around the lodge or take an agricultural tour through the lodge gardens and embryonic farm to view our lush local produce.
You will rise before the birds around 04:30. After a quick coffee/tea, you will be transported 17km to the Kelimutu Crater Lakes car park, followed by a twenty-minute walk in semi-darkness to arrive at dawn.
This is a breathtaking experience! Watch as sunlight wakes the spiritual volcanic lakes as you learn about local beliefs and folklore. On the way back, the birdsong is a treat!
Today you will explore this beautiful national park, an important spiritual area of the Lio people, which provides great birding.
Here you will often see the Yellow-breasted Warbler, Yellow-browed and Thick-billed Darkeye, Oriental and Mountain White Eyes, and Timor Leaf Warbler. The rich, melodious calls of the Bare-throated Whistler (up to 18 different calls) are especially pleasing.
Further down the Arboretum’s network of tracks, we may add the Brown-capped Fantail, Wallacean Drongo, Scaly-crowned Honeyeater, Flame-breasted Sunbird, Yellow-spectacled White Eye, Russet-capped Tesia and Black-backed Fruit Dove. On our walk down from the Arboretum one may see Long-tailed Macaques, many Glossy Swiftlets and also Crested Darkeyes and Black-backed Fruit Doves. You can stay as long as wish in
the park and a packed breakfast and lunch will be provided.
It is time to leave Kelimutu and fly the short hop to Labuan Bajo to start the West Flores part of the tour. You will arrive at our Mbeliling Mountain Ecolodge for a full day of birding in the protected forests around the lodge.
This is a long day but very worthwhile! After a very early start with a packed breakfast, you will arrive at the harbor for your boat to Rinca Island, one of the main islands of the Komodo group. We purposely use a slow boat as it is very relaxing to move slowly through The Sea of Flores, past many islands arriving at Rinca island around 09:00. You may see Raptors on the way. From here you will walk to look for Komodo dragons and you should also see some bird species. Lunch is served once back on the boat and you have a choice to continue hiking in the park for birding or go snorkeling at Bidadari Island. In the afternoon you return to Labuan Bajo and Mbeliling for dinner at the Lodge.
Depending on your flight schedule, take a morning walk with your guide to see the birds at the lodge garden. Early lunch at the lodge and then you will proceed to the airport to catch a flight to Bali. Meet your driver at Bali airport and directly transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
After breakfast, you will take the early flight to Pangkalan Bun (Borneo) via Surabaya, and you will arrive in the afternoon. After meeting your guide, you will be transported to Kumai to your klotok (river boat) to start the magic trip up The Sekonyer River to The Rimba Orangutan Eco Lodge. On the way (if the weather is clear) you will see many fireflies and after two hours see the welcome lights of The Rimba on your left side. You will be welcomed by our Manager for dinner.
After breakfast, you will take your river boat to the famous Camp Leakey to view Orangutans in their natural habitat; birds will be spotted (Kingfishers, Hornbills, Trogons) on the river but also primates will be seen Orangutans, Proboscis Monkeys, Gibbons, and Long Tailed Macaques, Silver backed Langurs and hopefully, you will see crocodiles and monitors. On the way home, if the evening is clear, you should have a great sunset with the Proboscis Monkeys. Hopefully, you will see some of the four species of Hornbills, Storms Stork and raptors. Birding continues along the Sekonyer River, dinner, and overnight at the Rimba Ecolodge.
An early start with breakfast and leave for the feeding station of Pondok Tanggui, one hour upstream for morning feeding time. Look for Giant Squirrels, pigs, and many butterflies on the walk-in. Here as at all the feeding, there is a large Alpha male. After viewing the Orangutans, you can walk around the area. Back on the boat. Lunch on the boat is at around 13.30 when you will leave for The Tanjung Harapan feeding Station for feeding at 1500. Here also there is a large Alpha male. After this feeding,g you may wish to drop into the local Tanjung Harapan village across the river.
evening dinner on the river with the “fireflies”. The latter is a terrific experience. The night walk is also available on this day
Board a river boat to Kumai and on to the airport to catch your plane to Jakarta, then on to
Lampung in Sumatra. You will be met by one of our senior staff for the two-hour drive to The Satwa Sumatra Elephant Ecolodge, where you will arrive in time for dinner. This is a travel day through many different cultures and islands on the Indonesian archipelago.
Days 15-18 will be spent with your guide, who has extensive knowledge of most of the 320+ recorded species in the Way Kambas National Park. Your days will be spent in various parts of the park and will include trekking and night walks.
Your time here will also include a riverboat on the main Way Kanan River but also past the Elephant Centre to Bambangan. During this period in the tour, you will see over 100 species of birds and many mammals.
Some birding groups see or hear over 150 species over this time period. The endemic White Winged Wood Duck is one to watch for.
After breakfast to Lampung to catch your flights to Jakarta and to Bali and onwards.
ADVENTURE GALLERY
WHAT THEY SAY
Beautiful Grounds and Views
"Each individual or group has their own roomy cottage with a deck and great view. The grounds are beautiful and we heard and saw numerous birds. There were two different types of owls calling at night and a Munia building a nest right outside the dining area. The staff was very kind and worked really hard to make our trip as enjoyable as possible. They served us vegetarian food at our request, and it was excellent.
As the name implies, the lodge is in the mountains and some of the paths, including the ones to the cottages, are steep. If you or someone in your party has difficulty with steep steps, you may want to contact the staff in advance of visiting to make appropriate accommodations."
Renee R
March 2025
Exquisite!
"This ecolodge is exquisite! The location is built on the side of a mountain surrounded by rain forest. Birds are plentiful, and we even had a family of long tail macaques (monkeys) visit the trees alongside the path to the rooms. There is a nature trail around the property where you can go birding. The employees are so warm and hospitable. They customize everything for your needs. For example, I had a few extra hours before I had to leave for the airport on my last day, and Aldi arranged for a short hike to see waterfalls. I did not ask, he just offered. The rooms are very large with a view of the sunset every night from the balcony, hot shower, and a sitting bed to watch the tree tops and sunset from inside the room as well. The food was exemplary! Seriously, the chef needs to open a restaurant in the US. All fresh ingredients, with flavorful spices and generous portions. Great location to visit Rica Island and see Komodo Dragons and snorking."
Alison J
March 2025
A perfect base for watching wildlife in Way Kambas
"We stayed at Satwa Ecolodge in February 2025, and found it a quiet, relaxing location with staff who are kind, professional and enthusiastic about both hospitality and nature.
The lodge is around a 3hr drive from the seaport, and private transport can be organized from there by the lodge. I would recommend this option, as we overestimated our ability to navigate the local public transport options and ended up adding some unnecessary hours to our journey. On arrival, the manager Toni immediately set to organizing us an easier and more comfortable return to the seaport at the end of our stay. This hospitality set the tone for the rest of our time here, with the staff being unerringly friendly, helpful and enthusiastic.
The lodge is situated in a private walled garden, with plenty of flora attracting local wildlife such as tree shrews, flying squirrels and interesting insects. Flat ground and well maintained paths make it very suitable for anyone with mobility issues. The rooms are generously sized, with four single beds (or pushed together to make 2 large double beds) fitting comfortably. Most reviews mention a lack of AC, but recent upgrades have seen the rooms fitted with AC which runs cold enough for us to need to turn it off overnight. The bathroom is spacious, with a good shower and hot water. Wifi can be a little spotty, with coverage not quite reaching all rooms, and the rooms have no TV. But we were here for the nature, so neither really became a problem for us during our stay. We ate all our meals at the lodge, which were very generously portioned hearty home cooking.
Being located very near to the entrance to Way Kambas National Park in a small village does mean that there are a lack of alternative dining options, but we never felt the need to try anywhere else anyway. Prices of meals and drinks is a little higher than expected elsewhere in Indonesia, but we were happy to pay a little extra knowing it goes a long way to provide for the locals who work at the lodge. Local village noise from goats, chickens and the call to prayer from mosques can be heard from the lodge, but never too loudly to disturb.
The National Park itself is a delight. We were a little skeptical since some older reviews mention a depressing elephant circus as one of the attractions, but over the last few years this has been turned into a sanctuary for the captive elephants which the park takes care of. Again, prices for tours are higher than elsewhere in Indonesia, but these are largely set by the local government, and outside of the control of the lodge. Being keen entomologists, and not having a specific insect spotting tour, Toni organized a night walk with some of the local mahouts and guides eagerly accompaning us in finding several exciting species, such as vinegarroons, hammerhead worms, rhinoceros beetles, scarab beetles and a huge variety of dragonflies. His enthusiasm to learn any information we had about the species we found was shared by the rest of the lodge staff, who were happy to engage in a bit of bug spotting around the lodge with us as well.
We recommend Satwa Lodge very highly, and will certainly be planning another trip here in the future."
B D
February 2025
Great hospitality and worth the price
"The staff and guide (Hakim) are very friendly, hospitable and knowledgeable. The cost is on the high side (USD $1.4k for 4D3N solo travel) but it is completely justifiable given the services. They take care of all your meals, tours, transport and lodging, you do not have to worry about anything
One note is that the meal portions tend to be quite big as they cater to Western travellers. If you cannot eat that much (like me!), don't be afraid to feedback to the staff. They are very receptive"
Passenger67475551994
December 2024